Tag: Satan
God will judge Babylon!
Scripture reading for July 19th: Isaiah 13-16
Babylon was an ancient kingdom in the time of Isaiah. It rose to world-dominating status a few decades after the ministry of the prophet. The city of Babylon rose to legendary status with it’s massive walls and it’s hanging gardens. It was located in the present-day country of Iraq and was thought to be near to where the Garden of Eden was originally located. Babylon was characterized by pride, false religion, idolatry and man-centered achievement. God sent Isaiah a message for Babylon!
Isaiah warned Babylon of God’s army of “holy ones” who carry out His judgment. (Isaiah 13:3) God’s army would bring “the day of the Lord”, a day of wrath against all sinners. (Isaiah 13:6-9) This judgment would put an end to pride and arrogance and the evil of the wicked. It will be a day of trembling heavens and shaking on the earth! (Isaiah 13:11-13) This army of “holy ones” will be none other than the Medes! (Isaiah 13:17) Isaiah prophetically predicted what God would do over 150 years before it happened! Daniel the prophet got to read the handwriting of God on the wall of Babylon the night it fell to the Medes! (Daniel 5:25-28) The city would be destroyed like Sodom and Gomorrah, never to be inhabited again! (Isaiah 13:19-20)
Isaiah saw the day when God would again have compassion on Israel and settle them in their own land. (Isaiah 14:1-2) Israel would possess the nations that have taken them captive! What an amazing picture of hope to a people who would be judged and scattered throughout the world!
The rest of Isaiah 14 was a taunt against the “king of Babylon”. God, Himself, would break the power of this wicked king. He would be brought down to the grave and maggots and worms would cover him. All those leaders of the world now in the grave would respond to this ‘king’ in ridicule. (Isaiah 14:9-11) The ridicule then turns into what some believe is a description of Satan and his pride and fall. (Isaiah 14:12-16) God judged this “king” and brought him down to the grave!
Behind all earthly political power and humanistic pride lurks the evil influence of Satan! But God is in control and will bring down the proud and send them to eternal judgment! Those who trust in the Lord can take comfort in these ancient words that also speak to our time! God will triumph!
Ashamed of Christ?
Scripture reading for February 26th: Mark 8:10-38, Psalms 42:1-11, Proverbs 10:17
“He (Jesus) then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that He must be killed and after three days rise again. He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him.” (Mark 8:31-32) Peter was not at all happy with Jesus when He told the disciples of the coming events that would culminate with His death. Peter began to scold Jesus and tell Him not to talk like that. Jesus then rebuked Peter with a stern command, “Get behind me Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.” (Mark 8:33)
Jesus used this exchange to appeal to His disciples and the crowd that followed Him. If anyone wanted to follow Him, they must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow as well! Anyone wanting to save their life would lose it and anyone losing their life, would save it. Jesus knew the tendency of our flesh to want to preserve life as we know it. We all want to be in control and think that by our own efforts can have the best life. But we can’t have the world and it’s adulterous ways and Christ too! The way of the cross and death somehow leads to gain and life.
Jesus asked a question of the crowd and His disciples: “What good is is for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Mark 8:36-37) Our true life is eternal life and to enjoy that we must have our soul redeemed. We must lose our “life” here to gain “eternal life”. Jesus gave His listeners the answer, “If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His Father’s glory with the holy angels.” In Jesus Christ and His death and resurrection, we have our only hope of redeeming our soul. We must die to our flesh and boldly stake our claim on Jesus and His words! He is coming again soon!