Images of the End - 250213

SPEAKER 1 Hello, I'm Rod Butler. Welcome to Let God Speak. There are two important truths that we must understand about God's judgment in the end times. First, everyone will be informed and warned. No one can claim that they did not know. Second, that there will come a time when it's too late to repent. Yes, that's right. Time's up. There are three stories from the Old Testament that illustrate these two truths. and are images of the end. Join us as we explore their special relevance to the final generation living before Christ returns. On our panel today we have Lena Yoon and Lazio Crescentini. Welcome Lazio, welcome Lena. SPEAKER 2 Thank you. SPEAKER 1 Before we start our discussion, let's bow for prayer. Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for the stories of people and events recorded in the Bible that we can learn spiritual lessons from. And as we have this discussion now, we ask for the Holy Spirit to guide our discussion and give us greater insight, Lord, to the messages for us today. We pray in Jesus' name, amen. SPEAKER 3 Amen. SPEAKER 1 Well, this quarter our programs on Let God Speak examined how symbols, images and metaphors, from some accounts in the Bible, unlock prophetic truths of final events. They help make end-time prophecies, specifically those in Revelation, come alive. For our last discussion on this theme, The three stories we're going to focus on today do just that. First we're going to look at Jonah, then move on to Belshazzar, the last king of Babylon, and finally we will contrast that with Cyrus, the great Persian leader who conquered Babylon. So let's get started with Jonah. Well, Lena, when we think of Jonah, we think of Jonah and the whale, but tell us who exactly was Jonah? SPEAKER 3 Jonah was a prophet to the northern kingdom of Israel and he came from this area called Gath-Hefer, actually near Nazareth in the area where later came to be known as Galilee. And when he was a prophet, King Jeroboam II ruled from 793 BC to 753 BC. And we're gonna go and read the Second Kings Chapter 14 verse 25 here. So he restored the territory of Israel from the entrance of Hamath to the Sea of Aravah, according to the word of the Lord God of Israel, which he had spoken through his servant Jonah, the son of Amittai, the prophet who was from Gath-hepher. So the book of Jonah describes how God instructed Jonah to warn the Assyrians in Nineveh because, you know, the wickedness was actually, you know, came up to God. And so, you know, that was the instruction from God. But initially Jonah ran away, but God intervened and he finally carried out the task that was given to him. SPEAKER 1 And so we know from 2 Kings 14:25, he was specifically called a prophet. SPEAKER 3 Yes. SPEAKER 1 So Lazio, tell us about the whale incident, the big fish incident. What's all that about? SPEAKER 2 Yeah, that's quite an interesting one. Like Lina mentioned, he was quite scared. He had this message to go preach, and he'd run away. Like he had to go to Nineveh, the Assyrians were this warlike, cruel people, and he boarded a ship, went into the opposite direction, away from it, and God sent a storm. to come and the boat was going or the ship was going to sink and the crew found that Jonah was the cause of the storm and Jonah said, if you throw me overboard, this will go away. It's quite interesting, they did it. They threw him overboard and praised God because the storm went away. But God sent a big fish or like the Hebrews say, it's a sea monster and the fish swallowed him, and he was inside the fish for three days. He prayed, he repented, and then the fish spat him out onto dry land. He obeyed God then, and he continued on to Nineveh. SPEAKER 1 Now, there's actually a powerful lesson in that story, because he was running in the wrong direction, but it was only in the belly of the fish that he came to his senses and decided to obey God. He repented. and there's many people today, God's calling them, wanting them to do something or follow Him, and they won't listen. And God calls louder and they still don't listen. So eventually God has to put some rather stark consequences in their life, puts them in uncomfortable positions. We can be in that fish's belly experience before we see reason. And I just pray that people don't have to go through that, but some of us have. have hard heads and need to go through that. With respect to him being called a prophet, why else was he called a prophet then? Lazio? SPEAKER 2 Yeah, so there's mainly two reasons why he was a prophet. One, he was swallowed by the fish and then he survived that to preach that message. But then the message itself, so he went and preached that judgment message to the Ninevites and when he preached it, the whole city repented from that and they were saved. And we can read that in Jonah chapter 3, verse 4 to 6. And it says, and Jonah began to enter the city on the first day's walk. Then he cried out and said, Yet 40 days and Nineveh shall be overthrown. So the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast and put on sackcloth from the greatest to the least of them. And in verse 6 says, Then word came to the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. So this is evidence that God was with him and that he was a prophet because his message was received in the way they responded. SPEAKER 1 Well, we know he was a prophet because Jesus himself refers to Jonah. Let's just read that passage. Let's turn to Matthew 12 and I'm going to read four verses, verse 38 to verse 42. And this is Jesus about to speak. Then certain of the scribes and the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we should see a sign from thee. But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly, so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonas, and behold, a greater than Jonas is here. The queen of the south shall rise up in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it, for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, a greater than Solomon is here. So Jesus believed Jonah. He believed him and he was a prophet. So why then did the Jews ask for a sign? What's the story there, Lena? SPEAKER 3 It was because the Jews refused to believe for the fact that Jesus was the Messiah, in spite of witnessing his miracles. So in chapter 12, just prior to this, Jesus healed a man with a withered hand in a synagogue. And also he cast out demons from a dumb and blind man and he healed him. And also there are numerous occasions where Jesus healed and performed miracles. But Jews, instead of believing in Jesus and his miracles, and they actually accused him of performing miracles by the power of the ElzebEth, not by the power of God. So Anne asked for a sign that Jesus was a truly Messiah. So therefore, just Jesus referred them to the sign of Jonah. SPEAKER 1 So Lazio, just from what Lena said, what was it then about Jonah that would be the sign to the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah? Why did He refer to Jonah? SPEAKER 2 Yes, because the Jews considered Jonah as a prophet. But Jesus goes and he parallels his ministry with that of Jonah, except that Jesus declares his own ministry was far greater than that of Jonah. So he compared Jonah's time in the belly of the fish, then when he was spat out into dry land, to his own death, the three days in the grave, and then his resurrection. And Jesus then compares as well as his travel time, just as Jonah had to travel there, his travel time to Nineveh to preach that judgment to them is to his own coming to this fallen world. And then he's preaching that the kingdom of God is at hand. And I invite you to look at Luke 19:10. And it says, For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost, just like Jonah did. SPEAKER 1 Yeah, and they were all lost until Jonah went there to preach. Now their images and their symbols of judgment in the story of Jonah. Alina, what must meet, what should we take note of in the story of Jonah? SPEAKER 3 Yeah, when Jonah was on the ship, the captain of the ship interrogated him on who he was, what his occupation was, where he came from. So we can find these in Jonah chapter 1, verses from 8 to 10. So here it says, Then they said to him, Please tell us, for whose cause is this trouble upon us? What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you? So he said to them, I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land. So Jonah's answer in verse 9, It's very similar to Revelation chapter 14 verse 7. We're gonna go and read that. So saying with a loud voice, Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water. So basically Jonah declares that he worships the Creator God. you know, God of Heaven. And so the last day is all about who we worship. So we will worship God, the Creator, and declare the worship of God and also the Creator to those who do not know Him or do not believe in Him. SPEAKER 1 Yeah, we can't stand quiet about who we believe in. SPEAKER 2 Yeah, absolutely. And I want to add to that where he says, just like Jonah was charged to preach to a warlike pagan Assyrian armies or people, We too have been charged to do a preaching to a nation or to the world. An unpopular message for those who are living in Babylon today. And we can see that in Revelation 18:4. And I heard another voice from heaven saying, Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive her plagues. So this is telling the world to repent. Now this message is given here is a message given to the apostate churches to provoke this negative response just like Jonah had. We want to come and turn away and run away sometimes. We don't want to give that message, but we have a job and we need to do that. We can't run away. SPEAKER 1 No, that's right. We can't run away. So Lachter, just sort of staying with you, was there any hope for the Ninevites in God's message of judgment? SPEAKER 2 That's an interesting question because if you actually read it, like God's message to Jonah does not mention that they will be saved. And have a look at it in Jonah 1:1-2, Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it, for their wickedness has come before me. So there was no mention about it. So Jonah, however he went and he preached the destruction would be in 40 days. And that's in Jonah chapter 3 verse 4. And it says, and Jonah began to enter the city on the first day walk. Then he cried out and said, Yet 40 days and Nineveh shall be overthrown. SPEAKER 1 So Lena then, why didn't God destroy them? SPEAKER 3 It was because they believed in Jonah's preaching that the judgment was coming right before them. So, you know, as last year mentioned earlier, the whole city, all the people, including the king and even the beast, fasted and repented for their sins. And so they actually repented in the hope that God would be merciful, take away his anger and, you know, and change his mind. So God actually did. So we're gonna go and see the verses from Jonah chapter 3 verses from 8 to 10. But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily to God: Yes, let everyone turn from his evil way, and from the violence that is in his hands. Who can tell if God will turn and relent, and turn away from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish? Then God saw their works, and they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them. he would bring upon them, and he did not do it. SPEAKER 1 Now that's interesting, isn't it? They didn't know that God would not change his mind. SPEAKER 3 That's right. SPEAKER 1 For all they knew that they were going to die in 40 days, but they still repented anyway. So they must have known something about God, that God was gracious and forgiving and merciful. Very powerful that they would still do that. So Lazio, with that in mind, how do we compare the message of Jonah to Revelation 14 and the three angels messages? SPEAKER 2 Yes, so like in the last days there's going to be two classes. There's the wicked and the righteous, the wheat and the tares. There's the sheep and the goats. And the three angels messages describes these two classes as well. There's spiritual Babylon and there is those who are not. Those of spiritual Babylon will get the mark of the beast. and will be destroyed in the final judgment. But then we've got those who are coming out of Babylon, that turned from their error and repented their sins, that they would follow Jesus and just like the Ninevites repented, they repented and basically they would, they've come out of Babylon and they are saved. And the word is us, is called to come out out of this spiritual Babylon, out of this world, we need to come now into Christ. So it's the same message today. SPEAKER 1 Well look, speaking of Babylon, let's move on to our next account, which is about Belshazzar, who was the last king of Babylon. Tell us about Belshazzar, Lena, who was Belshazzar? SPEAKER 3 Yeah, as you have just mentioned, in Daniel 5, Chapter 5:1, 7:1, and 8:1. And he is mentioned as the king of Babylon, as you've just mentioned. And we can see in Daniel 5:18 here, O King, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father kingdom and majesty, glory and honor. But here, actually, Daniel, here you can see your father. So basically, You know, it looks like Nebuchadnezzar was his father, but in actual fact, it's not. The mother of Belshazzar was the daughter of Nebuchadnezzar. And so here, the word father actually should be interpreted to mean that it is grandfather, ancestor, or predecessor, just like in many other passages of the Bible. SPEAKER 1 There is a grandson of the king. SPEAKER 3 King Nebuchadnezzar. SPEAKER 1 Now it's interesting, Belshazzar, the name Belshazzar, up until 1854, there was no record of Belshazzar in archaeology and people thought that it was, you know, the Bible's wrong again. And then in 1854 in the city of Ur, they found four clay cylinders which they called the Nabonidus cylinders and in that they reference that this person who was Belshazzar as Nabonidus' son. So yes, there was an evidence that he existed. And then in 1882 a clay tablet turned up, which was the Babylonian Chronicle, and that was translated and that mentions that Belshazzar was a co-regent. So he was the son of Nebuchadnezzar and a co-regent. Now Latio, why would that be important information? SPEAKER 2 Yeah, let's look at Daniel chapter 5 verse 7. And it says, the king cried aloud to bring in those astrologers and Chaldeans and the soothsayers. The king spoke saying to the wise men of Babylon, Whoever reads this writing and tells me the interpretation shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around his neck and he shall be the ruler in the kingdom. So critics always wondered why Belshazzar would only offer Daniel the reward of being the third ruler in the kingdom. But if he was the king, then surely he would have offered him the second to be the second ruler as the reward. But with the discovery from this archaeology that Belshazzar was only the co-regent, it was the co-regent for that area, so he was the second ruler, he could only offer the third one. He could not offer the second place or that can rule in that position. SPEAKER 1 It's important because it adds validity to the accuracy of the Bible. SPEAKER 2 Absolutely. SPEAKER 1 Because that seems strange unless you know what actually was the situation. But there it is. So, Alina, what happened the night Belshazzar died? SPEAKER 3 Okay, so it was about 539 BC, 23 years after the King Nebuchadnezzar died in 562 BC. So we can go and read Daniel chapter 5, verses from 1 to 4 here. Belshazzar the king made a great feast for thousands of his lords and drank wine in the presence of the thousand. While he tasted the wine, Belshazzar gave the command to bring the gold and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple which had been in Jerusalem. That the king and his lords and his wives and his concubines might drink from them. Then they brought the gold vessels that might have been taken from the temple of the house of God which had been in Jerusalem. and the king and his lords and his wives and his concubines drank from them, and they drank wine and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone. SPEAKER 1 Now, Len, if I can just sort of interrupt you on that point there, they're showing a sacrilegious attitude towards the sacred vessels of the temple. and we have in verse 5 and 6, we have the account where there's judgment, there was these handwriting, wasn't there? SPEAKER 3 Yes. SPEAKER 1 So Lazo, can you tell us about that handwriting? SPEAKER 2 Yes. SPEAKER 3 So. SPEAKER 2 Daniel gives a brief history lesson on all of that, but then it comes to Daniel chapter 5, verse 22 to 29, and it says, But you, son of man, have not humbled your heart, although you knew all this. you have lifted yourself up against the Lord of Heaven; they have brought the vessels of his house before you, and you and your lords, your wives, and your concubines have drank from them; and you have praised the gods of silver and gold, bronze and iron, wood and stone, which do not see and hear and know; and God holds your breath in his hand, and owns all your ways you have not glorified. then the finger of the hand was set from him, and this writing was written. And this is the inscription that was written: Many, many, tekel, a fersan. This is the interpretation of each word, meaning God has numbered your kingdom and finished it. Tekel, you have been weighed in the balances and found wanting. Peres, your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians. Then Belshazzar gave the command and they clothed Daniel with purple and a chain of gold around his neck and made a proclamation concerning him that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom. So they were defining, they were going openly against God by taking alcohol drinks into those holy vessels of the temple and drinking them. And that was putting himself above God, basically. And this sealed his fate by doing that. SPEAKER 1 Because he knew the history of Nebuchadnezzar, how God intervened and how Nebuchadnezzar gave his heart at the end. He knew all that, but he still wanted to be sacrilegious to the the holy vessels of the temple. What are the implications of this story for us today, Lena? SPEAKER 3 Yeah, as you mentioned, he knew all about the history, you know, how God intervened, you know, Nebuchadnezzar and with his life, but he sacrilegiously behaved, therefore his probation was up, it was too late for him to repent, so that night he died. So in the last days, as the final crisis breaks upon this world, we will be provided the opportunity to know the truth and obey. But will we obey God or keep going our own way as did Balaam? That's the question we need to ask. SPEAKER 1 Yeah, and there will come a time where time's up. Okay, let's quickly now go on to our last person we're gonna look at, which is Cyrus. And Cyrus was the Persian leader who took Babylon. Tell us how that happened, Bazzi. SPEAKER 2 Yes, so Hezekiah was born in 55 years after the fall of Babylon. And he describes how the city fell in a single night. The Euphrates River ran under the wall through the city and Cyrus had diverted that river so the soldiers could actually march through under the wall. And he writes that those who lived in that city center of Babylon had no idea that the suburbs had fallen. And because it was a festive time, they were having a great time, you know, dancing and singing and indulging in all these pleasures. And again, it was just proving how God, how Bible prophecy is so accurate. SPEAKER 1 And it's like when Jesus says they were eating and drinking and giving in marriage, then sudden destruction. This is what happened then. so, Lena, what are the takeaways? What can we learn from Cyrus? SPEAKER 3 Sure, we're gonna go and read Matthew 24:42-43. Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. So the sudden appearance of Christ will catch modern spiritual Babylon by surprise. And we have ample evidence in the Bible, you know, through the prophecies. So we will only be caught by surprise if we choose not to believe what God has promised would happen. So we are to watch and be ready. SPEAKER 2 Right. SPEAKER 1 That's very important. Watch and be ready. Now apart from capturing Babylon, and freeing the Jews, he did something else. What was that, Lazio? SPEAKER 2 Yes, 2 Chronicles 36:22-23. Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing saying, Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth the Lord God of heaven has given me. And he has commanded me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah, who is among you of all his people. May the Lord his God be with him, and let him go up. He decreed that the Jews could return to Jerusalem so they can rebuild the temple. SPEAKER 1 It's interesting, Isaiah 45:1 talks about Cyrus was prophesied about 150 years beforehand, and he was a type of Christ that liberated the Jews, just like Christ comes to liberate us. Well, that's all we've got time for. Thank you, Lena. Thank you, Lachio. Today we've looked at the stories of three people, Jonah, Belshazzar and Cyrus. Each story has images of the end times. Friends, we are in that judgment time now. The three angels messages of Revelation 14 are going out right now. Everyone will be informed and warned, time is nearly up. Jesus will return. Are you ready? Ask Jesus to take away your sin and follow Him. Well we're glad you joined us today on Let God Speak. Our next program starts a new series of discussions on the Book of Exodus. This is a series you won't want to miss. Remember all past programs plus teachers notes are available on our website 3abnaustralia.org.au. Email us on [email protected]. Tell your friends about the program and join us again next time. God bless. SPEAKER B You have been listening to let God speak, a production of 3ABN Australia television. To catch up on past programmes, please visit 3abnaustralia.org.au. Call us in Australia on 02 4973 3456. Or email [email protected]. we'd love to hear from you.