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Silver, Fire, Dross, and the Cross

Posted in Gospel with tags , , , , , , , , , , on November 11, 2013 by paulthepoke

Dross is an Old English word that means the scum produced when smelting metals. Dross is impure. Dross is removed from precious metals such as silver by the process of smelting with intense heat and fire.

The wickedness and sin are equated with dross in the following verses.

Proverbs 26:23 Like an earthen vessel overlaid with silver dross are burning lips and a wicked heart.

Psalm 119:119a, You have removed all the wicked of the earth like dross…

The lake of fire is the eternal destination of people who are not written in the book of life. Their sins have not been paid or taken away. They are impure like dross. Eternal fire and smelting will never remove the impurity of sin from humanity. An eternity of fire and Hell cannot cleanse sin from humanity.

Revelation 20:14-15 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

Only the blood of Christ can wash away humanity’s dross and impurities. Christ’s shed blood is more powerful and cleanses better than fire. He is the one who purifies and refines. He removes the scum and the dregs.

1 John 1:7b …and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.

Titus 2:14 who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.

Revelation 1:5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood—

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Isaiah 10:16 Burn, Burn, Burn!

Posted in Isaiah with tags , , , , , , , , , on October 27, 2013 by paulthepoke

Isaiah 10:16 Therefore the Lord, the GOD of hosts, will send a wasting disease among his stout warriors; and under his glory a fire will be kindled like a burning flame.

There are three names or concepts of God mentioned in the initial part of this verse.

Adonai is the Hebrew term that is translated “Lord”. It can mean ruler, master, owner, or sovereign. The word is plural. When Adonai is the term for God, it indicates His absolute sovereignty and greatness (The Doctrine of God, Chester McCalley).

Yahweh YHWH (scholars refer to this as the Tetragrammaton, Greek for four letters) is the proper name of the Hebrew God of the Bible. The correct spelling is YHWH. Note there are no vowels in this term. Vowels from the name Adonai were substituted and the term Yahweh emerged. Jehovah is a word that has been translated to English from the Hebrew, Yahweh. The name for LORD is Jehovah. It means the existing one. This name is so sacred, Jews refuse to pronounce it. The name is first introduced in Exodus 3:14 when Moses and God are having a discussion. His name is a statement of existence. Exodus 3:14 God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”

Lord of Hosts is a military term. He commands the armies or angels.

The king of Assyria has been informed who is in control and in charge of the situation. God is intentionally sending a nasty disease to the Assyrian army. This disease will affect the strongest and most vigorous of the troops, the fat ones.

… and under his glory a fire will be kindled like a burning flame. The Hebrew language is repetitive with this portion of the verse. Another loose translation could read …burn, burn, burn, burn! The last reference in the verse for flame is the Hebrew word ‘esh. One of the definitions for this word according to Strong’s is a supernatural fire with accompanying theophany. To the king of Assyria, fire is coming. Is this a hint of what is to come?

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Isaiah 9:18-19 Humanity Impacts the Environment

Posted in Egypt/Nile River, Isaiah with tags , , , , , , on September 2, 2013 by paulthepoke

Isaiah 9:18-19 For wickedness burns like a fire; it consumes briars and thorns; it even sets the thickets of the forest aflame and they roll upward in a column of smoke. By the fury of the LORD of hosts the land is burned up, and the people are like fuel for the fire; no man spares his brother.

Isaiah uses idiomatic language to describe wickedness. The wickedness can be in civil relations, moral, ethical, and religious connotations. The people’s wickedness is like a destructive fire. A fire burns vegetation and wood.

As God sees it, the people’s actions are like a fire. God’s judgment in return is a fire. So the logic goes, the people’s actions (wickedness) result in a consuming fire of the land. In the idiomatic language, briars, thorns, and woods are the fuel. In reality, the people become the fuel in their judgment.

God’s word says that people’s actions can affect the environment. I realize in today’s “scientific” world that seems pretty far-fetched in some circles. This concept leaves the “global warming community” and the “environmental left” in a tight spot. These two groups would agree that man has negatively impacted the environment. This position would also be in agreement with God. This does not mean these left leaning organizations are in agreement with the Bible. If you read their beliefs, they are not consistent with God’s precepts.

The greatest environmental disaster of all time was due to man’s actions and sins. That disaster was the flood in Genesis.  Genesis 6:13 Then God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence because of them; and behold, I am about to destroy them with the earth.

Genesis 7:4 “For after seven more days, I will send rain on the earth forty days and forty nights; and I will blot out from the face of the land every living thing that I have made.” The wickedness of humanity resulted in forty days and forty nights of rain. Incidentally, this is the first time in history it rained according to the Bible. Genesis 7:4 is the first mention of rain being caused. Genesis 2:5 indicates that God had not sent rain on the earth. Genesis 2:6 indicates there was a mist from the ground that watered the surface of the earth. God originally used His own misting sprinkler system to water plant life.

Man’s actions have impacted the environment in the past and in today’s world. Man’s actions and wickedness will impact the environment in the future Tribulation. Revelation 8:7 talks of hail and fire. Revelation 16:21 talks of the plague of hail.  The sun is progressively impacted until there is darkness in Joel 2:10, 3:15, and Revelation 16:10.

Matthew 24:37 “For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah.

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Heaven’s Throne Room

Posted in Isaiah with tags , , , , , , , , , on October 21, 2012 by paulthepoke

Expanding on Isaiah 6:1, what does the throne room of Heaven look like? There are other references to the physical description of the Heavenly throne in Scripture. The majority of the physical description noted is about God Himself. One of the references is in the Old Testament and one of the references is in the New Testament.

The first example is from Revelation. The apostle John who is imprisoned on Patmos is the author and he is the one in the Spirit.

Revelation 4:2-3 Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne was standing in heaven, and One sitting on the throne. And He who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance.

The two stones of jasper and sardius are of interest as they describe God. Jasper is defined as a precious stone of various colors (purple, blue, green, white, clear, and brass in color). Sardius is a precious stone that is fleshly colored.

The color of the throne room is a green, gem like emerald. The rainbow encompasses the throne.

Verse 5 From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. Before the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God. 

Imagine the visual and acoustic environment this would create. Lightning and thunder are emanating from the throne.  Lamps representing the Spirit of God are blazing with fire in front of the throne. The number seven is symbolic of completeness, fullness, perfection.

Verse 6a and before the throne there was something like a sea of glass, like crystal… 

The Old Testament description is provided by the prophet Ezekiel.

Ezekiel 1:26-28 Now above the expanse that was over their heads there was something resembling a throne, like lapis lazuli in appearance; and on that which resembled a throne, high up, was a figure with the appearance of a man. Then I noticed from the appearance of His loins and upward something like glowing metal that looked like fire all around within it, and from the appearance of His loins and downward I saw something like fire; and there was a radiance around Him. As the appearance of the rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the surrounding radiance. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell on my face and heard a voice speaking.

The throne is compared to lapis luzuli. What is that? It is translated as a sapphire stone in some cases. Sapphires can come in many colors. The most common color is blue.

The Ezekiel passage discusses the physical appearance of God. He looks like a man. God told us in the Genesis creation account that humanity was made in His image. Ezekiel confirms this with his observation. God looks like a man.

The physical description of God is consistent with fire. Fire is a symbol of judgment and purification.

Genesis 9:9-17, God establishes a covenant and a promise with man and all living creatures. Notice, man’s actions affect the living environment around him. The rainbow is a reminder and a symbol of God’s mercy. Specifically, Genesis 9:15 indicates… and I will remember My covenant, which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and never again shall the water become a flood to destroy all flesh.

The Triune God is present in the throne room in Heaven. The Father is seated on the throne. The Spirit is present as lampstands. The Son is the One who will open the scrolls later in the scene in Revelation 5. 

The symbols and description of God in the throne room depict: strength, power, beauty, judgment, preciousness, and mercy.

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Isaiah 5:24-25 Israel Rejects God’s Word

Posted in Isaiah with tags , , , , , , on September 15, 2012 by paulthepoke

Isaiah 5:24-25 Therefore, as a tongue of fire consumes stubble and dry grass collapses into the flame, So their root will become like rot and their blossom blow away as dust; for they have rejected the law of the LORD of hosts and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.

On this account the anger of the LORD has burned against His people, and He has stretched out His hand against them and struck them down. And the mountains quaked, and their corpses lay like refuse in the middle of the streets. For all this His anger is not spent, but His hand is still stretched out. 

The imagery of a consuming fire is not that hard to imagine considering the summer of 2012. There were stories of sparks starting massive fires across the country side. Flowers were literally drying and shriveling away to nothing due to the heat. This is the comparison to the reality of Israel. They are the burning grass and withering flower.

Why is Israel in such peril? They rejected God’s word. The grammar in the Hebrew indicates that Israel has intensively rejected and spurned God’s word. They have not casually dismissed His commands. They have actively shunned.

God will have an emphatic response to this rejection. The people of Israel will be subjected to fire, death, and earthquakes for starters. The figurative language describing the death is vivid. The bodies will lie in the street like a pile of dung. Growing up in Oklahoma, I can visualize the splat of a cow patty on Main Street after the rodeo parade in the middle of summer.

This will not be the end. God’s wrath is not complete. He is poised to continue. Moving forward from verse 26 through the end of the chapter, there will be an invasion from a swift and hostile country.

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