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A study of the Minor Prophets, Part I.By Darren JohnsonA Commentary on Jonah, Obadiah, Haggai, Micah & Malachi. Publisher’s Note:The Scripture quotations found herein are from the text of the Old King James, 1611 Authorized Version of the Bible.Any deviations there from are not intentional.The publisher owns the copyright and hereby gives anyone permission to reproduce or transmit in any form and any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage, retrieval system, multimedia, or Internet system, any part or all of this publication. However, he may not sell any of it for profit. Matt. 10:8 “…freely ye have received, freely give.”A study of the Minor Prophets, Part I. ?Darren Johnson 2020.Table of ContentsIntroduction …………..…..…...………4I. Jonah 1: ….…..….…….……..5-7II. Jonah 2: …….…..……….……..8III. Jonah 3: …..……….……..…9-10IV. Jonah 4: …..…….……….…11-12V. Obadiah ……….......……....13-16VI. Haggai 1: ………………..…17-19VII. Haggai 2: …….…………….20-22VIII. Malachi 1: …….…………...23-25IX. Malachi 2: …….…………....26-29X. Malachi 3: ...….……………..30-32XI. Malachi 4: ….……………….....33XII. Micah 1: …….…………......34-35XIII. Micah 2: …….…………......36-37XIV. Micah 3: …….…………......38-39XV. Micah 4: .….….………….....40-41XVI. Micah 5: …….……………..42-43XVII. Micah 6: …..….……………44-46XVIII. Micah 7: .….………………47-49XIX. Salvation Message …...…...50-51Introduction The purpose of this book is to motivate you to study the Minor Prophets from Hosea to Malachi. These books of the Bible in Christianity today are rarely studied and often overlooked. For the Bible believing Christian, every book in the Bible is important and loaded with truths and everyday applications(II Tim. 2:15, 3:16-17). In this book we will look at the books of Jonah, Obadiah, Haggai and Malachi. Jonah was a prophet of Israel and he was called to preach to the Assyrians in Nineveh. The nation of Assyria was a powerful nation that turned into a worldwide power(Isa. 38:). This was the nation that later conquered Israel(II Kings 17:). The situation would be similar in history, to someone at the beginning of world war II from a country like France, before it was conquered by the Nazis, that was called to preach to the Germans in Berlin, where Hitler and the Nazis were in full power. In the New Testament, the Bible only makes one reference to Jonah(Matt. 12:39-40). In this passage it shows that just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale for three days and three nights, Jesus will be in the earth for three days and three nights. Just as Jonah came out of the whale, Jesus rose from the dead. Unfortunately today for most false religions, like Catholicism as well as some ignorant Christians, they believe that Jesus died on a Friday and rose on a Sunday, which is only two days and two nights. The Bible teaches plainly that Jesus died on a Wednesday and rose on Saturday during a week where there were two Sabbath days((John 19:31, Lev. 23:). Obadiah was a prophet to the Edomites. The nation of Edom is east of Israel and it is in the southern part of the nation of Jordan today. Esau who is Edom(Gen. 36:1), was the twin brother of Jacob and is the father of the Edomites. The nation of Edom did not follow God’s ways and were enemies of Judah and Israel. The genealogy of Edom can be found in Genesis 36:. When the nation of Judah was conquered by Babylon, the nation of Edom helped out to add to Judah’s affliction. As a result, the prophet Obadiah was given a message of judgment to the nation of Edom after the Jews in Jerusalem go into Babylon captivity. He also talks about the judgment of the people of Edom at the second coming of Christ where they will be wiped out because of their sins(Ps. 9:17). Haggai was a prophet who, along with the prophet Zechariah(Ezra 5:), was sent to the nation of Israel after they came out of captivity. Haggai motivated the nation of Israel to rebuild God’s temple. Israel had started the work but were stopped by force by their enemies led by Sandballat and Tobiah. Haggai’s preaching led the children of Israel to make a stand for God and finish the temple. The original command to rebuild the temple was by Cyrus the Persian(II Chron. 36:), exactly seventy years after Babylon rule. Malachi was a prophet to the nation of Israel after the captivity. Israel was negligent with their temple worship and duties or their service to God. Malachi warned them to repent of their sins or get the judgment of God. Israel didn’t listen and after five high priests, nothing is recorded about the history of Israel for around 400 years until the high priest Zechariah in Luke 1:. Micah was a prophet to the kings of Judah(Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah). He prophesized of the captivity of Israel and Judah and the future restoration of Israel in the millennium. Jonah 1:1-2 Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, :2 Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me. Jonah is called to preach a message of judgment to the city of Nineveh in the nation of Assyria. Nineveh is city that is right off the Tigris river in the Middle East. Assyria was a worldwide power that was wicked in their lifestyle(Ps. 9:17). Assyria was one of the seven heads of the antichrist(Rev. 17:11). Jonah was called to give the city of Nineveh a chance to repent and believe the gospel(Mark 16:15). Jonah was given a commandment to obey God, just like the Christian is given a commandment to obey God(John 14:15). The commandments of God are the Old King James Bible for the English speaking people. God speaks to the Christian through his word. The Holy Ghost within us leads us into all truth(John 16:13, 17:17). Christian, does God speak to you through his word the Bible or is the Bible a dead book to you. Maybe some books of the bible or passages are dead to you. The solution is repentance and begging God for knowledge and wisdom(Prov. 1:7, 9:10). Jonah 1:3 But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. The Mediterranean Sea is on the west of Israel. Joppa is a city on the coast of Israel and Tarshish(Tarsus) is a city just above the northern coast of the Mediterranean Sea in modern day Turkey. Instead of going northeast towards Nineveh, Jonah rebelled against the command of God and went northwest to Tarshish. When you run from God’s presence you will go down in your life. Notice he went ‘down’ to Joppa and ‘down’ into the ship. On this ship there were just mariners and Jonah, so he was the only passenger on board. He was in such a hurry to run from God, he didn’t even wait in line to buy a ticket on a passenger ship. This pictures the rebellious teenager or young adult who is made to go to church by their parents. The first chance they get, they will chase their worldly desires as fast as they can run. If you train your child properly, he will get saved and learn how to be led by the Spirit in his service to God(Prov. 22:6). When God calls a man to preach, he must obey by faith. The task may seem ridiculous or impossible, but remember that God knows what He is doing and that He will empower you to the task(I Th. 5:24).Jonah 1:4-5 But the LORD sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken. :5 Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god, and cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it of them. But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep. Because of Jonah’s sin, God sends a wind that could destroy the ship. Christian when you sin against God, it will directly or indirectly affect someone else as well as yourself. There are no island Christians in the kingdom of God. The mariners were religious and cried unto their god’s or devils, but false religion can’t deliver you. Some false religions of today are the Catholics, the Apostolic church, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, modern day Judaism(they reject Jesus as their Messiah, etc.). These mariners tried to deliver themselves by their good works(casting forth material overboard to lighten the ship), however the good works of religion doesn’t save you(Tit. 3:5) or deliver you from the judgment of God in your life. Jonah was asleep or he was sleeping on God instead of obeying His words(II Tim. 4:2). Christian, don’t sleep on God when others are in trouble. We have the truth and it should be broadcasted openly to everyone who will listen(Matt. 5:16). That’s why I have a television and internet ministry with free downloads, so that the word of God will spread as fast as possible. The way a Christian can be active for God everyday is to read the Bible(if you read three chapters a day you will get through the Bible in a year) and pray(make a prayer list of your needs and the needs of others). He should preach to others, live godly(keep the commandments of God in the power of the Holy Ghost) and go to church regularly. By the way, if you haven’t been water baptized according to scripture, do it immediately(Matt. 28:18-20, see and download teaching on water baptism). Jonah 1:6-7 So the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not. :7 And they said every one to his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us. So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah. The shipmaster was humbled by the storm and was open to hear the gospel. God used Jonah’s rebellion to get the word of God to the mariners. Lots were cast to see who was responsible for the evil and Jonah was exposed. You can’t fool God Christian, He is omnipresent and omniscient(all knowing and everywhere, Numbs 32:23). When you sin, you reap what you sow, more than you sow and longer than you sow(Gal. 6:7). Jonah 1:8-9 Then said they unto him, Tell us, we pray thee, for whose cause this evil is upon us; What is thine occupation? and whence comest thou? what is thy country? and of what people art thou? :9 And he said unto them, I am an Hebrew; and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry land. Jonah is called forward to give a testimony. He is a Christian(an Old Testament Jew looking toward the cross) that fears God(Eccl. 12:13) and believes that God created the world and has power over weather(Gen. 1:1). Note that the prophet of God is not an evolutionist(a Satanic scientific belief created by man around the 1850’s, I Tim. 6:20). Jonah 1:10-12 Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him. Why hast thou done this? For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them. :11 Then said they unto him, What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may be calm unto us? for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous. :12 And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you. The mariners on the ship believe Jonah and the Lord’s message. Jonah gives them the solution to the weather problem, which is to cast Jonah overboard. The solution seems foolish(I Cor. 1:18). In the same way salvation seems foolish to the lost, but if you receive the blood of Jesus by faith with a repentant heart toward God, it will save you from hell and the lake of fire forever.Jonah 1:13-14 Nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring it to the land; but they could not: for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous against them. :14 Wherefore they cried unto the LORD, and said, We beseech thee, O LORD, we beseech thee, let us not perish for this man's life, and lay not upon us innocent blood: for thou, O LORD, hast done as it pleased thee. The mariners tried to do save the ship in their own power but failed. At first they didn’t trust God by faith for the solution. A Christian needs to walk by faith in every aspect of his life(Rom. 1:16). When the mariners realized they could not save themselves, they trusted God by faith and obeyed God’s word given by God’s prophet. The Bible is written by God’s people for us to believe and heed(II Pet. 1:20-21). Jonah 1:15-16 So they look up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging. :16 Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the LORD, and made vows. Obeying God’s word by faith leads to God’s blessing in your life. Here the mariners were saved from death and destruction of the ship. The mariners got saved because they now fear the Lord exceedingly and not their own religious gods(Jon. 1:5). They repented of their sins and brought forth the fruit of repentance with a changed life(‘sacrifice’, ‘vows’, Rom. 12:1-2). Note that the fruits of repentance are the works of salvation that is proof of your salvation, but works don’t save(Eph. 2:8-10). By the way Christian, you don’t have to be perfect to be used of God. Even in Jonah’s rebellion against Nineveh, God still used him as a witness in his situation. God knows how to make the best out of a bad situation. God will use the Christian as much as he lets Him.Jonah 1:17 Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. Jonah is cast into the Mediterranean Sea and God has a whale there to swallow him up. Jonah is in the belly of the whale three days and nights(Matt. 12:40) just like Jesus was in the grave three days and nights. Like I said in the introduction, Jesus died before Wednesday 6PM(this was the high day Sabbath). He rose from the grave after the regular weekly Sabbath(which ends at Saturday 6PM) or the first day of the week. Remember that the Jewish clock starts in the evening(6PM, Gen. 1:5, etc.) and the Roman clock that we use today starts at midnight. If you believe in ‘Good Friday’ your religion or church has duped you and you need to get saved(if you are lost) or get right with God(if you are saved). Jonah 2:1-2 Then Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish's belly, :2 And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice. The Lord allowed Jonah to die and be raised from the dead(Remember that Lazarus was raised from the dead after three days or on his forth day in the tomb). God heard Jonah’s prayer while in his affliction in the whale’s belly. The whale’s belly is a type of the grave. It is under sea level, it is in darkness and it is sealed.Jonah 2:3-4 For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me about: all thy billows and thy waves passed over me. :4 Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple. Jonah repented of his rebellion and is now willing to obey the Lord regardless of the cost. When you don’t obey God immediately, completely and with a good heart attitude in your life, there are consequences. It always pays to obey and serve God in this life and the life to come. By the way, willows are rises and rolls of large waves.Jonah 2:5-6 The waters compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head. :6 I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars was about me for ever: yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O LORD my God. Remember that whales eat sea weeds, which happened to be in the whale’s stomach when Jonah was swallowed. The bottoms of the mountains are below the land level like in a graveyard. Jonah died briefly in the whale’s belly but was risen from the dead(‘brought up my life from corruption’). Note that when Jesus was crucified, his body or human part died, but his God part didn’t die. Remember that God is a Spirit(John 4:25) and is eternal(Rev. 1:8).Jonah 2:7-8 When my soul fainted within me I remembered the LORD: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple. :8 They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy. Remember that there is a temple is heaven, where Jesus is the high priest after the order of Melchisedec and not after the Levitical priesthood which ended at Jesus’ crucifixion(Heb. 8:5). Go to and download The Tabernacle, Part I & II for more information. God the Father sits on his throne in heaven and Jesus currently sits on his right hand or right side of God with an eternal body. Jonah was deceived by his own vain or empty thinking. It cost him God’s mercy which for the Christian are the riches of God at Christ’s expense(Rom. 8: ‘joint heirs’ in Christ). Jonah 2:9-10 But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD. :10 And the LORD spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land. Jonah vowed in the whale’s belly to obey God’s calling to preach to Nineveh. He promised to serve God with a thankful heart(Rom. 12:1-2). Salvation is found in no other than the Lord Jesus Christ(Acts 4:12, 10:43, John 14:6). So, the fish or whale takes Jonah back to where his rebellion started(on land on the east of the Mediterranean Sea). Jonah 3:1-2 And the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the second time, saying, :2 Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee. God calls Jonah a second time to perform the task He asked him the first time. When you fail God’s test in your life you will have to retake it. It’s like in college when you flunk a class that is required for graduation. If you want to graduate you have to retake the course. You will not get the blessings of your degree without it. Therefore when God tells or leads you to do something, just believe God by faith and do it. If you don’t you could bring a curse in your life like Jonah and then have to do it anyway. It’s always simpler the first time around in the Christian walk.Jonah 3:3-4 So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days' journey. :4 And Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown. Nineveh was a huge city that took three days just to walk through. When he had entered the city after a day of walking, he pronounced the judgment of God. Jonah did what a street preacher does today, preached the word of God into the open air for all in ear shot to hear. He is not there to impress anyone, he has no gimmicks or gadgets to sway you into church or praying a prayer like the carnal Christians of today in America do. He just proclaimed the judgment of God and then moved on. I can only imagine what Jonah looked like. His hair was probably partially gone and his skin bleached from being inside a whale’s belly for three days. He was probably one ugly prophet that scarred people to death just by looking at him. Jonah 3:5-6 So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them. :6 For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. As a result of the street preaching of Jonah, the city of Nineveh believed God and repented of their sins. Sackcloth when put on as a garment will cause your body to itch everywhere. It is a reminder how your sins bother God. Even the king took off his robe and covered himself with sackcloth and sat in the ashes. Ashes are burnt remains that stink and make you dirty. It is a reminder how your sins stink before God and make you dirty in his presence. Jonah 3:7-8 And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water: :8 But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands. A law was passed that no one could eat or drink including the livestock. The livestock was also covered in sackcloth. Everyone was commanded to cry out to the God of heaven and turn from their sinful ways. This is what real repentance does in a person's life(Prov. 28:13). It is a change of heart that leads to a change of action.Jonah 3:9-10 Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not? :10 And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not. Because Nineveh repented of their evil, God repented or changed his mind about judging the city of Nineveh. When God repents it doesn’t mean He sinned, it just means He changed his mind on what He would do. In the Christian life, based on our behavior, we can change God’s mind to do good or evil. That’s why its important to live for God everyday and be able to get a hold of Him at any time. Sin is not a joke to God and it should not be taken lightly in the Christian walk(Rev. 2:16). Beware of churches who call holiness legalism(I Pet. 1:15-16). Jonah 4:1-2 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry. :2 And he prayed unto the LORD, and said, I pray thee, O LORD, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil. Here we see why Jonah rebelled in the first place: he hated the Ninevites. He wanted God to destroy them. He was just plainly prejudice. However, not a whole lot has changed today in America. That’s like some white middle class or rich Christians in Lafayette Parish and abroad. They rather see the poor black people go to hell or get the judgment of God in their life, rather than sacrifice themselves to reach out to this group of people. This is your standard prejudice of church members in the ministry. The blacks hate the Hispanics and the whites, the whites hate the Hispanics and the blacks and the Hispanics hate the whites and the blacks, etc.(Feel free to exchange any other nationality in the mix like Asian, Middle Eastern, Indian etc.). However carnal Christian ask yourself the question, what is the color or nationality of a soul. The answer is it doesn’t have one. The problem is sin and not the skin. God doesn’t call people to start a black church, white church or Hispanic church, but a new testament church. If you are in an area where they are all one race than that’s different. However, in most places in America, it is just plain prejudice or sin. Jonah 4:3-4 Therefore now, O LORD, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live. :4 Then said the LORD, Doest thou well to be angry? Because the Ninevites got right with God, Jonah now wants to die. A whole city turns to Jesus and the prophet is upset. This may seem odd, but I bet you if a lot of black people got saved and excited for Jesus and started attending an all white church, I wander how many white members would complain and/or leave the church all together. I wander if the pastor would give in to the prejudice in the name of preserving the offerings, attendance and prestige, instead of just believing God and working with whosoever walks through the church doors with a heart to serve God. I am glad that God said whosoever shall upon the name of the Lord shall be saved (Rom. 10:13) and not just the Jews or a certain nationality or skin color. The Lord asks the question, doest thou well to be angry? The answer is no. To the new testament church in America the question should be asked to every saved church member, doest thou well to be prejudiced against someone who wants to repent and serve God? The answer is no. Jonah 4:5 So Jonah went out of the city, and sat on the east side of the city, and there made him a booth, and sat under it in the shadow, till he might see what would become of the city. Jonah, after his conversation with the Lord, is still hoping that Nineveh will get destroyed. Three days in the whale’s belly and a direct conversation with the Lord didn’t convince him. What a pathetic spiritual state for Jonah. Unfortunately the average carnal Christian of today who is prejudice is not any better. Prejudice will kill a revival and power of God in a church. I have seen it in churches while traveling as an evangelist. Beware of churches who claim to be the best for the best, yet won’t reach out to the people down the road of another race who have a desire to serve the Lord.Jonah 4:6-8 And the LORD God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his grief. So Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd. :7 But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd that it withered. :8 And it came to pass, when the sun did arise, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, that he fainted, and wished in himself to die, and said, It is better for me to die than to live. In God’s mercy, He made a plant or gourd to grow instantly that its leaf served as a shadow from the heat to where he was happy for the gourd. In God’s judgment, He brought a worm to destroy the gourd that it withered, so that the sun would beat down on Jonah’s head until he fainted and wished to die.Jonah 4:9-11 And God said to Jonah, Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd? And he said, I do well to be angry, even unto death. :10 Then said the LORD, Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night: :11 And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more then sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle? Here Jonah was angry unto death because the gourd or plant died. He had more pity on a plant that had no soul and eternal state after death than over 120,000 people who had a soul that would spend eternity in heaven or hell. These people had no spiritual discernment and without a single preacher were doomed(Rom. 10:14). What a pathetic spiritual state for Jonah. The sin of prejudice has no boundaries. He experiences the preacher’s dream of the ministry, where a whole city changes to the glory of God. He got over 120,000 converts. How often does that happen in one sermon. Also, he got to talk to God directly and see Him perform a miracle in making a plant grow overnight. Yet he is upset and discontent. Unfortunately, the story for Jonah ends here. You never hear about him repenting of his prejudice and getting right with God. Unfortunately for a lot of Christians, they have the same heart problem towards others of different nationalities and races. As a result, they will miss out on the blessings of God in this life and the life to come because of their sin. Don’t let this happen to you Christian(II Cor. 5:10). By the way, God was also concerned about the livestock, even though animals don’t have souls. God cares about every aspect of his creation, therefore Christians should as well(Prov. 12:10).Obadiah 1:1 The vision of Obadiah. Thus saith the Lord GOD concerning Edom; We have heard a rumour from the LORD, and an ambassador is sent among the heathen, Arise ye, and let us rise up against her in battle. Because of the sins of Edom as a nation, God sent an ambassador, sent from another country, to the heathen(lost nations). He stirred up the lost people or heathen to attack and conquer the nation of Edom. Esau is Edom or the father of the Edomites(Gen. 36:1). His father was Isaac and his brother was Jacob. Jacob believed God and the promises of God. Esau didn’t believe the promises of God and despised his firstborn birthright. As a result, the blessings and future promises of God were fulfilled through the lineage of Jacob and not Esau. Jacob’s name was later changed to Israel and from his offspring the nation of Israel was built.From Genesis chapter 12 until Acts chapter 8, God is dealing with the Jews and the nation of Israel because they believed the promises of God. In the Bible we see that Esau and his people in general didn’t serve the Lord. Parents, when you don’t serve the Lord and reject His word, you will bring a curse into your family lineage. In the same way, when you serve the Lord and obey His word, you will bring a blessing into your family lineage. The Lord gave the king of Babylon a worldwide kingdom(Dan. 2:37-38). He used him to judge the nation of Israel, Judah and Edom and take them into captivity. When a Christian stops serving the Lord, God will bring judgment in his life. For the lost person, eventually his personal sins will find him out and bring destruction and misery in his life.The Lord is a just God. He will bless you for keeping his commandments and curse you if you don’t. When I say the commandments I mean the Old King James, 1611 A.V. non-copyrighted Bible for the English speaking people. Esau didn’t listen to his father, but got a wife from a people that didn’t care about God and his promises(Gen. 36:2). To the unmarried Christian, God wants you to marry a saved person and not a lost person. If you marry a lost person, it will pull you away from God and as a result, God won’t be able to bless your family spiritually the way he could. This could lead to your family being destroyed and starting a lineage where everyone rejects the ways of the Lord like in Esau’s case. Esau and the people of Esau or the Edomites settle in the land of mount Seir(Gen. 36:6-8). God told the Jews to dwell in the land of Canaan. Esau ended up in a place out of God’s will because he rejected God’s promises.Obadiah 1:2 Behold, I have made thee small among the heathen: thou art greatly despised. The people of Edom became a nation that had a testimony of being small amongst the other heathen nations. In the Bible, you never hear about the Edomites by themselves ever winning a war. As a Christian, when you turn from the commandments of the Lord, He will chastise you like a loving father would. This can include being depleted financially, giving you health problems and troubles with the people of the world. God can make sure that nothing you do will prosper and make you small amongst the heathen or lost people. For one meal Esau sold his birthright which would have given him access to the blessings of God for himself and his family and future lineage(Heb. 12:16). Esau was a fornicator. He had sex before marriage. He didn’t practice self-control. The Bible teaches that our body is a temple and fornication is a sin against our own body. One quick way to bring the judgment of God into your life is to be a fornicator. Fornication includes gay and lesbian acts(sex with the same sex), perversion(sex with yourself), beastiality (sex with an animal) and sex with the opposite sex before marriage. Now profane means disrespect and contempt for sacred things. Esau didn’t respect the things of God or his promises. You are living dangerously when you show no respect for God and the things of God. Beware of people who openly mock God and discourage you from serving God.Obadiah 1:3 The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground? Esau was the founder of a spiritually corrupt race. The Edomites were a proud people. They thought that they were safe and could handle anybody or anything that the world had to offer them. They were deceived by their own pride. The Bible teaches that God resists the proud(Jam. 4:6). Pride means to be arrogant and conceited. It means that you think you are better than everyone else and you have a much higher opinion of yourself than you should(e.g. Far left liberals in America, especially Hollywood, CA). God didn’t create man to glory in himself or other men but to glory in His creator. God gave everyone their abilities so He should get all of the credit not man.Obadiah 1:4 Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the LORD. The Edomites considered themselves as a people that had heavenly status. As the old saying goes, they thought they were stars. Beware of sports stars, movie stars, business stars, religious stars etc.. Though man knows how to exalt and deify a man, God knows how to bring them down. Serve the One who can humble everyone on earth in a moment. In Louisiana, God can use a mosquito with West Nile virus and/or a category 3-5 hurricane that will have everyone in town running for their lives and flat on their face praying for mercy and protection. Obadiah 1:5-9 If thieves came to thee, if robbers by night, (how art thou cut off!) would they not have stolen till they had enough? if the grapegatherers came to thee, would they not leave some grapes?:6 How are the things of Esau searched out! how are his hidden things sought up! :7 All the men of thy confederacy have brought thee even to the border: the men that were at peace with thee have deceived thee, and prevailed against thee; that they eat thy bread have laid a wound under thee: there is none understanding in him.:8 Shall I not in that day, saith the LORD, even destroy the wise men out of Edom, and understanding out of the mount of Esau? :9 And thy mighty men, O Teman, shall be dismayed, to the end that every one of the mount of Esau may be cut off by slaughter. Human thieves and robbers will only take what they can handle. They usually don’t take everything. However, the God of the universe knows how to completely wipe you out physically, financially, mentally and spiritually. The Lord had the things of Esau searched out. God sees everything in life we will do including our thought life. God promised to bring complete judgment on the Edomites for their rebellion against God. This included the death of every man in battle and the loss of wisdom and understanding in their nation. It never pays to disobey God in anyway at any time. Esau and his people are going to get their clock cleaned as they say. The Edomites will lose their possessions or be made bare. Regardless where they go on earth they can’t hide from God. God will get them. The kids, relatives and neighbors will all get judged at the same time. They will have all of their possessions taken from them or get spoiled(Jer. 49:8. 10). The country of Edom will be ruined and wasted. Everyone around it will see the judgment of God. Like Sodom and Gomorrah, the city and the people of Edom will be completely destroyed and there land will be uninhabitable(Jer. 49:17-18). This will occur at the second coming of Jesus when he lands on earth to reign as king. The closest thing I can relate to this would be a hurricane worse than Katrina, that destroyed New Orleans, LA and the people staying there without evacuating. Bozrah is a city in Edom(21 miles south & 11 miles east of the bottom of the Dead Sea, ). When God brings judgment to the Edomites, the hearts of the mighty will be paralyzed with fear(Jer. 49:22). It will be the same way with the Christian who rejects God’s will for his life and the lost person who rejects Christ as his Savior. God is merciful, but if you reject him once to often, a day will arrive when God will judge a man’s sins on earth and then it will be too late. Don’t be like the Edomites. If you are lost, then get saved. If you are saved, find God’s will for your life and do it.Obadiah 1:10-11 For thy violence against thy brother Jacob shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off for ever. :11 In the day that thou stoodest on the other side, in the day that the strangers carried away captive his forces, and foreigners entered into his gates, and cast lots upon Jerusalem, even thou wast as one of them. When Judah was taken captive by the Babylonians(Jer. 52:7), Edom was allied with Babylon.Because of the action of the Edomites, God promised to destroy the seed of Edom forever which occurred at the second coming of Jesus.Obadiah 1:12-14 But thou shouldest not have looked on the day of thy brother in the day that he became a stranger; neither shouldest thou have rejoiced over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction; neither shouldest thou have spoken proudly in the day of distress. :13 Thou shouldest not have entered into the gate of my people in the day of their calamity; yea, thou shouldest not have looked on their affliction in the day of their calamity, nor have laid hands on their substance in the day of their calamity; :14 Neither shouldest thou have stood in the crossway, to cut off those of his that did escape; neither shouldest thou have delivered up those of his that did remain in the day of distress. The Edomites rejoiced when Jerusalem fell to the Babylonians and Judah was taken captive. Edom proudly sided with the heathen against the people of God. They killed those who tried to escape into their land and took some of their possessions after they were defeated. The application for the Christian is that we should not take sides with the wicked against other Christians or people in general for our personal benefit(Prov. 23:6,8). E.g. You invest in stocks or work for companies that promote the production and distribution of alcoholic beverages, abortion devices, wicked music like country, rap and rock, etc.. You undermine the Bible by teaching evolution in the public school to the kids and teach them that they came from an animal and not created in God’s image. Money and possessions gotten the wrong way will eventually catch up to you in this life and the life hereafter. It never pays to do wrong.Obadiah 1:15 For the day of the LORD is near upon all the heathen: as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee: thy reward shall return upon thine own head. As the old saying goes, what comes around goes around. Edom rejected the words of God in their life and persecuted the people of God. As a result their race will be destroyed at the second coming of Jesus and all those individual Edomites who rejected Jesus as their Savior will burn in the lake of fire forever. It will be the same fate for the Christian who turns his back on God and doesn’t live a godly life. When we sin willfully, eventually our sins will bring destruction into our lives(Gal. 6:7-8). E.g. You don’t quit smoking and you die twenty years early with lung cancer. You don’t quit drinking and die ten years early with liver problems. God knows how to bring financial, physical and mental troubles into your life. If you live a holy life, you will be blessed in this life and the life to come(I Pet. 1:15-16). Holiness is keeping the commandments of God in the power of the Holy Ghost.Obadiah 1:16 For as ye have drunk upon my holy mountain, so shall all the heathen drink continually, yea, they shall drink, and they shall swallow down, and they shall be as though they had not been. Just like a drunk passes out when he drinks to much alcohol, God is going to permanently knock out Edom from the face of the earth for their sins. In the same way, God can kill the Christian on earth for his sins. E.g., You fornicate or commit adultery and God gives you a deadly sexually transmitted disease.Obadiah 1:17 But upon mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions. At the second coming of Jesus, Jesus will reign as a worldwide king from Jerusalem. The nation of Israel will possess the land of Canaan and all of the possessions therein forever.Obadiah 1:18-19 And the house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble, and they shall kindle in them, and devour them; and there shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau; for the LORD hath spoken it. :19 And they of the south shall possess the mount of Esau; and they of the plain the Philistines: and they shall possess the fields of Ephraim, and the fields of Samaria: and Benjamin shall possess Gilead. After the second coming of Christ, Jesus will destroy the earth by fire and purify it. The land of Edom will be destroyed along with the people and the land will be possessed by someone else. Obadiah 1:20-21 And the captivity of this host of the children of Israel shall possess that of the Canaanites, even unto Zarephath; and the captivity of Jerusalem, which is in Sepharad, shall possess the cities of the south. :21 And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD's. The seed of Jacob or the nation of Israel who believed God’s promises are blessed forever more whereas the seed of Esau or the nation of the Edomites who reject God’s promises are destroyed and cursed in the lake of fire forever more. When we get saved, we become a child of God. After we die, we go straight to heaven. At the rapture we will get a eternal, perfect and sinless body. We will return with Jesus at the second coming of Christ to reign as kings and priests or to reign physically and spiritually with Him(Rev. 1:6). Haggai 1:1-2 In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, in the first day of the month, came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet unto Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, saying, :2 Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, This people say, The time is not come, the time that the LORD's house should be built. Darius was the king of Media-Persia after Cyrus. Remember that Cyrus was the one who made a decree to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. The work got started(Ezra 1:-3:), but because of resistance from the enemies of the rebuilding, the work was stopped(Ezra 4:). However, God wanted His temple rebuilt. So, he sent two prophets Haggai and Zechariah to rebuke and exhort the people of God to rebuild the temple in spite of what the enemies of God thought(Ezra 5:). Remember that the enemies of God were able to get the king to make a decree to stop the work(Ezra 4:17-24). As a result of obeying God’s prophets, the work continued until finished(Ezra 5:-6:). When opposed, the Jews claimed that a previous decree was made that gave them the right to build it. When a search was made, they were granted the right to finish the work. When serving God, sometimes the government and the people will oppose you. However, the Christian has a higher authority to obey God rather than men(Acts 5:32), because God’s commandments are over any other authority on earth(Ps. 138:2). In a Muslim country where they make Christianity illegal, the new testament church must operate under ground. In America, we are not used to this kind of persecution because we are founded on the Old King James Bible and religious freedom(most chose a form of fundamentalist Christianity). However, as the county becomes more pagan and anti-Christian, we as Christians must be bold and do right anyways regardless what the laws that disagree with the Bible say. When doing this, we must be careful not to break any other laws but the ones that God says is okay. This way it becomes God versus man. By the way, regardless of the odds against you, God has no problem handling the wickedness of man. Sometimes a Christian must fight in court through the legal process to get what is right. This is how the Jews in the book of Ezra finally got the victory to finish the temple building. Real Christianity is a spiritual battle and it will cost you something every time for a victory. Sometimes it may cost you everything or risking everything, but it is worth it(II Cor. 5:10). In Christianity, the new testament church is the foundation where all the Christians go to get their training to serve God. If the church is not functioning right, nothing else will function right.Haggai 1:3-4 Then came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet, saying, :4 Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your cieled houses, and this house lie waste? The problem here is that the Jews had their personal homes taken care of, but the temple or house of God was in ruins. In Christianity, we should take care of the new testament church building with at least the same if not more respect than we treat are own houses or apartments. Beware of Christians who have nice houses, but complain about the church facilities and won’t help or give money to fix the problem. Also, restarting the temple building required faith and meant sure persecution(II Tim. 3:12). When the prophecy came to rebuild, there was no reversal in the law for the restarting. This is where most Christians in America jump off the spiritual ship, because they didn’t go to church for this. Also, the carnal pastor built his church on gimmicks and gadgets, emotion and coercion, and for the offerings, attendance and prestige. Hence, teaching the Christians in his congregation to act by faith in spite of sure persecution is bad for his religious business(I Tim. 6:5-6).Haggai 1:5-6 Now therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways. :6 Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes. Because the Jews put their own livelihood above the livelihood of the temple or the work of God, God punished them where it hurts the carnal believer the most, in the pocket book(Mal. 3:8-12). You can’t out give God. When you give your tithe or 10% of your income by faith to the new testament church, the other 90% will go farther than your original 100%. This is true because of what God calls the ‘devourer’. God is in control of everything and he can bless you with money or curse you with a bill based on your faith or lack thereof. In America, it is funny how when the vast majority was doing great financially, they could care less about the sins of the country. During the period of 2007-2009, which was the worst economic period since the great depression, we had Wall Street bailouts, massive home foreclosures, high unemployment, the talk of universal health care and cap and trade legislation, etc.. As a result, the people along with the Christians came out in force in protest(calling their congressmen, the town hall meetings of 2009 over health care). I noticed that the amount of prayer by the Christians for America has increased over this period.Haggai 1:7-8 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways. :8 Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the LORD. The Lord tells the Jews twice through Haggai, consider your ways. God is dropping the hammer of judgment on Israel and will not stop until his temple is rebuilt. When you are in this situation Christian in your life the only way out is immediate obedience(Luke 12:4-5).Haggai 1:9-11 Ye looked for much, and, lo it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith the LORD of hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house. :10 Therefore the heaven over you is stayed from dew, and the earth is stayed from her fruit. :11 And I called for a drought upon the land, and upon the mountains, and upon the corn, and upon the new wine, and upon the oil, and upon that which the ground bringeth forth, and upon men, and upon cattle, and upon all the labour of the hands. The Lord says a second time how the Jew’s houses are good, but the temple or God’s house of worship lies waste. He goes on to say a second time how he is cursing the land because of the sins of the nation. A modern day example of this would be America of thirty years ago(the land of plenty), versus the country of Haiti that made Satan their official God(the poorest country in the world. It pays for a nation to fear the Lord(Ps. 9:17).Haggai 1:12-13 Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the LORD their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the LORD their God had sent him, and the people did fear before the LORD. :13 Then spake Haggai the LORD's messenger in the LORD's message unto the people, saying, I am with you, saith the LORD. The nation repents of their sins(change of heart towards God and away from your sins) and obey the words of God(Prov. 28:13, the fruit of repentance). This is how a Christian and/or nation can have revival in any situation at any time. Because of the Jews obedience, they now have God’s favor(‘I am with you’). Notice that it says that ‘the people did fear before the Lord’. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge(Prov. 1:7), wisdom(Prov. 9:10), etc.. Beware of Christians who say you don’t fear God you just reverence him. The fact is that Christians should do both(Heb. 12:28-29). Haggai 1:14-15 And the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and did work in the house of the LORD of hosts, their God, :15 In the four and twentieth day of the sixth month, in the second year of Darius the king. When the leadership of the nation gets right with God(‘governor’: the leader of the people, ‘high priest’: the spiritual leader of the people), the country will get right. Note that twenty three days have passed since Haggai 1:1. Evidently, it took about three weeks of mulling over God’s word along with some repentance before they responded to God’s word(Isa. 55:11). Sometimes Christian there is a delay in response to your preaching. However, wait on the Lord and let Him do His work, through His word and through His power. Just keep praying for them until the prayer is answered, etc.. Haggai 2:1-3 In the seventh month, in the one and twentieth day of the month, came the word of the LORD by the prophet Haggai, saying, :2 Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and to the residue of the people, saying, :3 Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory? and how do ye see it now? is it not in your eyes in comparison of it as nothing? Around four weeks have passed since Haggai 1:15, 2:1. The progress report is not up to God’s holy standards. Just like in school, we have the progress report; the midterm exam in college, the six week report when I was in high school and the LEAP proficiency exams for promotion for the 4th and 8th graders in Louisiana, etc.. A progress report is to let you know how you are doing and whether you ought to keep up the good work or get your act together. In the nation of Israel’s case or the carnal Christian’s case, it is the warning shot to get with the program or else(Rev. 2:16).Haggai 2:4-5 Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the LORD; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest; and be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the LORD, and work: for I am with you, saith the LORD of hosts: :5 According to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, so my spirit remaineth among you: fear ye not. The leadership along with the people are exhorted(how to make the wrong right, II Tim. 4:2) to be strong in their service to God. In modern day words, it is like your boss saying, we have a deadline, so pick up the pace and let’s finish the job right. Notice that when you fear the Lord, you don’t have to fear failure or the judgment of God(I John 4:18). God always keeps His side of the agreement or covenant.Haggai 2:6-7 For thus saith the LORD of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; :7 And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts. The Lord will shake the heavens at the second coming of Christ(Matt. 24:29-31). After the battle of Armageddon, Jesus will judge the nations and those citizens who are saved will live and those who are lost will be executed(Matt. 25:31-46). At the beginning of the millennium, all nations on earth will be 100% Christian and as a result, the desire of the nations will come and the millennial temple will be filled with glory(Ezek. 40-48:). Note that the millennial temple will be rebuilt in the exact same spot in Jerusalem.Haggai 2:8-9 The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the LORD of hosts. :9 The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the LORD of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the LORD of hosts. As the old saying goes, he who owns the gold makes the rules. God made the world and he owns all the gold. People only have what God allows them to have, but he can take it away instantly or give them more if He chooses. The temple in the Old Testament as well as the new testament church are places of spiritual rest when God is in charge. It is the place where the Christian gets his spiritual training and encouragement every week.Haggai 2:10-12 In the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet, saying, :11 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Ask now the priests concerning the law, saying, :12 If one bear holy flesh in the skirt of his garment, and with his skirt do touch bread, or pottage, or wine, or oil, or any meat, shall it be holy? And the priests answered and said, No. About nine weeks have passed since the last time Haggai prophesied to the people. The temple building is right, but the priesthood isn’t right. If you have a nice new testament church, but the leaders of the church aren’t spiritual or are compromising the word of God(pastors, deacons, and teachers) then the church isn’t right. God wants the Christians in a church to give their best in both giving and serving and not one without the other. Under Mosaic law, the priest could not touch the offering, otherwise the offering would be unacceptable or unclean. Remember that the high priest is a picture of Jesus(I John 2:1) and the offering is a picture of a pure and sinless sacrifice before God. Man is sinful, so if he touches it, it becomes unclean(Rom. 3:23, Lev. 5:2). Haggai 2:13-14 Then said Haggai, If one that is unclean by a dead body touch any of these, shall it be unclean? And the priests answered and said, It shall be unclean. :14 Then answered Haggai, and said, So is this people, and so is this nation before me, saith the LORD; and so is every work of their hands; and that which they offer there is unclean. Under Mosaic law, the touching of a dead body makes a person unclean until the beginning of the next day(Lev. 21:11). Because the priests and the people aren’t approaching God the right way according to the Bible under Mosaic law, their offerings are unacceptable. For the Christian, we show our love and obedience by keeping the commandments of God (John 14:15,21) in the power of the Holy Ghost(Eph. 5:18). God’s commandments are perfect and are found in the Old King James Bible for the English speaking people(Ps. 12:6-7, 19:7, 138:2).Haggai 2:15-17 And now, I pray you, consider from this day and upward, from before a stone was laid upon a stone in the temple of the LORD: :16 Since those days were, when one came to an heap of twenty measures, there were but ten: when one came to the pressfat for to draw out fifty vessels out of the press, there were but twenty. :17 I smote you with blasting and with mildew and with hail in all the labours of your hands; yet ye turned not to me, saith the LORD. There were two reasons why the nation of Israel was being cursed or devoured financially by God. The temple was in ruins or lied waste and the people weren’t keeping the commandments of God. For a nation to be blessed, both must be in order. For the new testament church the members must be giving their best so both are in order. God doesn’t change(Mal. 3:6) and used the past examples of judgment(I Cor. 10:6) to encourage the Jews to serve God the right way. Haggai 2:18-19 Consider now from this day and upward, from the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, even from the day that the foundation of the LORD's temple was laid, consider it. :19 Is the seed yet in the barn? yea, as yet the vine, and the fig tree, and the pomegranate, and the olive tree, hath not brought forth: from this day will I bless you. The point is said twice. First from before the temple was rebuilt and since it was rebuilt. God promises to bless the nation of Israel from this point forward if they keep the commandments of God and live holy(I Pet. 1:15-16. Tit. 2:12).Haggai 2:20-23 And again the word of the LORD came unto Haggai in the four and twentieth day of the month, saying, :21 Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I will shake the heavens and the earth; :22 And I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, and I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the heathen; and I will overthrow the chariots, and those that ride in them; and the horses and their riders shall come down, every one by the sword of his brother. :23 In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, will I take thee, O Zerubbabel, my servant, the son of Shealtiel, saith the LORD, and will make thee as a signet: for I have chosen thee, saith the LORD of hosts. We know in Daniel 2:31-40) that the next two worldwide powers after Darius king of Persia is Greece(Daniel 8:1-8) and Rome(Luke 2:1). In the process of taking over the world, many will die in battle and many kingdoms or foreign countries will be overthrown. This doesn’t sound like a second coming reference, but that the works of Zerrubabel, in rebuilding the temple in Israel, survived through the Grecian empire and until the new testament when the Roman empire was in charge. The works of Zerubbabel in rebuilding the temple will be made a signet or a surety that will last. Remember that we know what God will do at his second coming(Hag. 2:6-7). Malachi 1:1-2 The burden of the word of the LORD to Israel by Malachi. :2 I have loved you, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob's brother? saith the LORD: yet I loved Jacob, Remember that Jacob was the son of Isaac and the grandson of Abraham. He believed the promise of God by faith that was given and passed down from Abraham. Esau the firstborn was supposed to inherit the promise but he rejected it because of lack of faith and sold his birthright to Jacob for a pot of lentils or beans(Genesis 25:32-34). We know that Jacob was later called Israel and had twelve kids which became the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. Jewish history goes from Genesis 12: through Acts chapter 7:. That’s why God loved Jacob and hated Esau. In the book of Obadiah, I cover more on the sins of Esau and his people the Edomites. I cover why God opposed him and will destroy his race at the second coming of Jesus.Malachi 1:3-4 And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness. :4 Whereas Edom saith, We are impoverished, but we will return and build the desolate places; thus saith the LORD of hosts, They shall build, but I will throw down; and they shall call them, The border of wickedness, and, The people against whom the LORD hath indignation for ever. On your Bible map, Edom today would be the southern part of the country of Jordan which is east of Israel today. As I covered in the book of Obadiah, Edom is a country that God will oppose until He destroys it. God calls them wicked and as a result will not bless them economically and will destroy over time anything they build. That’s why in the Bible that you never hear about the Edomites winning a war. Sin is expensive and will destroy a nation(Ps. 9:17)Malachi 1:5 And your eyes shall see, and ye shall say, The LORD will be magnified from the border of Israel. Edom is on the east border of Jerusalem(it actual was east of Judah before the Babylonians took over). When the Jews came back into the promised land told by God to Abraham, they went in as one nation Israel and not two nations as before(Judah and Israel). Israel is given a sign and a reminder to do right based on what they see across the border in the land of Edom. A modern day example for America is seeing communist Cuba and socialist Mexico as a reminder why we don’t want to run our government like them. That’s why illegal aliens risk loss and danger to come to America. Its a better place, if we stick to our Constitution, uphold liberty and freedom and stay a Christian nation. Unfortunately, America is becoming more and more like the other pagan nations because they have forsaken the commandments of the Almighty which is what made them the greatest nation on earth.Malachi 1:6-8 A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is mine honour? and if I be a master, where is my fear? saith the LORD of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name. And ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name? :7 Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar; and ye say, Wherein have we polluted thee? In that ye say, The table of the LORD is contemptible. :8 And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the LORD of hosts. Now Israel has a problem. The priesthood of Israel is not doing their job. By their compromised and half-hearted practices, they are disrespecting God and despising his laws. They are accepting animal offerings that are blind, lame and sick. Remember that Jesus is called the lamb of God. When a lamb is offered it pictures the Lord Jesus dying for your sins. Our Savior is sinless(II Cor. 5:21) and a damaged animal is a picture of a sinful Savior. Hence, the priesthood should be rejecting these sacrifices, but instead are just going with the flow. In the new testament church it is like the pastor turning his head to sin and doing what brings in more money and church attendance. The first work of the church is preaching the gospel of salvation and the first love is living godly, which includes preaching to others to live godly. However, telling people that drinking alcohol, fornicating, smoking, pornography, worldly entertainment like Hollywood(hellywood) movies, rock, country and rap concerts and music albums, sporting contests etc., are sinful, off limits to the Christian and should be forsaken are bad for the religious church business. Hence, catering to the people, the leadership of these carnal churches are disrespecting and despising the laws of God in the Old King James Bible. God expects and demands the best from Christians(Rom. 12:1-2). God gave us His best by giving us the blood of Jesus for all of our past, present and future sins. He gave us the Holy Ghost to live inside of us to guide us into all truth for every problem every day. He promises and gives us rewards and blessings in this life and the life to come. However, the carnal Christian at best will go to church twice a week, pray five minutes a day, read three chapters of the Bible every day and live their life like God is dead. When they are serving God their mind and heart is half the time somewhere else and they can’t wait for it to end so they can get on with their carnal or ungodly lifestyles. If I met with the governor of Louisiana and I gave him a gift that was pizza left over from yesterday, he would not have my respect nor would he really care about what I gave him. Christian, don’t give God your leftovers of your time, money and energy. Rather, give him the best or the first fruits of your life. Malachi 1:9-10 And now, I pray you, beseech God that he will be gracious unto us: this hath been by your means: will he regard your persons? saith the LORD of hosts. :10 Who is there even among you that would shut the doors for nought? neither do ye kindle fire on mine altar for nought. I have no pleasure in you, saith the LORD of hosts, neither will I accept an offering at your hand. The priesthood is just going through the motions and receiving a paycheck. If they didn’t get paid, they wouldn’t care if the ministry of the temple was running or not. God has no pleasure in their sorry heart attitude and has rejected the temple offerings from the hands of the priests.Malachi 1:11-12 For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the LORD of hosts. :12 But ye have profaned it, in that ye say, The table of the LORD is polluted; and the fruit thereof, even his meat, is contemptible. God the Father is a great king that sits on the throne of heaven. His name should be great and feared throughout the whole world. When Moses and Joshua were running the show, the whole world heard about the greatness of the God of Israel. However, when Israel was in sin, like in this case, the name of God is a joke around the world because they don’t see the power of God in the lives of the worshippers. When sin gets into a new testament church, it will become more and more like a department store male manikin wearing a suit. He looks great on the outside but he is dead on the inside. Some churches will start using modern versions(perversions) that are copy-righted Bibles written by people who think the Bible has errors in it. They will dress and look like the world. Women will cut their hair short and wear men’s clothing(pants) and the men will have long hair and wear women’s apparel like earrings, etc.. Carnal churches and religious organizations will bring the world’s music into their worship services. They will call it Christian rock, country and rap music. However, it is no more Christian than Christian nude dancing. The carnal church will avoid preaching and in-depth Bible teaching and instead tell stories. They will have music concerts(go to and download New Testament Church Music) and focus on people’s finances and relationships and not their relationship with God with regards to holy living. Malachi 1:13-14 Ye said also, Behold, what a weariness is it! and ye have snuffed at it, saith the LORD of hosts; and ye brought that which was torn, and the lame, and the sick; thus ye brought an offering: should I accept this of your hand? saith the LORD. :14 But cursed be the deceiver, which hath in his flock a male, and voweth, and sacrificeth unto the LORD a corrupt thing: for I am a great King, saith the LORD of hosts, and my name is dreadful among the heathen. The ministry is a burden to the priests of the Levitical priesthood. It is a pain in the rear to go through the semantics but hey it’s a paycheck. Hence, the torn, lame and sick offerings of the people that the priests accept are rejected by God Almighty. God proclaims a curse on every person who has an unblemished livestock for sacrifice, but instead gives God that which is damaged in some way or corrupt. In the new testament church, the worship services with the world’s music and/or the world’s religious words are rejected by God. The modern versions of the Bible are rejected by God. Serving God on your own carnal terms are rejected by God. Going to church on Sunday morning for an hour, but you spend three or more hours on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon entertaining yourself is rejected by God. The reason why Israel and Judah got conquered and went into captivity was because of their ungodly living(Tit. 2:12, I Pet. 1:15-16). When they came out of captivity they were still under foreign rule, but God gave them their religious freedom back through the rebuilding of the temple and the priesthood. However after five high priests, Israel goes into spiritual darkness for about 400 years or so and you never hear about the priesthood again until Zacharias(Luke 1:5-9). That’s why the founders of some religious denominations were strong at their inception but ended up dissolving, going carnal, and/or in some cases becoming a lost dead religion. That’s why strong new testament churches get weak and weak ones die off. It is because of sin in the leadership that trickles down to sin in the people or church members(Numb. 32:23).Malachi 2:1-2 And now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you. :2 If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith the LORD of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings: yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart. God promises to curse the priests in the Levitical priesthood if they don’t perform their duties properly and give glory to God. Remember that in the temple, everything done glorifies God and Jesus. Hence, when things aren’t done right, it ruins the typology. For more information on temple or tabernacle typology, go to and see my sermons on ‘The Tabernacle, Part I & II’. For the new testament church, it would be like changing the ordinances of baptism and communion. Baptism pictures the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. If I just sprinkled a new convert instead of submerging him under water, it would destroy the typology or symbol. If I baptized a baby, it would destroy the typology or picture, that a person is dying to sin and being made alive by the Spirit at salvation. If I used regular white bread at communion, I would be destroying the type that Jesus was sinless. Remember that regular bread has yeast or leaven in it that causes the dough to rise. Leaven in the bible is a picture of sin and Jesus’ body had no sin in it. If I used fermented grape juice or alcohol at communion, it would destroy the type that Jesus’ blood was sinless. Fermentation in the bible is a picture of sin. Malachi 2:3-4 Behold, I will corrupt your seed, and spread dung upon your faces, even the dung of your solemn feasts; and one shall take you away with it. :4 And ye shall know that I have sent this commandment unto you, that my covenant might be with Levi, saith the LORD of hosts. The curse of God on the priesthood would imply that their seed would be corrupted or their kids would be born with health defects. Remember that the Levitical priests were a picture of Jesus and that a person who had health defects wasn’t allowed to be a priest(enter the congregation of the Lord). The high priest Eli(I Sam. 1:-4:) brought a curse on his lineage because he didn’t discipline his two sons for being corrupt priests. As a result, his lineage always had someone leaning on a staff because of a health defect or begging for bread. Eli’s two sons were killed in battle. Dung is the waste that comes out of the rear end when you go to the bathroom. Having dung all over your face is the ultimate insult. ‘One shall take you away’ implies that you will be taken captive or prisoner. God has an agreement or covenant with the house of Levi, beginning with Aaron and will not tolerate unfaithfulness and/or unholy behavior. God also has a covenant with the nation of Israel, where God the Father is the husband and Israel is the wife. Worldly behavior is equivalent to spiritual adultery(Jam. 4:4). If the priesthood is committing spiritual adultery, the people are not too far behind in their sins. Malachi 2:5-6 My covenant was with him of life and peace; and I gave them to him for the fear wherewith he feared me, and was afraid before my name. :6 The law of truth was in his mouth, and iniquity was not found in his lips: he walked with me in peace and equity, and did turn many away from iniquity. The priests of the house of Levi when they were right with God feared the Lord exceedingly (Prov. 1:7, 9:10). As a result, God blessed them with life and peace(Rom. 14:17). When the Levitical priest or pastor of the new testament church walks with God or is in agreement with God(Amos 3:3), he will not talk wickedly and will be biblically fair or equitable in his dealings with others. A good Levitical priest or pastor will put the fear of God before your eyes on a regular basis, so that many will turn from their sinful ways and desires. Unfortunately in America, your average minister who is saved, wears the unspiritual pink underwear and is afraid to preach hard on the sins of the country for fear he may lose his large congregation that is currently approving his nice salary and benefits package. Pastor’s are called to preach God’s word regardless of who it offends and not pander to the sinful desires of the people. Malachi 2:7-8 For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts. :8 But ye are departed out of the way; ye have caused many to stumble at the law; ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith the LORD of hosts. Since the priests aren’t teaching and acting right, the people aren’t keeping the word of God under Mosaic law as specified. In the new testament church, when you have a lost or carnal pastor who have departed from the word(II Tim. 4:2), the people they are training to serve God are lost or carnal. It’s hard to learn the Bible from a Sunday school teacher or pastor when he doesn’t know much about what he is talking about. If you are in a church like that, it is time to find another one. Unfortunately, there are a lot of so-called pastors in America who don’t qualify for the ministry and the people in their congregations couldn’t care less. Examples of lost leaders and congregations would be the Catholics, Methodists, Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses, Apostolic, Pentecostals, Presbyterians, Episcopalians, Lutherans, Assembly of God, etc.. Examples of carnal pastors would be Southern Baptists, non-denominational churches and any Christian church that uses a modern translation of the Bible(I Tit. 1:9). Malachi 2:9 Therefore have I also made you contemptible and base before all the people, according as ye have not kept my ways, but have been partial in the law. When the priests aren’t doing what they are supposed to, they will look ignorant, carnal and hypocritical. The people as a result will not respect the leadership and/or think that the ministry is a joke. The priests are partial in the Mosaic law and show favoritism or prejudice based on who is before them. A corrupt judge on the bench in America will cause the people to protest and cry out. In the corrupt new testament church, they will be cliquish(those right with the pastor, not the word of God) and clannish(the family member of the people in charge get all of the breaks and benefits of the doubt). That’s why a lot of people leave their respective churches, because they either want to live godly or just are sick of church altogether. Malachi 2:10 Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, by profaning the covenant of our fathers? God is not prejudice. The problem is not the skin color of a man, but the sin of a man. There is no such thing as white churches, black churches, Hispanic churches, rich churches, poor churches etc. in America, but new testament churches. Beware of churches that are racially or economically prejudiced against others. Speaking profanity is equivalent to saying a curse word. Profaning the covenant that the Jews have with God the Father is like cursing the words of God. Cursing God’s word will lead to wicked and treacherous behavior amongst the Jews whether it be murder, theft, etc.. In America, when they took the Bible and prayer out of the school system, the problems in the classroom went from chewing gum in class and running in the hallways to murder, drug dealing, violence, pregnancy, rape, fornication, extortion etc.. This is what happens when the left-wing liberals, humanists and atheists get their say in how to train your children in the public schools. Malachi 2:11-12 Judah hath dealt treacherously, and an abomination is committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah hath profaned the holiness of the LORD which he loved, and hath married the daughter of a strange god. :12 The LORD will cut off the man that doeth this, the master and the scholar, out of the tabernacles of Jacob, and him that offereth an offering unto the LORD of hosts. Judah was the two southern tribes that split off of the ten northern tribes of Israel after Rehoboam became king. The sin of Judah is that they went after false religion or a strange god. In this world there are only two kinds of religion, God’s and not God’s(John 14:6). There are two kinds of people, saved and lost(I John 5:13). There are multiple ways to go to hell but only one way to heaven. There are multiple ways to disqualify your church as being legitimate, but only one set of standards to follow to qualify. Judah or the two southern tribes(Judah and Benjamin) goes after false religion and God promises to cut them off spiritually which means they will get no further correct spiritual discernment. Notice that the ones going after a strange god also are offering to God at the same time. This was the nation of Israel’s condition(ten northern tribes) when they went into captivity by the Assyrians(II Kings 17:). Serving God and a false god at the same time is equivalent to serving a false god. You either serve God alone or you don’t. Beware of the ecumenical crowd or the ecumenical movement where the Christians or so-called Christians think that it is okay to serve God in multiple ways. God will cut them off spiritually including their masters and scholars. That’s why ecumenical leaders high up in their respective denominations don’t have much spirituality if any spiritual sense when it comes to salvation, the Bible, preaching the gospel, evangelizing the world and living godly, etc.. Malachi 2:13-14 And this have ye done again, covering the altar of the LORD with tears, with weeping, and with crying out, insomuch that he regardeth not the offering any more, or receiveth it with good will at your hand. :14 Yet ye say, Wherefore? Because the LORD hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously: yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant. Just because people know how to cry and weep before God doesn’t mean they are spiritual. Just because someone looks spiritual and knows how to play the part, doesn’t imply that God is with them. God is not interested in Christians or so-called Christians who cry out so they can maintain their wicked lifestyles. God wants true salvation(Rom. 10:13) and true godly living (Prov. 28:13). After awhile of the falsehood, God just stopped regarding the sacrifices of Israel altogether. In other words, the people of Israel got no blessing for giving God an offering. This goes in fake Christian and pagan America where people follow a lost and dead religion, like Catholicism, make sacrifices supposedly to God and God doesn’t give them any regard, blessing, or respect. If you are a practicing Catholic reading this, I want you to know that as far as God is concerned, you are just wasting your time and your money. If you don’t repent of your sins and get saved, when you die you will wake up in hell fire. The same goes for any other false religion like Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, etc.. Just like when an unfaithful man cheats on his wife through fornication and/or adultery and loses her respect and trust completely, God will do the same to Israel when they go practice their religious falsehood or religion based on the teachings of man and not on the teachings of God in the Bible(Mark 7:7).Malachi 2:15-16 And did not he make one? Yet had he the residue of the spirit. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth. :16 For the LORD, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth putting away: for one covereth violence with his garment, saith the LORD of hosts: therefore take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not treacherously. When two people get married, they form a spiritual bond and become one flesh. God sees them as one unit. Their kids are the reproducing of this one unit, for they have both genetic characteristics of the husband and wife. When they get raised by their parents, they will pick up the habits of the husband and wife. That’s why it is important that when someone gets married, that it is once for life until death do you part and that they raise the children up in a godly home. God wants Christian homes to raise up a godly seed of kids that will grow up to glorify God in everything that they do. Divorce or putting away of the wife is a result of a failed marriage and not a godly home. It doesn’t glorify God. However, when one or both partners act wickedly or treacherously towards the other by committing the act of fornication and/or adultery, a sexual disease may be contracted. Hence, it is no longer physically safe for the other spouse to have sexual relations. Malachi 2:17 Ye have wearied the LORD with your words. Yet ye say, Wherein have we wearied him? When ye say, Every one that doeth evil is good in the sight of the LORD, and he delighteth in them; or, Where is the God of judgment? When you call the evil good and the good evil, judgment is not too far behind(Isa. 5:20-23). Saying that God delights in evil and that He doesn’t judge sinful practices is a quick way to bring spiritual destruction your way. Beware of the Sadducee religious leader who calls holiness or keeping the commandments of the Bible legalism. This is the guy who will let his congregation to dress like the world, listen to the world’s music, go to the world’s entertainment, use the phony modern Bibles(like the ESV, NIV, NASV, NEB, NKJV, etc.), will not rebuke the college and young adult crowd for their drunkenness and fornication lifestyles, etc.. However, when a Bible believer shows up at church and practices what God says, he is labeled a legalist and marked as someone who is potential trouble in the church, etc.. In other words they will rebuke the righteous and condone the sinner in the name of Jesus(calling the good evil and the evil good). Beware of the Pharisee religious leader who calls legalism holiness. He will make up his own rules and follow them and will judge you according to how much you agree with his Pharisee teachings and not according to your obedience to the Bible. When you counter his false teaching with scripture, he will either give you a blank stare, an angered look, react out of coercion or emotion, give a none biblical reason etc.. He will try to impose his will on you or get you to agree with what he says, rather than give a scripture that backs up his teaching(I Pet. 3:15). Beware of preachers who say that the God of the new testament is a God of love, whereas the God of the Old Testament is a God of hate or God isn’t here to judge you but to love you. God is consistent all through the Bible(Rom. 3:4). He will judge the lost person at the Great White Throne(Rev. 20:13-15) and the Christian at the judgment seat of Christ(II Cor. 5:10). No one will get away with a single thing. All will be exposed one day, so just fear God and keep his commandments(Eccl. 12:13-14). Hence in the end, the Christian will come out just fine.Malachi 3:1-2 Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the LORD, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts. :2 But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap: The messenger is John the Baptist(Mark 1:1-4) and his message of repentance is the beginning of the new testament. He is the forerunner for the Messiah Jesus Christ, prophesied all through the Old Testament. Jesus, who is God, is holy(I Tim. 3:16) and He won’t tolerate your sin(Luke 13:3). Jesus wants to save you and then clean up your life so He can use you for his purpose and will(I Cor. 6:19-20).Malachi 3:3-4 And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness. :4 Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the LORD, as in the days of old, and as in former years. God’s words are likened to pure silver after it has been purified seven times(Ps. 12:6-7). God’s word will judge everyone according to their works(John 12:48). We know that at the first coming of Jesus that the Levitical priesthood didn’t get right and was done away with. However, there will be a millennial temple on earth after the order of Jesus or Melchisidec and then the saved Levites will be pure before God and offer righteous sacrifices that will glorify God.Malachi 3:5 And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the LORD of hosts. God will judge the sorcerers or wizards, which is somebody who is believed or claims to have magical powers. By the way, beware of books and Hollywood movies like the Harry Potter series that glorifies wizardry, Exod. 22:18. He will judge the adulterer or somebody who has sex outside of his marriage between one man and one woman(Heb. 13:4, that would include former president Bill Clinton). He will judge false swearers or people who make commitments(today we just sign legal documents). He will judge those who don’t pay fair wages. Beware of corporations who don’t care about their employees and/or pay slave or less than minimum wages. God will judge those who oppress or take advantage of widows, fatherless kids and/or foreigners. These people may me ignorant of the laws or don’t have the resources to defend themselves. Finally, God will judge those who don’t fear the Lord. Beware of Christian and religious organizations who say you don’t fear the Lord, just reverence Him or it is the fear of respect(reverence), Heb. 12:28-29, Isa. 11:2). Malachi 3:6-7 For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. :7 Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the LORD of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return? The Lord is sinless and He will never lie to you(Tit. 1:2, Ps. 19:7). God always keeps His promises(II Cor. 5:10, Rev. 20:13-15). God promises to preserve the nation of Israel forever and Jesus will reign from Jerusalem forever(Isa. 9:6, Rev. 20:). Even though God has kept His side of the covenant with the nation of Israel, the nation of Israel once again doesn’t keep its side of it. Once again God is calling for the nation of Israel to repent of their sins and turn back to the living God. Malachi 3:8-9 Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. :9 Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. One of the sins of the nation of Israel in their day was that they didn’t give God their tithes (10% of your income or increase) and/or offerings(over 10% of your income and increase). When you don’t give to God what is rightfully His(tithe) and you don’t trust Him for giving above the tithe(offering), it will lead to curses in your life. Maybe your possessions(car, house, appliances, etc. will break down more often), health(you get sick more often) and/or investments won’t be blessed. When you trust God with your money you may get blessed financially(get something free that would otherwise have to pay for, get some advice that saves you money, etc.). God can make your money last or He can make it disappear in a hurry. Malachi 3:10-11 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. :11 And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts. In the nation of Israel’s case, they weren’t bringing in to the storehouse the tithes and offerings of the livestock and the field(today we just give 10% of our money or paycheck). The tithes and offerings were the income of the Levitical priesthood(today they are for the pastor, evangelist and/or missionary). God wants the Christian to give to God by faith. When he does God will open the windows of heaven and bless you in one way or another. It may be a better job or not losing your job, etc.. In the case of the nation of Israel, when they gave what God required, their crops gave abundantly. Remember that it is God who makes the plants grow and the sky to rain. He can send the locust your way to devour your field or not, etc.. Malachi 3:12 And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the LORD of hosts. It is no mistake then when America was called the land of plenty it was because the nation was right with God(Prov. 14:34, , North Dakota sells wheat to about 100 countries worldwide). It is no mistake that the nation of Haiti who made Satan the official God of the land is cursed with the poorest standard of living in the world. In the days of king David, the nation of Israel rose to greatness and in the days of king Solomon following, it was the most blessed and powerful nation in the world. During the times of the judges(the book of Judges), when Israel followed false gods, the nation was cursed, etc..Malachi 3:13-14 Your words have been stout against me, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, What have we spoken so much against thee? :14 Ye have said, It is vain to serve God: and what profit is it that we have kept his ordinance, and that we have walked mournfully before the LORD of hosts? Stout means being bold or marked by boldness, bravery, or determination; firm and resolute. In other words, the nation of Israel was bold and determined in their rebellion against God. This sounds like your typical modern day Christian Pharisee(who makes up his own rules and keeps them) or Christian Sadducee(ignores God’s rules and calls it legalism) in America. They think that because they have large attendance and offerings that they must be doing something right and God is blessing them. By the way, just because I have mold growing in my bathroom doesn’t mean that it is good. For the nation of Israel they thought it was a waste of time or vain to serve God or keep the commandments of God in the power of the Holy Ghost(Eph. 5:18, John 14:15). They believed there was no profit in doing it God’s way(John 15:14). This sounds like your typical American religion or church. They either have salvation wrong(see the salvation message at the end of the book, Acts 4:12) or their final authority(the Old King James, for the English speaking people, Tit. 1:9) wrong(use modern bible versions, religious teachings, etc.).Malachi 3:15 And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered. When sin is exalted and righteousness shot down, you call the proud against God as happy. Also, you set up wicked people in positions of authority and help those who tempt God or go against His holy word. Beware of preachers who are proud and selfish and who claim the Bible is their final authority. When the time of testing occurs, their religious rules(Pharisee) are the final authority.Malachi 3:16 Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name. Once again we see the word fear(a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc.). If you don’t fear the consequences of the judgment of God, you won’t serve Him the way you are supposed to(Prov. 1:7, 9:10). The book of remembrance is the righteous works of the saved people that God keeps a record of. God will bless everything we do for the Lord(II Cor. 5:10, Eccl. 12:13-14).Malachi 3:17-18 And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him. :18 Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not. A jewel is a precious stone, like a diamond. God’s people who obey His word are very precious in His sight. God promises to deliver the ones who serve Him(John 14:21, 15:14). The bible says that the spiritual man judges all things(I Cor. 2:14-16), because he judges by the Spirit of God according to the word of God(John 12:48).Malachi 4:1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. The second coming will result in the earth being destroyed by fire(II Pet. 3:7). The lost people who survive the battle of Armageddon will be destroyed at the judgment of the nations (Matt. 25:31-46). Only the saved people will go into the millennium along with Jesus and all of those saved that have received their eternal bodies, from Adam to the last tribulation martyr. Malachi 4:2-3 But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. :3 And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the LORD of hosts. At the pre-tribulation rapture, all the saved from Adam to the last saved in the church age before the rapture will be taken up to heaven with an eternal resurrected sinless body. At the post-tribulation rapture(Rev. 7:), all of the martyred tribulation saints will get a new eternal body. At the end of the tribulation, Jesus will lead the Calvary charge with all of the saved behind him to take over the earth and tread down the wicked at the battle of Armageddon(Rev. 14:, and other numerous references). The blessing for the Christian in life is with fearing God’s name(Eccl. 12:13, Heb. 12:28-29). The Sun of righteousness is Jesus. In the Old Testament they were looking forward to the cross for salvation, whereas today we look back to the cross for salvation(Acts 10:43).Malachi 4:4 Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments. Remember that the age of Law goes from Moses receiving the ten commandments(Exod. 19:18), until Jesus died on the cross. In the days of Malachi(post-Babylonian captivity), they are still under Mosaic law. The statues(laws) and judgments still apply(Mal. 3:6, Eccl. 12:13). For the Christian it is good to memorize and study scripture(Ps. 119:11, II Tim. 2:15) as well as obey it(John 14:15,21). Horeb is mount Sinai(). Malachi 4:5-6 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: :6 And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse. The Elijah here is John the Baptist(Luke 1:17). John goes in the spirit and power of Elijah. The same power that people in the Bible get is the same power we can get as Christians, apart from the usual dispensational differences and limitations. John the Baptist started his ministry 6 months before Jesus and prepared the people for the coming Messiah Jesus Christ(Isa. 40:3).Micah 1:1 The word of the LORD that came to Micah the Morasthite in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem. Micah prophesies during the reigns of Jotham(II Kings 15:32), Ahaz(II Kings 16:1) and Hezekiah(II Kings 18:1), kings of Judah. Israel, or the ten northern tribes, went into captivity in the sixth year of Hezekiah(II Kings 18:9-10). His prophecies cover the nation of Judah, whose capital was Jerusalem, and the nation of Israel, whose capital was Samaria. Remember that the Samaritans were half Assyrian and half Jew as a result of Sennacherib taking over Israel and moving his people into the land(II Kings 17:).Micah 1:2-5 Hear, all ye people; hearken, O earth, and all that therein is: and let the Lord GOD be witness against you, the LORD from his holy temple. :3 For, behold, the LORD cometh forth out of his place, and will come down, and tread upon the high places of the earth. :4 And the mountains shall be molten under him, and the valleys shall be cleft, as wax before the fire, and as the waters that are poured down a steep place. :5 For the transgression of Jacob is all this, and for the sins of the house of Israel. What is the transgression of Jacob? is it not Samaria? and what are the high places of Judah? are they not Jerusalem? The holy temple of God the Father is in heaven(Rev. 4:2-3). God is promising to judge the nations of Israel(II Kings 18:11-12) and Judah(II Kings 16:10-18) for their sins against Him. In this time in history, the nation of Assyria is a worldwide power under Sennacherib, who was conquering the world. Micah 1:6-9 Therefore I will make Samaria as an heap of the field, and as plantings of a vineyard: and I will pour down the stones thereof into the valley, and I will discover the foundations thereof. :7 And all the graven images thereof shall be beaten to pieces, and all the hires thereof shall be burned with the fire, and all the idols thereof will I lay desolate: for she gathered it of the hire of an harlot, and they shall return to the hire of an harlot. :8 Therefore I will wail and howl, I will go stripped and naked: I will make a wailing like the dragons, and mourning as the owls. :9 For her wound is incurable; for it is come unto Judah; he is come unto the gate of my people, even to Jerusalem. The nation of Israel will get plowed and dug up when one is planting crops in the field or the vineyard(Jer. 26:18). Their false idols(I John 5:21) or graven images, like the statues of Mary, etc. in the lost Catholic church, will get beaten to pieces. Notice that someone who is a priest at a temple of idol worship is a spiritual whore that ministers for a paycheck(II Chron. 13:8-9). God promises to burn these people alive. Now you see why I am so hard on false religions in my writings, like the Catholics, the Methodists, Church of Christ, Islam, Buddhism, Mormon, Jehovah Witness, etc., because God bitterly opposes and hates them(Ps. 5:5, 7:11). By the way, a dragon in the bible refers to a large lizard or reptile. Before the flood in an environment with fifty percent more oxygen in it would cause these reptiles, with their indeterminate growth cycles, to grow to the size of dinosaurs shown in the museums today (). With the false advent of evolution in the 1800’s, now every time someone sees something that looks like a dinosaur or dragon, they just assume you are crazy(I Tim. 6:20) rather than just believe the Bible. The owl is an unclean animal that was an abomination if eaten(Lev. 11:13-16). The wailing is the wailing of the false priests who have been stripped naked because their religious business has been destroyed. The incurable sin is the sin where you have decided that you will not repent no matter what. As a result, judgment follows(II Chron. 36:16, I John 5:16).Micah 1:10-12 Declare ye it not at Gath, weep ye not at all: in the house of Aphrah roll thyself in the dust. :11 Pass ye away, thou inhabitant of Saphir, having thy shame naked: the inhabitant of Zaanan came not forth in the mourning of Bethezel; he shall receive of you his standing. :12 For the inhabitant of Maroth waited carefully for good: but evil came down from the LORD unto the gate of Jerusalem. A good resource for Bible maps of places go to and enter and/or hit the appropriate link. The house of Aphrah(I Chr. 4:14), Saphir, Lachish, Zaanan(Josh 15:37), Achzib, Mareshah (Josh. 15:44) and Adullam(Josh. 15:35) are all towns in Judah(Josh. 15:21). Gath, Bethazel, Maroth are towns of the land of the Philistines, west of Israel. Moreshethgath or a possession of Gath is where the prophet Micah is from. When God says weep not at all, it means judgment is coming and that they are beyond repentance. When you roll yourself in dust or dirt you are either in great shame(Isa. 47:1) or dead and six feet under. Having your shame naked means that their sins are openly exposed to all(Isa. 47:2-3). Clearly Israel will get overrun by Sennacherib king of Assyria and Judah will get overrun by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon(II Chron. 36:17-21).Micah 1:13-16 O thou inhabitant of Lachish, bind the chariot to the swift beast: she is the beginning of the sin to the daughter of Zion: for the transgressions of Israel were found in thee. :14 Therefore shalt thou give presents to Moreshethgath: the houses of Achzib shall be a lie to the kings of Israel. :15 Yet will I bring an heir unto thee, O inhabitant of Mareshah: he shall come unto Adullam the glory of Israel. :16 Make thee bald, and poll thee for thy delicate children; enlarge thy baldness as the eagle; for they are gone into captivity from thee. Although Judah is able to put an army of swift horses and chariots together, it would be the beginning of their sin against God. God has already decided that they will get overrun, so the best thing they can do is surrender to God's will and submit to the Babylonian army when they arrive(Jer. 38:17-18). The city of Lachish of Judah will try to hire Moreshethgath of the land of the Philistines for help in the day of their slaughter, but it won’t do any good. Many times in the Bible you will see one nation either trying to buy off the conquering nation or trying to hire the armies of other nations for help when they are not strong enough to defeat the enemy. An heir is someone who inherits possessions of another after they are dead. The heir here is the nation of Babylon who will crush Judah into captivity. There will be a great mourning for the people of Judah who have lost their children to the captivity of Babylon.Micah 2:1-3 Woe to them that devise iniquity, and work evil upon their beds! when the morning is light, they practise it, because it is in the power of their hand. :2 And they covet fields, and take them by violence; and houses, and take them away: so they oppress a man and his house, even a man and his heritage. :3 Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, against this family do I devise an evil, from which ye shall not remove your necks; neither shall ye go haughtily: for this time is evil. We see that it is in the heart of man to do evil when he can practice it and get away with it. Here we see that God is going to reward the wicked in the same way they rewarded others with wickedness(Prov. 1:30-31). As the old saying goes, what comes around goes around. You reap what you sow, more than you sow and longer than you so. Anyways, this is why a nation right with God will have godly laws and the Bible as part of the school curriculum(like they did in America before they started banning the Bible and prayer, Prov. 14:34). Remember that separation of church and state means that the church doesn’t run the state nor the state the church. Both are separate institutions with God-given authority(Rom. 13:1-4, Eph. 5:23-25). By the way, communist governments in the name of liberation take property away from their rightful owning inhabitants and redistribute the wealth to consolidate their wicked power over the land. On the local level, you have loan sharks, gangs and mafia networks that steal for a living illegally. These people are proud or haughty and they don’t see that one day their judgment is coming. Micah 2:4-6 In that day shall one take up a parable against you, and lament with a doleful lamentation, and say, We be utterly spoiled: he hath changed the portion of my people: how hath he removed it from me! turning away he hath divided our fields. :5 Therefore thou shalt have none that shall cast a cord by lot in the congregation of the LORD. :6 Prophesy ye not, say they to them that prophesy: they shall not prophesy to them, that they shall not take shame. These evil people in the times of Judah will be spoiled themselves and brought low. God won’t even send a warning their way but bring swift and complete judgment. The judgment of God on these people will be so bad that people will make up a saying or proverb against them. E.g. Discipline your child in the high chair so he won’t practice evil and end up in the electric chair(old form of execution of criminals in America). Casting a cord by lot implies that like a fisherman casting his cord into the sea, he can ensnare and devour God’s people at will(Hab. 1:14).Micah 2:7-10 O thou that art named the house of Jacob, is the spirit of the LORD straitened? are these his doings? do not my words do good to him that walketh uprightly? :8 Even of late my people is risen up as an enemy: ye pull off the robe with the garment from them that pass by securely as men averse from war. :9 The women of my people have ye cast out from their pleasant houses; from their children have ye taken away my glory for ever. :10 Arise ye, and depart; for this is not your rest: because it is polluted, it shall destroy you, even with a sore destruction. The answer to all three questions in verse seven are yes. God’s ways or words(Ps. 138:2) are straight and not crooked. The judgment on the twelve tribes of Israel or Jacob is of God because of sin. God’s commandments do good to those who obey them(John 14:15,21). Never mind the crooked ways of religion where they make up their own commandments of men and call it holiness(Pharisee, Mark 7:7) or those who ignore God’s commandments in the name of legalism (Sadducee, I Pet. 1:15-16). God will judge your sin(Numb. 32:23) without discrimination regardless of religion, race, political standing, disability, age, etc.. From the five year old who first got saved to the pastor who has been in charge of church for over thirty years, God will bless you for doing right and punish you for doing wrong in this world and/or the world to come (Eccl. 12:13). When you go contrary to God’s way and commit spiritual adultery, you become an enemy of God. Israel and Judah here were guilty of breaking their covenant with God and going after false gods(Mic. 4:5). The sins of a nation will show up in the economy, especially among hard working middle class Americans(Ps. 9:17, Matt. 23:14) and in the spirituality of the next generation. Children are the future of any nation’s success(I Tim. 2:2, Ps. 127:3-5). In verse eight we see that there is a lot of stealing going on(Exod. 20:15). As the old saying goes, the people are getting fleeced(lose their clothing) or getting robbed blind unknowingly at the time from whoever the thief may be. E.g. Whether it be the crooks on Wall Street or in the government(America, around 2008 with the TARP money bailouts, etc.). God is calling the inhabitants of Judah and Israel to depart from their corrupt behaviors(I Cor. 15:33). See my teaching on Separation part I & II at . We know that sins like drinking, smoking, pornography, gambling, illegal drugs, rock music, worldly entertainment, etc. have destroyed Christians physically and/or spiritually(Mark 4:18-19). Sin is a spiritual pollutant whereas righteousness is a spiritual cleaning agent(Eph. 5:26).Micah 2:11-13 If a man walking in the spirit and falsehood do lie, saying, I will prophesy unto thee of wine and of strong drink; he shall even be the prophet of this people. :12 I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of thee; I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; I will put them together as the sheep of Bozrah, as the flock in the midst of their fold: they shall make great noise by reason of the multitude of men. :13 The breaker is come up before them: they have broken up, and have passed through the gate, and are gone out by it: and their king shall pass before them, and the LORD on the head of them. This sounds like your typical liberal and/or carnal church in America. The Catholics have fermented wine in their communion(Hab. 2:15) and the Southern Baptists could care less that over 90% of their college population partied it up the night before. As long as they get their attendance, offerings and prestige, the religious business must be good(Isa. 5:20-23). The nation of Israel and Judah before their captivity is no different. The prophet who tells the sinner what his itching ears want to hear(Jer. 23:10-13, Isa. 56:11-12) will have revival among the unrepentant drunks and fornicators. In today’s terms, this would be your average college campus church attendant. After the captivity of Israel and Judah, Israel as one nation goes back into the land(the books of Ezra & Nehemiah) to rebuild the city, temple and the people of God. Spiritually, God led the way by spiritually stirring up Cyrus, the king of Media-Persia who had a worldwide empire(Ezra 1:1). It is also true at the second coming of Jesus, that once again, the nation of Israel will be restored back into the land with Jesus leading the way(Rev. 19:11-21). Micah 3:1-2 And I said, Hear, I pray you, O heads of Jacob, and ye princes of the house of Israel; Is it not for you to know judgment? :2 Who hate the good, and love the evil; who pluck off their skin from off them, and their flesh from off their bones; The nation of Israel and Judah have the truth backwards(Isa. 5:20-23). Religion is America is no better(2009). If you believe the Bible is literal(II Pet. 1:20) and perfect(Ps. 12:6-7, 19:7, in English it is the Old King James Bible) you are considered the lunatic fringe, unscientific(I Tim. 6:20), legalist(I Pet. 1:15-16), etc.. But if you practice fornication, idolatry, adultery(I Cor. 6:9), drunkenness(Eph. 5:18), walk around naked or partially naked(Isa. 47:2) and go to a church where you have to work your way to heaven or maintain your salvation through your own good works(Eph. 2:8-9), you are right with God. If the local or national paper or news media outlet says that a religion is okay, it probably isn’t. The media thinks that Catholicism is the true church of Jesus, but they teach that you have to keep the sacraments to go to heaven(Mark 7:7) and not the blood of Jesus alone(Col. 1:14, Heb. 10:10, 14).Micah 3:3-4 Who also eat the flesh of my people, and flay their skin from off them; and they break their bones, and chop them in pieces, as for the pot, and as flesh within the caldron. :4 Then shall they cry unto the LORD, but he will not hear them: he will even hide his face from them at that time, as they have behaved themselves ill in their doings. Spiritually, the leaders of Judah and Israel are abusing their citizens(eating them alive) with bad policies. In pagan America this would be like the TARP program that gave the banks and Wall Street money at the expense of your house losing 40% of its value. It led to bad out of control spending policies of George Bush/Barrack Obama that devaluated the dollar(about a 40% loss from around 2001-2009). It allowed illegal aliens in the country who are illegally allowed to vote and be counted in the census so certain states can get more funding and seats in the congress when the redistricting occurs every ten years. Also the illegal aliens take jobs away from Americans, add cost to the health care system(they get free health care but the American has to pay through his nose) and add a tax burden to the local schools and prisons(1/3 of all prisoners are illegal aliens). But hey, the Republicans are benefiting from their big corporation special interest groups who are enjoying a cheap labor force where they don’t have to pay taxes and benefits, the Democrats are happy because they have more power with a new voting block and the Catholics are happy because they have new members to replace all the Americans that left in midst of the Catholic pedophile(Lev. 18:22. Rom. 1:27) scandals and other foolishness, etc.. As a result, we the people, the American taxpayer, are left to footing the bill of this corruption. However, the average American could care less about God. As long as he has money in his pocket and his relationships are okay, he could care less if the rest of the country and the world is going to hell(Ps. 9:17). Because of the national lack of godliness in Judah and Israel, as well as America(Tit. 2:12), when the people cry out God doesn’t hear(Isa. 59:1-2). Micah 3:5-7 Thus saith the LORD concerning the prophets that make my people err, that bite with their teeth, and cry, Peace; and he that putteth not into their mouths, they even prepare war against him. :6 Therefore night shall be unto you, that ye shall not have a vision; and it shall be dark unto you, that ye shall not divine; and the sun shall go down over the prophets, and the day shall be dark over them. :7 Then shall the seers be ashamed, and the diviners confounded: yea, they shall all cover their lips; for there is no answer of God. Here we see the false prophets who prophesy for money or act as a religious hireling. In America, the false and/carnal preachers will do whatever increases their offerings, attendance and prestige. Never mind if it is a sin(I Tim. 6:5-6). They use worldly gimmicks, gadgets, promotions, emotion, coercion, politics, appearance, smooth talking, etc., that will appeal to the flesh(John 16:13, 17:17). When someone holy and godly enters the church and protests from scripture(II Tim. 3:16-17) against the carnality in the church, the pastor and leadership will persecute him. They will talk about the Bible believer behind his back in the name of dealing with people face to face in everything. They will magnify the godly person’s faults or so-called faults while downplaying their obvious sins and hypocrisies, in hopes of manipulating the situation to their benefit. Since the average member of their church leaves their brain at the door and does whatever the leadership says(Acts 5:32) regardless of what God says(Heb. 4:12), the church congregation is easily manipulated. Because of the sins of the prophets of Judah and Israel, God won’t bless them with the true riches, knowledge, wisdom and understanding of the word of God and the future(Prov. 21:30, 1:7, 9:10). The 400 false prophets in the days of Micaiah(I Kings 22:) preached good to king Ahab, that led to him dying in battle. In the days of the prophet Jeremiah, false prophets like Hananiah(Jer. 23:, 28:15) preached peace when God promised that Judah would go into Babylonian captivity. Micah 3:8-12 But truly I am full of power by the spirit of the LORD, and of judgment, and of might, to declare unto Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin. :9 Hear this, I pray you, ye heads of the house of Jacob, and princes of the house of Israel, that abhor judgment, and pervert all equity. :10 They build up Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with iniquity. :11 The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money: yet will they lean upon the LORD, and say, Is not the LORD among us? none evil can come upon us. :12 Therefore shall Zion for your sake be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of the forest. God has all the power(Matt. 28:18), so He has a right to tell you what is right and wrong(Rev. 20:11-15). Before any judgment, God gives His people a chance to repent(II Pet. 3:9, Prov. 28:13). Notice that the leaders of Israel and Judah got stronger through bloodshed and perversion of truth like any other fascist or communist regime known to modern man. Hence, Micah preaches judgment and his message was accepted in the days of king Hezekiah(Jer. 26:18), but not in the days of the prophet Jeremiah(Jer. 26:24). Micah 4:1-4 But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it. :2 And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. :3 And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. :4 But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the LORD of hosts hath spoken it. The last days in the Bible starts with the church age(Heb. 1:2) and goes into the millennial reign of Christ(Isa. 2:2-4). For more information on the millennial reign of Christ download my book on Revelation at and read Rev. 20: with references. Briefly, Jesus will reign as a worldwide dictator from Jerusalem with a perfect government of saved people with eternal bodies(Rev. 1:6). The nation and people of Israel will be restored (Rom. 11:25-27, Zeph. 14:8-21) and the temple rebuilt(Ezek. 40:-48:). The whole world will be taught the ways of the Lord and there will be no wars because there will be no worldly group of people powerful enough to oppose Jesus. Also, all the devils and unclean spirits will be in the lake of fire and the Devil will be in the bottomless pit. In the millennial reign of Christ there will be worldwide peace. Hence, everyone can enjoy the right to their own private poverty without foreign or internal government oppression and/or corruption.Micah 4:5-7 For all people will walk every one in the name of his god, and we will walk in the name of the LORD our God for ever and ever. :6 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; :7 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. There are two kinds of people(I John 5:12), saved and lost. The Devil(2 Cor. 4:4) has a million ways to send you to hell and the lake of fire, but God has only one way to get you to heaven(John 14:6, see the salvation message at the end of any of my books online). The five main lost religions of the world are modern day Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism and Catholicism. Lost religions have a common theme in that they have a works-salvation doctrine (Tit. 3:5) to where man has a part in earning and/or maintaining his ticket to heaven by being good. However, the religious lost(Mark 7:7) will end up in the lake of fire(Rev. 20:11-15) and the theocracy dictatorship of Jesus will reign forever(Isa. 9:6-7) on the new heaven and earth (Rev. 21:-22:). The nation of Israel is likened to a person who is crippled, put in exile, and/or afflicted as a result of sin. God promises to bring the nation of Israel and their people back into the land forever which will start in the millennium.Micah 4:8-10 And thou, O tower of the flock, the strong hold of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion; the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem. :9 Now why dost thou cry out aloud? is there no king in thee? is thy counsellor perished? for pangs have taken thee as a woman in travail. :10 Be in pain, and labour to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in travail: for now shalt thou go forth out of the city, and thou shalt dwell in the field, and thou shalt go even to Babylon; there shalt thou be delivered; there the LORD shall redeem thee from the hand of thine enemies. Here the Babylonian captivity of Judah is assured. Remember that the Assyrians who captured Israel, will be captured by Babylon(book of Nahum). Israel will be one nation again in Babylon captivity. God promises to take care of the Jews if they submit to their punishment as a nation. However, if they resist, like king Zedekiah and the people did in the days of Jeremiah (Jer. 37:, 44:, etc.), their judgment was worse.Micah 4:11-13 Now also many nations are gathered against thee, that say, Let her be defiled, and let our eye look upon Zion. :12 But they know not the thoughts of the LORD, neither understand they his counsel: for he shall gather them as the sheaves into the floor. :13 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. At the end of the tribulation at the battle of Armageddon(Rev. 19:11-21) and at the end of the millennium at the battle of Gog and Magog, all the nations will fight against God but will be slaughtered(Zech. 14:2, Rev. 14:17-20, Matt. 13:30, 42). Hence, we see that worldwide armies and organizations, like the United Nations, etc., that rejects the ways of the Bible will be destroyed completely one day.Micah 5:1-3 Now gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops: he hath laid siege against us: they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek. :2 But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. :3 Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth: then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel. God is telling the nation of Judah to prepare to be invaded and overrun. However, God promises to send a deliverer to the nation of Israel who will come out of Bethlehem. This is Jesus who was born in Bethlehem(Gen. 49:10, Matt. 5:1-2, Rev. 12:1-2, 5). At His first coming, Jesus is brought forth to redeem the nation of Israel. At His second coming, Jesus will take over the world and restore the nation of Israel and be their King from Jerusalem(Ps. 2:6, Jer. 22:2, Joel 2:32, Matt. 19:28). Micah 5:4-6 And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God; and they shall abide: for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth. :5 And this man shall be the peace, when the Assyrian shall come into our land: and when he shall tread in our palaces, then shall we raise against him seven shepherds, and eight principal men. :6 And they shall waste the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod in the entrances thereof: thus shall he deliver us from the Assyrian, when he cometh into our land, and when he treadeth within our borders. At the end of the tribulation period, Jesus leads the way against the armies of the antichrist. Assyria(east of Israel) and Babylon(east of Israel and the worldwide economic center in the tribulation, Rev. 18: & the land of Nimrod, Gen. 10:8-12) will be wiped out and taken over by the armies of Jesus(the raptured saved from Adam to the martyred tribulation saints, Joel 2:, Rev. 16:12-16). I know in the Bible that seven is the number of completion and eight is the number of new beginnings(see my teachings on Numerology, Part I-IV, for the explanation of the numbers). A shepherd is the leader of the flock and principal men implies an army of people with strength and moral principals(The Lord and his army, Rev. 19:14). Micah 5:7-9 And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many people as a dew from the LORD, as the showers upon the grass, that tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men. :8 And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles in the midst of many people as a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep: who, if he go through, both treadeth down, and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver. :9 Thine hand shall be lifted up upon thine adversaries, and all thine enemies shall be cut off. In the millennium, Israel or Jacob will be the country that Jesus rules from(Rev. 20:, Zech. 14:). Jesus is the lion from the tribe of Judah who will be king of the jungle or the world(Rev. 5:5). At the judgment of the nations(Matt. 25:31-46), all of the lost people will be killed just like at the time of Noah’s flood(Luke 17:26). During the millennium, Jesus will rule with a rod of iron over the whole earth. No one will get away with anything(Ps. 2:9-12).Micah 5:10-11 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD, that I will cut off thy horses out of the midst of thee, and I will destroy thy chariots: :11 And I will cut off the cities of thy land, and throw down all thy strong holds: Here we see the prophesied defeat of the antichrist army. Pharaoh(one of the heads of the antichrist, Rev. 17:3, 9-11) also got his whole army of horses and chariots destroyed in the Red Sea(Exod. 14:8-31). The cities will be cut off and their strong holds destroyed. Micah 5:12-13 And I will cut off witchcrafts out of thine hand; and thou shalt have no more soothsayers: :13 Thy graven images also will I cut off, and thy standing images out of the midst of thee; and thou shalt no more worship the work of thine hands. Spiritually, all of the devils behind the witchcraft(Exod. 22:18) and soothsayers or false prophets will be cut off in the millennium(Zech. 13:2-4). Notice that graven images and standing images or statues go along with idolatry(Ps. 115:1-8, I John 5:21). The devil always has something you can see to make you feel religious(an ash on your forehead for ash Wednesday or the mark of the beast on your forehead, Rev. 13:16) while God always gives you something you can’t see, like the indwelling Holy Ghost(Eph. 1:13). Micah 5:14-15 And I will pluck up thy groves out of the midst of thee: so will I destroy thy cities. :15 And I will execute vengeance in anger and fury upon the heathen, such as they have not heard. Note that a grove is a group of trees or an orchard, where many trees are commercially grown for their fruit, etc.. Destroyed crops are the judgment of God on a nation(Ps. 9:17). God’s judgment will be worldwide and thorough.Micah 6:1-5 Hear ye now what the LORD saith; Arise, contend thou before the mountains, and let the hills hear thy voice. :2 Hear ye, O mountains, the LORD's controversy, and ye strong foundations of the earth: for the LORD hath a controversy with his people, and he will plead with Israel. :3 O my people, what have I done unto thee? and wherein have I wearied thee? testify against me. :4 For I brought thee up out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed thee out of the house of servants; and I sent before thee Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. :5 O my people, remember now what Balak king of Moab consulted, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him from Shittim unto Gilgal; that ye may know the righteousness of the LORD. As always, God is pleading for repentance with the people He has a covenant with(:2-3, for the new testament church, Rev. 2:16). God is giving Israel a chance to explain their side of the story on why they disobeyed Him, just like every lost person will get a chance on judgment day(Rev. 20:11-15). God tries to reason with His people. He gives them past examples(I Cor. 10:6) on how He delivered then out of Egypt and bondage(The book of Exodus, Deut. 34:7) and how that He kept Balaam from cursing the nation of Israel(Num. 22:-24:[Num. 23:20-24]). God is a good and holy God. You can never go wrong when you obey Him(II Cor. 5:10). Everything you do for God will be rewarded, etc..Micah 6:6-8 Wherewith shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? :7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? :8 He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? The Lord is interested in the Christian’s or the nation of Israel’s heart being right with Him (Ps. 51:17). Remember that the sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord(Prov. 15:8). We must be holy on the inside as well as the outside. Having the right heart attitude towards God and no actions to back it up is a dead faith that won’t earn you any rewards for God (Jam. 2:20-24). Abraham gave up Isaac by faith. However, if you don’t serve God by faith (Rom. 1:16), giving up your child for God will be a waste of time. Verse eight is self-explanatory. It talks about the faith of the saved(The book of James), but not the faith to be saved(Eph. 2:8-9). Christians as well as the nation of Israel are called to service(Rom. 12:1-2, Eph. 2:10), not to be entertained by the world all week and go to church for an hour(Amos 3:3). God wants the Christian to get his holiness into his lifestyle in every aspect (Tit. 2:12, I Pet. 1:15). This would include what you think, what you listen to, where you go or don’t go, what you put into your body and don’t put into your body, what you wear, what you spend your money on and don’t spend your money on, etc.. If the sinless and holy life of Jesus was good for Him, it is good for us. For more information on holy living, download my teachings on Separation Part I & II as well as How to Get your Prayers Answered Part I & II. Now being holy means keeping the commandments of God in the power of the Holy Ghost(John 16:13, 17:17, Eph. 5:18). The commandments are the Old King James Bible for the English speaking people(Ps. 12:6-7, 19:7, 138:2).Micah 6:9-11 The LORD's voice crieth unto the city, and the man of wisdom shall see thy name: hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it. :10 Are there yet the treasures of wickedness in the house of the wicked, and the scant measure that is abominable? :11 Shall I count them pure with the wicked balances, and with the bag of deceitful weights? The wise Christian or Israelite at this time will receive what God says(Prov. 1:7, 10:9). A rod is used to punish the disobedient. God has appointed judgment(John 12:48) to all those who disobey His word or break His covenant. The scant measure means that when buying and selling, they are using a weight scale that favors the one who has the weight scale(Amos 8:5, Hos. 12:7). E.g. When you sell the meat, the scale is set at 1.1 times what it should weigh. When you buy the meat, it weighs 0.9 times what it should weigh. God is not impressed with people who increase their wealth through wrong doing. It’s kind of like churches that use gimmicks, gadgets, politics, emotion, and/or coercion to make their church grow(I Tim. 6:5) and not the power of God. They judge their success based on their increase and not their holiness. At the time of this writing, the rod of God would be the king of Assyria(II Kings 19:). The city in verse nine is probably Jerusalem and Samaria, the capitals of Judah and Israel respectively.Micah 6:12-13 For the rich men thereof are full of violence, and the inhabitants thereof have spoken lies, and their tongue is deceitful in their mouth. :13 Therefore also will I make thee sick in smiting thee, in making thee desolate because of thy sins. Rich people in lawless foreign countries get things done through gangs, mafias, bribery, etc. to get their way. In America, the rich people like an expensive legal system because they know if they have enough money, they can either buy off the prosecution side with a settlement or get a crooked lawyer who will find a loop hole to get them off scot free or a minor sentence with no jail time, etc.. Lying or bearing false witness is one of the first ten commandments(Exod. 20:16). The bible says that lying lips are an abomination to the Lord(Prov. 12:22). God’s judgment will be long lasting. In the case of Israel, their country was overrun and not restored for over 200 years. Today, e.g. a person’s sin may lead to a long term or permanent crippling injury(sexually transmitted diseases, spinal damage, etc.). Sin will make you financially, physically, mentally and/or spiritually desolate(bare, uninhabited, joyless, dismal, without hope, Num. 32:23).Micah 6:14-16 Thou shalt eat, but not be satisfied; and thy casting down shall be in the midst of thee; and thou shalt take hold, but shalt not deliver; and that which thou deliverest will I give up to the sword. :15 Thou shalt sow, but thou shalt not reap; thou shalt tread the olives, but thou shalt not anoint thee with oil; and sweet wine, but shalt not drink wine. :16 For the statutes of Omri are kept, and all the works of the house of Ahab, and ye walk in their counsels; that I should make thee a desolation, and the inhabitants thereof an hissing: therefore ye shall bear the reproach of my people. When you are out of God’s will, you will not be satisfied(Lev. 26:16, 26). You will be cast down because of your sins(Hag. 1:6-7). When the nation of Assyria overruns Israel and the nation of Babylon overruns Judah, they will take hold of their possessions and family and run for their lives. However, it will be to no avail(II Kings 24:11-16, Deut. 28:31-33). Because of the sins of Israel and Judah, the crops won’t produce abundantly and/or will be eaten by another nation(see Deut. 28:33, 36-41). The statutes of Omri and the works of the house of Ahab were the laws and practices of two wicked kings of Israel, Omri and Ahab(I Kings 16:25-33). Ahab set up altars and worshipping houses for Baal, which was the fertility or nature god worshiped by the Canaanites and the Phoenicians. Ahab was religious like the Catholics, Buddhists, Muslims, Hindus, etc., but was lost(John 14:6, 3:18). During Ahab’s reign, they killed people unjustly like Naboth(I Kings 21:1-26) and promoted false prophets(I Kings 22:6-14). When you follow sinful practices it will be lead to destruction and reproach(I Kings 22:34-39, Ps. 9:17). This is why it is important to have a nation of godly laws based on the Bible(Prov. 14:34). It will bring the blessings of God on a nation in every aspect.Micah 7:1-3 Woe is me! for I am as when they have gathered the summer fruits, as the grapegleanings of the vintage: there is no cluster to eat: my soul desired the firstripe fruit. :2 The good man is perished out of the earth: and there is none upright among men: they all lie in wait for blood; they hunt every man his brother with a net. :3 That they may do evil with both hands earnestly, the prince asketh, and the judge asketh for a reward; and the great man, he uttereth his mischievous desire: so they wrap it up. Here Micah is likening himself as someone who is going to pick the fruits of the summer harvest and finding no first ripe fruits. This means that no fruit was produced from a field of fruit plants or a vineyard. Likewise, the vineyard is referred to the house of Israel(Isa. 5:) and in verse two, all of the righteous people for God are gone implying that the nation of Judah at the time has rejected God and His laws(Jer. 8:20, 24:). The people of Judah at this time are crooked in their dealings(murderers(Exod. 20:13), out to deceive (Exod. 20:16)). The leaders are corrupt and take bribes, etc.. This is what happened to America. We take the Bible and prayer out of the school. The morality of the Bible is removed from our society and now we have corruption and sin everywhere, from the grade school to the presidency(Barak Obama, Obama FBI: E.g. Flynn case-Obama gate, Prov. 14:34). From a prophetic standpoint, after the post-tribulation rapture of the dead tribulation saints(Rev. 14:15-16) and the saved elect are gathered(Matt. 24:31), all you have left is the bad fruit that will be crushed into the winepress of the judgment of God(Rev. 14:17-20). The great man would be the antichrist(Dan. 11:36).Micah 7:4-7 The best of them is as a brier: the most upright is sharper than a thorn hedge: the day of thy watchmen and thy visitation cometh; now shall be their perplexity. :5 Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide: keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom. :6 For the son dishonoureth the father, the daughter riseth up against her mother, the daughter in law against her mother in law; a man's enemies are the men of his own house. :7 Therefore I will look unto the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me. Thorns and briers will tear or puncture your skin when you grab them, etc.(Jud. 8:7). When the best of the nation of Judah will cause you harm and pain(II Sam. 23:6, Heb. 6:8), judgment is coming. When there is corruption everywhere, you can’t trust anyone(Ps. 118:8, Prov. 29:25). Sounds like trying to buy a car on almost any used car lot in America. Trust not in the salesman, dealer, car loan officer, etc.. By the way, when family members reject the ways of God, they can’t be trusted either(Luke 12:53). When in doubt, wait on the Lord for advice and direction(Isa. 40:31). Also, the nation of Nineveh that overran Israel is likened to a female(Nah. 2:8-10) as well as Babylon(Rev. 17:) who overran Judah(Jer. 50:17, 18).Micah 7:8-10 Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD shall be a light unto me. :9 I will bear the indignation of the LORD, because I have sinned against him, until he plead my cause, and execute judgment for me: he will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold his righteousness. :10 Then she that is mine enemy shall see it, and shame shall cover her which said unto me, Where is the LORD thy God? mine eyes shall behold her: now shall she be trodden down as the mire of the streets. Because of sin, Israel goes into Assyrian captivity. Later Judah goes into Babylonian captivity. However, God promises to bring them back into the land(Jer. 24:7). However, the nation of Babylon will be overrun by the nation of Media Persia(Dan. 5:30-31), who will make a decree for the nation of Israel to go back to their land and rebuild the temple(Ezra 1:1-4). Prophetically, the nation of Israel rejected Jesus as their Messiah(Acts 7: ). As a result they went into darkness(Rom. 11:25-27). However, in the middle of the tribulation they will accept Jesus as the real Messiah and at the end of the tribulation, the Lord will destroy the antichrist kingdom that was oppressing Israel(Rev. 12:13-17, 19:11-21). For the Christian, sin will bring destruction in your life(Heb. 12:6-7), but repentance of sin will bring mercy and blessing(Prov. 28:13). Jesus is the Light(John 1:8, 10) that promotes the Bible as the true light(John 17:17, Ps. 138:2). God judges the ones who are behind the promotion of sin(when is the last time a marriage in Hollywood ever work out right, etc.). People who promote sin will get a greater judgment than those who just practice it(Matt. 18:6).Micah 7:11-13 In the day that thy walls are to be built, in that day shall the decree be far removed. :12 In that day also he shall come even to thee from Assyria, and from the fortified cities, and from the fortress even to the river, and from sea to sea, and from mountain to mountain. :13 Notwithstanding the land shall be desolate because of them that dwell therein, for the fruit of their doings. Here we see the judgment of God on the ten northern tribes of Israel(II Kings 17:3, 18). Although Israel fortified themselves in the flesh, they didn’t fortify themselves in the laws or the decrees of God(Ps. 119:14). Remember that because of sin, the crops don’t produce like they need to and as a result, the economy becomes desolate(Joel 1:4, 10-12). Micah 7:14-17 Feed thy people with thy rod, the flock of thine heritage, which dwell solitarily in the wood, in the midst of Carmel: let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old. :15 According to the days of thy coming out of the land of Egypt will I shew unto him marvellous things. :16 The nations shall see and be confounded at all their might: they shall lay their hand upon their mouth, their ears shall be deaf. :17 They shall lick the dust like a serpent, they shall move out of their holes like worms of the earth: they shall be afraid of the LORD our God, and shall fear because of thee. When Israel came out of Egypt, God performed ten miracles in the judgment of Egypt(Exod. 7:-12:, etc.). Egypt was a worldwide power that represented one of the heads of the antichrist (Rev. 17:7, 10-11). God fed the nation of Israel with manna(John 6:31) in the wilderness before leading them into the promised land of Canaan. In the same way during the seven year tribulation, the antichrist kingdom will be in charge. In the middle of the tribulation, Israel will receive Jesus as their Savior and will be persecuted by the Devil(Rev. 12:14-17). God will also miraculously feed them for 3 ? years(Ps. 23:4-5, Jer. 50:19-20). The nations will fear before the wonders of God in the tribulation and at the second coming(Rev. 6:15-17, 11:3, 10-12, Ps. 72:7-11).Micah 7:18-20 Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy. :19 He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea. :20 Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old. In the millennial reign of Christ, the nation of Israel and Judah will be restored and forgiven as one unified nation. They will be in the land promised to Abraham(Gen. 13:14-17) under a new covenant(Heb. 8:8-12) as a saved nation with Jesus as their worldwide king(Dan. 2:44-45).Salvation Message Because of sin we got to see the judgment of God on mankind in the first eleven chapters of Genesis. However, there is another judgment of God. That is when a person dies without Christ and being forgiven of his sin and wakes up in hell. I don’t want that to happen to you. If you would like to be 1% sure you are going to heaven, please read carefully the salvation message below. All verses can be found in the King James Bible. There are two places where a person can go when they die, either heaven (Gen. 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.) or the lake of fire (Rev. 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.). Now nobody really wants to go to the lake of fire when they die. However, people go to the lake of fire because of sin (Rom. 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;). Now sin is when you break God’s law. Have you ever made a foolish thought?(Prov. 24:9 The thought of foolishness is sin: and the scorner is an abomination to men.). Have you ever lied before? (Exod. 20:16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.). Have you ever gotten punished as a kid for being bad (Exod. 20:12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.). Plain and simply we all have sinned. God will punish your sin. Do parents have a right to punish kids if they are bad? Sure they do. Well doesn’t God have a right to punish us? Yes he does, and that is why there is a hell and a lake of fire. We all deserve it, but God doesn’t want us to go there (Mark 9:43-44 And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.). We must be sorry that we have sinned against God and repent(IICor. 7:10 For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.). Repentance means to turn to God from our sins (we want to change, not just sorry we got caught). It is a change of heart toward God. Our desires toward God changes. Our ‘want to’ changes. We must understand that Jesus was God in the flesh (I John 5:20 And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.). Jesus is God, he is man(the Son of God), and he is eternal life. Also we must believe that Jesus died on the cross, was buried, and rose again the third day in an eternal resurrected body(I Cor. 15:2-3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures). We must put our trust or faith in the blood of Jesus who is God to have all of our sins forgiven. That is the past, present, and future sins, from the time we are born to the time we die, once for all (I John 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.). Once we are forgiven, we are born again into God’s family(Eph. 1:13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,). Once you are in a family would that ever change? In the same way, once you are in God’s family it is forever and you get eternal life. Understand that though God wants you to be good, like doing good works, getting baptized, and going to church etc., being good can’t save you (Titus 3:5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;). Only the blood alone, once for all can save you. If you would like to have all your sins forgiven, this is what you must do. Pray to God in your heart to be saved. You can use your own words or the sample prayer below. Now praying this prayer won’t forgive you unless you understand it and mean it in your heart. Otherwise God can’t forgive you. THE SALVATION PRAYERLord Jesus, I know I am a sinner, and I deserve the lake of fire, but I want to change, please forgive me, for all of my sins, by your blood, once for all, so I can go to heaven. Amen. ................
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