1 Corinthians 1: 18

Last time we read Micah 4 we looked at the prophecy of a future Temple in Jerusalem, verses 1-2. This time we will think about the "anticipation for peace," not only among the Jewish people by people all over the world as well.

Verses 3-5 speak of the "time of peace" coming. When the Messiah, Jesus Christ comes back to earth, He will rebuke strong nations and judge the people of the world. As the Messiah sets up His kingdom, which will be a "theocratic kingdom", all of humankind will "beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks", verse 3. This will be a time of "real peace" and the "people will learn of war no more".

We are talking about the period of time known as the "Kingdom Age" or the "Millennial Kingdom", the thousand - year rule and reign of Christ from His Temple in Jerusalem. This will be the only time in history when there will be "true peace" on the earth.

Remember, every time we pray for the "peace of Jerusalem", Psalm 122:6, we are praying for Jesus to come back and implement that peace, worldwide. Verses 4 and 5 tell us something of that time when we walk with the Lord in His name.

By the way, verse 5 says we will do that forever. However, I must remind you that before this time of "real peace" there will be a time of "peace", howbeit a pseudo-peace that will be set up by the coming world dictator, the Antichrist.

Another ancient Jewish prophet, Daniel, tells us of this coming short-lived peace. Daniel 9:27 reveals that the Antichrist will bring about a peace between the Jewish state of Israel and its Islamic and Arab enemies.

This peace will set the stage for the enemies of Israel to watch as the Jews lay down their weapons and then these enemies will attack the Jewish State, Ezekiel 38:11.

Once the Jews are under the illusion of peace, their enemies rush in and try to destroy the Jewish people. Today there are many political leaders trying to bring peace to the Middle East. This anticipated peace will not come until the "Prince of Peace", Jesus, comes back to earth; however, the work of these world leaders will indeed set the stage for "Satan's peace plan".

PRAYER THOT: Help me Lord to bring the message of "true peace" to a world that desperately wants it and needs a peace, found only in Jesus.

Micah 4 vs13 - Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion: for I will make thine horn iron, and I will make thy hoofs brass: and thou shalt beat in pieces many people: and I will consecrate their gain unto the LORD, and their substance unto the Lord of the whole earth.
For further study - Micah 4:1-13
This fourth chapter of Micah is packed full of prophetic passages that are precursors to the predicted events in the "last days"

prophecies of this ancient Jewish prophet.

We have already looked at three trends that will be prevalent leading up to the time of the Second Coming of Christ. The first trend we discussed was found in verses 1 and 2. This passage alerted us to the "arrangements for the Temple" that would be very evident as we approach the return of Jesus Christ, the Messiah.
"Anticipation of Peace", the focus of verses 3-5, will cause the world, in particular the Middle East, to look for someone who will bring "peace" to the region. "Aliya of Jews" returning to the land of their forefathers is another of the trends that indicate that the world is nearing the time described in Bible prophecy as the "last days." Verses 6 and 7 foretell how this will happen as Jews make their way "back home." This actually has been happening for the last 100 years.
Today in our devotional reading, the extended portion, we see that the prophet Micah pre-wrote history some 2,500 years ago. Verses

11-13 reveal how, "many nations" will gather against the Jews in the last days. The "alignment of nations" against Israel will happen at the beginning of the seven year period of time known as the "Tribulation" or also referred to as the "Time of Jacob's Trouble,"

Jeremiah 30:7.
Daniel 11:40-45, Ezekiel 38, and Psalm 83 reveal the alignment of nations that try to destroy the Jewish state in the first of the seven years most likely the first six months of that time of judgment. The Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, will intercede and destroy most of those nations described by the prophets, Ezekiel 38:1-6.
There will also be a "gathering of many nations" at the end of the seven years. The "many nations gathering" against Israel at the end of the seven years takes place in the last six months with the "Kings of the East," Revelation 16:12, come into Jerusalem for a major war.

China will be a part of the "Kings of the East." In fact, all of the nations of the world will join together to try to stop Jesus from returning to Jerusalem, Zechariah 14:1-4.

The revelation of these four major trends, arrangements for the temple, anticipation of peace, aliyah (immigration) of the Jews and alignment of the nations against Israel are all prevalent today - an indication that the Lord's return is getting closer and closer.
Remember, seven years before Jesus comes to earth, He comes in the clouds and calls Christians into the heavenlies to be with Him forever. That event, the Rapture, could happen today. Even so come Lord Jesus.
PRAYER THOT: Dear Lord, my prayer is, even so come Lord Jesus, and help me to live in light of Your answering that prayer, today.

Micah 4 vs6-7 

In that day, saith the LORD, will I assemble her that halteth, and I will gather her that is driven out, and her that I have afflicted; And I will make her that halted a remnant, and her that was cast far off a strong nation: and the LORD shall reign over them in mount Zion from henceforth, even for ever.

For further study - Micah 4:1-13

In the last two devotional readings in Micah we looked at the "arrangements for the coming temple", Micah 4:1-2, and the "anticipation for peace", Micah 4:3-5.

Today we will look at the "aliya of the Jewish people", in Micah 4:6-7. The Hebrew word "aliya" literally means, "to go up to Jerusalem."

It was a command from the Torah that three times a year Jewish men were to go "up to Jerusalem" at the time of the "pilgrim feast." There are three "pilgrim feast" of the seven Jewish Feast that the Lord gave the Jewish people through Moses, Leviticus 23. These three "pilgrim feast" are Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles.

Twice in the spring and once in the fall the Jews were required to return to Jerusalem and to celebrate these "pilgrim feast" at the Temple. They were to make "aliya". That is somewhat the case for religious Jewish men still to this day.

However, the word "aliya" now is applied to “immigration-, Jews from around the world making their way back into the land of their forefathers, the land of the Bible, what we know today as Israel.

Notice the two key verses, verses 4:6-7, of our reading. The Lord will keep His promise to bring the Jewish people back to the land of their forefathers in the last days, a term described as "that day", verse 6.

Let me remind you that this is what is taking place today in Israel. For over 100 years Jews from the four corners of the earth, out of more than 100 nations, have made their way through the Lord's guidance and provision, back "home".

In the year 2008 the Israeli government has called for a year-long celebration to mark the 60th Birthday of the Jewish Nation known as Israel. For almost 2,000 years Jews have not had a nation of their own but in these the "last days", "that day", the Lord is keeping His promise and bringing the Jews to Israel, their homeland. They have become a nation, a Jewish nation among the nations of the world.

Verse 7 even says that Jerusalem, "Mt Zion" shall be the location where Messiah will rule and reign over the Jewish people. This three-part prophecy is about two-thirds fulfilled. The Lord has gathered the Jews to their homeland and has made them a nation.

The third part of the prophecy, the coming of the Messiah, seems to be very close. All of Micah's prophecies will be fulfilled. The Jewish state of Israel is a living monument to the fact that God's Word is true and His promises will be fulfilled.
It is also evidence that the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, must be about to happen. He will appear in the heavenlies to call us, we Christians, up to be with Him, forever.

Prayer Thot: Thank you Lord for your prophetic Word that reveals the time of Your return. Help me to live ready for You to come at any moment.
Micah 7 verse 7 - Therefore I will look unto the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me.
For further study - Micah 7:7 - 20
As I have studied the ancient Jewish prophets, I have noticed that they were men selected to go to a certain people with a message that would not only be hard for the recipient to take in - but for the prophet to deliver as well.

I have also noticed almost all the prophets were men of prayer and men of sorrow -men who could shed tears over those he was called to exhort or rebuke.

Micah is a prime example of that kind of a Jewish prophet. As he concluded his prophetic manuscript, he was offering up a prayer, a prayer for his enemies as well as a prayer of confession for himself and his people, the Jewish people. Micah knew the Lord would hear his prayer as he confessed his sin, his sin against the Lord (vs. 9.) The prophet knew he was to bear the indignation of the Lord, until the Lord would execute judgement on the enemies of the Jewish people.
Micah's prayer for his enemies was that they might not rejoice over the chastisement of the Lord on the Jews, (vs. 8) but help these enemies to realize that if God could judge His chosen people, He could also bring down judgement on the enemies of His chosen people. Micah said that his enemies would be confounded by the mighty hand of God in judgement (vs. 16.)
The bottom line is that God is now judging the Jewish people for sinning against Him and one day will turn that judgement on the enemies of the Jewish people. God will respond to Israel's enemies who say, "where is the Lord thy God" (vs. 10.) He will respond in His time not at their bequest.
Before we leave this passage of scripture, may I draw your attention to verse 14. The text says that there will be cattle grazing on the mountains of Carmel and Bashan. The Carmel mountains are on the western side of Israel, near the port city of Haifa. The Bashan mountain range is on the eastern side of the Jewish state. You may know Bashan better as Golan, the Golan Heights. In fact, the word Golan is used four times in the scripture.
Today there is cattle grazing in both Carmel and Bashan /Golan, evidence that we are living in the days that Micah was writing about. These are the days God will hear and respond to Micah's prayers and deal with the enemies of the Jewish State of Israel. These are the days the God of Israel will return to forgive the iniquity of the Jewish people and respond to her enemies.
PRAYER THOT: Help me to remember that you Lord will chasten me for my sin - but will forgive me as I turn to you!
Nahum 1 verse 15 - Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace! O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy vows: for the wicked shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly cut off.

For further study - Nahum 1: 1 - 15

The Prophet Nahum prophesied about one hundred and fifty years after Jonah but was also focused on the city of Nineveh. However, Nahum has but one subject - the destruction of Nineveh - not it's salvation. According to ancient historians. the city was destroyed nearly one hundred years after Nahum's prophecy, exactly as predicted in his prophetic book. As you read our passage for today, you will become very aware of the holiness of God which demands He deal with sin in judgement. The people of Nineveh had departed from their faithfulness to God which had come about in the days that Jonah ministered in this Gentile city. During Jonah's ministry, the city and the King had turned to God. Now 150 years later they turn from God.

Into this scene comes the prophet Nahum with his message of the awesomeness and holiness of God. God is a jealous God, a Lord that revengeth and has reserved wrath for His enemies (vs. 2.) The Lord is slow to anger - but has great power and will not acquit the wicked (vs. 3.)

This God, the God of the Jewish people, has control over His creation. In His judgement He comes as the whirlwind, as a mighty storm who controls the seas, the rivers, the mountains and in fact, the entire earth (vs. 3-5.) Nahum asked the question of those who face judgement "who can stand before His indignation." The answer is no one.

The great lessons of Nahum are that God is slow to anger and a stronghold for those who trust Him (vs. 7) but also "one who will not acquit the wicked"

(vs. 5.) Not only was Nahum's prophetic message given to the Gentile city of Nineveh, but also to Nahum's own people, the Jewish people.

Nahum reveals this awesome God as a God that will judge the Jewish people.

The Jewish Messiah comes to the mountain in Jerusalem to publish peace throughout the world. Jewish people are aware that their Messiah will come to bring peace and He will arrive on the mountain that He left from (Acts 1: l0-11), the Mt. of Olives accross the Kidron Valley from the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

Notice that Nahum reminds the Jews to keep their feast days in light of what will happen during the Kingdom to come. At the Temple in Jerusalem, the Jewish solemn feast will once again be observed during the millenniem (Ezekiel 45: 7-25).

Orthodox Jewish Scholars today are preparing the Jewish people to look forward to that time when the Temple stands on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. At that time the Jewish Messiah, Jesus Christ, will dwell among His people, the Jewish people forever (Psalms 132: 13-14). Though the sacrificial system will be restored, it will be restored only as a memorial, not to take away sin. Like Nineveh in history, the Jewish people are beginning to long for their Temple to be rebuilt and the Messiah to come - we are living in that day, even so come Lord Jesus.

PRAYER THOT: Let me see the awesomeness of God, our stronghold in a day of trouble.

Nahum 2 vs13 

Behold, I am against thee, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will burn her chariots in the smoke, and the sword shall devour thy young lions: and I will cut off thy prey from the earth, and the voice of thy messengers shall no more be heard.

For further study - Nahum 2:1-13

Nahum prophesied during the reign of Hezekiah, probably about 150 years after the Jewish Prophet Jonah. According to historians, the city of Nineveh was destroyed about a century later precisely as Nahum predicted. In fact, the book of Nahum has but one subject - the destruction of Nineveh.

Nineveh was the capital of the Assyrian Empire, the peoples who captured the ten tribes of Israel, which had separated from Judah and Benjamin at the end of the reign of King Solomon, I Kings 11.

The Assyrians, in essence the people of Nineveh, were a fierce fighting machine and killed and destroyed many warriors and their sponsoring states.

The great ethical lesson of Nahum is that the character of God makes Him not only "slow to anger", and "a stronghold to them that trust Him", but also one who "will not at all acquit the wicked."

As you will notice when you read the extended portion of our devotional today, it is a prophecy that is one continuous strain, which does not yield to analysis. I therefore will not analyze the reading for today but will only mention that as you read Nahum you will see the holiness of God, which must deal with “sin in judgment”.

As an aside, I mention to you that Biblical Nineveh is located in Iraq in the north. What Nineveh was in yesteryear is modern-day Mosul, one of the key players in the ongoing drama in war-torn Iraq. Someone has said, "what goes around, comes around." These Bible lands of yesterday are the battlefields of today and the future.

PRAYER THOT: Help me to learn that you're holiness, Lord, must deal with sin in judgment.


Nahum 3 vs19 

There is no healing of thy bruise; thy wound is grievous: all that hear the bruit of thee shall clap the hands over thee: for upon whom hath not thy wickedness passed continually?

For further study - Nahum 3:1-19

As we read today from the prophecy of Nahum 3, we must be reminded of how cruel the Ninevites had been to the nations and peoples surrounding them.

The Ninevites were a treacherous people. Verse 1 of our extended reading refers to Nineveh as the "city of blood". Nineveh was truly a "city of blood" - blood spilled by her uncontrolled lust and murder. She earned the title by her treacherous practices of cutting off hands and feet, ears and noses, gouging out eyes and lopping off heads.

These mutilated bodies would be impaled or flayed alive through a process in which there skin was gradually and completely removed.

God's judgment on Nineveh would bring relief to all of her neighbors. Reading through Nahum 3 is like reading the pre-written history of this treacherous land. There are a number of prophecies found in Nahum 3 that have already been fulfilled.

For example when the city was captured the people would be drunk, verse 11; the Assyrian fortresses surrounding the city would be easily captured, verse 12; and Nineveh would be destroyed by fire, verses 15.

There are other prophecies found in our reading for today and each of them have been documented, they have been fulfilled. The prophecies of Nahum 3 were all fulfilled between 612 and 609 BC. This empire, that for centuries had been invincible, was totally disintegrated.

Nahum revealed in his prophecy that the Lord would pour out His wrath on Nineveh, 1:2-3, 6 and demonstrate his care for those who trust in Him, 1:7.

We can learn from the book of Nahum that God's wrath will eventually fall on sinners and we can be comforted by knowing that those who turn to Him are safe.

A study of prophetic passages in God's Word that have not yet been fulfilled reveal that the seven year period of judgment yet to come will be very similar to the days of Nahum's prophecy. This will be true, especially in relation to the peoples and the geographical locations of past and future prophecies that have been and will be fulfilled.

By the way, Biblical Nineveh is modern day Mosul in Iraq. It is very interesting to know that both Nineveh and Babylon, two major fortressed cities 4,500 years ago were both built by Nimrod, Genesis 10:10-11.

The kingdoms that Nimrod established then are a prototype of what is to come in the future with a world headquarters for the Anti-christ to be located in the exact same geographical location as these two ancient cities.


Prayer Thot: Thank you Lord for the record of prophecies fulfilled which gives me the assurance that all unfulfilled prophecies will be fulfilled by You, the One in control.

Nehemiah 2 vs. 6 - And the king said unto me, (the queen also sitting by him,) For how long shall thy journey be? and when wilt thou return? So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time.
For further study - Nehemiah 1 and 2
Nehemiah was the cupbearer for King Artaxerxes during the early days of the Persian Empire. Word came from Jerusalem that the “holy city” was the laughing stock of the world because of its physical condition. The Temple had been rebuilt but the walls and the streets of the city were in shambles.
This news prompted Nehemiah to seek permission from the King to travel to Jerusalem and repair his beloved city, Nehemiah 2:5. In fact, the King gave Nehemiah a letter to take with him on his journey granting safe passage and the written permission to rebuild the walls and streets of the City of Jerusalem, Nehemiah 2:7-8.
The rest of the book of Nehemiah is a marvelous study of “Godly management” in the face of “opposition”. It would be worth your time spent digging into this marvelous book. The book also records the giving of the decree mentioned by the ancient Jewish Prophet Daniel in Daniel 9:25.
Daniel is setting the timeframe by which we can determine the period in history when the “Jewish Messiah” would come to Earth. Daniel 9:25 states that from the "commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah" would be 69 of the prophetic "70 weeks of Daniel" or in other words 483 of the 490 years that is revealed by Daniel's Prophecy.
The command or decree given by Artaxerxes was given in the year BC445. The presentation of Jesus Christ as the Messiah took place in AD30. This period of time, according to the Jewish calendar, would meet the requirements of Daniel's Prophecy and confirm that Jesus Christ was indeed the Jewish Messiah, as He had claimed.
By the way, the last seven years, Daniel 9:27, ‘the seventh week”, of that 490 year period, “Daniel’s Seventy Weeks”, is the time described in Bible Prophecy as the “Tribulation Period”, a terrible time of judgment yet in the future.
Daniel 9:27 says that period will be dominated by an Antichrist, a false peace in the Middle East and a Temple in Jerusalem. Though there is no Temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem now, all preparations have been made for there to be one soon. And world leaders are hard at work to bring about peace in the Middle East.
The stage is being set for Bible Prophecy to be fulfilled. The next event to take place is the Rapture of the Church, which could happen at any moment.
Prayer Thot: Help me Lord to be a servant as Nehemiah was and be alert to the soon coming of the Messiah as I compare Bible Prophecy with current events.


Nehemiah 4 vs17 

They which builded on the wall, and they that bare burdens, with those that laded, every one with one of his hands wrought in the work, and with the other hand held a weapon.

For further study - Nehemiah 4:10-23

What a great book is, Nehemiah, the one containing our reading for today. Nehemiah was still among the Jews that had not returned to the land of Israel. When he got word of the deplorable conditions of his beloved city of Jerusalem he immediately sought permission from the king to return to Jerusalem and to rebuild the walls of the city and repair its streets.

He would face much opposition to the task God had given him. In fact, there would be those who wanted the building stopped. Those who opposed the Jews would even resort to killing the workers. Nehemiah prepared his workers to both rebuild the walls and streets of the city and to protect themselves from the attacks.

As I read through the extended passage for today, I was impressed with what happened about 2,500 years ago and what has been going on in the modern-day Jewish state of Israel. Nehemiah's helpers would work with one hand and hold their weapon with the other as they worked.

That principle extended to the other workers with a portion of them at the work of refurbishing Jerusalem and the other portion of the Jews with shields and spears to protect the workers.

I almost feel like I am reading out of the local Israeli newspaper reporting on a normal life in the Middle East. Today, the Jewish nation of only five and a half million people is building a nation with one hand working to build this Jewish nation and the other half of the nation protecting all Jews from total destruction.

A great statement is used as an exhortation to the Jewish people then - and now. "Our God shall fight for us," found in verse 20, is a reminder to the Jewish people of who they are and what the God of heaven will do for them. They are the “Sons of Jacob”, the one who had his name changed to "Israel" which literally means, “my God will fight for you”.

The truth of the matter is that those five and a half million Jews today are surrounded by at least 350 million Arabs and Muslims who all claim to despise the Jews and want to rid the world of all of them. So what's new?

The only way the Jews will sustain existence is by God fighting for them, which He has done for about 4,000 years. That in and of itself is proof of the reality of a true, all- powerful, holy God who will indeed continue to fight for His “chosen people”, the Jewish people.