Recently our Wednesday Brothers of Thunder group, working our way through Isaiah, came to Chapter 23. It was my turn to lead so I frantically crammed for the class. My brothers are very bright and we all expect Jesus to show up and take over each week. (We are a "Leaderless" group). Sleaziness is frowned on!
In putting all my notes together for this memo I realized that a younger person, probably biblically illiterate and ignorant of history like his or her peers, might appreciate having full quotes from the Bible pasted in. This I have done.
My good friend James Fielder read this draft and sent his astute observations which I am excerpting here. He always has great insights.
“As an introduction, in case a non-believer reads this after the rapture of the church, perhaps you can add a brief outline, and an overview of coming Tribulation period. Perhaps some bullet points or a brief paragraph, so readers get the general view from 30,000 feet concerning the rapture, the seven-year tribulation, the second coming of Jesus Christ in power and splendor, and His coming kingdom.
After the rapture of the true church there may be a time where there is a sudden explosion of growth in Babylon, Iraq. There could be a literal city (Babylon, Iraq) there needs to be a great spurt of growth, before the crushing down which will start at Mid Trib time. An unbeliever picking this article up to read, might look at the world and say I don't understand what is happening?
If the stage is now set for first the rise of the Man of Sin (the Antichrist) to power in partnership with global harlot of religion, commerce and trade, then burning down all false religion, rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem for worship of the the beast and it’s image all makes sense. As we are getting closer and closer to the rapture, I am beginning to wonder if there is such a radical change post rapture that most of what we call "normal" will just disappear when the first seal is opened. That may be why God has the 144,000 and the two witnesses and the angel in the heavens preaching the gospel confirming that the witness time for the church is gone/finished. We and our history may vanish with the rise of AC as he wipes or attempts to wipe it all out—-there maybe not much remains of what is "normal" to us. These are desperate times, soon to be filled with bodies piling up to the sky—mass death, carnage, mass destruction. Just thoughts to ponder.”
Background overview: Connecting the Dots
The chapters quoted below from the Bible contain most all of what we know about Satan (the god of this age, a fallen archangel). The coming collapse of world commerce and trade, commerce, shipping, trade and momentary systems can be best understood here. The collapse of false religion and economies world-wide heralded in Revelation 17 and 18 may already have begun even now but will escalate for the seven years--between the rapture and the second Adven. Then Jesus will return in Person with His Bride the true church. A knowledge of the whole Bible can lead to a consistent view of eschatology; the doctrine of future events yet to happen in our time frame.
Orchestrating history is no problem for God. He is "the high and lofty one who inhabits eternity"--outside of our time-zone. We are trapped in linear time, He is not. Our past, present, and future are all "now" on his viewing screens. If you need to do some homework and catch the book "Connecting the Dots" is free and easy to download or read online.
A Forgotten Ancient Hub of World Commerce and Trade
Phoenicia flourished through maritime trade between c. 1500-322 BCE when the major cities were conquered by Alexander the Great and, after his death, the region became a battleground in the fight between his generals for succession and empire. Artifacts from the region have been found as far away as Britain and as close as Egypt and it is clear that Phoenician luxury goods were highly prized by the cultures with whom they traded...
The Phoenicians were primarily known as sailors who had developed a high level of skill in ship-building and were able to navigate the often turbulent waters of the Mediterranean Sea. Shipbuilding seems to have been perfected at Byblos where the design of the curved hull was first initiated...
Because their goods were so highly prized, Phoenicia was often spared the kinds of military incursions suffered by other regions of the Near East. For the most part, the great military powers preferred to leave the Phoenicians to their trade but that did not mean there was no envy on the part of their neighbors. The Bible refers to the Phoenicians as the "princes of the sea" in a passage from Ezekiel 26:16 in which the prophet seems to predict the destruction of the city of Tyre and seems to take a certain satisfaction in the humbling of those who had previously been so renowned.
The city of Sidon (modern Sidonia, Lebanon) was initially the most prosperous but steadily lost ground to her sister city of Tyre. Tyre formed an alliance with the newly formed Kingdom of Israel which proved very lucrative and further expanded its wealth by decreasing the power of the clergy and more efficiently distributing the wealth to the citizens of the city. Sidon, hoping to form an equally prosperous trade with Israel, attempted to cement trade and alliance through marriage. Sidon was the birthplace of the princess Jezebel who was married to the King of Israel, Ahab, as chronicled in the biblical books of I and II Kings. Jezebel's refusal to relinquish her religion, dignity, and cultural identity to her husband's culture did not sit well with many of his subjects, most notably the Hebrew prophet Elijah who regularly denounced her. Ahab and Jezebel's rule was ended by a coup, inspired by Elijah, in which the general Jehu took control of the army and usurped the throne. Following this, trade relations between Sidon and Israel ceased. Tyre, however, continued to flourish.
Reference.
Today Tyre and Sidon are unremarkable sleepy fishing villages in Lebanon, North of Israel. The early history of these cities can be dated back to ancient Egypt (c 4000 BC), from pottery found the rubble there. In the time period of Interest to us, 1100 BC to 200 BC, these city states constituted ancient Phoenicia.
"The Phoenicians came to prominence following the collapse of most major cultures during the Late Bronze Age. They were renowned in antiquity as adept merchants, expert seafarers, and intrepid explorers.
They developed an expansive maritime trade network that lasted over a millennium, becoming the dominant commercial power for much of classical antiquity. Phoenician trade also helped facilitate the exchange of cultures, ideas, and knowledge between major cradles of civilization such as Greece, Egypt, and Mesopotamia.
After its zenith in the ninth century BC, Phoenician civilization in the eastern Mediterranean slowly declined in the face of foreign influence and conquest, though its presence would remain in the central and western Mediterranean until the second century BC." (Wikipedia)
Alexander the Great
"...Alexander proceeded to take possession of Syria, and most of the coast of the Levant. In the following year, 332 BC, he was forced to attack Tyre, which he captured after a long and difficult siege. The men of military age were massacred and the women and children sold into slavery. When Alexander destroyed Tyre, most of the towns on the route to Egypt quickly capitulated. However, Alexander met with resistance at Gaza. The stronghold was heavily fortified and built on a hill, requiring a siege. When "his engineers pointed out to him that because of the height of the mound it would be impossible... this encouraged Alexander all the more to make the attempt. After three unsuccessful assaults, the stronghold fell, but not before Alexander had received a serious shoulder wound. As in Tyre, men of military age were put to the sword and the women and children were sold into slavery. Alexander advanced on Egypt in later 332 BC, where he was regarded as a liberator. He was pronounced son of the deity Amun at the Oracle of Siwa Oasis in the Libyan desert. Henceforth, Alexander often referred to Zeus-Ammon as his true father, and after his death, currency depicted him adorned with the Horns of Ammon as a symbol of his divinity. During his stay in Egypt, he founded Alexandria-by-Egypt, which would become the prosperous capital of the Ptolemaic Kingdom after his death. To pay back Alexander for his time, trouble and expense in leveling Tyre, God gave Alexander Egypt as a prize of war.
By way of introduction, regarding God's judgment of Tyre, Sidon and environs, Ray Stedman says, "Seven nations are thus submitted to the judgment of God. Four of them, Ammon, Moab, Edom and Philistia, are dealt with briefly and quickly. Each of the four gloated over the punishment of Judah and Israel and took advantage of their downfall. For this reason they are to be given over to avenging marauders.
Tyre and Sidon are dealt with at much greater length especially Tyre. The sin of Tyre is that of godless materialism, but she too finally expresses rejoicing over the downfall of Jerusalem, and her expectation of enrichment from that overthrow. But God will shatter her false security, bringing up many nations against Tyre and reducing her to a barren rock and a village of fishermen. This prophecy was fulfilled with absolute accuracy of detail.
The prophet pictured Tyre as a great ship that would be wrecked by the wind and seas, and ultimately sink into oblivion. The prophecy ends with a message directed to the prince of Tyre, who is evidently the reigning king, and a further lamentation against the king of Tyre, who is a supernatural authority of terrible evil, whose instrument the prince of Tyre was.
Commentators have rightly seen this as a description of Satan, for the prophet describes his original appointment by God and the nature of his sin, which began when a terrible pride was found in him and murder became his method."
Background Reading on the Mediterranean Sea.
Isaiah 23
Wail, you ships of Tarshish!
For it is laid waste,
So that there is no house, no harbor;
From the land of Cyprus it is revealed to them.
2 Be still, you inhabitants of the coastland,
You merchants of Sidon,
Whom those who cross the sea have filled.
3 And on great waters the grain of Shihor,
The harvest of the River, is her revenue;
And she is a marketplace for the nations.
4 Be ashamed, O Sidon;
For the sea has spoken,
The strength of the sea, saying,
“I do not labor, nor bring forth children;
Neither do I rear young men,
Nor bring up virgins.”
5 When the report reaches Egypt,
They also will be in agony at the report of Tyre.6 Cross over to Tarshish;
Wail, you inhabitants of the coastland!
7 Is this your joyous city,
Whose antiquity is from ancient days,
Whose feet carried her far off to dwell?
8 Who has taken this counsel against Tyre, the crowning city,
Whose merchants are princes,
Whose traders are the honorable of the earth?
9 The LORD of hosts has purposed it,
To bring to dishonor the pride of all glory,
To bring into contempt all the honorable of the earth.
10 Overflow through your land like the River,
O daughter of Tarshish;
There is no more strength.
11 He stretched out His hand over the sea,
He shook the kingdoms;
The LORD has given a commandment against Canaan
To destroy its strongholds.
12 And He said, “You will rejoice no more,
O you oppressed virgin daughter of Sidon.
Arise, cross over to Cyprus;
There also you will have no rest.”
13 Behold, the land of the Chaldeans,
This people which was not;
Assyria founded it for wild beasts of the desert.
They set up its towers,
They raised up its palaces,
And brought it to ruin.
14 Wail, you ships of Tarshish!
For your strength is laid waste.
15 Now it shall come to pass in that day that Tyre will be forgotten seventy years,
according to the days of one king.
At the end of seventy years it will happen to Tyre as in the song of the harlot:
16 “Take a harp, go about the city,
You forgotten harlot;
Make sweet melody, sing many songs,
That you may be remembered.”
17 And it shall be, at the end of seventy years,
that the LORD will deal with Tyre.
She will return to her hire, and commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world on the face of the earth.
18 Her gain and her pay will be set apart for the LORD; it will not be treasured nor laid up,
for her gain will be for those who dwell before the LORD, to eat sufficiently, and for fine clothing.
Isaiah 13-14
1 The burden against Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw.
2 “Lift up a banner on the high mountain,
Raise your voice to them;
Wave your hand, that they may enter the gates of the nobles.
3 I have commanded My sanctified ones;
I have also called My mighty ones for My anger--
Those who rejoice in My exaltation.”
4 The noise of a multitude in the mountains,
Like that of many people!
A tumultuous noise of the kingdoms of nations gathered together!
The LORD of hosts musters
The army for battle.
5 They come from a far country,
From the end of heaven--
The LORD and His weapons of indignation,
To destroy the whole land.
6 Wail, for the day of the LORD is at hand!
It will come as destruction from the Almighty.
7 Therefore all hands will be limp,
Every man’s heart will melt, 8 And they will be afraid.
Pangs and sorrows will take hold of them;
They will be in pain as a woman in childbirth;
They will be amazed at one another;
Their faces will be like flames.
9 Behold, the day of the LORD comes,
Cruel, with both wrath and fierce anger,
To lay the land desolate;
And He will destroy its sinners from it.
10 For the stars of heaven and their constellations
Will not give their light;
The sun will be darkened in its going forth,
And the moon will not cause its light to shine.
11 “I will punish the world for its evil,
And the wicked for their iniquity;
I will halt the arrogance of the proud,
And will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.
12 I will make a mortal more rare than fine gold,
A man more than the golden wedge of Ophir.
13 Therefore I will shake the heavens,
And the earth will move out of her place,
In the wrath of the LORD of hosts
And in the day of His fierce anger.
14 It shall be as the hunted gazelle,
And as a sheep that no man takes up;
Every man will turn to his own people,
And everyone will flee to his own land.
15 Everyone who is found will be thrust through,
And everyone who is captured will fall by the sword.
16 Their children also will be dashed to pieces before their eyes;
Their houses will be plundered
And their wives ravished.
17 “Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them,
Who will not regard silver;
And as for gold, they will not delight in it.
18 Also their bows will dash the young men to pieces,
And they will have no pity on the fruit of the womb;
Their eye will not spare children.
19 And Babylon, the The beauty of the Chaldeans’ pride,
Will be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.20 It will never be inhabited,
Nor will it be settled from generation to generation;
Nor will the Arabian pitch tents there,
Nor will the shepherds make their sheepfolds there.21 But wild beasts of the desert will lie there,
And their houses will be full of owls;
Ostriches will dwell there,
And wild goats will caper there.
22 The hyenas will howl in their citadels,
And jackals in their pleasant palaces.
Her time is near to come,
And her days will not be prolonged.”
14:1 For the LORD will have mercy on Jacob, and will still choose Israel, and settle them in their own land.
The strangers will be joined with them, and they will cling to the house of Jacob.
2 Then people will take them and bring them to their place, and the house of Israel will possess them for servants and maids in the land of the LORD; they will take them captive whose captives they were, and rule over their oppressors.
3 It shall come to pass in the day the LORD gives you rest from your sorrow, and from your fear and the hard bondage in which you were made to serve, 4 that you will take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say:
“How the oppressor has ceased,
The golden city ceased!
5 The LORD has broken the staff of the wicked,
The scepter of the rulers;
6 He who struck the people in wrath with a continual stroke,
He who ruled the nations in anger,
Is persecuted and no one hinders.
7 The whole earth is at rest and quiet;
They break forth into singing.
8 Indeed the cypress trees rejoice over you,
And the cedars of Lebanon,
Saying,‘Since you were cut down,
No woodsman has come up against us.’
9 “Hell from beneath is excited about you,
To meet you at your coming;
It stirs up the dead for you,
All the chief ones of the earth;
It has raised up from their thrones
All the kings of the nations.
10 They all shall speak and say to you:
‘Have you also become as weak as we?
Have you become like us?
11 Your pomp is brought down to Sheol,
And the sound of your stringed instruments;
The maggot is spread under you,
And worms cover you.’Most commentators see verses 12-22 as a reference to the fall of the Archangel Lucifer ('the light bearer') now called Satan ('adversary')
14:12 “How you are fallen from heaven,
O Lucifer, son of the morning!
How you are cut down to the ground,
You who weakened the nations!
13 For you have said in your heart:
‘I will ascend into heaven,
I will exalt my throne above the stars of God;
I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north;
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds,
I will be like the Most High.’
15 Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol,
To the lowest depths of the Pit.
16 “Those who see you will gaze at you,
And consider you, saying:
‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble,
Who shook kingdoms,
17 Who made the world as a wilderness
And destroyed its cities,
Who did not open the house of his prisoners?’
18 “All the kings of the nations,
All of them, sleep in glory,
Everyone in his own house;
19 But you are cast out of your grave
Like an abominable branch,
Like the garment of those who are slain,
Thrust through with a sword,
Who go down to the stones of the pit,
Like a corpse trodden underfoot.
20 You will not be joined with them in burial,
Because you have destroyed your land
And slain your people.
The brood of evildoers shall never be named.
21 Prepare slaughter for his children
Because of the iniquity of their fathers,
Lest they rise up and possess the land,
And fill the face of the world with cities.”
22 “For I will rise up against them,” says the LORD of hosts,
“And cut off from Babylon the name and remnant,
And offspring and posterity,” says the LORD.
23 “I will also make it a possession for the porcupine,
And marshes of muddy water;
I will sweep it with the broom of destruction,” says the LORD of hosts.
24 The LORD of hosts has sworn, saying,
“Surely, as I have thought, so it shall come to pass,
And as I have purposed, so it shall stand:
25 That I will break the Assyrian in My land,
And on My mountains tread him underfoot.
Then his yoke shall be removed from them,
And his burden removed from their shoulders.
26 This is the purpose that is purposed against the whole earth,
And this is the hand that is stretched out over all the nations.
27 For the LORD of hosts has purposed,
And who will annul it?
His hand is stretched out,
And who will turn it back?”
28 This is the burden which came in the year that King Ahaz died.
29 “Do not rejoice, all you of Philistia,
Because the rod that struck you is broken;
For out of the serpent’s roots will come forth a viper,
And its offspring will Be a fiery flying serpent. 30 The firstborn of the poor will feed,
And the needy will lie down in safety;
I will kill your roots with famine,
And it will slay your remnant. 31 Wail, O gate! Cry, O city!
All you of Philistia are dissolved;
For smoke will come from the north,
And no one will be alone in his appointed times.”
32 What will they answer the messengers of the nation?
That the LORD has founded Zion,
And the poor of His people shall take refuge in it.
Notes
The Nachash, or serpent, who beguiled Eve (2 Corinthians 11:3) is spoken of as 'an angel of light' in verse Isaiah 14:14. Have we not, in this, a clear intimation that it was not a snake, but a glorious shining being, apparently an angel, to whom Eve paid such great deference, acknowledging him as one who seemed to possess superior knowledge, and who was evidently a being of a superior (not of an inferior) order? Moreover, in the description of Satan as 'the king of Tyre' it is distinctly implied that the latter being was of a supernatural order when he is called 'a cherub' (Ezekiel 28:11-19)
His presence 'in Eden the garden of Elohim ' (v. 13), is also clearly stated, as well as his being 'perfect in beauty' (v. 12), his being 'perfect in his ways from the day he was created till iniquity was found in him' (v. 15), and as being 'lifted up because of his beauty' (v. 17). The serpent speaks to Eve and she responds. The Nachash is fully aware of God’s words and therefore this serpentine being has proximity to God and some role in the Divine Council and Eden, which in Genesis is viewed as the residence of God.
Dr. Michael Heiser’s opinion is that the nachash or serpent is not an animal and definitely not a talking snake. It is a divine being associated with the Divine Council who freely chose to oppose God’s plan for humanity by prompting the humans to disobey God so they would either be killed or removed from God’s council and family. The nachash is an angelic-type divine being perhaps masquerading as an animal, but not a member of the animal kingdom. It may have been in serpentine form or took a serpentine form.ISAIAH 14: "THE KING OF BABYLON"
As background material, Isaiah 6 refers to a seraph which means serpent. In Egyptian mythos a seraph is a guardian serpent and in the Egyptian pictorial alphabet is the equivalent of a cherub. Seraphs stood over him; each one had six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and they used the remaining two to fly. (Isaiah 6:2 NET)
Isaiah 14:4 begins with a proverb or taunt against the king of Babylon. The story according to Michael Heiser is about an evil tyrant king, whose pride is described in terms of an ancient story about a divine being who fell from paradise due to rebellion against God. He claims that Eden is referenced indirectly, though clearly in the case of Isaiah 14. You will taunt the king of Babylon with these words: "Look how the oppressor has met his end! Hostility has ceased! (Isaiah 14:4 NET) Verse 14 introduces Lucifer in the KJV but the NET appears to translate it correctly. The Hebrew word translated as Lucifer is “Helel ben Shachar” which literally means “shining one, son of the dawn.” The word “Lucifer” was taken from the Latin Vulgate translation of “Helel”. Apparently the KJV merely lifted it verbatim from the Latin without attempting to translate. The KJV phrase “Lucifer, son of the morning” has some connection to the Latin word for the planet Venus or Lucifer.
How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! (Isaiah 14:12 KJV)
Look how you have fallen from the sky, O shining one, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the ground, O conqueror of the nations! (Isaiah 14:12 NET)
Many books, commentaries, and papers have been written using Isaiah 14 as the excuse to give Satan another name as Lucifer. It may, in fact, be referring to Satan, but should not be translated as Lucifer. It could be referring to another divine being; however, the general dismissal by the elite expositors of the “sons of God” in Genesis 6 as angelic beings limits their discussion to only one fallen angel which is Satan. Even those who do teach Genesis 6 as fallen angels continue to adhere to the name Lucifer. This shining one wanted to set his throne on the mountain of God, the mountain of the divine council, above the stars of God.
For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God (El): I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north (Zaphon) (Isaiah 14:13 KJV)
Note, that in the KJV of Isaiah 14:13 the word translated as “God” is actually “El”. In Canaanite mythology the stars of El were the deities under the authority of the high god El. The word “north” in the KJV is actually “Zaphon” which is the Canaanite version of Olympus or the mountain of assembly where the gods met. Either way, stars are the scriptural sons of God or God assembles His council on some high place probably in heaven or on an actual mountain but in a heavenly dimension not an earthly one. The KJV Lucifer is actually a shining one or divine being. As previously stated, the words shining or luminosity is a quality that is characteristic of divine or angelic beings. It may indeed be Satan, but is doubtful as will be shown next.
Sheol below is stirred up about you, ready to meet you when you arrive. It rouses the spirits of the dead for you, all the former leaders of the earth; it makes all the former kings of the nations rise from their thrones. All of them respond to you, saying: 'You too have become weak like us! You have become just like us! Your splendor has been brought down to Sheol, as well as the sound of your stringed instruments. You lie on a bed of maggots, with a blanket of worms over you. Look how you have fallen from the sky, O shining one, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the ground, O conqueror of the nations! (Isaiah 14:9-12 NET)
It would seem from the scripture this shining one (divine being) was sent to Sheol, and if Satan, it may be a future event. It appears that Satan is currently “the prince of the power of the air” and “the god of this world.” For most practical reasons, Satan is not thrown out of the sky (heaven) and down to the ground until the actions related in Revelation chapter 12 occur.
EZEKIEL 28: THE KING OF TYRE
Ezekiel 28 is another passage concerning an evil tyrant king. It is about another king, this one involving the king of Tyre whose pride is described in terms of an ancient story about a divine being who fell from paradise because of rebellion against God similar to Genesis 3 and it references Eden directly. A Bible professor named Van Dyke wrote a paper on Ezekiel 28 and describes the divine being as one with special knowledge, lifted up in pride, then preempts God’s plan and overturns it. He adds that it is a divine council setting and the preemptor is a divine council member.
Verse 13 states the divine one was in the garden of Eden defined as the garden of God. He was covered with every precious stone which were prepared on the day of his creation. These precious stones describe the brightness of God’s throne in other scriptures.
You were in Eden, the garden of God. Every precious stone was your covering, the ruby, topaz, and emerald, the chrysolite, onyx, and jasper, the sapphire, turquoise, and beryl; your settings and mounts were made of gold. On the day you were created they were prepared. (Ezekiel 28:13 NET)
Verse 14 appears to have a translation conundrum. The KJV and others render the text as if the divine being is an anointed cherub although the word “art” is an added addition. The NET and LXX render as the divine being was with and anointed cherub, with the NET adding “guardian cherub.”
Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. (Ezekiel 28:14 KJV)
I placed you there with an anointed guardian cherub; (Ezekiel 28:14 NET) From the day that thou wast created thou wast with the cherub (Ezekiel 28:14 LXX Brenton)
Below is more information on this peculiar translation.
Hebrew "...you (were) an anointed cherub that covers and I placed you." In the Hebrew text the ruler of Tyre is equated with a cherub, and the verb "I placed you" is ta:ken with what follows ("on the holy mountain of God"). However, this reading is problematic. The pronoun "you" at the beginning of verse Ezekiel 28:14 is feminine singular in the Hebrew text; elsewhere in this passage the ruler of Tyre is addressed with masculine singular forms. It is possible that the pronoun is a rare (see Deuteronomy 5:24; Numbers 11:15) or defectively written (see 1 Samuel 24:19; Nehemiah 9:6; Job 1:10; Psalm 6:3; Ecclesiastes 7:22) masculine form, but it is more likely that the form should be repointed as the preposition "with" (see the Septuagint (LXX)). In this case the ruler of Tyre is compared to the first man, not to a cherub. If this emendation is accepted, then the verb "I placed you" belongs with what precedes and concludes the first sentence in the verse. It is noteworthy that the verbs in the second and third lines of the verse also appear at the end of the sentence in the Hebrew text. The presence of a conjunction at the beginning of "I placed you" is problematic for the proposal, but it may reflect a later misunderstanding of the syntax of the verse.
Regardless, Heiser appears to agree generally, but not totally, with the KJV translation. For the phrase “anointed cherub” he claims the translators are assuming the word “mashach” means “anointed” but it may come from a Semitic homonym meaning “to shine” and so produce “shining cherub”. The cherub in Assyrian and Phoenician context is a throne guardian (as in the NET). In the above Isaiah passage, the throne guardian is called a seraph, which means serpent. Heiser claims that a seraph and a cherub are essentially the same entity, just from different cultures and contexts.
For the next example, I used the NIV because it contains the actual words that Heiser expressed, “seal of perfection”. Most other versions render the same basic concept. The Semitic for “seal of perfection” is “hwtm tknyt”. Occasionally the “m” at the end is silent rendering “hwt(m) tknyt” which would translate as “serpent of perfection.” "Son of man, take up a lament concerning the king of Tyre and say to him: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: "'You were the seal of perfection (or serpent of perfection), full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. (Ezekiel 28:12 NIV)
Michael Heiser ties the three scripture passages together by concluding the nachash or shining one is a component. In Genesis 3 he is obviously in Eden with Eve; Ezekiel 28 states he was in Eden or the holy mountain of God where he walked among the stones of fire or the divine council; Isaiah 14 implied he was in Eden by saying, “he will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly” and that he wanted to set his throne on the mountain of God or the mountain of the divine council (assembly).
Eden was (is) the place of the council according to Heiser. The “stones of fire” of Ezekiel 28 are in Eden on the cosmic mountain. The cherub (serpent) figure is in “the seat of God” or “the gods” and envisions himself as God.
GOD’S RETRIBUTION
Genesis 3 tells the nachash he will be cursed more than all cattle and every created beast. On his belly he will go and will eat dust (dirt) all the days of his life. Ezekiel 28 strikes the nachash from the mountain of God and destroys him from among the stones of fire (divine council). He has been cast to the ground. The word translated as “ground” is “erets.” The word usually means “earth” as in the ground, but in Ugaritic (much of Ezekiel 28 tracks Ugaritic religious texts) it means “netherworld” which is a synonym for Sheol or the place of the dead. The word is used in this manner in Jonah 2:6.
I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth (erets) with her bars was about me forever (implies Sheol): yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O LORD my God. (Jonah 2:6 KJV)
Isaiah 26 has several references to the nachash (shining one) sent down to Sheol. Heiser thinks this may be the reason many people consider Satan to be the king and chief resident of Hell; his headquarters where he stores the souls of sinners.
Sheol ("hell" in the KJV) below is stirred up about you, ready to meet you when you arrive. It rouses the spirits of the dead for you, all the former leaders of the earth; it makes all the former kings of the nations rise from their thrones. (Isaiah 14:9 NET)
Your splendor has been brought down to Sheol ("grave" in KJV), as well as the sound of your stringed instruments. You lie on a bed of maggots, with a blanket of worms over you. (Isaiah 14:11 NET)
Look how you have fallen from the sky, O shining one, son of the dawn (Helel ben Shachar) ! You have been cut down to the ground, O conqueror of the nations! You said to yourself, "I will climb up to the sky. Above the stars of El I will set up my throne. I will rule on the mountain of assembly on the remote slopes of Zaphon. I will climb up to the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High!" But you were brought down to Sheol ("hell" in the KJV), to the remote slopes of the pit. (Isaiah 14:12-15 NET)
Ezekiel 26-28
28:1 The word of the LORD came to me again, saying,
2 “Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD:
“Because your heart is lifted up,
And you say, ‘I am a god,
I sit in the seat of gods,
In the midst of the seas,’
Yet you are a man, and not a god,
Though you set your heart as the heart of a god
3 Behold, you are wiser than Daniel!
There is no secret that can be hidden from you!
4 With your wisdom and your understanding
You have gained riches for yourself,
And gathered gold and silver into your treasuries;
5 By your great wisdom in trade you have increased your riches,
And your heart is lifted up because of your riches),”
6 ‘Therefore thus says the Lord GOD:
“Because you have set your heart as the heart of a god,
7 Behold, therefore, I will bring strangers against you,
The most terrible of the nations;
And they shall draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom,
And defile your splendor.
8 They shall throw you down into the Pit,
And you shall die the death of the slain
In the midst of the seas.
9 “Will you still say before him who slays you,
‘I am a god’?
But you shall be a man, and not a god,
In the hand of him who slays you.
10 You shall die the death of the uncircumcised
By the hand of aliens;
For I have spoken,” says the Lord GOD.’Here the emphasis shifts from the ruling price of Tyre, a mere mortal, to an invisible power behind the throne.
Most commentators take this imagery to apply to the great archangel Lucifer, Satan, which probably happened early in creation week. See above notes.11 Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
12 “Son of man, take up a lamentation for the king of Tyre, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD:
“You were the seal of perfection,
Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
13 You were in Eden, the garden of God;
Every precious stone was your covering:
The sardius, topaz, and diamond,
Beryl, onyx, and jasper,
Sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold.
The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes
Was prepared for you on the day you were created.
14 “You were the anointed cherub who covers;
I established you;
You were on the holy mountain of God;
You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones.
15 You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created,
Till iniquity was found in you.
16 “By the abundance of your trading
You became filled with violence within,
And you sinned;
Therefore I cast you as a profane thing
Out of the mountain of God;
And I destroyed you, O covering cherub,
From the midst of the fiery stones.
17 “Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty;
You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor;
I cast you to the ground,
I laid you before kings,
That they might gaze at you.
18 “You defiled your sanctuaries
By the multitude of your iniquities,
By the iniquity of your trading;
Therefore I brought fire from your midst;
It devoured you,
And I turned you to ashes upon the earth
In the sight of all who saw you.
19 All who knew you among the peoples are astonished at you;
You have become a horror,
And shall be no more forever.”
20 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
21 “Son of man, set your face toward Sidon, and prophesy against her,
22 “and say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD:
“Behold, I am against you, O Sidon;
I will be glorified in your midst;
And they shall know that I am the LORD,
When I execute judgments in her and am hallowed in her.
23 For I will send pestilence upon her,
And blood in her streets;
The wounded shall be judged in her midst
By the sword against her on every side;
Then they shall know that I am the LORD.
24 “And there shall no longer be a pricking brier or a painful thorn for the house of Israel from among all who area round them, who despise them. Then they shall know that I am the Lord GOD.”
25 ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “When I have gathered the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered, and am hallowed in them in the sight of the Gentiles, then they will dwell in their own land which I gave to My servant Jacob.
26 “And they will dwell safely there, build houses, and plant vineyards; yes, they will dwell securely, when I execute judgments on all those around them who despise them. Then they shall know that I am the LORD their God.” ’ ”
27:1 The word of the LORD came again to me, saying, 2 “Now, son of man, take up a lamentation for Tyre, 3 “and say to Tyre, ‘You who are situated at the entrance of the sea, merchant of the peoples on many coastlands, thus says the Lord GOD:
“O Tyre, you have said,
‘I am perfect in beauty.’ 4 Your borders are in the midst of the seas.
Your builders have perfected your beauty. 5 They made all your planks of fir trees from Senir;
They took a cedar from Lebanon to make you a mast. 6 Of oaks from Bashan they made your oars;
The company of Ashurites have inlaid your planks
With ivory from the coasts of Cyprus. 7 Fine embroidered linen from Egypt was what you spread for your sail;
Blue and purple from the coasts of Elishah was what covered you.
8 “Inhabitants of Sidon and Arvad were your oarsmen;
Your wise men, O Tyre, were in you;
They became your pilots. 9 Elders of Gebal and its wise men
Were in you to caulk your seams;
All the ships of the sea
And their oarsmen were in you
To market your merchandise.
10 “Those from Persia, Lydia, and Libya
Were in your army as men of war;
They hung shield and helmet in you;
They gave splendor to you.
11 Men of Arvad with your army were on your walls all around,
And the men of Gammad were in your towers;
They hung their shields on your walls all around;
They made your beauty perfect.
12 “Tarshish was your merchant because of your many luxury goods. They gave you silver, iron, tin, and lead for your goods.
13 “Javan, Tubal, and Meshech were your traders. They bartered human lives and vessels of bronze for your merchandise.
14 “Those from the house of Togarmah traded for your wares with horses, steeds, and mules.
15 “The men of Dedan were your traders; many isles were the market of your hand.
They brought you ivory tusks and ebony as payment.
16 “Syria was your merchant because of the abundance of goods you made.
They gave you for your wares emeralds, purple, embroidery, fine linen, corals, and rubies.
17 “Judah and the land of Israel were your traders. They traded for your merchandise wheat of Minnith, millet, honey, oil, and balm.
18 “Damascus was your merchant because of the abundance of goods you made, because of your many luxury items,
with the wine of Helbon and with white wool.
19 “Dan and Javan paid for your wares, traversing back and forth. |
Wrought iron, cassia, and cane were among your merchandise.
20 “Dedan was your merchant in saddlecloths for riding.
21 “Arabia and all the princes of Kedar were your regular merchants. They traded with you in lambs, rams, and goats.
22 “The merchants of Sheba and Raamah were your merchants. They traded for your wares the choicest spices, all kinds of precious stones, and gold.
23 “Haran, Canneh, Eden, the merchants of Sheba, Assyria, and Chilmad were your merchants.
24 “These were your merchants in choice items--
in purple clothes, in embroidered garments, in chests of multicolored apparel, in sturdy woven cords, which were in your market place.
25 “The ships of Tarshish were carriers of your merchandise.
You were filled and very glorious in the midst of the seas.
26 Your oarsmen brought you into many waters,
But the east wind broke you in the midst of the seas.
27 “Your riches, wares, and merchandise,
Your mariners and pilots,
Your caulkers and merchandisers,
All your men of war who are in you,
And the entire company which is in your midst,
Will fall into the midst of the seas on the day of your ruin.
28 The common-land will shake at the sound of the cry of your pilots.
29 “All who handle the oar,
The mariners,
All the pilots of the sea|
Will come down from their ships and stand on the shore.
30 They will make their voice heard because of you;
They will cry bitterly and cast dust on their heads;
They will roll about in ashes;
31 They will shave themselves completely bald because of you,
Gird themselves with sackcloth,
And weep for you
With bitterness of heart and bitter wailing.
32 In their wailing for you
They will take up a lamentation,
And lament for you:
‘What city is like Tyre,
Destroyed in the midst of the sea?
33 ‘When your wares went out by sea,
You satisfied many people;
You enriched the kings of the earth
With your many luxury goods and your merchandise.
34 But you are broken by the seas in the depths of the waters;
Your merchandise and the entire company will fall in your midst.
35 All the inhabitants of the isles will be astonished at you;
Their kings will be greatly afraid,
And their countenance will be troubled.
36 The merchants among the peoples will hiss at you;
You will become a horror, and be no more forever.""
28:1 The word of the LORD came to me again, saying,
2 “Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD:
“Because your heart is lifted up,
And you say, ‘I am a god,
I sit in the seat of gods,
In the midst of the seas,’
Yet you area man, and not a god,
Though you set your heart as the heart of a god
3 (Behold, you are wiser than Daniel!
There is no secret that can be hidden from you!
4 With your wisdom and your understanding
You have gained riches for yourself,
And gathered gold and silver into your treasuries;
5 By your great wisdom in trade you have increased your riches,
And your heart is lifted up because of your riches),”
6 ‘Therefore thus says the Lord GOD:
“Because you have set your heart as the heart of a god,
7 Behold, therefore, I will bring strangers against you,
The most terrible of the nations;
And they shall draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom,
And defile your splendor. 8 They shall throw you down into the Pit,
And you shall die the death of the slain
In the midst of the seas.
9 “Will you still say before him who slays you,
‘I am a god’?
But you shall be a man, and not a god,
In the hand of him who slays you.
10 You shall die the death of the uncircumcised
By the hand of aliens;
For I have spoken,” says the Lord GOD.’ ”
11 Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
12 “Son of man, take up a lamentation for the king of Tyre, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD:
“You were the seal of perfection,
Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
13 You were in Eden, the garden of God;
Every precious stone was your covering:
The sardius, topaz, and diamond,
Beryl, onyx, and jasper,
Sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold.
The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes
Was prepared for you on the day you were created.
14 “You were the anointed cherub who covers;
I established you;
You were on the holy mountain of God;
You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones.
15 You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created,
Till iniquity was found in you.
16 “By the abundance of your trading
You became filled with violence within,
And you sinned;
Therefore I cast you as a profane thing
Out of the mountain of God;
And I destroyed you, O covering cherub,
From the midst of the fiery stones.
17 “Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty;
You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor;
I cast you to the ground,
I laid you before kings,
That they might gaze at you.
18 “You defiled your sanctuaries
By the multitude of your iniquities,
By the iniquity of your trading;
Therefore I brought fire from your midst;
It devoured you,
And I turned you to ashes upon the earth
In the sight of all who saw you.
19 All who knew you among the peoples are astonished at you;
You have become a horror,
And shall be no more forever.” ’ ”
20 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
21 “Son of man, set your face toward Sidon, and prophesy against her,
22 “and say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD:
“Behold, I am against you, O Sidon;
I will be glorified in your midst;
And they shall know that I am the LORD,
When I execute judgments in her and am hallowed in her.
For I will send pestilence upon her,
And blood in her streets;
The wounded shall be judged in her midst
By the sword against her on every side;
Then they shall know that I am the LORD.
24 “And there shall no longer be a pricking brier or a painful thorn for the house of Israel
from among all who area round them, who despise them.
Then they shall know that I am the Lord GOD.”
25 ‘Thus says the Lord GOD:
“When I have gathered the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered,
and am hallowed in them in the sight of the Gentiles,
then they will dwell in their own land which I gave to My servant Jacob.
26 “And they will dwell safely there, build houses, and plant vineyards;
yes, they will dwell securely, when I execute judgments on all those around them who despise them.
Then they shall know that I am the LORD their God.”
Jeremiah 50
1 The word that the LORD spoke against Babylon and against the land of the Chaldeans by Jeremiah the prophet.
2 “Declare among the nations,
Proclaim, and set up a standard;
Proclaim--do not conceal it--
Say, ‘Babylon is taken, Bel is shamed.
Merodach is broken in pieces;
Her idols are humiliated,
Her images are broken in pieces.’ 3 For out of the north a nation comes up against her,
Which shall make her land desolate,
And no one shall dwell therein.
They shall move, they shall depart,
Both man and beast.
4 “In those days and in that time,” says the LORD,
“The children of Israel shall come,
They and the children of Judah together;
With continual weeping they shall come,
And seek the LORD their God. 5 They shall ask the way to Zion,
With their faces toward it, saying,
‘Come and let us join ourselves to the LORD
In a perpetual covenant
That will not be forgotten.’
6 “My people have been lost sheep.
Their shepherds have led them astray;
They have turned them away on the mountains.
They have gone from mountain to hill;
They have forgotten their resting place. 7 All who found them have devoured them;
And their adversaries said, ‘We have not offended,
Because they have sinned against the LORD, the habitation of justice,
The LORD, the hope of their fathers.’
8 “Move from the midst of Babylon,
Go out of the land of the Chaldeans;
And be like the rams before the flocks. 9 For behold, I will raise and cause to come up against Babylon
An assembly of great nations from the north country,
And they shall array themselves against her;
From there she shall be captured.
Their arrows shall be like those of an expert warrior;
None shall return in vain.10 And Chaldea shall become plunder;
All who plunder her shall be satisfied,” says the LORD.
11 “Because you were glad, because you rejoiced,
You destroyers of My heritage,
Because you have grown fat like a heifer threshing grain,
And you bellow like bulls, 12 Your mother shall be deeply ashamed;
She who bore you shall be ashamed.
Behold, the least of the nations shall be a wilderness,
A dry land and a desert. 13 Because of the wrath of the LORD
She shall not be inhabited,
But she shall be wholly desolate.
Everyone who goes by Babylon shall be horrified
And hiss at all her plagues.
14 “Put yourselves in array against Babylon all around,
All you who bend the bow;
Shoot at her, spare no arrows,
For she has sinned against the LORD. 15 Shout against her all around;
She has given her hand,
Her foundations have fallen,
Her walls are thrown down;
For it is the vengeance of the LORD.
Take vengeance on her.
As she has done, so do to her. 16 Cut off the sower from Babylon,
And him who handles the sickle at harvest time.
For fear of the oppressing sword
Everyone shall turn to his own people,
And everyone shall flee to his own land.
17 “Israel is like scattered sheep;
The lions have driven him away.
First the king of Assyria devoured him;
Now at last this Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has broken his bones.”
18 Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel:
“Behold, I will punish the king of Babylon and his land,
As I have punished the king of Assyria. 19 But I will bring back Israel to his home,
And he shall feed on Carmel and Bashan;
His soul shall be satisfied on Mount Ephraim and Gilead.20 In those days and in that time,” says the LORD,
“The iniquity of Israel shall be sought, but there shall be none;
And the sins of Judah, but they shall not be found;
For I will pardon those whom I preserve.
21 “Go up against the land of Merathaim, against it,
And against the inhabitants of Pekod.
Waste and utterly destroy them,” says the LORD,
“And do according to all that I have commanded you. 22 A sound of battle is in the land,
And of great destruction. 23 How the hammer of the whole earth has been cut apart and broken!
How Babylon has become a desolation among the nations! 24 I have laid a snare for you;
You have indeed been trapped, O Babylon,
And you were not aware;
You have been found and also caught,
Because you have contended against the LORD. 25 The LORD has opened His armory,
And has brought out the weapons of His indignation;
For this is the work of the Lord GOD of hosts
In the land of the Chaldeans. 26 Come against her from the farthest border;
Open her storehouses;
Cast her up as heaps of ruins,
And destroy her utterly;
Let nothing of her be left.27 Slay all her bulls,
Let them go down to the slaughter.
Woe to them!
For their day has come, the time of their punishment.
28 The voice of those who flee and escape from the land of Babylon
Declares in Zion the vengeance of the LORD our God,
The vengeance of His temple.
29 “Call together the archers against Babylon.
All you who bend the bow, encamp against it all around;
Let none of them escape.
Repay her according to her work;
According to all she has done, do to her;
For she has been proud against the LORD,
Against the Holy One of Israel. 30 Therefore her young men shall fall in the streets,
And all her men of war shall be cut off in that day,” says the Lord. 31 “Behold, I am against you,
O most haughty one!” says the Lord GOD of hosts;
“For your day has come,
The time that I will punish you. 32 The most proud shall stumble and fall,
And no one will raise him up;
I will kindle a fire in his cities,
And it will devour all around him.”
33 Thus says the LORD of hosts:
“The children of Israel were oppressed,
Along with the children of Judah;
All who took them captive have held them fast;
They have refused to let them go. 34 Their Redeemer is strong;
The LORD of hosts is His name.
He will thoroughly plead their case,
That He may give rest to the land,
And disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon.
35 “A sword is against the Chaldeans,” says the LORD,
“Against the inhabitants of Babylon,
And against her princes and her wise men.36 A sword is against the soothsayers, and they will be fools.
A sword is against her mighty men, and they will be dismayed.37 A sword is against their horses,
Against their chariots,
And against all the mixed peoples who are in her midst;
And they will become like women.
A sword is against her treasures, and they will be robbed.38 A drought is against her waters, and they will be dried up.
For it is the land of carved images,
And they are insane with their idols.
39 “Therefore the wild desert beasts shall dwell there with the jackals,
And the ostriches shall dwell in it.
It shall be inhabited no more forever,
Nor shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation. 40 As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah
And their neighbors,” says the LORD,
“So no one shall reside there,
Nor son of man dwell in it.
41 “Behold, a people shall come from the north,
And a great nation and many kings
Shall be raised up from the ends of the earth. 42 They shall hold the bow and the lance;
They are cruel and shall not show mercy.
Their voice shall roar like the sea;
They shall ride on horses,
Set in array, like a man for the battle,
Against you, O daughter of Babylon.
43 “The king of Babylon has heard the report about them,
And his hands grow feeble;
Anguish has taken hold of him,
Pangs as of a woman in childbirth.
44 “Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the floodplain of the Jordan
Against the dwelling place of the strong;
But I will make them suddenly run away from her.
And who is a chosen man that I may appoint over her?
For who is like Me?
Who will arraign Me?
And who is that shepherd
Who will withstand Me?”
45 Therefore hear the counsel of the LORD that He has taken against Babylon,
And His purposes that He has proposed against the land of the Chaldeans:
Surely the least of the flock shall draw them out;
Surely He will make their dwelling place desolate with them.46 At the noise of the taking of Babylon
The earth trembles,
And the cry is heard among the nations.Jeremiah 51
1 Thus says the Lord:|
“Behold, I will raise up against Babylon,
Against those who dwell in Leb Kamai,
A destroying wind.
2 And I will send winnowers to Babylon,
Who shall winnow her and empty her land.
For in the day of doom
They shall be against her all around.
3 Against her let the archer bend his bow,
And lift himself up against her in his armor.
Do not spare her young men;
Utterly destroy all her army.
4 Thus the slain shall fall in the land of the Chaldeans,
And those thrust through in her streets.
5 For Israel is not forsaken, nor Judah,
By his God, the Lord of hosts,
Though their land was filled with sin against the Holy One of Israel.”
6 Flee from the midst of Babylon,
And every one save his life!
Do not be cut off in her iniquity,
For this is the time of the Lord’s vengeance;
He shall recompense her.
7 Babylon was a golden cup in the Lord’s hand,
That made all the earth drunk.
The nations drank her wine;
Therefore the nations are deranged.
8 Babylon has suddenly fallen and been destroyed.
Wail for her!
Take balm for her pain;
Perhaps she may be healed.
9 We would have healed Babylon,
But she is not healed.
Forsake her, and let us go everyone to his own country;
For her judgment reaches to heaven and is lifted up to the skies.
10 The Lord has revealed our righteousness.
Come and let us declare in Zion the work of the Lord our God. |11 Make the arrows bright!
Gather the shields!
The Lord has raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes.
For His plan is against Babylon to destroy it,
Because it is the vengeance of the Lord,
The vengeance for His temple.
12 Set up the standard on the walls of Babylon;
Make the guard strong,
Set up the watchmen,
Prepare the ambushes.
For the Lord has both devised and done
What He spoke against the inhabitants of Babylon.
13 O you who dwell by many waters,
Abundant in treasures,
Your end has come,
The measure of your covetousness.
14 The Lord of hosts has sworn by Himself:
“Surely I will fill you with men, as with locusts,
And they shall lift up a shout against you.”
15 He has made the earth by His power;
He has established the world by His wisdom,
And stretched out the heaven by His understanding.
16 When He utters His voice—
There is a multitude of waters in the heavens:
“He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth;
He makes lightnings for the rain;
He brings the wind out of His treasuries.”
17 Everyone is dull-hearted, without knowledge;
Every metalsmith is put to shame by the carved image;
For his molded image is falsehood,
And there is no breath in them.
18 They are futile, a work of errors;
In the time of their punishment they shall perish.
19 The Portion of Jacob is not like them,
For He is the Maker of all things;
And Israel is the tribe of His inheritance.
The Lord of hosts is His name.
20 “You are My battle-ax and weapons of war:
For with you I will break the nation in pieces;
With you I will destroy kingdoms;
21 With you I will break in pieces the horse and its rider;
With you I will break in pieces the chariot and its rider;
22 With you also I will break in pieces man and woman;
With you I will break in pieces old and young;
With you I will break in pieces the young man and the maiden;
23 With you also I will break in pieces the shepherd and his flock;
With you I will break in pieces the farmer and his yoke of oxen;
And with you I will break in pieces governors and rulers.
24 “And I will repay Babylon
And all the inhabitants of Chaldea
For all the evil they have done
In Zion in your sight,” says the Lord.
25 “Behold, I am against you, O destroying mountain,
Who destroys all the earth,” says the Lord.
“And I will stretch out My hand against you,
Roll you down from the rocks,
And make you a burnt mountain.
26 They shall not take from you a stone for a corner
Nor a stone for a foundation,
But you shall be desolate forever,” says the Lord.
27 Set up a banner in the land,
Blow the trumpet among the nations!
Prepare the nations against her,
Call the kingdoms together against her:
Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz.
Appoint a general against her;
Cause the horses to come up like the bristling locusts.
28 Prepare against her the nations,
With the kings of the Medes,
Its governors and all its rulers,
All the land of his dominion.
29 And the land will tremble and sorrow;
For every purpose of the Lord shall be performed against Babylon,
To make the land of Babylon a desolation without inhabitant.
30 The mighty men of Babylon have ceased fighting,
They have remained in their strongholds;
Their might has failed,
They became like women;
They have burned her dwelling places,
The bars of her gate are broken.
31 One runner will run to meet another,
And one messenger to meet another,
To show the king of Babylon that his city is taken on all sides;
32 The passages are blocked,
The reeds they have burned with fire,
And the men of war are terrified.
33 For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor
When it is time to thresh her;
Yet a little while
And the time of her harvest will come.”
34 “Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon
Has devoured me, he has crushed me;
He has made me an empty vessel,
He has swallowed me up like a monster;
He has filled his stomach with my delicacies,
He has spit me out.
35 Let the violence done to me and my flesh be upon Babylon,”
The inhabitant of Zion will say;
“And my blood be upon the inhabitants of Chaldea!”
Jerusalem will say.
36 Therefore thus says the Lord:
“Behold, I will plead your case and take vengeance for you.
I will dry up her sea and make her springs dry.
37 Babylon shall become a heap,
A dwelling place for jackals,
An astonishment and a hissing,
Without an inhabitant.
38 They shall roar together like lions,
They shall growl like lions’ whelps.
39 In their excitement I will prepare their feasts;
I will make them drunk,
That they may rejoice,
And sleep a perpetual sleep
And not awake,” says the Lord.
40 “I will bring them down
Like lambs to the slaughter,
Like rams with male goats. 41 “Oh, how Sheshach is taken!
Oh, how the praise of the whole earth is seized!
How Babylon has become desolate among the nations!
42 The sea has come up over Babylon;
She is covered with the multitude of its waves.
43 Her cities are a desolation,
A dry land and a wilderness,
A land where no one dwells,
Through which no son of man passes.
44 I will punish Bel in Babylon,
And I will bring out of his mouth what he has swallowed;
And the nations shall not stream to him anymore.
Yes, the wall of Babylon shall fall. 45 “My people, go out of the midst of her!
And let everyone deliver himself from the fierce anger of the Lord.
46 And lest your heart faint,
And you fear for the rumor that will be heard in the land
(A rumor will come one year,
And after that, in another year
A rumor will come,
And violence in the land,
Ruler against ruler),
47 Therefore behold, the days are coming
That I will bring judgment on the carved images of Babylon;
Her whole land shall be ashamed,
And all her slain shall fall in her midst.
48 Then the heavens and the earth and all that is in them
Shall sing joyously over Babylon;
For the plunderers shall come to her from the north,” says the Lord.
49 As Babylon has caused the slain of Israel to fall,
So at Babylon the slain of all the earth shall fall.
50 You who have escaped the sword,
Get away! Do not stand still!
Remember the Lord afar off,
And let Jerusalem come to your mind.
51 We are ashamed because we have heard reproach.
Shame has covered our faces,
For strangers have come into the sanctuaries of the Lord’s house.
52 “Therefore behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord,
“That I will bring judgment on her carved images,
And throughout all her land the wounded shall groan.
53 Though Babylon were to mount up to heaven,
And though she were to fortify the height of her strength,
Yet from Me plunderers would come to her,” says the Lord.
54 The sound of a cry comes from Babylon,
And great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans,
55 Because the Lord is plundering Babylon
And silencing her loud voice,
Though her waves roar like great waters,
And the noise of their voice is uttered,
56 Because the plunderer comes against her, against Babylon,
And her mighty men are taken.
Every one of their bows is broken;
For the Lord is the God of recompense,
He will surely repay. 57 “And I will make drunk
Her princes and wise men,
Her governors, her deputies, and her mighty men.
And they shall sleep a perpetual sleep
And not awake,” says the King,
Whose name is the Lord of hosts.
58 Thus says the Lord of hosts: “The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly broken,
And her high gates shall be burned with fire;
The people will labor in vain,
And the nations, because of the fire;
And they shall be weary.”
Jeremiah’s Command to Seraiah59 The word which Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, when he went with Zedekiah the king of Judah to Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. And Seraiah was the quartermaster. 60 So Jeremiah wrote in a book all the evil that would come upon Babylon, all these words that are written against Babylon. 61 And Jeremiah said to Seraiah, “When you arrive in Babylon and see it, and read all these words, 62 then you shall say, ‘O Lord, You have spoken against this place to cut it off, so that none shall remain in it, neither man nor beast, but it shall be desolate forever.’ 63 Now it shall be, when you have finished reading this book, that you shall tie a stone to it and throw it out into the Euphrates. 64 Then you shall say, ‘Thus Babylon shall sink and not rise from the catastrophe that I will bring upon her. And they shall be weary.’ ” Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.
James 5
Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you! 2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped up treasure in the last days. 4 Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. 5 You have lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury; you have fattened your hearts as in a day of slaughter.
6 You have condemned, you have murdered the Righteous One; He does not resist you.7 Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain.
8 You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.Revelation Chapters 17 and 18 describe the coming judgment of “Mystery Babylon the Great" alluding you the great city in Iraq (now in ruins) where the first world ruler in an appointed season of gentle world dominion, Nebuchadnezzar, ruled the known world.
Revelation 17
1 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and talked with me, saying to me, “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters, 2 “with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication.”
3 So he carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. 4 The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication. 5 And on her forehead a name was written: MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. 6 I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I marveled with great amazement. 7 But the angel said to me, “Why did you marvel? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns. 8 “The beast that you saw was, and is not, and will ascend out of the bottomless pit and go to perdition. And those who dwell on the earth will marvel, whose names are not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, when they see the beast that was, and is not, and yet is. 9 “Here is the mind which has wisdom: The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits. 10 “There are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet come. And when he comes, he must continue a short time.
11 “The beast that was, and is not, is himself also the eighth, and is of the seven, and is going to perdition. 12“The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority for one hour as kings with the beast. 13 “These are of one mind, and they will give their power and authority to the beast. 14 “These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful.” 15 Then he said to me, “The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues. 16“And the ten horns which you saw on the beast, these will hate the harlot, make her desolate and naked, eat her flesh and burn her with fire.
17 “For God has put it into their hearts to fulfill His purpose, to be of one mind, and to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled.
18 “And the woman whom you saw is that great city which reigns over the kings of the earth.”
Revelation 18
Using the ancient city of Babylon as a template, the Apostle John in Revelation 17 describes the last state of the fallen condition of mankind as far as religion is concerned. (See False Religion) The Dragon Lady by Ray Stedman is very helpful. Ray combines his study of Chapters 17 and 18 under one umbrella, that of The Great Harlot.
Revelation Chapter 18 opens with a different angel speaking. “After these things (meta tauta) I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illuminated with his glory. And he cried mightily with a loud voice, saying, “Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird...” (18:1,2)
The emphasis In 18 shifts from false worship to announce the judgment on the entire world of commerce, trade, banking, investment, shipping, and the unseen engines of wealth and power everywhere. Everyone on earth will be affected. Yet this great shakedown is necessary in order that Jesus Christ in His returning, can fix everything on the planet that is dysfunction, ineffective, corrupt.
1 After these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illuminated with his glory. 2 And he cried mightily with a loud voice, saying, “Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird! 3 “For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury.” 4 And I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues. 5 “For her sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. 6 “Render to her just as she rendered to you, and repay her double according to her works; in the cup which she has mixed, mix double for her. 7 “In the measure that she glorified herself and lived luxuriously, in the same measure give her torment and sorrow; for she says in her heart, ‘I sit as queen, and am no widow, and will not see sorrow.’ 8 “Therefore her plagues will come in one day--death and mourning and famine. And she will be utterly burned with fire, for strong is the Lord God who judges her.
9 “The kings of the earth who committed fornication and lived luxuriously with her will weep and lament for her, when they see the smoke of her burning, 10 “standing at a distance for fear of her torment, saying, ‘Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! For in one hour your judgment has come.’ 11 “And the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their merchandise anymore:12 “merchandise of gold and silver, precious stones and pearls, fine linen and purple, silk and scarlet, every kind of citron wood, every kind of object of ivory, every kind of object of most precious wood, bronze, iron, and marble; 13 “and cinnamon and incense, fragrant oil and frankincense, wine and oil, fine flour and wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and bodies and souls of men. 14 “The fruit that your soul longed for has gone from you, and all the things which are rich and splendid have gone from you, and you shall find them no more at all. 15 “The merchants of these things, who became rich by her, will stand at a distance for fear of her torment, weeping and wailing, 16 “and saying, ‘Alas, alas, that great city that was clothed in fine linen, purple, and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls! 17 ‘For in one hour such great riches came to nothing.’ Every shipmaster, all who travel by ship, sailors, and as many as trade on the sea, stood at a distance 18 “and cried out when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, ‘What is like this great city?’19 “They threw dust on their heads and cried out, weeping and wailing, and saying, ‘Alas, alas, that great city, in which all who had ships on the sea became rich by her wealth! For in one hour she is made desolate.’
20 “Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you holy apostles and prophets, for God has avenged you on her!” 21 Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, “Thus with violence the great city Babylon shall be thrown down, and shall not be found anymore. 22 “The sound of harpists, musicians, flutists, and trumpeters shall not be heard in you anymore. No craftsman of any craft shall be found in you anymore, and the sound of a millstone shall not be heard in you anymore.
23 “The light of a lamp shall not shine in you anymore, and the voice of bridegroom and bride shall not be heard in you anymore.
For your merchants were the great men of the earth, for by your sorcery all the nations were deceived.
24 “And in her was found the blood of prophets and saints, and of all who were slain on the earth.”
19:1 After these things (meta tauta) I heard a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, “Alleluia! Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to the Lord our God! 2 “For true and righteous are His judgments, because He has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication; and He has avenged on her the blood of His servants shed by her.” 3 Again they said, “Alleluia! Her smoke rises up forever and ever!” 4 And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sat on the throne, saying, “Amen! Alleluia!”
What is Money for? by Ray Stedman examines the parable of Jesus usually called, "The Parable of the Dishonest Steward" (Luke 16:1-13)
Ray says, "It is, in many ways, the most unusual parable Jesus ever told. It is taken out of the rough, cutthroat competition of business life, and reveals how thoroughly the Lord Jesus was in touch with life lived at its rawest and fiercest.
This is the story of what we would call "a big-time operator," an unscrupulous, dishonest rascal who worked for a man not much better than himself. When the story of this steward's deceit reaches his boss's ears he commends the steward for his dishonest cleverness, which proves that he was no better than the steward. It is the tale of two rogues, taken right out of the world of business. We do not need to spend much time with the story itself. It is so familiar, so frequently duplicated in our own day, we easily recognize it.
It is the story of a man who was entrusted with the use of another man's money, a familiar account of dubious speculations, padded expense accounts, lavish entertainment, and juggled bank accounts, until the day of reckoning comes. When the wasted expenditure of this steward came to light he was summarily ordered to turn over his books and to collect his last check. He is faced with the sudden loss of what he had long been taking for granted, and is forced to think soberly and seriously of the future.
Now this is the story that Jesus brings before us. What this man does and how he reacts makes a point from which Jesus draws a very important lesson for us. When this man faced the end of his stewardship, he began to think what he should do. He realized that he was too lazy to dig. Of course, he did not say that; he said what we would have said, "I am simply not strong enough any longer." He realized that he was too proud to beg. He did say that! "I am ashamed to beg," was the way he put it, which was nothing but pure pride, though he was not too proud to steal. So he hit upon an expedient. Very cleverly, he decides to take advantage of his position as the acknowledged handler of his master's goods, and before the news gets out that he has been fired, he will put all his master's creditors into his debt by diminishing their bills considerably, with the hope, or course, that he will find an open door with one of these men to whom he has done a favor when his own world comes crashing in upon him.
It was a very clever thing to do. It was thoroughly dishonest, but it was unquestionably shrewd, and Jesus, in telling this little story, acknowledges the fact. He says this man was dishonest. But he also says he was very prudent. And then he says, "The sons of this world are wiser in their own generation than the sons of light," by which he indicates that this man has something to teach us. He has a cleverness, a shrewdness, a prudence that it would be well for us to learn. Yet this story is subject to a good deal of misinterpretation unless we give close attention to the comments that our Lord makes following the story. Here lies the key to this parable.
Jesus makes four keen observations about this account that unfold to us some astonishing truth about the use of money. And if you question whether the subject of this story is money, I suggest you look at verse fourteen which follows the story:
The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all this, and they scoffed at him. (Luke 16:14 RSV)
That is, these lovers of money laughed at Jesus because he was suggesting that there is a direct relationship between material and spiritual wealth. But Jesus confirms this with four observations, the first of which is in verse nine, in which the purpose of giving is illustrated:
"And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous mammon, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal habitations." (Luke 16:9 RSV)
That, by the way, is a much improved translation over the Authorized Version, which rather badly garbles the text, but in the Revised Standard Version it is clear. This passage is addressed to the sons of light who are, of course, Christians. Christians have been translated out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of the Son, Paul tells us. Not by our own merits, but, quite apart from them, we have been made fit to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light. In the Epistle to the Ephesians, Paul reminds us that we are to walk as children of light, those upon whom the light has shined. Now Jesus is saying, do what this steward did, imitate this man.
That is rather remarkable, is it not, for this is a dishonest, thoroughly unscrupulous man? But we are not urged to imitate his dishonesty. We do that all too frequently and easily anyway! But we are to imitate his prudence, his wisdom, for within the limits of this man's vision he was a very wise person. The limit of his vision is found in the phrase, "in their own generation." The sons of this world are wiser in their own generation, within the limits of their thinking, than the children of light. This man was a child of his own generation. His thinking was bounded by the times in which he lived. It was thoroughly materialistic.
Like many today, his thinking was bounded on the north by his bank account, on the south by his credit card, on the east by the stock market, and on the west by the Internal Revenue Department. Within that realm all his thinking moved.
But within that realm, Jesus said, he was a very wise individual; he did something very shrewd and prudent indeed. Our Lord is saying, most remarkably, to us that if we take this story, apart from its dishonest aspects, every Christian is in exactly the same boat as this man. For we, like him, are facing the certain and impending end of all our material resources. "It shall fail," says Jesus, and we know that is true. Within a few years at best, each one of us, no matter whether it be the youngest among us, knows that we shall stand naked before God, that we will have no wealth, no money, no titles, no influence. All will be left behind, and all material values for us will suddenly be worth absolutely nothing. We are facing the imminent certain end of all our material resources.
I learned some time ago, to my amusement, that undertakers are sometimes called on to provide suitable clothing in which their clients may be buried. There are special suits made for such occasions, which look exactly like ordinary suits, except they have no pockets. Their customers need no pockets for there is nothing to put in them! This is a very graphic way of illustrating that we have brought nothing into this world and we can take nothing out of it.
Or can we? Is there anything that we can carry across with us to the other side? Is there no link at all between this life and that life yonder? Yes, says Jesus, there is one thing you can take with you -- friends! Meaningful personal relationships, ties of spiritual life-sharing, family ties in Christ, all these survive death, he says, If you are wise, you will use your money to make friends.
A few weeks ago I ran across a little book by C. S. Lewis called, A Grief Observed. It is the diary he kept a few years ago following the death of his wife, in which he jotted down the thoughts and reactions that were his during the stress and pain of those days. It is written in the brilliant, sparkling style that we associate with C. S. Lewis, but its atmosphere is somber and sad, and there is remarkably little of faith in it, until the end of the book. Among the doubts that came flooding into Lewis' mind as he lived through the weary, dull days that followed his wife's death was the idea that there is no real hope of seeing our loved ones again. He suggests that the idea of a family reunion on the other shore is unscriptural and thoroughly illogical. We must remember what he wrote under the dark cloud of grief that hung heavy on his heart. Perhaps that explains much of the darkness, the bitterness of this account. There are very few occasions when I would venture to differ with C. S. Lewis, but here is one. For Jesus says specifically that the friends that are made on this side by means of the mammon of unrighteousness can be there to welcome us into the eternal habitations. Surely he means that close spiritual ties, made here in this life, survive death, and such loved ones will be there to welcome us on the other side.
The amazing thing is Jesus' statement that we can use money, which he calls "unrighteous mammon," to gain friends who are made righteous by faith. When he says "unrighteous mammon," he does not mean that money is wicked. Scripture never says that money is the root of all evil, as it is sometimes quoted as saying. It is the love of money which is the root of all evil (1 Timothy 6:10), and loving money is simply another expression for serving mammon. When Jesus speaks of unrighteous mammon, he means that money is neither righteous nor wicked. Money is neither moral nor immoral -- it is non-moral. It is an instrument either for good or evil, depending on which way it is used.
He is saying to the sons of light that they are to use money for eternal good. In the Sermon on the Mount he said, "Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven" (Matthew 6:20), and this is the way it is done. Use your money in such a way that you are winning others, not only to Christ, but to yourself, for you never win anyone to Christ without winning him, in some degree, to yourself. By means of hospitality, or in giving to some missionary venture, or by investing a sum to help in a time of need, money may be used for eternal good. It is not enough to pray for the lost; we must pay for them too if we are going to win them and have them meet us on the other side.
There is that heroic story in the Gospels of the four men who brought a palsied man to Christ. They had to tear up the roof of the house in order to let him down before Christ. I am troubled sometimes by an over-active imagination. I can picture that scene -- the owner of that house sitting at the feet of Jesus and looking up at his roof as a hole is being made in it directly over his head. I wonder what he is thinking. The burning question left unanswered is: Who paid for that roof? Is it not likely that four men took up a collection among themselves and paid for it? Oh, the glory of that tale! How they dared to do the unorthodox, and the costly, because of their love for this man, that they might bring him to Christ.
Dr. G. Campbell Morgan tells of visiting the home of a very wealthy Christian man. On one occasion, at family prayers in the morning, the man prayed tenderly and eloquently for the missionaries and the heathen. When he had finished, his teen-age son said to him, "Dad, I like to hear you pray for missionaries." His dad said, "Well, son, I am glad to hear that." And the boy said, "But do you know what I was thinking while you were praying? I thought, 'If I had your bank book I would answer half your prayers.'"
Now our Lord is saying that the purpose of money, whether we have little or much, is to use it in the uncertain present in order to enrich the certain future. If you use it for anything else it is a waste. But he goes further still. Not only is the purpose of giving illustrated here, but in Verse 10 there is a parallel of living indicated:
"He who is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and he who is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much." (Luke 16:10 RSV)
What do you understand by that? Do you take that to mean, if a man is faithful in greater things? That is the way it is frequently taken, but that entirely misses the point of what our Lord is saying. He is saying, "If you are faithful in little things today, you will be faithful also in great things today." That is, if you are faithful in that which is relatively inconsequential, it is a revelation that you are also being faithful in hidden, greater things at the same time. And if you are faithless, disobedient, in little things, it is a sure sign you are being faithless, disobedient, in the greater things. One reveals the other.
In the context of this story it is clear that the little things are the realm of material values: money, wealth, the use of our time and influence; while the greater things, the "much" that he is referring to is in the realm of spiritual realities, the true riches of which he speaks a little later. He says there is a direct parallel between these two. If a man does not give as he should, as a Christian, then it is also true he does not live as he should, as a Christian. He will never be faithful in the little unless he is being faithful in the much.
Jesus is simply indicating that one who faithfully seeks to walk in truth in those hidden areas of his life that no other man can properly evaluate is also equally faithful in the visible aspects of giving; you cannot separate them. One who seldom gives, or gives sporadically, is equally spasmodic in spiritual matters.
I have found this demonstrated time and time again. Jesus is simply saying that faithfulness in our giving is a quite proper thermometer of our spiritual life. He is not talking about the amount of giving at all; he is talking about faithfulness in it. How faithful are we in reckoning up what we have and what we can do and then doing it? That is his great concern.
You see how this precludes all possibility of Christians living their lives in compartments? Life is not made up like Time Magazine, with a page for economics, one for religion, one for politics and another one for social life. You cannot be one thing on one level and another thing on another level. No, life is one great coordinated whole: If you are weak on one level, you are weak to some degree on all levels. It is so well expressed by that Negro spiritual, "Dry Bones." "The foot bone connected to the anklebone, the anklebone connected to the leg bone, the leg bone connected to the knee bone, the knee bone connected to the thigh bone, the thigh bone connected to the hip bone," and so on. You cannot stop until you get the whole man hooked up together. Life is one coordinated whole.
Now Jesus presses this matter still further. Not only is there a parallel of living revealed in the way we use money, but, in Verses11-12, he declares that a principle of learning is implied:
"If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own?" (Luke 16:11-12 RSV)
Who is this that gives true riches, gives us what is our own? It is the Holy Spirit. Only the Holy Spirit imparts to us true riches, and what are these if not the riches of grace in Christ Jesus? In other words, the power and the blessing that you and I crave so intently in our Christian experience, that which Jesus Christ is come to impart to us, that which lends color and purpose and power to live, these are the values that make life an enriched experience, and only the Holy Spirit can give them. Jesus is saying, "if we are disobedient in matters involving these simple commands concerning our material needs, how will the Holy Spirit entrust us with spiritual power?"
Jesus said to Nicodemus in the third chapter of John, "If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things?" (John 3:12 RSV). If, on this level, there is no obedience, there is no readiness to yield our wills, and to do what he says, then we have shut the door to the greater riches that he longs to impart to us. Is this, perhaps, a clue to a very widespread and perplexing phenomenon in Christian experience?
I am referring to the remarkable dullness and slowness we often exhibit in grasping spiritual truths. Sometimes I shake my head over occasions when I have repeatedly gone over some passage of Scripture, or some truth that someone desperately needs to see, how slow he is to grasp it. Then I remember how slow I was to grasp the same truth. Perhaps we need to start our obedience at a lower level. If we obey in these lesser things, if we are faithful in the little, Jesus says, the doors of spiritual power will be open to us and the riches of Christ will become our experience. In the book of Proverbs the same truth is stated: "A liberal man will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered," (Proverbs 11:25 KJV).
This week one of our Sunday School teachers said to me, "I have a boy in my class who never gives anything in the offering. I have asked him about it and he says, 'Oh, my father writes out a check every week for our family, and that's enough.'" Surely there is no surer way to spiritual poverty than to operate on that basis. Every one of us is responsible, not for what another in our family has, but what we have, what we control, and if, on this level of things, we are disobedient, we are closing the door to the possibility of understanding a great deal of truth that lies beyond.
Now, our Lord presses this matter even further to the final and ultimate revelation involved in this. He says that even beyond the purpose of giving, and the parallel of living, and the principle of learning that is wrapped up in this matter of giving, in the way we handle our money, a priority of loving is involved:
"No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon." (Luke 16:13 RSV)
Either we love God or we love money. Each of these, by their very nature, makes a totalitarian claim upon us, and we cannot give ourselves half and half. We think we can; we are continually trying to do it on that basis. We delude ourselves into thinking that while some of the time we may step over the line in material things, for the rest of the time we faithfully serve God. "No!" says Jesus, "you cannot serve God and mammon." No compromise between the two is possible. You can use mammon for the service of God, but you can never use God to serve mammon -- never! The love of money is really the love of self. If we succeed in our pursuit of wealth and a higher standard of living, the inevitable result in our lives is that we become increasingly self-centered, for the love of money is the love of self. If, on the other hand, try as we will we, can never accumulate a dime and, in our pursuit of wealth we fail, the inevitable result is self-pity and we become embittered and critical and caustic toward others.
This is but a revelation that we are to some degree captured by the deceitfulness of riches. On the other hand, love of God inevitably means love of man and readiness to meet the needs and to minister to the yearnings of men. The love of God is the only thing I know that makes a heart really go out to men in their need. Jesus is simply saying, in searching purity, that it is no good to say we love God while we withhold our funds and live on a continually rising standard of living. We only delude ourselves when we do. It is possible for a while, even for a genuine Christian, as he is temporarily blinded by ignorance or lust, but when the issue is squarely set before us and we must choose between what we really want and what we say we want, then the way we choose reveals whom we serve, who has the priority of love in our life.
Some time ago I read of a Christian farmer who discovered that his favorite cow had given birth to twin calves. He said to his wife, "You know, dear, I think we ought to give one of these calves to the Lord. We will raise one for ourselves and give one to the Lord who has given us this unexpected blessing." She said, "Which one are you going to give to the Lord?" "Well," he said. "I haven't decided. We'll treat them alike and feed them the same and when it comes time to market them we will decide which one to give to the Lord." So he fed the calves, took care of them, and they grew through the summer. Then one day he came into the house looking miserable, and his wife said, "What is the matter?" "Oh," he said, "a terrible thing has happened. The Lord's calf has died." She said, "But I thought you hadn't chosen yet which one it was." "Oh, yes," he said, "all the time I was thinking that the white calf would be the Lord's, and it was the Lord's calf that died." Such moments come as revelations of where our heart is really centered.
This is what Jesus said. "No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon." And if we mean to serve God, let us listen to this word of Jesus:
...make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous mammon, so that when it fails [and it shall] they [the friends made by means of this] may receive [welcome] you into [the enrichment and the enlargement of life of] the eternal habitations." (Luke 16:9 RSV)
What is Money for Anyway
Treasures on Earth, Treasures in Heaven
Riches
Paradigm Shift 2020
September 30, 2020.
