Latest / 1 Year Audio Bible Podcast / When Stones Sink | Jeremiah's Babylon Meets Revelation's Judgment (Oct 28)

Transcript

When Stones Sink | Jeremiah's Babylon Meets Revelation's Judgment (Oct 28) · 1 Year Audio Bible Podcast

0:00
Then, when you have finished reading the scroll, tie it to a stone
0:05
and throw it into the Euphrates River. Then say, in this
0:09
same way Babylon and her people will sink,
0:13
never again to rise, because of the disasters I
0:17
will bring upon her. Jeremiah 51:63-64.
0:25
We see the exact same scene played out in Revelation
0:30
18:21. Then a mighty angel
0:33
took up a stone like a great millstone and threw
0:37
it into the sea, saying, thus with violence the great
0:41
city Babylon shall be thrown down and shall not be
0:44
found anymore. What is the
0:48
connection between the Babylon spoken of in Jeremiah 51 to
0:53
the Babylon spoken of in Revelation 18?
0:58
Join us and let's find out together.
1:02
Welcome to the Daily Audio Torah. Today is October 28th.
1:07
Now let's continue our journey reading through the entire Bible in one year.
1:11
This week we are reading from the New Living Translation for the Old Testament
1:15
and for the New Testament.
1:20
Deuteronomy 33:1-34:12.
1:25
Now this is the blessing with which Moses the man of God blessed
1:28
the children of Israel before his death. And he said,
1:32
The Lord came from Sinai and dawned on them from Seir.
1:36
He shone forth from Mount Paran and He came with 10 thousands
1:40
of saints. From His right hand came a fiery law for
1:44
them. Yes, He loves the people.
1:47
All His saints are in Your hand. They sit down at your feet,
1:51
everyone receives your words. Moses commanded
1:55
a law for us, a heritage of the congregation of
1:59
Jacob. And he was king in Jeshurun,
2:03
when the leaders of the people were gathered, all the tribes of Israel together.
2:08
Let Reuben live and not die, nor let his men
2:12
be few. And this he said of Judah, Hear,
2:15
Lord, the voice of Judah, and bring him to his
2:19
people. Let his hands be sufficient for him, and may
2:23
you be a help against his enemies. And of Levi
2:27
he said, Let your Thummim and your Urim be with your Holy One,
2:31
whom you tested at Massah, and with whom you contended at the
2:35
waters of Meribah, who says of his father and mother, I have
2:39
not seen them, nor did he acknowledge his brothers.
2:43
Or know his own children, for they have observed
2:46
your word and kept your covenant. They shall teach Jacob your
2:50
judgments and Israel your law. They shall put incense
2:55
before you and a whole burnt sacrifice on your altar.
2:59
Bless his substance, Lord, and accept the work of his
3:02
hands. Strike the loins of those who rose against
3:06
him and of those who hate him. That they may not rise
3:10
again. Of Benjamin he said,
3:13
the beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety
3:17
by Him who shelters him all the
3:20
day long, and He shall dwell between his shoulders.
3:25
And of Joseph he said, blessed of the Lord is his land with
3:30
the precious things of heaven, with the dew and the deep lying
3:34
beneath, With the precious fruits of the sun, with the precious
3:38
produce of the months, with the best things of the ancient mountains,
3:42
with the precious things of the everlasting hills,
3:45
with the precious things of the earth and its fullness, and the favor of
3:49
Him who dwelt in the bush.
3:52
Let the blessing come on the head of Joseph and on the
3:56
crown of Him who was separate from His brothers.
4:02
His glory is like a firstborn bull,
4:06
and his horns like the horns of the wild ox.
4:09
Together with them he shall push the peoples to the ends of the earth.
4:14
They are the 10 thousands of Ephraim, and they are
4:17
the thousands of Manasseh. And of Zebulun he
4:21
said, Rejoice, Zebulun, in your going out, and Issachar,
4:25
in your tents! They shall call the peoples to the mountain,
4:29
there they shall offer sacrifices of righteousness,
4:33
for they shall partake of the abundance of the seas and of treasures hidden
4:37
in the sand. And of Gad he said, Blessed is
4:41
he who enlarges Gad, he dwells as a lion and
4:45
tears the arm and the crown of his head. He provided the
4:49
first part for himself, because a lawgiver's portion was
4:52
reserved there. He came with the heads of
4:56
the people, he administered the justice of the Lord and
5:00
His judgments with Israel. And of Dan he said,
5:04
Dan is a lion's whelp, he shall leap from Bashan.
5:08
And of Naphtali he said, O Naphtali,
5:11
satisfied with favor and full of the blessing of
5:14
the Lord, possess the west and the south.
5:18
And of Asher he said, Asher is most blessed
5:21
of sons. Let him be favored by his brothers,
5:25
and let him dip his foot in oil. Your sandals
5:29
shall be iron and bronze; as your days,
5:32
so shall your strength be. There is no one like the
5:36
God of Jeshurun, who rides the heavens to help you,
5:40
and in His excellency on the clouds.
5:44
The Eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the
5:47
everlasting arms. He will thrust out the enemy from before
5:51
you and will say, Destroy! Then Israel
5:55
shall dwell in safety, the fountain of Jacob alone,
5:59
in a land of grain and new wine; his heavens shall also drop
6:03
dew. Happy are you, O Israel, who is like
6:06
you a people saved by the Lord, the shield of
6:10
your help and the sword of your majesty! Your enemies shall submit
6:15
to you, and you shall tread down their high places.
6:22
Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo,
6:25
to the top of Pisgah, which is across from Jericho.
6:29
And the Lord showed him all the land of Gilead as far as
6:32
Dan, all Naphtali and the land of Ephraim and
6:37
Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the western
6:41
sea. The south, and the plain of the Valley of Jericho,
6:45
the City of Palm Trees, as far as Zoar.
6:49
Then the Lord said to him, This is the land of which I swore
6:52
to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying,
6:55
I will give it to your descendants. I have caused you
6:59
to see it with your own eyes, but you shall not cross over
7:03
there. So Moses the servant of the Lord died
7:07
there in the land of Moab according to the word of the Lord.
7:11
And he buried him in a valley in the land of Moab opposite
7:15
Beth-peor, but no one knows his grave to this day.
7:19
Moses was 120 years old when he died; his eyes
7:23
were not dim, nor his natural vigor diminished.
7:28
And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab
7:32
for 30 days. So the days of weeping and mourning for Moses ended.
7:36
Now Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom,
7:41
for Moses had laid his hands on him. So the children
7:44
of Israel heeded him and did as the Lord had commanded Moses.
7:48
But since then there has not arisen in Israel a prophet
7:52
like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face.
7:56
And all the signs and wonders which the Lord sent him to do in the
7:59
land of Egypt before Pharaoh, before all his servants
8:04
and in all his land, and by all that mighty power and
8:08
all the great terror which Moses performed in the sight
8:12
of all Israel. Jeremiah 51:54-52:54.
8:21
Listen, hear the cry of Babylon, the sound of
8:24
great destruction from the land of the Babylonians.
8:27
For the Lord is destroying Babylon.
8:30
He will silence her. Waves of enemies pound against her.
8:34
The noise of battle rings through the city. Destroying armies
8:38
come against Babylon. Her mighty men are captured,
8:43
and their weapons break in their hands. For the Lord is a God who
8:46
gives just punishment, and He is giving Babylon
8:50
all she deserves. I will make drunk
8:54
her officials, wise men, rulers, captains, and warriors, says the King,
8:58
whose name is the Lord Almighty. They will fall asleep
9:02
and never wake up again. This is what the Lord Almighty says:
9:06
The wide walls of Babylon will be leveled to the ground,
9:10
and her high gates will be burned. The builders from many
9:14
lands have worked in vain, for their work will be destroyed
9:18
by fire. The prophet Jeremiah gave this message to Zedekiah's
9:22
staff officer Seraiah son of Neriah and grandson
9:26
of Mashiach when he went to Babylon with King Zedekiah of Judah.
9:31
This was during the 4th year of Zedekiah's reign.
9:34
Jeremiah had recorded on a scroll all the terrible disasters
9:38
that would soon come upon Babylon. He said to Seraiah,
9:42
when you get to Babylon, read aloud everything on this Then
9:46
say, Lord, you have said that you will destroy Babylon so that neither
9:50
people nor animals will remain here.
9:55
She will lie empty and abandoned forever. Then,
9:59
when you have finished reading the scroll, tie it to a stone and throw
10:02
it into the Euphrates River. Then say,
10:08
in this same way, Babylon and her people will sink.
10:12
Never again to rise, because of the disasters I will
10:16
bring upon her.
10:20
This is the end of Jeremiah's messages.
10:25
Zedekiah was 21 years old when he became king, and he reigned
10:29
in Jerusalem 11 years. His mother's name was Hamutal,
10:33
the daughter of Jeremiah from Libnah. But Zedekiah did what
10:36
was evil, in the Lord's sight, just as Jehoiakim
10:40
had done. So the Lord, in his anger, finally banished the
10:45
people of Jerusalem and Judah from his presence and
10:48
sent them into exile. Then Zedekiah rebelled
10:52
against the king of Babylon. So on January 15th,
10:56
during the 9th year of Zedekiah's reign, King Nebuchadnezzar
11:00
of Babylon led his entire army against
11:04
Jerusalem. They surrounded the city and built siege ramps
11:09
against its walls.
11:13
Jerusalem was kept under siege until the 11th
11:17
year of King Zedekiah's reign. By July 18th of Zedekiah's
11:21
11th year, the famine in the city had become very severe,
11:25
with the last of the food entirely gone. Then a
11:29
section of the city wall was broken down and all the soldiers
11:33
made plans to escape from the city. But since the city
11:37
was surrounded by the Babylonians, they waited
11:40
for nightfall and fled through the gate between the 2 walls
11:44
behind the king's gardens. They made a dash across the
11:48
fields in the direction of the Jordan Valley. But the Babylonians
11:52
chased after them and caught King Zedekiah on the plains of Jericho.
11:57
For by then his men had all abandoned him.
12:01
They brought him to the king of Babylon at Riblah
12:05
in the land of Hamath, where sentence was passed against him.
12:09
There at Riblah, the king of Babylon made Zedekiah watch
12:13
as all his sons were killed. They also killed
12:17
all the other leaders of Judah. Then they gouged out
12:20
Zedekiah's eyes, bound him in bronze chains,
12:25
and led him away to Babylon. Zedekiah remained
12:29
there in prison for the rest of his life.
12:33
On August 17th of that year, which was the 19th year of
12:37
Nebuchadnezzar's reign, Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard,
12:41
an official of the Babylonian king, arrived in Jerusalem.
12:45
He burned down the Temple of the Lord, the royal palace,
12:50
and all the houses of Jerusalem. He destroyed all the
12:54
important buildings in the city. Then the captain
12:58
of the guard supervised the entire Babylonian army as
13:01
they tore down the walls of Jerusalem.
13:04
Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, then took as exiles some
13:09
of the poorest people and those who remained in the city,
13:12
along with the rest of the craftsmen and the troops who had declared
13:16
their allegiance to the king of Babylon. But Nebuzaradan allowed some
13:21
of the poorest people to stay behind in Judah to care for the
13:25
vineyards and fields. The Babylonians broke
13:29
up the bronze pillars, the bronze water carts, and the bronze sea that
13:33
were at the Lord's Temple, and they carried all the bronze away to Babylon.
13:40
They also took all of the pots, shovels, lamp snuffers,
13:43
basins, dishes, and all the other bronze utensils used for
13:47
making sacrifices. At the Temple,
13:50
Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, also took the
13:54
small bowls, firepans, basins, pots,
13:58
lampstands, dishes, bowls used for drink offerings, and all
14:01
the other utensils made of pure gold or silver.
14:05
The bronze from the 2 pillars, the water carts, and the sea with
14:10
the 12 bulls beneath it was too great to be measured.
14:13
These things had been made for the Lord's Temple, in the
14:17
days of King Solomon. Each of the pillars was 27 feet
14:21
tall and 18 feet in circumference. They were hollow,
14:25
with walls 3 inches thick. The bronze capital
14:29
on top of each pillar was 7.5 feet high and was
14:32
decorated with a network of bronze pomegranates all the way
14:37
around. There were 96 pomegranates on the sides and a
14:40
total of 100 on the network around the top.
14:45
The captain of the guard took with him as prisoners Seraiah
14:49
the chief priest, his assistant Zephaniah, and the 3 chief
14:53
gatekeepers. And of the people still hiding in the city,
14:57
he took an officer of the Judean army, 7 of the
15:01
king's personal advisers, the army commander's chief secretary,
15:04
who was in charge of recruitment, and 60 other
15:08
citizens. Nebuzaradan the commander took them all to the
15:12
king of Babylon at Riblah, and there at Riblah in
15:17
the land of Hamath the king of Babylon had them all put to death.
15:21
So the people of Judah were sent into exile from
15:26
their land. The number of captives taken to Babylon
15:30
in the 7th year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign was 3,023.
15:34
Then, in Nebuchadnezzar's 18th year, he took 832
15:38
more. In his 23rd year, he sent Nebuzaradan,
15:42
his captain of the guard, who took 745 more,
15:47
a total of 4,600 captives in all.
15:51
In the 37th year of King Jehoiachin's exile in Babylon,
15:55
Evil-Merodach ascended to the Babylonian throne.
15:59
He was kind to Jehoiachin and released him from prison on
16:03
March 31st of that year. He spoke pleasantly to
16:07
Jehoiachin and gave him preferential treatment
16:10
over all the other exiled kings in Babylon.
16:13
He supplied Jehoiachin with new clothes to replace his prison garb
16:18
and allowed him to dine at the king's table for the rest of his life.
16:23
The Babylonian king also gave him a regular allowance to cover
16:27
his living expenses until the day of his death.
16:34
Titus 3:1-15.
16:39
Remind your people to submit to the government and its
16:43
officers. They should be obedient, always ready
16:47
to do what is good. They must not speak evil of anyone,
16:51
and they must avoid quarreling. Instead, they should be gentle
16:55
and show true humility to everyone.
16:58
Once we too were foolish and disobedient. We were
17:02
misled by others and became slaves to many wicked desires
17:05
and evil pleasures. Our lives were full of evil and envy.
17:10
We hated others and they hated us. But then God
17:13
our Savior showed us His kindness and love.
17:21
He saved us, not because of the good things we did, but because
17:25
of His mercy. He washed away our sins
17:29
and gave us a new life through the Holy Spirit.
17:32
He generously poured out the Spirit upon us because of what Jesus Christ
17:37
our Savior did. He declared us not guilty because
17:41
of His great kindness. And now we know that
17:44
we will inherit eternal life. These things I
17:48
have told you are all true. I want you to
17:52
insist on them so that everyone who trusts in God will be
17:56
careful to do good deeds all the time.
18:00
These things are good and beneficial for everyone.
18:04
Do not get involved in foolish discussions about spiritual pedigrees
18:09
or in quarrels and fights about obedience to Jewish laws.
18:13
These kinds of things are useless and a
18:17
waste of time.
18:22
If anyone is causing divisions
18:26
among you, give a first and second warning. After that,
18:30
have nothing more to do with that person, for people like
18:34
that have turned away from the truth. They are
18:38
sinning, and they condemn themselves. I am planning
18:42
to send either Artemas or Tychicus to you. As soon
18:45
as one of them arrives, do your best to meet me at Nicopolis
18:50
as quickly as you can, for I have decided to stay
18:53
there for the winter. Do everything you can to help Zenos the
18:57
lawyer and Apollos with their trip. See that they are given
19:01
everything they need, for our people should not have unproductive
19:05
lives. They must learn to do good by helping others who
19:09
have urgent needs. Everybody here sends greetings.
19:12
Please give my greetings to all of the believers who love us.
19:16
May God's grace be with you all.
19:23
Psalm 100:1-5. Shout with joy to
19:27
the Lord, O earth! Worship the Lord with gladness; come before
19:31
Him with singing and joy. Acknowledge that the Lord
19:35
is God. He made us, and we are His; we are His
19:39
people, the sheep of His pasture. Enter His
19:42
gates with thanksgiving; go into His courts with praise.
19:46
Give thanks to Him and bless His name. For the Lord
19:50
is good; His unfailing love continues forever,
19:53
and His faithfulness continues to each generation.
20:00
Proverbs 26:1-3. 18 and 19.
20:04
Just as damaging as a madman shooting a lethal weapon
20:08
is someone who lies to a friend and then says,
20:11
I was only joking. I want to speak
20:15
to you today from our reading from Jeremiah chapter 51, and then we'll
20:19
jump into Titus. I want to zoom in
20:23
on verse 63.
20:27
In Jeremiah 51 where it is written, then when
20:31
you have finished reading the scroll, tie it to a stone and
20:36
throw it into the Euphrates River. Then say,
20:39
in this same way Babylon and her people
20:43
will sink, never again to rise because
20:47
of the disasters I will bring upon her.
20:52
Now What we just read from these 2 chapters
20:57
was fulfilled partially in history.
21:02
Babylon rose as a kingdom and a nation.
21:05
They invaded Jerusalem and Israel in 586
21:10
BC with King Nebuchadnezzar. They punched through the
21:13
walls, destroyed the temple, burned the
21:17
temple, and killed many of the people. And then
21:21
the ones that were still alive, they took into captivity, were in
21:25
Babylon for 70 years. But then Babylon
21:29
was conquered by Persia. It was not utterly destroyed.
21:34
It was simply taken over, new management,
21:37
by Persia. So it's been partially
21:41
fulfilled historically, but we know that Babylon is
21:45
going to rise once again and cause a lot of grief
21:49
to the world and especially to Israel and to the Jewish people.
21:53
Because that is all prophesied in Revelation chapter
21:57
17 and 18. Now I just read to you a passage about,
22:01
uh, a picture, a prophetic picture that's painted about
22:05
how this scroll is tied to a stone and thrown into the Euphrates
22:09
River. And this is a prophetic action about
22:14
in this way Babylon and her people will sink, never to
22:17
rise again. Now the parallel passage
22:21
in Revelation chapter 18 is in verse 21.
22:26
Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great
22:30
millstone and threw it into the sea, saying,
22:34
thus with violence the great city Babylon
22:38
shall be thrown down and shall not be found anymore.
22:44
So it is the same picture being painted about the
22:48
future great city of Babylon.
22:53
We talked yesterday about what exactly is Babylon, how do
22:57
we flee from Babylon, is Babylon a
23:00
system, is it a mindset,
23:04
is it just what's being spoken of here, a metaphor,
23:08
is it a literal city?
23:13
Well, it's something to pray into. We're told
23:17
to flee and come out of her, my people. And it seems that Babylon
23:21
is the haunt of demons. It is the capital of Satan
23:26
himself. Perhaps this city will
23:29
be rebuilt in our lifetime, and they'll call it New Babylon,
23:35
and it will be the center and the hub of a world
23:38
system that is all about Satan and
23:42
how he operates. That's a possibility.
23:49
Anyway, if you want to know more about this comparison between Jeremiah
23:54
50 and 51 and Revelation chapters 17 and 18,
23:58
I have put a link in the description box below of a
24:02
really great article that goes into this whole topic
24:06
in great depth. And also puts together a very nice summary table
24:11
of the similarities between Jeremiah
24:16
and Revelation.
24:20
And now let's go to Titus.
24:27
I like what he said in Titus chapter 3 in
24:31
verse 9, do not get involved in foolish discussions
24:35
about spiritual pedigrees or in quarrels and fights
24:39
about obedience to Jewish laws. These kinds of
24:43
things are useless and a waste of time.
24:48
And that really is a relevant,
24:53
insightful word. I have heard many
24:57
discussions that lead to disagreements and lead
25:01
to division about Um,
25:04
you know, how to say the name correctly,
25:08
what calendar to follow, um,
25:13
are you of the bloodline lineage of Ephraim
25:18
or Joseph or Zebulun or Naphtali?
25:23
And, and this is saying don't get involved in foolish discussions
25:27
about this. These kinds of things are useless and a
25:31
waste of time.
25:34
Instead, it says— backing up to verse 3 and
25:38
4— once we too were foolish and
25:42
disobedient. We were misled by others and became slaves
25:47
to many wicked desires and evil pleasures. Our lives were
25:51
full of evil and envy, and we hated others and they hated
25:54
us. But God But
26:00
God our Savior showed us His kindness and
26:04
love. He saved us not because
26:08
of the good things we did, but because of His
26:11
mercy. He washed away our sins and
26:15
gave us a new life through the Holy Spirit.
26:19
He generously poured out the Spirit upon us because
26:23
of what Jesus Christ our Savior did. He declared us
26:26
not guilty because of
26:30
His great kindness.
26:35
So, Father, we thank You so much that You have declared
26:39
us not guilty, that because of Your great
26:42
kindness toward us and Your love toward us, we can be different
26:46
people. We can step out of the kingdom of darkness and we can
26:50
step into Your light. We can ask Jesus to be
26:54
inside of us, to change our heart, to give us a new heart,
26:59
and we can be led by Your Holy Spirit
27:03
and be people who shine the light and the love of Christ
27:07
to those around us. We thank You, Jesus, for Your amazing
27:12
work on the cross, for saving us from our sins,
27:16
for making us into new,
27:20
creatures. Father, help us to come out of Babylon.
27:24
Help us to turn our hearts toward Jerusalem,
27:28
to turn our minds and our hearts always and ever on
27:32
Jesus, our beloved Messiah,
27:38
our bridegroom, our Savior,
27:42
our King. We love you and we bless
27:46
you in Jesus' name. Amen.
28:17
Anavilakha,
28:21
Vikunneka,
28:26
Isa Adonai,
28:33
Anavilakha,
28:38
Vayeseh Lakha.
28:53
The Aaronic Blessing from Numbers chapter 6,
28:57
24 to 26.
29:00
Adonai bless you and keep you.
29:03
Adonai make his face to shine upon you and be
29:08
gracious to you. Adonai lift up his countenance upon
29:11
you and give you peace.