The Bible as an Educator (Continued)
“When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.”
Chapter 19—History and Prophecy (Continued)
“Who hath declared this from ancient time?… Have not I the Lord? and there is no God else.”
Angels are now restraining the winds of strife, that they may not blow until the world shall be warned of its coming doom; but a storm is gathering, ready to burst upon the earth; and when God shall bid His angels loose the winds, there will be such a scene of strife as no pen can picture.
The Bible, and the Bible only, gives a correct view of these things. Here are revealed the great final scenes in the history of our world, events that already are casting their shadows before, the sound of their approach causing the earth to tremble and men’s hearts to fail them for fear.
“Behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof…. They have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate…. The mirth of tabrets ceaseth, the noise of them that rejoice endeth, the joy of the harp ceaseth.” Isaiah 24:1-8.
“Alas for the day! for the day of the Lord is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come…. The seed is rotten under their clods, the garners are laid desolate, the barns are broken down; for the corn is withered. How do the beasts groan! the herds of cattle are perplexed, because they have no pasture; yea, the flocks of sheep are made desolate.” “The vine is dried up, and the fig tree languisheth; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all the trees of the field, are withered: because joy is withered away from the sons of men.” Joel 1:15-18, 12.
“I am pained at my very heart; … I cannot hold my peace, because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war. Destruction upon destruction is cried; for the whole land is spoiled.”
“I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light. I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down.” Jeremiah 4:19, 20, 23-26.
“Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble; but he shall be saved out of it.” Jeremiah 30:7.
“Come, My people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast.” Isaiah 26:20.
“Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge,
Even the Most High, thy habitation;
There shall no evil befall thee,
Neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.” Psalm 91:9, 10.
“The mighty God, even the Lord, hath spoken,
And called the earth from the rising of the sun unto the
going down thereof.
Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined.
Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence.”
“He shall call to the heavens above,
And to the earth, that He may judge His people….
And the heavens shall declare His righteousness;
For God is judge Himself.” Psalm 50:1-3; 50:4-6, R.V.
“O daughter of Zion, … the Lord shall redeem thee from the hand of thine enemies. Now also many nations are gathered against thee, that say, Let her be defiled, and let our eye look upon Zion. But they know not the thoughts of the Lord, neither understand they His counsel.” “Because they call thee an Outcast, saying, This is Zion, whom no man seeketh after,” “I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the Lord.” “I will bring again the captivity of Jacob’s tents, and have mercy on his dwelling places.” Micah 4:10-12; Jeremiah 30:17, 18.
“And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God;
We have waited for Him, and He will save us:
This is the Lord; we have waited for Him,
We will be glad and rejoice in His salvation.”
“He will swallow up death in victory; … and the rebuke of His people shall He take away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it.” Isaiah 25:9, 8.
“Look upon Zion, the city of our solemnities: thine eyes shall see Jerusalem a quiet habitation, a tabernacle that shall not be taken down…. For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king.” Isaiah 33:20-22.
“With righteousness shall He judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth.” Isaiah 11:4.
Then will the purpose of God be fulfilled; the principles of His kingdom will be honored by all beneath the sun.
“Violence shall no more be heard in thy land,
Wasting nor destruction within thy borders;
But thou shalt call thy walls Salvation,
And thy gates Praise.”
“In righteousness shalt thou be established:
Thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not
fear:
And from terror; for it shall not come near thee.” Isaiah 60:18; 54:14.
The prophets to whom these great scenes were revealed longed to understand their import. They “inquired and searched diligently: … searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify…. Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you; … which things the angels desire to look into.” 1 Peter 1:10-12.
To us who are standing on the very verge of their fulfillment, of what deep moment, what living interest, are these delineations of the things to come—events for which, since our first parents turned their steps from Eden, God’s children have watched and waited, longed and prayed!
At this time, before the great final crisis, as before the world’s first destruction, men are absorbed in the pleasures and the pursuits of sense. Engrossed with the seen and transitory, they have lost sight of the unseen and eternal. For the things that perish with the using, they are sacrificing imperishable riches. Their minds need to be uplifted, their views of life to be broadened. They need to be aroused from the lethargy of worldly dreaming.
From the rise and fall of nations as made plain in the pages of Holy Writ, they need to learn how worthless is mere outward and worldly glory. Babylon, with all its power and its magnificence, the like of which our world has never since beheld,—power and magnificence which to the people of that day seemed so stable and enduring,—how completely has it passed away! As “the flower of the grass” it has perished. So perishes all that has not God for its foundation. Only that which is bound up with His purpose and expresses His character can endure. His principles are the only steadfast things our world knows.
It is these great truths that old and young need to learn. We need to study the working out of God’s purpose in the history of nations and in the revelation of things to come, that we may estimate at their true value things seen and things unseen; that we may learn what is the true aim of life; that, viewing the things of time in the light of eternity, we may put them to their truest and noblest use. Thus, learning here the principles of His kingdom and becoming its subjects and citizens, we may be prepared at His coming to enter with Him into its possession.
The day is at hand. For the lessons to be learned, the work to be done, the transformation of character to be effected, the time remaining is but too brief a span.
“Behold, they of the house of Israel say, The vision that he seeth is for many days to come, and he prophesieth of the times that are far off. Therefore say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; There shall none of My words be prolonged any more, but the word which I have spoken shall be done, saith the Lord God.” Ezekiel 12:27, 28.
https://m.egwwritings.org/en/book/29.910#950
Dear Heavenly Father, Thank You for guiding, correcting, and encouraging us to fully develop into the beings You designed us to be. Please educate us to learn of You through nature and Scripture, especially biblical biographies, that we might build solid characters that will reflect You. Regardless of circumstances, please bless us to sing songs of hope and faith and praise. Please bless us with that faith in Your Word, which is the key to knowledge and faith in Your Holy Spirit, which leads to true understanding. As we learn, please grant us the wisdom and power to obey You from a heart of love. Thank You for being a real Father to us and for loving us the way that You do. Please grant us the love for You that You deserve and which will be a blessing both to others and to ourselves, as we serve them, being faithful in the small things and wholly relying on You. Please grant to us that greatest of all wisdom, which gives quickness of insight and sympathy of heart, which brings us in touch with others, and enables us to arouse their better nature and inspire them to a higher life that we all may live the life of Heaven on Earth. Thank You, for we pray all these in the magnificent and worthy name of Thy dear Son, Jesus, our personal Savior. Amen.
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I coordinate wonderful health and worshipful events and conferences online and onsite as a gospel medical missionary at Uchee Pines, a total plant-based health retreat, where doctors and practitioners specialize in lifestyle medicine. For more details, visit https://www.ucheepines.org/events
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NOTE: These began as daily texts to encourage my academy roommate and dear friend of nearly 50 years, until she suddenly passed March 2023. Now I continue to compile and send them to anyone who will receive them and to her family in honor of their mom.
Lately, I have begun featuring consecutive chapter portions of a select Bible-based book.
If you agree to continue receiving them, then this is my personal gift to you; and in this way, I not only honor God but the memory of a very dear friend whom I desperately miss.
My personal prayer is that God will bless me to find ways to multiply this gift, so that we all may be encouraged to be found faithful in the sight of a Holy God, whenever Christ returns or our eyes are shut in the sleep of death.
It is a prayerful process that leads me to share from my personal study.
So please feel free to forward to your loved ones or to anyone, as God leads you. I’m calling them Barb’s Devotionals.