Voices of the Prophets: Jeremiah The Revelation of Babylon

                   We have previously established that Jeremiah’s prophesies spanned a period of about forty years leading up to the time of the captivity and into the time of its inception. There exists much detail in the fifty two chapters. Our objective in these recent posts has been to provide an overview pointing out and expounding on some of the more important topics covered in these Scriptures.

            In concluding this brief series summarizing Jeremiah’s comprehensive revelations it has seemed incumbent that we discuss this entity known as the Babylonian Empire because it goes beyond just an imperial power with great military might. So while its military might was powerful and very destructive resulting in the death of many in Judah and thrir captivity as well as the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple; its own judgment and destruction is prophesied.

            “The word of the Lord spake against Babylon and against the land of the Chaldees by Jeremiah the prophet. Declare ye among the nations, and publish, and set up a standard; publish and conceal not: say Babylon is taken, Bel (the Babylonian Baal—i.e. Lucifer) is confounded. Merodach (a Babylonian idol) is broken in pieces.  Her idols are confounded; her images are broken in pieces. For out of the north there cometh a nation against her, which shall make her land desolate, and none shall dwell therein: they shall remove, they shall depart, both man and beast.” (Jer. 50:1-3).And so is prophesied the destruction of Babylon which will be accomplished after the seventy years of the captivity of Judah. This will be from the north by the emerging kingdom of the Medes and the Persians. To be understood is the fact that Babylon was a mighty military force which became dominant for a brief period, but also it was a totally pagan people who subdued Judah with their pagan religion and culture which had a permanent effect on them from a spiritual perspective. This chapter and chapter fifty-one are not only a commentary on the defeat and captivity of a people physically but also had long term ramifications to the identity of a people spiritually. This portion of prophecy can be projected through the centuries and has application to this present time and will continue even much more so as we move to the end of the age. This, of course, will require further explanation.

            “Israel is a scattered sheep; the lions have driven her away: first the king of Assyria hath devoured him; and last this Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon hath broken his bones. Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold I will punish the king of Babylon and his land, even as I punished the king of Assyria.”(Jer. 50:17-18). These successive  judgements by of the Lord are executed by the powerful hand of the Lord upon his people for their wickedness and idolatry;  but in turn these pagan empires are also brought under judgment.

            The spiritual seed for Israel and Judah’s destruction were planted and harvested with the Jews as is evidenced by the ‘oral tradition’ held by the Pharisees and their violent  hatred of Christ leading to his crucifixion.. In view in the prophesies are not only the judgment and destruction of  Jerusalem and the temple in that day; but they take us forward to the very end of the age and the revelation of Mystery Babylon as is discovered in chapters seventeen and eighteen of Revelation.

            This dual application of Babylon is confirmed by comparing portions of Jeremiah’s prophesies with those of the Apostle John in Revelation.  “Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul: be not cut of in her iniquity; for this is the time of the Lord’s vengeance; he will render unto her recompense. Babylon has been a golden cup in the Lord’s hand that made all of the earth drunken; the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore are the nations mad. Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed…”(Jer.:51:6-8). Comparing this passage with verses in Revelation where we read: “And upon her forehead was a name written; MYSTERY BABYLON THE GREAT THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMIATIONS OF THE EARTH, And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus…(Revelation 17:5 and 6 in part). “And the woman arrayed with purple and scarlet….and having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication.” (Rev. 17:4).”And I heard another voice from heaven, saying Come out of her my people that ye be not partakers of her sins, and ye receive not of her plagues.”(Rev. 18:4).So there exists a parallel between the two covenants. As a remnant from Judah returned to rebuild the temple and the city under the old covenant; so a remnant will escape from spiritual (mystery) Babylon to recover the rue testimony of Christ. There will be a remnant in the church which will discover  the truths that will  alow them  toescape their spitual captivity in MYSTERY BABYLON.

             So we have observed some of the parallels of Jerimiah’s prophesies, first as they related to the captivity of ancient Judah and then at the consummation of the age as they relate to the people of God. There was a physical Babylon and there is now a spiritual Babylon identified as Mystery Babylon. It is a vital and overriding  satanic  force in today’s world. It is Luciferian in its nature and content. It finds its dogma, its wickedness and the power of its deception in the Babylonian Talmud which has birthed Talmudic Judaismand Zionism. It has taken captive the world at large and it will find its final prophesied destiny in a NEW WORLD ORDER to be centered in Jerusalem and the modern day State of Israel and it will be ruled by the Antichrist as Satan’s representative. Recognizing that much of this may not be discernable to Christians in this modern day apostate church I recommend my book The Israel Deception.

David Lance Dean              blogs and website @authordavidlancedean.com

Voices of the Prophets: Jeremiah Promise of a New Covenant

            “At the same time, saith the Lord, will I be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people.” (Jer. 31:1). In order to understand the first verse of this chapter in Jeremiah we must come to a clear understanding of the term Israel as it is defined under the tenets of the New Covenant in Christ for it is not the same as Israel under the Old Testament. In Christ the meaning of the term undergoes a great expansion to include all who truly embrace Christ in his work of redemption and then continue in faithfulness to the covenant. Let us examine this concept as it is expressed in the epistle first in Romans, and then in Galatians. “Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect, for they are not all Israel which are of Israel: Neither because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but in Isaac shall the seed be called.  That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.” (Rom. 9:6-8). “Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds as many; but as of one, And thy seed which is Christ. And this I say, that he covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect. For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise. Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made…… (I.e. Jesus Christ).Gal.3:16-19.

            So we see that this new covenant promised by Jeremiah not only extended and included a multitude of people form among the Gentiles but it also abrogated the old covenant of law “And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matt. 8:11-12).Jeremiah had a commentary prophetically to verify exactly what is stated above: “Behold, I will bring them from the North Country, and gather them from the coasts of the earth, and with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her that travailith with child together a: great company shall return thither. They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein the shall not stumble: for I am a father to Israel (this is not speaking of Israel after the flesh, but rather the true Israel of God, the spiritual seed of Abraham), and Ephraim is my first born.”Jeremiah 31:8-9).

            So let us define it specifically from the words of Jeremiah all of which can be verified by the Hew Testament account of the work of Christ and the advent of the Holy Spirit too abide in a people of faith and commitment to be obedient to the Holy Spirit. Jeremiah sets it forth as follows: “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was a husband unto them, saith the Lord: But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man their neighbor, and every man his brother saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” (Jer. 31:31-34).

          The covenant is rehearsed in the New Testament book of Hebrews in chapter eight and verses 8-12.The letter to the Hebrews was directed at Jewish believers who were very familiar with the tenets of the law and was given to them by Paul for instruction and encouragement as concerns the completed work of Christ.

            So within Jeremiah’s prophesies were many details of what was to befall Judah at the hand of Nebuchadnezzar along with multiple warnings and with explanation of the cause of that severe judgment at the hand of the Lord. But he also assures them that God is not finished with his work and will not be until Jesus Christ is manifest as Redeemer and Advocate.

            God’s covenants are always conditional requiring a response of faith and after that a performance of faithful obedience.

David Lance Dean                          website and blogs: authordavidlancedeancom

Voices of the Prophets: Jeremiah - The Breach of Covenant

             The Lord deals with people on the basis of covenant. Whether it is Old Testament or New Testament your comprehension of the testaments and arriving at sound doctrine will always rest on a right understanding of the meaning of the operative covenant. It must be understood that a covenant is a contract or agreement between two or more entities. A covenant is always conditional in nature.  That is to say there must be a performance as the condition on the part of all parties to the covenant. It must be ratified by agreement and then performance. The essential caveat on the part of people who the Lord has engaged in covenant is the obedience of faith. Clearly we understand that the Lord is always faithful to perform his part in the covenant whether it is the old or the new covenant in Christ. With this background for our understanding let us look at the eleventh chapter of Jeremiah.

            “The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord saying, hear ye the words of this covenant, and speak unto the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and say you unto them, thus saith the Lord God of Israel; cursed be the man that obeyeth not the word of this covenant. Which I commanded your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, obey my voice and do them, according to all which I command you: so shall ye be my people, and I will be your God: That I may perform the oath (covenant) which I swore unto your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is this day. Then answered I, and said, so be it O Lord.” (Jer. 11:1-6). Is it not clear that the commandment of the Lord is definite and conditional?

            “Yet they obey obeyed not, nor inclined their ear, but walked everyone in the imagination of their evil heart: therefore I will bring upon them all the words of the covenant, which I commanded them to do; but they did them not. And the Lord said unto me , A conspiracy is found among the men of Judah, and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem. They are turned back to the iniquity of their forefathers, which refused to hear my words; and they went after other gods to serve them: the house of Israel and the house of Judah  have broken my covenant which I made with their fathers. Therefore, thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will bring evil upon them, which they shall not be able to escape; and then shall they cry out unto me, I will not hearken unto them.” (Jer. 11: 8-12).

            So we see and conclude through these two passages recorded as spoken by the prophet Jeremiah that the covenant which the Lord mad with them was conditional in nature. Their continued blessing was conditioned upon their continued obedience to the precepts of the covenant which the Lord made with them. Disobedience over time resulted in judgment coming from a righteous God.  The Babylonian captivity was indeed devastating to Judah as the Assyrian captivity had been previously to Israel (the Northern ten tribes). The Lord is longsuffering.

            Today’s compromised and apostate Christian  church should take heed from the lessons learned from these passages in Jeremiah. Because as the old covenant with Israel was conditional to the Israelites so is the new convent in Christ to the church.  It is totally conditional in nature. The conditions imposed by the new covenant are a continuance in faithfulness, obedience end endurance to the very end.  The popular doctrines taught in most churches today is that we have been ‘unconditionally elected '‘i.e., ‘saved ‘and that we are covered by a doctrine they refer to as ‘eternal security’. These two corrupted doctrines provide  the individual with a false sense of security and it is obviously ‘another gospel’ which Paul and the other apostles did not preach. These false doctrines were prevalent u in the reformation period in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries and they have prevailed unto this present time.  They were also adopted by those who adhere to dispensational theology, i.e Scofieldism. They are totally unsupported by the scriptures. (See my five part series on Calvinism posted on my blogsite in April of 2017 for a complete appraisal of them as well as other points of Calvinism).

David Lance Dean                           website and blogs: authordavidlancedean.com

            

Voices of the Prophets: Jeremiah

                 As an introduction to the ministry of Jeremiah the prophet of God we need to establish a few basic facts about him and the context of his calling and how it fits into the history of Israel.  In the first verse in chapter one the fact of his priesthood and genealogy from the tribe of Benjamin are established. We then learn of the inception of his ministry of some forty years beginning during the reign of Josiah, king of Judah and preceding all the way to the end of the kings of Judah which was Zedekeiah. The kingdom of Judah was terminated and carried away by the Babylonian captivity. Jeremiah’s some forty years of prophesying to Judah was in large part related to that captivity of Judah by the Babylonians as a judgement executed by the hand of the Lord as a consequence of their apostasy and departure from the precepts of their covenant with God.  But it also extended to other peoples in the entire region for the Babylonian Empire was vast. The captivity of Judah was to last specifically for a period of seventy years as relates to Judah and Jerusalem as their sovereignty as a nation was brought to an end. Thus Jeremiah was commissioned by the Lord and “whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak. Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee saith the Lord.” (Jer. 1:7-8).

            God had set his servant over the nations and over the kingdoms, “to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build and to plant.”

“Out of the north an evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land.”(Jer.1:14). “And I will utter my judgment against them touching all their wickedness, who have forsaken me…”(Jer. 1:16 in part).”Hath a nation changed their gods? but my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit.”(Jer. 2:11).”Therefore, the showers have been withholden, and there hath been no latter rain; and thou hadst a whore’s forehead, thou refusedst to be ashamed.” (Jer. 3:3).

            “The Lord came unto me in the days of Josiah the king, Hast thou not seen that which backsliding Israel hath done? She is gone upon every high mountain, and under every green tree, and there hath played the harlot. And I said after she had done all of these things, Turn thou unto me. But she returned not. And her treacherous sister Judah saw it. And , when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also. And it came to pass through the liteness of her whoredom, that she defiled the land, and committed adultery with the stones and the stocks. And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah hath not turned to me with her whole heart, but feignedly, saith the Lord.” (Jer. 3:6-10).

            Above we see Israel (the Northern ten tribes) brought in as an example and point of comparison for Judah of the righteous judgment of God.  They had undergone a similar fate at the hands of the Assyrians some one hundred and fifteen years prior to the onset of Judah’s captivity at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon. There was a difference however between the two captivities in that the Assyrian captivity of Israel did not result in a recovery whereas, the Babylonian captivity produced a remnant of faithful Jews who after the seventy years of the captivity returned to Jerusalem and rebuilt the temple and there was a resumption of the Old Testament covenant.

            So we come to understand that Jeremiah’s cry to Judah which now constitutes the remnant of Israel was that they should repent and turn back to the Lord their God and put away their abominations and transgressions. “If thou will return, O Israel saith the Lord, return unto me: and if thou will put away thine abominations out of my sight, then shall thou not remove, And thou shalt swear, the Lord lveth in truth, in judgment, and In righteousness; and the nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory,” (Jer. 4:1-2).

            It is necessary to understand that Jeremiah’s words to the people of Judah were quickened and made powerful by the Spirit of the Lord. Otherwise they could not effectively produce a result. Later in the text of Jeremiah we see this principle proclaimed. “The prophet that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully….Is not my word like as fire saith the Lord; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces.” (Jer. 23:28-29). The word of the Lord has power both to convict as well as to condemn.  We see this principle being expressed again at the end of the age in the testimony of the two witnesses at Revelation 11:5. “And if any man will hurt them (the witnesses prophesying); fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies; and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.” In this passage it is not to be understood the enemies of the witnesses are killed physically by literal fire because it is a metaphor.  What is being expressed that the word of the Lord being spoken in the power of the Spirit will bring conviction which leads to repentance; or if resisted it will bring condemnation and judgment to those who would resist it or stand against it.

David Lance Dean                                                                                                                                                                                      websiteandblogs:authordavidlancedean.com