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888. Bible Study: Zechariah 11 (Past and Future Prophecy?) · Faith by annm2705

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Chapter 11 from the book of Zechariah.
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Dear Lord, please open our eyes as we read this and give us
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wisdom and understanding of what you're saying here because this
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is somewhat confusing as far as if it's been fulfilled or if it
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is yet to come. So we ask this in Jesus name,
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Amen. So Chapter 11 it says Open your
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doors Lebanon, so that your so that fire may devour your
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Cedars. Whale you juniper, for the cedar
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has fallen. The stately trees are ruined.
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Whale oaks of Bashan. The dense forest has been cut
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down. Listen to the whale of the
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shepherds. Their rich pastors are
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destroyed. Listen to the roar of the lions.
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The lush thicket of the Jordan is ruined.
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So this is this is interesting because this is Zachariah.
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He's hears from the Lord and he's talking about Lebanon, but
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then he talks about Jordan. The lush thicket of Jordan is
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ruined. So I was again just wondering
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historically. So when was Lebanon destroyed by
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fire in history? And what came up was a couple
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different things. I mean, the furthest back is the
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coastal city of Bibalos, located in modern modern day Lebanon was
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destroyed by fire around 2150 BCE by the Amorites.
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That's what shows up. As far as history, well,
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Zechariah was written later than that.
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Because the book of Zechariah was written, let's see, it was
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around 5:20 to 480 BC. So if that ancient history of
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the coastal city being destroyed was 2150 BCE, that was, you
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know, thousands of years before Zechariah had spoken this and
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then. What else came up?
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I'm not. Obviously not well versed in
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history so I have to search these things to find out when
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did this happen and I'm this is just subject to what came up in
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that search. But it says that Lebanon.
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The country was not historically destroyed by fire in a single
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event, but it experienced A devastating fire related
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catastrophe on August 4th, 2020 when a massive.
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Ammonium nitrate explosion at the part of Beirut destroyed
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huge swaths of the city, killing over 220 people and let and left
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10s of thousands homeless. And then also in October of
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2019, Lebanon faced severe widespread wildfires that
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destroyed hundreds of hectares of forest and damaged buildings.
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So in a sense, I don't know if this is this is past prophecy
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that's been fulfilled or if this is talking about the future.
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And again, why would it be Lebanon?
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Is that in One Direction and Jordan is in another completely
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different direction and what was happening at that time?
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And so I wondered when was Jordan destroyed in history?
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Because it says listen to the roar of the lions.
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The lush thicket of Jordan is ruined.
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So Jordan was not quote destroyed as a nation, but it
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was severely crippled during the 19676 day war, losing the West
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Bank, East Jerusalem and experiencing a ruined economy.
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Additionally, the state narrowly avoided collapse during the 1970
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to 71 Black September Civil War when the army clashed with
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Palestinian militant factions. So in the 1967 Six Day War,
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Jordan fought Israel losing all territory West of the Jordan
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River, the West Bank and over 300,000 refugees fled into the
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country. And then the 1970 to 71 Black
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September civil strife between the Jordanian Jordanian Armed
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Forces and the Palestinian Liberation Organization saw
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intense fighting and the expulsion of the PLO, which
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threatened the stability of King.
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Hussein's monarchy, so those that was what showed up in the
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search. And so again, I don't know.
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I mean, that's not a complete fulfillment of this.
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And we know that like Edom is part of Jordan, of modern day
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Jordan. And it says when Jesus returns,
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he goes there to release some captives and there's like a
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bloodbath too, because that's why his robe is stained Crimson
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because he was in Basra, which is in modern day Jordan.
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And no one was there to help him.
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It was the battle he fought alone.
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So obviously that has not happened yet.
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So based on. Scripture.
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Based on what I found searching, it seems like if there have been
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some events that are maybe foreshadowing of the final
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future event that Zechariah was given by the Lord.
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The study Bible also addresses some of this so I will read that
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as well. So it says why destroy Lebanon?
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Lebanon, Bashan and Jordan represented the areas along the
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borders of Israel. Some think this is a figurative
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language to describe God's punishment of Israel's enemies
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from far away, Assyria and Egypt right up to Israel's borders.
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Others think this has this had a more literal fulfillment when
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Israel rejected the Messiah and was subsequently devastated by
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Rome in in AD 70. So that OK that that I don't
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know to me that doesn't still it doesn't it doesn't answer the
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question to me because it says I mean the study Bible saying
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others think this had a more literal fulfillment when Israel
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rejected the Messiah. That is true and was
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subsequently devastated by Rome. But we're talking about Lebanon,
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not about Israel. So I don't understand how that
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relates to the Lebanon area. So it just, again, prophecy is
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so hard to understand. And only in hindsight do we
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really understand what it meant. And then we can say, see and
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say, oh, this is what it was talking about.
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But it does. One thing it does tell us is
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that Israel has had enemies surrounding it all the time, all
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the way back in history. I mean, we're talking about 500
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BC and. These.
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Were enemies and and then Jordan you have to remember that that
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area those are that's actually a brother a twin brother of Jacob
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who is renamed Israel so we're talking about a familial tie
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they had the same mom they had the same dad but they're.
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It it just. There was a difference, a
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difference in choices and and again, that comes back to a lot
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of what we read in Scripture about our choices.
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God lets us have free will. We could come from the same
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family, but one can choose God, one can choose life, the other
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can choose death and it's that's going to be the result of our
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destination, our final destination, like Jesus made the
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way for us if we accept him and and submit to him.
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As. Lord over our life in obedience
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to Him, we've made that choice. That's been our own free will
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choice. Or we can choose to reject Him
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and not receive the Kingdom of God through that because Jesus
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is the way, the truth and the life and no one comes to the
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Father except through him. So Jesus is the only way.
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And, and throughout history, it even tells us that.
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It shows us examples over and over again so that maybe we
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learn something from that. What happens when you reject
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Christ? What happens when you pursue in
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your own way and you don't submit to His Lordship?
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Jesus is going to be king over all the earth.
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And so we could either choose to be obedient to Him or to rebel
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against Him. God gave that free will.
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Even the angels in heaven had that free will that they could
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choose to be obedient to God or they could reject Him and do
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what they wanted. And there are some angels who
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have rejected God. It tells us in Scripture that
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they have. So going back to Scripture,
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verse 4, this is what the Lord my God says, shepherd the flock
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marked for slaughter their buyers slaughter them and go
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unpunished. Those who sell them say praise
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the Lord, I am rich. Their own shepherds do not spare
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them, for I will no longer have pity on the people of the land,
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declares the Lord. I will give everyone into the
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hands of their neighbors, and their king they will be.
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They will devastate the land, and I will not rescue anyone
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from their hands. So when we reject God, we do not
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have His protection and. It does say that we were like
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that we get turned over at a certain point to the enemy and
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when we are like when we are sinful and reject being obedient
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to God. It's not how we earn salvation,
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but it's a response to what Jesus did.
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Do we accept him as Lord over our life?
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Are we going to submit to his way of living?
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Are we going to actually reflect the image of Christ?
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Are we going to just resist it so that we have to humble
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ourselves in that way? Paul talks about it in First
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Corinthians chapter 5, verse 5. Now this is a situation inside
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of a church and it's, let's see, I will read, I mean I'll read
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this one, Corinthians 5 verse 5, and then I'll read the sentences
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above and below it. So I have decided to turn such a
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person over to Satan for the destruction of his body so that
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his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord.
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So this is dealing with someone in a leadership capacity.
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That is, that it is in sin, unrepentant sin.
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And I guess I could read from the very beginning so, so you
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could get the context of everything.
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In One Corinthians 51, it is actually reported that there is
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sexual immorality among you and the sexual immorality of such a
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kind as does not exist even among the Gentiles, namely that
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someone has his father's wife. You have become arrogant and
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have not mourned instead so that the one who has done this deed
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would be removed from your mist. So Paul is saying you're not,
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you're not dealing with this situation.
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This, this man is basically having relationships with his
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father's wife. And, and so he's, and he's
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apparently in the church. As we read further, we'll find
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out. So he's having sex, I guess,
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with the, the, his, his own father's wife.
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We don't really know much about that.
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It just says his father's wife. It doesn't say his mother, but
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it says his father's wife. So maybe it was his father
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married to somebody else. I don't know.
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It doesn't give us all those details.
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But whatever it is, it's, it's clearly wrong by God and the
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people of the church are tolerating it.
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They're just letting it go on. And so Paul is saying to them,
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for I on my part, though absent in body but present in spirit,
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have already judged him who has so committed this as though I
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were present. Now this is interesting because
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a lot of people say, oh, we should not judge.
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Well, judging in one aspect. There's there's discernment and
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there's judging. Like Paul has not been given the
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authority over a person's life to say you are going to be in
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God's Kingdom or you are going to be separated eternally from
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God, I guess in ultimately in the burning lake of fire.
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So Paul doesn't have that authority.
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He hasn't been given that authority.
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However, he does have the discernment and he is in a
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capacity as a disciple of Christ to have authority in that manner
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over brothers and sisters, just like people who are in Christ do
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have that responsibility, I would say, and you'll see
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further why it's a responsibility for people to
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talk to one another in a way. It's not to tear them down and,
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and, and make and discourage them, but to encourage them to
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get them to wake up to what they're doing and, and, and get
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away from what they're doing because they are separating
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themselves from Christ when they are in the midst of that.
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So he's not, he's upset, Paul is upset with the people of the
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church that they are not dealing with this man who's in the
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church and doing these things. They're not even mourning it.
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They're just letting it go on. And so he's saying I've already
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judged him who's committed, like he knows it's wrong.
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He knows what the guy is doing and he's talking to the rest of
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the church saying you're not dealing with it.
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Then he says in verse four, in the name of our Lord Jesus, when
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you are assembled and I with you in spirit with the power of our
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Lord Jesus, the power of our Lord Jesus.
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We don't often think about that when we are in Christ, when we
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are submitted to Christ, when we are humble, we've humbled
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ourselves and we accept Christ as our Lord like he says, the
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power of our Lord Jesus. So this is coming from a person
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who is submitted to Christ, like Christ is the authority and
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Christ gives his authority to whomever he chooses His, he
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gives his authority. I did look up authority.
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There's I think like 90 something verses about
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authority. But that's an interesting study.
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I don't know if I'll go over that, but Jesus gave his
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disciples authority over unclean spirits to cast out demons to
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heal people. And how how much are true
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followers of Christ exercising that authority today?
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And how many people are acknowledging the power through
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Christ? This is God's power.
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Like what is there that God cannot do?
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If you say, well, I can't do this because I'm a Sinner and I
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can't, I have no power. You don't know who you are in
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Christ because Christ clearly says that the Holy Spirit will
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give us the power to overcome. Yes, we will continually deal
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with things. The enemy's going to keep
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shooting those arrows trying to get us to fall for something,
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but we overcome it by the power of God.
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We overcome it by Scripture, what Scripture tells us by
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affirming what, who we are in Christ.
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When we have put, when we have put death to our sinful past, we
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are no longer defined by that. The enemy will constantly bring
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that to mind. But that's not who we are.
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When we have gotten rid of it, when we've, you know, had the
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intention and rely on Christ to change us, the Holy Spirit will
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change us. That's what the church calls
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sanctification and then in the Bible supports that too.
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It's the Holy Spirit that changes us, the power of God.
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But do we deny the power of God? We're not stuck in sin.
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We have the power. We have free will.
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We're not stuck in it if we keep doing it, we're choosing it.
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We're not helpless. We have the power of God to
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overcome it. And I think we need to be
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reminded of that, like who we are in Christ.
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If we are indeed children of God, those should those things.
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It's not saying that we're not going to have the struggles with
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it, but it's a decision. It's ultimately a decision.
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Are you going to be obedient to God or are you going to just
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take the easy way and just do what you want to do?
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That's what it is. Are you submitted to Christ?
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So going back to this this account is that then he says I
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have decided to turn such a person over to Satan for the
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destruction of the of his body so that his spirit may be saved
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on the day of the Lord. So and God would God allows this
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like they're so Paul is basically saying, you know, turn
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him turn him over to Satan for the destruction of his body
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because that's what Satan's going to do.
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Nobody realizes that. But when you continually rebel
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against God, you're giving the enemy authority over your life
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when all hell breaks loose in your life.
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And you're like, why is all this happening to me?
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Well, why do you have anything that you're in persistent
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rebellion to God? Are is that I mean, that's the
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first place we need to look. What are we doing?
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Are we doing something? Are we giving the enemy access
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to our life by our rejection of what God says?
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And then we look at our lives and we have things falling apart
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and we're like, Oh my gosh, why is this happening?
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Did we ever look at ourselves first to look to see Now the
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other thing is which I've I've experienced both.
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I've experienced correction or discipline from God for my bad
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behavior and I've also been shown by God that it wasn't
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something I did, but it was a testing it was it very early on
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in my my faith of actually submitting to Christ when I
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actually was on that path, the enemy did come against me and I
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didn't understand it because I wasn't being rebellious to God.
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I was really praying to God and and asking him to guide me and
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then bad things started happening to me and I didn't
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understand it and I hadn't read the Bible at that time.
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But God so lovingly when I was really desperate and just saying
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why God, why? And I for the first time opened
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the Bible and it was to the book of Job.
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And that's exactly what was happening to Job.
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So it more or less answered what was what I was going through.
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Like my intentions were to be to have Jesus be Lord over my life
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and to be obedient to him. That's what I desired and I I
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was doing in that. You know, that was my mindset
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and that was my. My actions, you know, I wasn't,
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I hadn't done anything that I was aware of that was in
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rebellion to him. But then bad things were
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happening and I was confused by that.
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I was like, this isn't the way it should be.
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But then God opened my eyes to the book of Job and showed me
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how that happened to Job. Job was righteous, but he was
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tried by Satan. But we have to.
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That's part of, I think the way I see in the Bible.
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It's part of being refined by Christ.
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We're going to go through some fire.
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We're going to go through, there's some testing and it the
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purpose of it is to make us stronger in our faith and it
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doesn't last forever. So you can get through it when
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you rely on Christ. So anyway, Paul says your
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boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little
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leaven leavens the whole lump of dough?
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Now that may be like, what the heck is he talking about?
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But if we find out, I mean, if we find out, if we read the
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Bible, we find out that leaven was what caused the dough to
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rise. Leaven is symbolic of sin.
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And then this is like the whole lump of dough, like the whole
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congregation, like if you let a little bit of sin in there, it's
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it's going to affect the whole dough, It's going to affect the
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whole community. That's basically what Paul is
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saying is, is that, you know, you allowing this man in the
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congregation to keep doing what he's doing, you're going to
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basically pollute the whole congregation.
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So then he says in verse 7, clean out the old leaven so that
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you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened.
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So unleavened would be like without sin, because leaven was
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representative or symbolic of sin for Christ.
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Our Passover also has been sacrificed.
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Therefore let's celebrate the feast not with old leaven, nor
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with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the
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unleavened bread of sincerity and truth, the sinless bread.
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That's Jesus. Jesus was the bread of life.
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So with. Jesus and sincerity and truth.
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And then he said, I wrote to you in my letter not to associate
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with sexually immoral people. I did not know.
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This is where you know, people have said to me before, but but
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Jesus went, he was here for the sinners and he ate with the
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sinners and, and how can you even, you know, do that?
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How could you know? Paul addresses that.
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So here's what he said. I did not mean at all with this
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sexually immoral people of this world.
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OK, so he's he's not talking about everybody who's sexually
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immoral in the world or with the greedy swindlers or with the
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idolaters for then you would have to leave the world.
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So Paul is basically saying, you know, when I wrote to you in the
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letter, not to his associate with sexually immoral people.
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He said, I'm not talking about the whole world because you'd
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have to leave the world because that's everywhere.
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Then he says in verse 11, But actually I wrote to you not to
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associate with any so-called quote brother, if he is a
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sexually immoral person or a greedy person or an idolater or
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is verbally abusive or habitually drunk or a swindler,
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not even to eat with such a person.
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For what business of mine is it to judge outsiders?
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Do you not judge those who are within the church, but those who
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are outside God? Judges remove the evil from
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among yourselves. So within a church, if we have
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someone when they say a brother, that's somebody at a fellow
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Christian, our responsibility. We're not supposed to hang out
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with them. If they're calling themselves a
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Christian, they need to act. They need to not act live like a
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Christian. If they are a Christian, they
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should be living like a Christian.
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If they call themselves a Christian, they're not living
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like 1. They're a liar and and Paul says
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don't associate with them. This is talking about somebody
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in the church. You're talking about a
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hypocrite. You're talking about somebody
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who gives the impression that they are a Christian, but in
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reality they're not because they're just rebellious to God.
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They're calling themselves a Christian and maybe they're
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ignorant. Maybe they're a baby Christian
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and they don't really understand what it means to be a Christian.
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So that could be. But you know, if there's
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correction, if somebody says something, hey, if you call
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yourself a Christian, do you realize this is not the way you
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live? You are supposed to be
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reflecting the image of Christ and Christ didn't do any of this
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stuff. So you have a choice right now.
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Either you're going to get, you're going to leave that stuff
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or if you keep in it, you need to get out of here because
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you're a fake Christian. You're a hypocrite.
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And that's essentially what what Paul was saying.
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And, and throughout history, I mean, that applies to all of us,
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but throughout history, that's what God even did.
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Like in the Old Testament when people were unclean, they had to
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go outside the camp, they couldn't participate and and
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that's why they couldn't marry foreign wives, because foreign
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wives, as the Bible talks about it, it wasn't nationality
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driven, but it was they were worshipping other gods.
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They had idolatry, they had multiple gods and God didn't
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want that to affect them. It even happened to the king of
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Israel, Solomon. He, you know, he knew
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everything. He had everything in front of
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him. The law, he didn't reflect on it
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daily. That was one of the things that
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king was supposed to do. He wasn't supposed to have a lot
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of horses. What Solomon did.
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He also had a lot of wives, which that he wasn't supposed to
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do that either. And then he ended up with wives
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who were, I want to say there were maybe like 600 wives and
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concubines or 700. I mean, the number was
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astronomical. Like, how could he even spend
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time with every single one of us of them?
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I mean, I, you know, it's, I know relationships were a little
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bit different back then, but still, when you call it your
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wives or your concubines, you know you're responsible for
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them. Do you even know one another?
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It's it's just totally different.
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But these wives turned Solomon into a into what?
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I mean, he started rebelling against not he.
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Well, he started with idolatry. He started building altars for
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his wives, gods that they worshipped.
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So Solomon was really fallen and and there's some weird things
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about Solomon. I don't know what ended up with
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Solomon. How he ended up in terms of his
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eternity with with God, I really don't know because of what he
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did. And I don't know if he had
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remorse or he asked for forgiveness.
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But there were just some weird things about Solomon and
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Scripture. And so you can see that even
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someone who has been put into king, he built the temple.
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You know, God said to David, you can't build the temple because
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you've killed too many people in your past, but I'm going to have
27:31
your son build this temple and so, well, your descendant.
27:38
I wonder if it was really truly meant to be Solomon or if it was
27:43
really, truly meant to be Jesus ultimately, because I did read
27:46
that. Anyway, getting sidetracked way
27:48
off track here. So let's get back to the
27:51
scripture. So anyway, there's there is
27:54
something about being sold into slavery.
27:58
And I, I did look that up too. And I don't know if I saved that
28:01
or if I. Closed that up.
28:03
Yeah. So there's like 73 different
28:06
times. So I don't know if that I'll
28:07
have time to really talk about all of this.
28:11
But going back to the book of Genesis, Joseph who had he was
28:20
the son of Jacob, or if you want to call him Israel, and it was
28:27
one of the one of the 12 and he. Was kind of his father.
28:31
'S favorite and he his father made a robe for him and his
28:36
brothers were jealous of him so and he also had these dreams and
28:40
told his family that everybody was bowing down to him.
28:43
So they, they weren't really happy with him.
28:45
So they, the brothers came up with a plan to get rid of him.
28:50
And what eventually happened is they sold him.
28:53
So Genesis 3728 says they sold him for 20 shekels of silver to
28:59
the Ishmaelites who took him to Egypt.
29:03
Now the Ishmaelites is very interesting because that goes
29:06
back into history too. So they sold Joseph, a
29:10
descendant of Jacob of Isaac. Now this is the descendants of
29:18
Isaac's brother. Remember, Abraham had relations
29:23
with his wife Sarah's concubine, and they had a child named
29:31
Ishmael. But that caused problems.
29:33
That wasn't God's intention. And so there was some animosity
29:38
between Ishmael and his brother Isaac.
29:44
His they were half brothers. They had different moms.
29:47
So I think Ishmael's mother was from Egypt.
29:49
I believe she was a slave. I think she was from Egypt.
29:52
But so there's this connection and Egypt has all of this
29:55
idolatry, these multiple gods. We know the Pharaoh of Egypt and
29:59
all the plagues that went forth from Moses and Aaron when they
30:06
were trying to get the Israelite people out of Egypt.
30:09
It's out of slavery. So right now in Genesis 203728,
30:13
we're seeing how Joseph ended up, how he got there in the
30:16
beginning. He was sold by his own brothers
30:20
and turned over to like a stepbrother's descendants and
30:25
took him to Egypt. I mean, all of these people are
30:27
all related, but there is, you know, the the verse that we were
30:33
talking about with Paul, like turn him over to Satan so that
30:37
he can be, you know, his he can be destroyed so that his soul
30:42
may hopefully be saved. Because what happens when God
30:44
disciplines is that things get so bad that eventually when
30:50
people hit rock bottom, hopefully that's God's intent
30:54
that they will turn to him when they have nothing else.
30:58
And sometimes people can be a little bit hard headed, say, oh,
31:01
I'm not, I'm just going to go my own way.
31:03
And if God says God disciplines his children and God disciplines
31:07
those he loves. So if we are being rebellious,
31:11
he needs to shake us up a little bit so that we just like a
31:15
parent would for the protection of our life.
31:18
And that's what Paul was doing. He was like, well, let Satan
31:21
start destroying everything for him and eventually the guy will
31:24
probably wake up and come back and God thank God.
31:28
Thankfully God is not like us. And God is very merciful and
31:32
forgiving. Like if we had the things done
31:36
to us that we have done to God, we may not be as forgiving, but
31:42
God also says that we must be forgiving because how we forgive
31:46
others is how we will be forgiven by God.
31:49
So forgiveness is really important.
31:51
Anyway, I keep getting sidetracked, but there's so many
31:54
different really important things about that these the
31:58
scripture that affects our lives today and, and how we how we
32:04
live and our relationship. I mean, ultimately the most
32:07
important thing is our relationship with God, but
32:11
people have become sold. So see this is like Ahab.
32:18
He was an evil king of Israel and he said to Elijah, who was a
32:23
prophet and a godly man, And Ahab said to Elijah, so you have
32:28
found me my enemy. I have found you, He answered,
32:33
because you have sold yourself to do evil in the eyes of the
32:37
Lord. So Ahab Ahab was the one who
32:43
sold himself to do evil and it says in first Kings 21 verse 25,
32:49
there was never anyone like Ahab who sold himself to do evil in
32:55
the eyes of the Lord urged on by Jezebel his wife.
33:01
Now he was a king of Israel. He was from from northern
33:04
Israel, the 10 tribes. But this is a king.
33:07
It's showing that, you know, even the people in the that you
33:10
would expect would be in either they're in power and God allows
33:16
them to be in power, but it doesn't mean that they are godly
33:19
people. It doesn't mean that their
33:21
choices are with God. They can still be in positions
33:24
of power and choose against God. And I believe that our life here
33:29
on earth is kind of the testing ground for that.
33:31
Like God is seeing our intention.
33:33
He's letting I mean we are we are sealing our destiny by God
33:37
has given us this gift through Jesus that we can be saved.
33:43
But if we persist in our rebellion, we we should know
33:48
what what judgement is going to be coming from that.
33:53
So here's another one where it's talking about they sacrifice
33:56
their sons and daughters in the fire.
33:58
They practice divination and sought omens and sold themselves
34:02
to do evil in the eyes of the Lord, arousing his anger.
34:07
And then, and you know, it's just like I was.
34:15
Isaiah says, for this is what the Lord says, you were sold for
34:19
nothing and without money you will be redeemed.
34:23
This is a really important evidence of God's character.
34:32
You were sold for nothing and without money you will be
34:35
redeemed. The life of Christ is what was
34:39
sacrificed. So it says, shake off your dust,
34:44
rise up, sit and thrown Jerusalem, free yourself from
34:47
the chains on your neck. Daughter Zion now a captive for
34:51
this is what the Lord says. You were sold for nothing and
34:54
without money you will be redeemed.
34:56
So Jesus's life and then we also learn a little bit more about
35:01
that too. Now here's another thing in
35:04
Isaiah, what he says, this is what the Lord says.
35:08
Where is your mother's certificate of divorce with
35:12
which I sent her away, or to which of my creditors did I sell
35:18
you? Because of your sins, you were
35:23
sold. Because of your transgressions,
35:26
your mother was sent away. I think we can learn something
35:30
from that. That's the word of the Lord.
35:33
And then it says, when I came, why was there no one?
35:37
When I called, why was there no one to answer?
35:41
Was my arm too short to deliver you?
35:44
Do I lack the strength to rescue you by a mere rebuke?
35:50
I dry up the sea. I turn rivers into a desert.
35:55
Their fish rot for lack of water and die of thirst.
36:00
I clothe the heavens with darkness and make sackcloth as
36:03
covering. So this is, you know, God is we
36:12
have to we have to realize truly realize we're talking about the
36:18
creator of the earth, the creator of us when we think, oh,
36:23
that can't happen. That's impossible.
36:26
Really, really are we relying on God?
36:30
Is it really impossible? Is that too much for God to
36:33
handle? That's where we submit to we
36:36
submit to Christ and and because Christ has been given all
36:39
authority and, and just say Jesus help me.
36:42
That's the shortest prayer. But if we really mean it, he
36:45
will. The power of God can do the
36:48
impossible. So we should never feel if we
36:51
think we are, if we believe we are children of God, we should
36:55
never have fear of anything. If we have any troubles come our
36:59
way, just say Jesus help me and Jesus will provide He will.
37:04
God takes care of his children. If we've truly submitted to
37:07
Christ, we don't have anything to fear.
37:10
So there's a lot actually. I don't know if I'm going to
37:13
keep on going on the subject, but about but I think it's an
37:19
interesting word search to just search sold and then read the
37:24
verses that come up and and and just see.
37:30
I mean, you will you will learn a lot.
37:32
And if you don't know the story about that goes along with it,
37:37
then you can read that chapter. So here Romans, I want to read
37:41
another thing that Paul wrote. We know that the law is
37:44
spiritual, but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin.
37:52
And this is this is what you know people have also talked
38:00
about that that you know, sin is really like the whole point of
38:06
this is that his last statement in Romans 725.
38:11
Thanks be to God who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord.
38:17
So then I myself, in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in my
38:23
sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.
38:28
So if we're still in our sinful nature or in our flesh, we're a
38:32
slave to sin. But if we know who we are in
38:36
Christ, Christ delivers us. So we're going, it's, you know,
38:43
he's basically saying, you know, we're going to have these like
38:46
temptations coming along. We're going to have things that
38:48
come against us. But it's nothing more than we
38:53
can overcome through the power of Christ.
38:58
It's when we see that just like that's what Jesus did when Satan
39:02
tempt him, when he tempted him when he was in the wilderness
39:06
and Satan threw out Scripture and basically said do this, do
39:09
this. And Jesus responded, he rebuked
39:12
Satan basically with Scripture, like you have to know what's in
39:16
Scripture. You have to be able to respond
39:19
to the enemy with Scripture, with the truth that's found in
39:23
scripture because the enemy can use it, you know, and he can use
39:26
it in a way that it's not supposed to be used.
39:28
We see that happening today and with people.
39:32
OK I got way too far off track about this, but it was about
39:35
like being put into slavery. It's when we sin, when we
39:39
actively choose sin instead of surrendering to Christ, instead
39:45
of submitting to the lordship of Jesus.
39:48
When we choose that we are a slave to sin.
39:53
So anyway, this is so I shepherded the flock marked for
39:56
slaughter, particularly at the oppressed of the flock.
39:59
Then I took two steps and called one favor and the other union
40:03
and I shepherded the flock in one month.
40:06
I got rid of three shepherds. So that was kind of interesting
40:10
to me that and I, I did get confused.
40:15
So I shepherded the flock marked for.
40:18
So I shepherded the flock marked for slaughter.
40:21
Assuming that this is. Zechariah doing this because
40:25
that's what God told him to do and he's.
40:31
Doing a lot of this in. In symbolism so that I wondered
40:36
like in one month I it's not documented like who are these
40:39
three shepherds? And I think the study Bible says
40:44
kind of addresses some of this. I'm going to read some of the
40:46
questions and answers from the Study Bible.
40:48
Who was marked for slaughter? Israel had often been referred
40:51
to as a flock, but for the last number of years, God's flock had
40:55
been singled out for slaughter by its enemies.
40:58
Why give names to the Staffs? These Staffs were used by the
41:02
shepherd to lead the flock. The shepherd would lead the
41:05
people with favour and unity, gently with grace to bring them
41:11
together with God. This is most likely a picture of
41:14
the ministry of the coming Messiah, the Good Shepherd.
41:18
Others, however, think this speaks primarily of the way God
41:22
would care for his people in Zechariah's day.
41:25
I think this might be one of those things that could have had
41:29
a double fulfillment because there is this this past tense
41:35
that's used in a few verses later and again, that just, you
41:40
know, it's it, but. Sometimes history rhymes, as
41:44
Mark Twain says, you know, instead of history repeats.
41:47
It's not exactly repetition, but sometimes it's very similar.
41:50
Things happen over and over again, so.
41:54
Perhaps there was a time where Zechariah actually did this, and
41:58
maybe he enacted these things like Ezekiel did.
42:04
Remember, God gave him like all of these things to do in front
42:07
of the people so that they would learn a lesson from it.
42:09
And maybe Zechariah had the same responsibility.
42:17
So it says. The flock detested me, and I
42:20
grew weary of them and said I will not be your shepherd.
42:24
Let the dying die and the perishing perish.
42:27
Let those who are left eat one another's flesh.
42:30
Then I took my staff called favor and broke it, revoking the
42:35
covenant I had made with all the nations.
42:39
So when you read that sentence, it no longer you know the the
42:43
sentence before that sounds like it could have been Zechariah
42:47
saying that. But then it makes me question,
42:50
was this God saying this or was this Zechariah?
42:54
Because what covenant did Zechariah make with all the
42:58
nations? It was probably the covenant
43:00
that God made with all the nations.
43:03
It was revoked on that day. And so the oppressed of the
43:06
flocked who were watching me knew it was the word of the
43:10
Lord. So this is like, this is a past
43:13
tense too. So who were watching me?
43:20
And so there's some people who are watching.
43:22
Things and some people who just don't even it's right in front
43:26
of their face. And they don't.
43:27
Even see what's going on and that's like today too so it said
43:31
I told them if you think it best give me my pay if not keep it so
43:36
they paid me 30 pieces of silver this I think was really
43:40
interesting because I think it was almost prophetic about Judas
43:46
actually because. It.
43:50
Let's see. Where's?
43:51
The trying to find the Yeah, it was Judas who in Matthew. 27
44:03
verse. 3 When Judas, who had betrayed him, meaning Jesus, saw
44:08
that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned
44:13
the 30 pieces of silver to the chief priest and the elders.
44:20
So. Judas is the one who.
44:22
Was paid 30 pieces of silver, but then after he realized what
44:27
he did, he says he was seized with remorse.
44:31
So some this makes me think that maybe Judas was actually saved
44:36
because he had remorse and God, you know, maybe saved him.
44:41
I don't. Know but then he.
44:42
Returned the 30 pieces of silver.
44:44
This the money that he was so eager to get, he just it was it
44:48
disgusted him and he gave it back.
44:51
So it seems like that is a true act of remorse.
44:54
And I think the scripture also says that, you know, he ended up
44:58
dying on near a field by his own means.
45:02
I the way I understand it. So it was either the enemy who,
45:08
you know, you can't love God and money, the enemy, you know,
45:12
speaking to Judas because it said that that, that Satan left
45:16
into Judas when they were having the, the supper, the Passover
45:20
meal. So he was apparently overtaken
45:23
by Satan and you can't love God and money.
45:26
So maybe he lured Judas sin by money and Judas was like, OK,
45:31
that's a good idea. I can get money, just turn him
45:34
in. But then of course, this is what
45:37
Satan does is then he accuses you, he makes whatever your sin
45:42
is really attractive and something that is like
45:46
overpowering, like what you desire.
45:48
He'll make it just like give you all the reasons why it's a good
45:51
thing. Then when you go for it and you
45:53
do it, then afterwards he will accuse you.
45:57
It says that he's in, you know, in front of God, accusing
46:00
everyone, But that's what he does to people.
46:02
Then he'll be like, oh, look what you did, you took you took
46:06
money. Look at what you did against
46:08
Jesus. And so Judas was probably at
46:11
that point, you know, getting those thoughts in his head from
46:16
the enemy about look what you've done now.
46:19
And he was filled with remorse and and he was just like, I
46:23
don't want this money anymore because why would he return it
46:26
to the chief priests and the elders?
46:28
Like it no longer had any means. You know, it wasn't important to
46:32
him anymore. He got rid of it, and then he
46:35
ultimately died. And I do believe that it's the
46:39
enemy behind suicides. I mean, I believe it is the
46:44
enemy who will, you know, put these things, you know, make
46:48
these accusations to people and make them think they are
46:52
worthless and that the world is better off without them.
46:56
And that's all from the enemy. It's not from God and and so
47:00
some people succumb to that. If they only knew that it was
47:05
the enemy. It's not, it's not you in your
47:07
head. It's not God saying that to you.
47:10
God is forgiving and merciful and he just wants you to return
47:14
when you do something stupid. He'll clean up, He'll help you
47:18
clean up. He'll, he'll take care.
47:20
You come to God in your broken state and God cleans you up.
47:24
God, you know, puts you through whatever you need to go through
47:29
so that you can become a reflection of Jesus Christ.
47:33
God doesn't leave you in that condition.
47:35
And God knows the the the power. That the.
47:41
Enemy has over people and he loves his children.
47:45
He doesn't want us to be fearful of the enemy or to think these
47:50
horrible things that the enemy puts in people's minds that God
47:55
wants to be known. He wants people to know that he
47:58
is there and he's like, he's a a good father with his arms wide
48:02
open saying, come back to me and I will, you know, bind up your
48:07
wounds and I will restore you because that's what that's what
48:12
God does throughout history. So anyway.
48:17
This, like I said, this prophecy is a little bit confusing to me
48:19
'cause I don't know who's talking or if it's like 1 in
48:22
both or if Zachariah kind of does these things.
48:25
As you know, if this is a foreshadowing of what happened
48:28
to Jesus and says and the Lord said to me, throw it to the
48:31
Potter, the handsome price at which they valued me.
48:36
So they took the 30 pieces of silver and threw them to the
48:39
Potter at the House of the Lord. Well, isn't that interesting
48:42
that Judas returned the 30 pieces of silver to the chief
48:46
priests and the elders? So it does seem to me like this
48:49
was something like a prophecy that was showing what was going
48:53
to actually happen. Someday.
48:56
So then, it says. Then I broke my second staff,
48:58
called Union, breaking the familiar.
49:02
Family bond between Judah and Israel.
49:05
So Judah was the southern 2 tribes and Israel was the
49:08
northern 10 tribes and they were already broken up, which is kind
49:13
of interesting. So I don't know if this is like
49:15
a a lesson in history because they were already separated
49:18
after Solomon. You know, before Zechariah wrote
49:22
this, they were already separated into those groups.
49:27
But he said, I broke my second staff called called union,
49:31
breaking the familial bond between Judah and Israel, so
49:35
they were no longer in union. Then the Lord said to me, Take
49:43
again the equipment of a foolish shepherd, For I am going to
49:49
raise up a shepherd over the land who will not care for the
49:53
lost, or seek the young, or heal the injured, or feed the
49:58
healthy, but will eat the meat of the choice sheep, tearing off
50:03
their hooves. Woe to the worthless shepherd
50:07
who deserts the flock. May the sword strike his arm and
50:13
his right eye. May his arm be completely
50:17
withered, his right eye totally blinded.
50:21
Now this has a lot of symbolism in.
50:24
It honestly. Not honestly.
50:26
But I mean, just the way I read it.
50:28
So a shepherd, this is somebody who's going.
50:30
To be over Israel and when I read it I was thinking about the
50:36
Antichrist or the lawless 1 and again see this for I am going to
50:42
raise up a shepherd. So.
50:44
God is in control of all. This.
50:46
But God turns people over just like Paul did in the church
50:51
where he said we can't have the sin in our church.
50:54
I'm going to turn this man over to Satan so that Satan can
50:57
destroy his body with the hopes that his soul may be saved, that
51:02
he may come to repentance ultimately that that's not
51:05
spoken. But how would he be saved other
51:07
than to reject the sin that he's in and and become repentant?
51:15
You know, repent. That's what God has always said.
51:18
We have to be repentant. So woe to the worthless shepherd
51:23
who deserts the flock. So somebody's going to be in
51:26
charge of Israel, but they're going to desert the flock.
51:29
They're not going to like care for the flock.
51:31
They are instead going to destroy.
51:34
And that's where I think this like this evil one that is, you
51:38
know, it's, it's interesting where I do think it, it does to
51:42
me. I'll give you reasons why I
51:44
think this is talking about the Antichrist because of a couple
51:47
different verses. If we go all the way back to
51:49
Genesis, chapter 3, verse 15, this is what God said to Eve and
51:55
Satan. He said, and I will put enmity
51:59
between you. Oh, this is what he was saying
52:01
to Satan. I I will put enmity between you
52:05
and the woman and between your offspring.
52:09
So Satan has offspring and hers. He will crush your head and you
52:17
will strike his heel. So this is Jesus.
52:20
Jesus will crush. Your head.
52:23
And so, you know, the head wound, wounded head, that's, you
52:29
know, ultimately I think this is that's where I tie it to the
52:32
Antichrist that it says may the sword strike his arm and his
52:36
right eye. Now there's a little bit more
52:39
that makes me think it is also the Antichrist person because
52:44
the Antichrist is one of the 10 heads of the beast that's talked
52:49
about in Revelation, I guess one of the seven.
52:52
I think he may be the one who uproots 3 and replaces them so
52:58
it says in Revelation. 13 Three it says 1.
53:01
Of the heads of the beast seemed to have a fatal wound, but the
53:06
fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was filled with
53:10
wonder and followed the beast so.
53:16
This is that head. Wound again and it says, May
53:20
this I don't, I don't know. May the sword strike his his arm
53:24
and his right eye and may his arm be completely withered.
53:30
Just something to remember about this prophecy.
53:33
I don't know anyone whose arm is completely withered and his
53:37
right eye. So it sounds like he's wounded
53:40
but surviving his right eye totally blinded.
53:43
Now, that could also be symbolic because the right was always
53:47
like the power or, you know, the place of authority.
53:50
And it could just be like symbolic of his vision, like his
53:54
vision is not it's blinded. Like he doesn't, he doesn't see
53:59
with his right eye, with his strong eye that it's totally
54:03
blinded. And it could be literal and it
54:06
could be both. So we don't know.
54:08
But that's the end of Chapter 11.
54:11
And I'm going to read the the questions and answers from the.
54:15
Study Bible on these things. So I think, I don't think I,
54:20
well, I can't remember where I left off, so why give names to
54:25
the staff? These Staffs were used by the
54:27
shepherd to lead the flock. The shepherd would lead the
54:29
people with favor and unity. I think I read this gently with
54:32
grace to bring them together with God.
54:34
This is most likely a picture of the ministry of the coming
54:37
Messiah, the Good Shepherd. Others, however, think this
54:39
speaks primarily of the way God would care for His people in
54:42
Zechariah's day. So which three shepherds lost
54:46
their jobs? We don't know.
54:48
At least 40 different interpretive options have been
54:51
suggested concerning the identity of these shepherds.
54:55
It's possible that they represented the prophets,
54:58
priests and kings who are the leaders are the shepherds of
55:02
Israel. It's kind of interesting when
55:04
you think about history repeating itself because just
55:10
out of curiosity I was like, when did Israel lose 3 leaders
55:14
in one month? Like when did that happen?
55:17
And this is interesting. What I found says based on.
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Recent events regarding October 7th, 2023 Hamas attack The
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Israeli military announced in November 2025 the firing of
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three senior divisional commanders or generals,
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including the intelligence chief for the Southern Command.
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These leaders were dismissed for their failure to prevent the
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attack, having already resigned from their post SO.
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It's, you know. Maybe.
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Symbolic, I mean. This is this is this, this land
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of Gaza and Hamas, these are prophetic entities that are
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talked about in the Bible. And this was attack against the
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flock, God's elect Israel, and the people who didn't protect
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the flock were removed. So I just think you know it.
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Could be history repeating. Maybe I'm reading too much into
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this, but it's very interesting because you know it.
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That one key verse in verse 8. In one month.
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I got rid of the three shepherds.
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Like these people are supposed to be taking care of Israel.
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They weren't doing their jobs. And look at what happened.
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So I don't know it's, you know it.
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Could just be a coincidence, but often times things that seem
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like they're coincidences are more than that.
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So then does this describe cannibalism?
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That's in verse 9 and let's see. Oh, it says and said, I will not
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be your shepherd. Let the dying die and the
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perishing perish. Let those who are left eat one
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another's flesh. Some think this language is
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figurative disputes and fighting characterized as as backbiting,
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similar to Paul's later warning to believers to stop biting and
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devouring each other in Galatians 5/15.
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Others think this language is literal.
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Josephus, an ancient historian, said this actually happened
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during the Roman siege of Jerusalem in AD 70.
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So what covenant had been? Made with all the nations.
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Perhaps a covenant designed to protect Israel from attack.
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If the staff favor was designed to protect the flock from
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external attack breaking, it would have signaled that there
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were now that they were now left vulnerable again.
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This is another thing that will. That Daniel dreamt about, that
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in the middle of the seven, the sacrifices will stack, the
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covenant will be broken. So again, history repeating
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itself. And then?
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Let's see what else we have a couple more.
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Questions and answers When was the family?
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Bond between Judah and Israel broken after the death of
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Solomon in 930 BC. So this is again before
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Zechariah was written because he was in the 500 specie.
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The Kingdom of Israel was divided into Judah, the southern
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Kingdom and the and Israel the northern Kingdom.
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Zechariah was writing long after this division, but used Judah
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and Israel almost interchangeably, probably
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referring to the geographic sections of Israel.
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Zechariah's prophecy foretells the coming of a Messiah who
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would redeem Israel and return her to the days of glory when
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David ruled a United Kingdom. Who is this worthless shepherd?
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This person has been variously identified as Herod Agrippa or
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the Antichrist. Others see.
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This as a false Messiah, one who promises for God's people, for
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God's people amount to one whose promises for God's people amount
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to nothing. So again, not.
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Even the study Bible fully understands this.
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We're only going to understand this in after it's already
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happened. There's also an interesting
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prophecy in Ezekiel chapter 37. It talks about the two sticks
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being joined together. So this is like God's promise of
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restoration. So even.
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Though all of these things. Are these are all a result?
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Of people's. Willful, sinful choices in
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rebellion to God, that they are not surrendered to God or they
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are going to other gods. Idolatry and these are the
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consequences. These are.
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Consequences and and Zechariah is is is warning people about
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this and we should pay attention to the same thing because it.
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It God doesn't change. And he doesn't have favoritism
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if this is what he does with his chosen elect.
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Is it going to be any different for the rest of the world?
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Just something to think about. So if you're not subscribed,
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please do so. If you found this beneficial,
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please share this with others. The point is ultimately that we
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all repent and turn to God and reconcile with God so that we
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are not an enemy of God.