“The beginning of the word of the LORD by Hosea.” In the beginning of his ministry, Hosea was told to take “a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms.” Bible scholars have been puzzled by this verse, but it was preparing for a lesson on spiritual prostitution, the harlotry of worshipping idols.

The instruction was blunt and direct, whereas later chapters furnish a more rounded-out picture. Did God tell Hosea to deliberately go out and marry a known harlot and worshipper of idols? Why would the Lord give such an instruction, especially since it contradicted the moral precepts of Scripture? Actually, the Lord was prophesying what would happen with regard to the woman Hosea was going to marry. It was as if God were saying, “Go out and take unto thee a wife. In due time, she will prove to be a harlot and will bear children by other men.” God wanted to illustrate, through Hosea, His relationship to Israel and how the nation went into unfaithfulness. In other words, the union forcibly demonstrated to the public Israel’s unfaithfulness to God.

Isaiah 49 is primarily a prophecy of Jesus and his schooling and preparation for the future work God has set before him. In a secondary sense, it can be considered a prophecy of the body members, for in their association with Jesus, they will participate in his work and be a light to the Gentiles. In a third sense, the prophecy has a bearing on natural Israel. Jesus, the Church,and natural Israel all have some similar experiences. Down through history, it has been a paradox that the true Christian and fleshly Israel have suffered.

These verses reveal that the mysterious personage will be a “light to the Gentiles” and that he will restore Jacob and Israel. Therefore, the mysterious personage of verses 1-6 cannot be natural Israel, for Israel will not restore itself. God appoints this “Israel” as “his servant.” The “servant,” or mysterious personage, is Jesus, the “messenger of the [New] covenant” (Mal. 3:1).

The theme of Jacob’s Trouble is repeated over and over in Scripture. We often say that restitution is spoken of by the mouth of all God’s holy prophets (Acts 3:21), but Jacob’s Trouble is spoken of by nearly all of God’s holy prophets. And just like restitution, the theme is veiled with “here a little, and there a little” (Isa. 28:10).

The ultimate future king of Israel will be “higher than Agag.” Agag, the king of Amalek, sometimes pictures Satan. Therefore, this prophecy is saying that Jesus, the Messiah, will be higher than the god of this world, Satan. Jesus will overcome, defeat, and destroy Satan, the antitypical Agag, and his minions.

Incidentally, “Agag” is really Gog, for the vowels are supplied. Thus the king of the Amalekites is a prototype of Gog at the end of both the Gospel Age and the Kingdom Age. The enemies of Israel who die in Jacob’s Trouble will be buried in a cemetery called Hamon-gog (see Ezek. 39:11–15). Thus Haman in the Book of Esther, who by birth was an Agagite, is appropriately a picture of Gog.

The main lesson for the Christian is to understand where we are chronologically. Matthew tells us what to the expect during the parousia of our Lord. We see the fig tree (Israel) blossom, that is show signs of life, and are told that this generation who witnesses that event will not perish before all is accomplished. We are hoping the blossoming is 1948, but it could be 1967, in any event we are at “the end”. Time is short. We need to wake up, trim our lamps, and go out to meet our Lord!

Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Monday that Iran is set to deliver a “punch” that will stun world powers during this week’s 31st anniversary of the Islamic revolution.

“The Iranian nation, with its unity and God’s grace, will punch the arrogance (Western powers) on the 22nd of Bahman (February 11) in a way that will leave them stunned,” Khamenei, who is also Iran’s commander-in-chief, told a gathering of air force personnel.

Iran’s Islamically driven intentions to “wipe Israel off of the map” stand at the core of the matter. This genocidal threat has provoked Israeli Prime Minister, to plead with the international community to implement “crippling” sanctions upon Iran immediately.

However, “immediately” may be too late as the international community appears to have run out of both time and options. For over six decades Mideast peace has eluded humanity’s resume. It appears as though the time has come for the G-d of Israel to take matters into His own hands.

Yes. The continuous flow is verses 1-3. Then comes an interruption, so verse 4 should not be mixed in with the first three verses, as many have been doing. Knowledge has been increasing since 1799, for very shortly after that date, the Bible societies began to flourish. The light of the Bible rubbed off on the world. When the Bible was put in the hands of the people, it had an effect even on the unconsecrated.

According to the Berean Manual, because Sir Isaac Newton concluded from Daniel 12:4 that sometime in the future, men would travel 50 miles an hour, Voltaire referred to him as a “poor old dotard.”

For those of you who are not familiar with today’s most prevalent prophetic news pervading the Christian and Jewish scholarly communities, you should study Ezekiel 38 and 39, with the understanding that it alludes to a nuclear equipped Russian – Iranian led confederacy, which forms to invade the nation of Israel in the end times.

This was a day of vengeance, not the day of vengeance. For now, we will just say that a time frame of 3 1/2 years leads up to Jacob’s Trouble. Therefore, the antitype is the end time of the Gospel Age but not the final battle. A lot of events will take place before Gog and Magog come down.

Chapter 47 is a prophecy of the destruction of the Philistines. In verse 1, God told Jeremiah to prophesy against the Philistines before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, smote Gaza. Then, starting with verse 2, the account seems to radically change, for it talks about a flood coming down from the north with noise, chariots, and a wild commotion, whereas Egypt would attack Gaza from the south. However, the chapter talks about the destruction of the Philistines and not about Egypt.

The judgment was against nations that are Israel’s immediate Arab neighbors today. Is the antitype the Psalm 83 setting prior to the destruction of mystic Babylon?