A Flood of Nations as a Biblical Motif

Image credit; The Spoils of Jerusalem, Arch of Titus, circa 82 CE (Arch of Titus Project, Yeshiva University)

13 The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but God shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a rolling thing before the whirlwind.

14 And behold at eveningtide trouble; and before the morning he is not. This is the portion of them that spoil us, and the lot of them that rob us. – Isaiah 17:13-14

“And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.” – Daniel 9:26

7 The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him.

8 But with an overrunning flood he will make an utter end of the place thereof, and darkness shall pursue his enemies. – Nahum 1:7-8

Selah.

7/2/2022

Wrath Treasured Up

“And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.” Revelation 16: 21

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18 Hast thou perceived the breadth of the earth? Declare if thou knowest it all…

22 Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? Or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail,

23 Which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war? – Job 38

God declares the end from the beginning in order to glorify himself. In the Mosaic law execution by stoning pictures the judgement of God in this plague of hail. In the end times, God will stone the world to death for their sins. God himself is the speaker in Job 38:18-22, and he seems to be saying that there are hailstones he has stored up for the day of vengeance since at least the early days of the book of Genesis. This is also evidenced by the book of Jude, where it says:

14 And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,

15 To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”

The end has been declared from the beginning. Enoch in Genesis 4 was prophesying of the Second Advent, and God confirmed that he has a plague of hail stored up for a time of trouble in Job 38. God can be extremely patient and merciful upon people, even the unsaved, but we should know that for every wicked act God crystalizes his wrath into another hail stone and sets it aside for the day of vengeance.

5 But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;

6 Who will render to every man according to his deeds:

7 To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life:

8 But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath… - Romans 2

We see a foreshadowing of God’s plague of hail in Exodus chapter nine when God rains down a grievous hailstorm on the Egyptians. We know it is a foreshadowing of things to come because in Job 38 God refers to “the time of trouble,” words never used to refer to the specific plagues levied against the Egyptians anywhere else in scripture.

To be clear, we are not appointed to wrath (1st Thessalonians 5:9), but the books of Romans and Hebrews warn us of the chastisement of the Lord we can face on this earth if we disobey him. The New Testament tells us to serve the Lord with fear and trembling, because “it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” (Hebrews 10:31)

Amen.

Psalm Sunday

Psalm 32

[5] I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin…

[7] Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble…

[10] Many sorrows shall be to the wicked: but he that trusteth in the LORD, mercy shall compass him about.

We all must deal with sin and there are no deeds we can do to make atonement. Our offerings and sacrifices are worthless if we are not first following the Lord with all of our hearts and souls.

Atonement is made through faith alone in Jesus Christ .

Where is your faith this morning? Is it in this world of comfort and pleasure and endless excuses for the worst of our actions?

Or is your faith in the Word of God, where there is consistency and shelter from the horrors of the world?

Acknowledge your sin, confess it to the Lord (no priest needed!), and be comforted in this life by the love of God.

For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.

-Psalm 100:5