Nahum and Habakkuk
Kingdoms rise and kingdoms fall. It’s been that way since the beginning of civilization. Amazingly, every nation which rises to the top begins to think that they cannot fall because they are too great… Not so.
So it was with Assyria. This nation had conquered many other nations around, even taking the northern kingdom into captivity. However, they were about to fall.
Remember Nineveh? The city to which God had sent Jonah? The one which had repented? Well that was a town in Assyria, and by the time of Nahum, it had turned completely away from the Lord. Drunk in the wine of arrogance, this city – along with its nation, was about to fall.
Nahum had a message to these people. Repent, or you will fall also. (They didn’t and they did).
Now we come to Habakkuk, a small book which has ministered to me many times. It speaks of God’s power in the earth. He will raise up and tear down the nations according to their honor of Him.
There are two passages which I would like to share. First we have Habakkuk 2:1-3. “Record the vision and inscribe it on tablets, that the one who reads it may run. For the vision is yet for an appointed time; it hastens toward the goal and it will not fail. Though it tarries, wait for it; for it will certainly come, it will not delay.”
When God brings a vision,we need to take heed. We need to write it down and continue to look at it, so that our faith will not fail. If we continue to do what He tells us to do, that vision will come to pass. This is true for a collective vision – say, for our country, and it’s also true for personal vision. When the Lord gives us a Word, it will come to pass, if we hang on and refuse to give up.
Another passage which really goes along with this is found in Habakkuk 3:17-19. “Though the fig tree should not blossom and there be no fruit on the vine, though the yield of the olive should fail, and the fields produce no food, though the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no cattle in the stall, yet I will exult in the Lord, and rejoice in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength and He makes my feet like hinds’ feet, and makes me walk on my high places.”
When there is a vision, it is just that. A vivid idea in your mind; not anything to be seen with the eyes. And when we have a vision from God, very often everything around us looks different from what He said to us.
Think about it. If you already are experiencing the vision, you don’t need to have the Word from God. The Word He brings is to put hope and faith into us for what He is bringing our way.
So if everything around us looks to the contrary, we must let our faith arise, and put our trust in God. The vision will come to pass, if we hang on to it.
In the meantime, our God is still our hope and strength. He makes our feet like hinds’ feet so that we can walk on high places. He gets us through our tough times supernaturally while we wait for our vision.
Has God given you a vision? If so, write it down and don’t give up on it. Every Word from God is meant to come to pass. Though it tarries, wait for it. It will not fail!
Revelation 17
Here comes the harlot, sitting on the beast. Now we know that the beast is Satan; so what is the harlot?
I believe that the harlot is the unfaithful church: the church which has mixed with the world so much that you can’t tell the difference between it and the world.
No, I am not saying that we should all go into communes and hide from the world. What I am saying is that if we are going to be faithful to God, we will hold His Word up above what the world views are. We will realize that His Word is true, even when not many believe it. We will also honor it enough to study and understand what He is really saying.
Educated people who are ignorant of the Bible will make wild accusations against the Word. If we are going to remain pure in our doctrine and theology, we must continue to study and see what God is really saying.
For instance, I recently heard a man in a TV interview saying that the Bible couldn’t be true, because it says that the world is only 6,000 years old. It doesn’t say that at all. In fact, the more we study and learn what it says, we realize that the second verse in the Bible contains our clue. Most translations say “And the earth was formless and void.” However, when we look at the Hebrew word translated “was,” we realize that it really says, “became.”
In fact, right there in a correct translation of that tiny word, we have a hint of the ice age. Other passages speak of the time when Satan was thrown out of heaven and the total destruction which went with it.
So the first two verses should read: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (It doesn’t say when). And the earth became formless and void.” (Again it doesn’t say when or how. I think that it was when Satan and a third of the angels were thrown out of heaven, and destruction, followed by the ice age ensued).
So the rest of the chapters are recording God’s restoration of the earth. We know that Satan was already down here, because he tempted Adam and Eve.
Such teaching may seem strange, but it is right in keeping with other passages of the Bible. We see that Satan at one time was in heaven as Lucifer, and that he fell because of pride and rebellion. He persuaded a third of the angels to rebel with him, so they are down here also. (Now he is trying to con men and women into denying God and following him. But man has the God-given mission of resisting him and helping others to do the same).
These passages are just an example of how greater study will make the Bible more believable, not less. The more we learn about it, the more truth we see, and the more wisdom.
So back to the whore of Babylon. The whore who is confused because of mixing with the world. She is not going to be honored by the Lord any more that she honors Him. The day will come when she will be destroyed.
God wants His true church, His pure believers, to run the race with Him.
I pray that you and I will keep our hearts pure before Him. That’s His heart’s desire also.
