Archive for Psalm 2

Predestined With Free Will: Nations

Posted in Jude, Prophecy with tags , , , , , , , , , on January 6, 2019 by paulthepoke

Psalm 115:2-3 Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?” Our God is in the heavens; He does all that He pleases.

God is in control over the nations. Yet, the nations have free will to choose their destiny.

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A nation’s destiny is based on one simple foreign policy decision. How will that nation relate to God’s chosen people, Israel? And God states…

Genesis 12:3 “I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” -God

A nation’s course of history is determined by their interaction and response toward nation Israel. The Old Testament is full of examples of God’s judgment toward the enemies of Israel. Likewise, nations who show favor towards Israel are blessed.

In Psalm 2, God makes it perfectly clear who is in charge. Notice, the nations are exhibiting their free will. They are “raging” and “plotting”. Nations are gathering together under their sovereignty. Their choice is to take on the Creator, God. And the nations think they can break free from God and His will.

Psalm 2:1-3 “Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against his Anointed, saying, “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.”

God’s response to humanity’s rebellion towards Him… He laughs. He taunts. Then God explains how things are going to be. The Creator is in charge despite the creation’s free will. Note the terms wrath, terrify, and fury. God means business and He will emphatically put down the rebellion. His answer is The Lord Jesus Christ. Jerusalem is the headquarters.

Psalm 2:4-6 He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. Then He will speak to them in His wrath, and terrify them in His fury, saying, “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.”

It is stated that He (Jesus) will rule with a rod of iron and shatter them (the nations) like clay pots. Yes, nations can choose the destiny of their nation. Their free will and choice are no match. Nations are either with God or against Him. God will rule and Christ will be in charge.

Psalm 2:6-9 I will tell of the decree: The LORD said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”

A warning has been issued to the leaders of Earth. Use some common sense. Homage to the Son is expected.

Psalm 2:10-12 Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish in the way, for His wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in Him.

Use your free will and choose the Son, Jesus Christ. Take safety in His provision for sin. He has you covered. Otherwise, sin will be judged. There is accountability and consequence to your free will sin. The destination is an eternal lake of fire.

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Deception…Thoughts from an American Soldier

Posted in American soldier with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 16, 2018 by paulthepoke

Matthew 24:4 Jesus answered, “See to it that no one deceives you…”

Πλανάω/planaó: lead astray, deceive, cause to wander. This Greek word is the source of the English word for planet, as in Jupiter, Saturn, Earth, etc. Definition provided Strong’s Concordance.

Jesus tells us to be on guard against deception. There is no deception in Christ.

John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me…”

Deception Getty

Photo: Getty Images

Quran 3:54 And they (the disbelievers) schemed, and Allah schemed (against them): and Allah is the best of schemers.

The Arabic word used here for scheme or plot is makara, which literally means “deceit”. If Allah is supremely deceitful toward unbelievers, then there is little basis for denying that Muslims are allowed to do the same. See also Quran 8:30 and 10:21. Taken collectively these verses are interpreted to mean there are circumstances when a Muslim may be compelled to deceive others for a greater purpose.

The 9/11 hijackers practiced deception by going into bars and drinking alcohol. These acts of deception were to distract. They did not want to create potential suspicion they were Muslim fundamentalists plotting jihad. These efforts worked well. John Walsh, the host of a popular American television show, claimed after the fact their bar trips were evidence of hypocrisy.

The transmission from Flight 93 records the hijackers telling their doomed passengers that there is “a bomb on board”. but that everyone will “be safe” as long as “their demands are met.” Obviously, none of this was true. These men were intensely devoted to Islam. They were willing to “slay and be slain for the cause of Allah” as the Quran puts it. The hijackers saw nothing wrong with employing taqiyya to facilitate their mission of mass murder.

The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) insists that it “has not now or ever been involved with the Muslim Brotherhood, or supported any covert, illegal, or terrorist activity or organization.”  In fact, it was created by the Muslim Brotherhood and has bankrolled Hamas.  At least nine founders or board members of ISNA have been accused by prosecutors of supporting terrorism.

The notorious Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) is so well known for shamelessly lying about its ties to terror and extremism that books have been written on the subject.  They take seriously the part of Sharia Law that says, “It is permissible to lie if attaining the goal is permissible and obligatory to lie if the goal is obligatory.”

The goal is the ascendancy of Islam, and Sharia itself, on the American landscape.

Psalm 2:1-6 Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against his Anointed, saying, “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.”

He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. Then He will speak to them in His wrath, and terrify them in His fury, saying, “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.”

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Revelation: Thyatira, Stay the Course

Posted in Prophecy, Revelation with tags , , , , , , , , on May 20, 2017 by paulthepoke

Revelation 2:24-25 But I say to you, the rest who are in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not known the deep things of Satan, as they call them-I place no other burden on you . Nevertheless what you have, hold fast until I come.

This message is for those in the church at Thyatira who did not follow the teachings of Jezebel. These believers have not studied the ideas of Satan…allegedly. These folks are off the hook as far as Christ is concerned. These believers are encouraged to stay the course in their lifestyle in Jesus.

…until I come…This is the Greek word ηεκο/heko. Strong’s defines the word as: to have come, have arrived, be present. Metaphorically: to come to one, i.e. to seek an intimacy with one, become his follower: to come upon one (unexpectedly); to come upon one, of things endured.

This word ηεκο/heko captures the essence of Christ’s work in the resurrection and rapture of the church. Jesus is returning for His bride. Christ calls on us to persevere and endure the pressures of this world. He desires a personal relationship with believers, those who follow Him. And He will come like a thief in the night if one is not ready.

Revelation 2:26-27 The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father.

The one who conquers…This is the Greek verb νικαο/nikao. It is a term for a victorious military hero. Again, the shoe brand Nike comes from this Greek root word. The grammar states the action is continuous.

…and who keeps my works…Again the action of the verb is continuous. The believer is to continue the deeds and works of Christ. It should be the attitude of the believer to continuously do the will of Jesus. Again, until the end when He comes again.

Pay attention, there are rewards on the line. Believers will be political rulers in the future Millennial Kingdom. This is not an honorary position. Jesus is making the claim. Details of the leadership are noted below.

…I will give authority over the nations…What kind of authority are we promised? The Greek word is εξουσια/exousia. Strong’s Concordance defines the word as the following: power of choice, liberty of doing as one pleases; physical and mental power; the ability or strength with which one is endued, which he either possesses or exercises; the power of authority (influence) and of right (privilege); the power of rule or government (the power of him whose will and commands must be submitted to by others and obeyed); universal authority over mankind; the power of judicial decisions; the sign of regal authority, a crown.

two-edged sword

…and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces… Jesus is quoting the Psalmist. This is the power and authority promised to the Messiah. He will share in His power with His bride the church.

Psalm 2:9 You shall break them with a rod of iron, You shall shatter them like earthenware.

Notice the chain of command with authority in verses 26-27. It starts with God the Father. The Father hands authority to the Son. And the Son shares it with believers who are in Him. Believers will rule and reign with Jesus Christ in the Millennial Kingdom and into eternity.

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Isaiah 11:3b-4 Jesus, the Judge

Posted in Isaiah, Prophecy with tags , , , , , , , on January 19, 2014 by paulthepoke

Isaiah 11:3b-4 And He will not judge by what His eyes see, nor make a decision by what His ears hear; but with righteousness He will judge the poor, and decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth; and He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked.

The He is Jesus. He will not rely on His senses, hearing and vision, to make determinations. Righteousness will be the determining factor. The Hebrew word for righteousness is “tsedeq”. It means what is just and right (Strong’s Concordance). It is fair and honest. It cannot be bought or bribed. It is equitable and has integrity. It does not care how much money somebody has.

…and with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked… In the Hebrew, the word for slay is muwth. It means to die, kill, or have one executed (Strong’s Concordance).

2 Thessalonians 2:8 Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming…

The lawless one is the Antichrist. In the Greek, the word for slay is anaireo. It means to take up, to lift up (from the ground), to take up for myself as mine, to take away, abolish, to put out of the way, or kill slay a man (definitions per Strong’s Concordance).

With this definition, the understanding would be Jesus is going to take the Antichrist as a possession and escort him to the Lake of Fire. Revelation 19:20-21 And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone. And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh.

The Father is consistent with the expectation and intent of His Son throughout Scripture. Wickedness does not pay.

Psalm 2:9 “You shall break them with a rod of iron, You shall shatter them like earthenware.”

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Isaiah 9:6 A Child is Born

Posted in Gospel, Isaiah with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 15, 2013 by paulthepoke

Isaiah 9:6 For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.

This verse is a chorus in Handel’s Messiah which was written in 1741. The Messiah was written by Handel 24 days.

The verse is prophetic in nature. The first part of the verse, For a child will be born to us, was future to Isaiah. It is the past to us in June of 2013. We know this child to be Jesus as noted in Luke 2:11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

…a son will be given to us…The purpose of the Son is clarified in John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. This fact in history has binding results today and into the future. The grammar of the verse (Isaiah 9:6) in Hebrew indicates that the son is given to us, a gift.

…and the government will rest on His shoulders…This event is yet future to us in June 2013 and of course it was future to Isaiah some 700-800 years before the birth of the son. The Hebrew word for government is misrah, according to Strong’s Concordance it could also mean rule or dominion. Translation, He is in charge. Jesus confirms this in His resurrected body in Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth…”

Other references in the Old Testament confirm authority being given to the Son by the Father. Psalm 2 is an excellent example. Specifically verses 6-7 “But as for Me, I have installed My King upon Zion, My holy mountain”. I will surely tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to Me, ‘You are My Son, today I have begotten You. “

1 Corinthians 15:25 For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. This is an absolute necessity when one reads this verse in the original Greek New Testament. The word for must is dei. Stated another way, it is necessary. This has to happen.

1 Corinthians 15:26 The last enemy that will be abolished is death. The Bible says there will come a time when there is no more death.

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