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| Photo by Jim Tracy |
1 I saw the Master standing on the altar: and He said, "Hit the top of the door, so that the whole thing will shake. Break them down on the heads of all the people. I will kill the rest of them with the sword. No one will get away. No one will escape.
2 "Even if they dig down to the underworld, My hand will catch them. and even if they climb up to the tops of the sky, I will pull them down from there.
3 Even if they hide themselves on the top of Mount Carmel, I will search and take them out. Even if they hide from Me on the bottom of the sea, I will send a snake to bite them.
4 And even if their enemies carry them into slavery, I will kill them with a sword there! I am determined to destroy them, not do good to them.
5 And the Master, Commander of Angel Armies, is the One who touched the land, and it will melt, and everyone that lives there will mourn. And the land will raise up like flood waters, and then sink down like the Nile.
6. He is the one who builds His House up to the sky, and His foundation on the earth. He calls the waters of the sea and pours them over the face of the earth. The I Am is His Name!
7 Are you more important to Me than the Ethiopians?" says the I Am. "I did bring Israel out of the Land of Egypt, (but also) the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Syrians from Kir.
8 Look, the eyes of the Master I Am are on the sinful nation, and I will destroy it from off the face of the earth. Even then, I will not completely destroy the house of Jacob." says the I Am.
Israel was totally destroyed by the Assyrians and was never again an independent nation. However, God protected Judah from the Assyrian army and brought remnants from each tribe back into Judah after the Babylonian captivity.
9 I will certainly command the house of Israel and all nations to be sifted like grain in a sieve, yet not one grain will be lost."
You sift wheat by grinding the grain and then placing it in a sieve and shaking. The bran and any contaminants such as rocks stay in the sieve while the good stuff falls through.
10 All the sinners of My people will die by the sword; those who say "Nothing bad will happen to us."
9 I will certainly command the house of Israel and all nations to be sifted like grain in a sieve, yet not one grain will be lost."
You sift wheat by grinding the grain and then placing it in a sieve and shaking. The bran and any contaminants such as rocks stay in the sieve while the good stuff falls through.
10 All the sinners of My people will die by the sword; those who say "Nothing bad will happen to us."
11 In that day will I raise up the house of David that is fallen, and close up the holes in it. I will restore the ruins to be just like their former glory.
This was fulfilled in the time of Nehemiah, who led the restoration of the walls and buildings of Jerusalem after they returned from Babylon.
This was fulfilled in the time of Nehemiah, who led the restoration of the walls and buildings of Jerusalem after they returned from Babylon.
12 So that (Israel) will possess what's left of Edom, and of all the nations that are called by My Name, says the I Am, the One who does all this.
Edom ceased to exist after Assyria was through with them. Israelites/ Judeans did settle what was their country after the Return.
13 Behold, the day is coming," says the I Am, "when the crops will grow faster than they can be harvested, and the mountains will drip with wine into the hills!
14 And I will bring My people Israel back from captivity, and they will rebuild the ruined cities, and live in them, and plant vineyards, and drink its wine. They will also plant gardens, and eat their produce.
Israel became rich enough after The Return that the Syrians under the Seleucid dynasty and the Egyptians fought over them and were continually raiding and sacking them. Obviously God kept His promise.
15 And I will plant them in their land, and they will not be pulled up out of their land which I have given them," says the I Am thy God.
This is the verse used to put this scripture still ahead of us, yet the term “will not be” often means “not again in this age” in the Bible, or “no more in the life time of those who experience it.”
For example, God promised that the Levites would be priests to Him forever. Since AD 70 there have been NO priests whatsoever. All genealogical records in Judah were lost and there is absolutely no way to go about reinstating this priesthood. And if there was, a 2000 year gap would rather violate this “forever” anyway. To top it off Hebrews tells us that Christ replaced the Levitical priesthood with the Melchizedek priesthood, bringing this promise to Levi to a definite end. Obviously the terms translated “forever” and “no more” in English did not hold exactly the same meaning in the original as they do for us.
The nation of Judah, with representatives from each of the twelve tribes, dwelt securely in the land for 400 years after the Babylonian captivity. This is sufficient to fulfill any of the Biblical definitions of “no more.”
Israel became rich enough after The Return that the Syrians under the Seleucid dynasty and the Egyptians fought over them and were continually raiding and sacking them. Obviously God kept His promise.
15 And I will plant them in their land, and they will not be pulled up out of their land which I have given them," says the I Am thy God.
This is the verse used to put this scripture still ahead of us, yet the term “will not be” often means “not again in this age” in the Bible, or “no more in the life time of those who experience it.”
For example, God promised that the Levites would be priests to Him forever. Since AD 70 there have been NO priests whatsoever. All genealogical records in Judah were lost and there is absolutely no way to go about reinstating this priesthood. And if there was, a 2000 year gap would rather violate this “forever” anyway. To top it off Hebrews tells us that Christ replaced the Levitical priesthood with the Melchizedek priesthood, bringing this promise to Levi to a definite end. Obviously the terms translated “forever” and “no more” in English did not hold exactly the same meaning in the original as they do for us.
The nation of Judah, with representatives from each of the twelve tribes, dwelt securely in the land for 400 years after the Babylonian captivity. This is sufficient to fulfill any of the Biblical definitions of “no more.”