Nine Alarms That Have Went Unheard (Part 2)



Nine Alarms That Have Gone Unheard (Part 2)

Isaiah 9:10 February 17, 2012

Series: Is America’s Judgment Imminent?

Based Upon Jonathan Cahn’s book The Harbinger

Introduction: A Lenten Message to Return to God

Last week I introduced you to a book by Jonathan Cahn, entitled “The Harbinger.” The book is a best-seller for almost a year. It is written as a fictional narrative, but behind it, the basis upon which the book is written are the historical events of the fall of Israel 2700 years ago, which have been repeated in our recent history.

I know that what many of you are thinking is, “Why is pastor preaching to us from a recent book. He’s supposed to just preach and explain the Bible?” I want to start out this morning with a few comments about the book, what it is, and what it is not.

The following comments are from the companion book and study guide, pages 3-5:

The book does not say that Isaiah was prophesying of America or that the harbingers are fulfillments of Scripture but rather that the Biblical pattern of judgment revealed in Isaiah is now replaying in America.

The book does not say that God made a covenant with America. It does point out that our forefathers who first stepped onto our soil considered their adventure as a covenant with God, to be a city on a hill, to bring the Gospel to the people already there.

The book does not in any way affect the interpretation of Isaiah chapter 9 as speaking of Israel. When Isaiah spoke and wrote these words, the historical events then taking place is what he was referring to.

The book does not advocate replacement theology, the teaching that God is finished with Israel. The author firmly advocates the opposite, that God’s promises to Israel will yet be fulfilled.

The book does not say that God was on the side of America’s enemies any more than He was on the side of Israel’s enemies; He was against them.

The book does not advocate dominion theology, the teaching that believers are to have dominion over the world in this age.

The book is not in essence fiction. The essence of the book is the communicating of truth, facts, Biblical pattern, connections, mysteries and what is happening in reality. These things are framed and communicated in a narrative. Thus, the fictional story is a vessel to deliver truth, as in a parable.

What the Harbinger is? The foundation of The Harbinger, which is very simple and centered in sound scriptural parameters, is this:

1. God is righteous and judges nations.

2. God is merciful and warns of judgment.

3. God acts in a way that is consistent with His nature and His workings as revealed in Scripture. Thus, the pattern, template, and progression of national judgment in ancient times may again be replayed.

4. God is able to warn a nation of judgment by using the Scriptures.

I hope that may answer some of your questions and allay some of your fears that we are getting into a non-Biblical realm in this series of sermons for our Lenten season. I think it fits perfectly with Lent, because Lent is intended to be a time for us as individual believers to reflect upon our sins and repent and resolve to live better. How fitting to see how our nation in which we live, in which we are contributors to the life of, has wandered away from God and how we can be a part of that just by our apathy, our not-caring, our saying to ourselves, “Well it isn’t my fault.”

It is my hope that as we move along in this series, there may be some of you who will see that there is indeed something you can do, however small that contribution may be, to contribute to the improvement of the spiritual health, of yourself, your family, your community, and of your America.

Last week we heard the first three alarms that have gone unheard: Alarm 1 - The Breach, Alarm 2 – The Terrorists, and Alarm 3 – The Bricks. These events happened 2700 years ago as a warning from God to Israel to repent and return to God. Instead, as we began to reveal last week, they responded in defiance to God, by depending not on God’s protection, but upon their own efforts. Instead of repenting of their many sins and idolatry, they rebuilt with stronger and better defenses. America has done the same since 9/11.

We need to always remember that, especially in regard to our very own individual salvation. We are lost sinners. We cannot save ourselves. We can only cry out to God for salvation. Our God is the God who saves.

IV. Alarm Four: The Tower (But we will rebuild with smooth stones . . . Is. 9.10)

The Greek Translation of the O.T. (Septuagint) “ The bricks are fallen down, but come, let us hew stones, . . . and let us build for ourselves a tower.” Isaiah 9.10 LXX (Septuagint)

The leadership of Ancient Israel vows to rebuild bigger, better, higher, stronger. In Genesis chapter 11 the people built a huge towel, known as the tower of Babel, in defiance to God. The tower is a symbol of strength and independence. When the Hebrew word was translated to Greek the translators used the word for tower. That was the translation of the Hebrew that was in wide use at the time of Jesus and the early church.

The attack that was to bring repentance, revival, restoration in relationship was met with defiance. Instead of turning back to God they vowed to come on stronger on their own! They were going to use better materials, hewn stone. Instead of trusting in God’s hand of blessing and protection, they trusted on their own military strength.

The same with America. After 9/11 the natural response is a call to rebuild but the words that came from our leaders is what is striking for they make the same vow as their counterparts in Ancient Israel did.

The Mayor of New York, the Governor of New York, and New York Senators Clinton and Shumer, all say “We will rebuild!”

“Tomorrow New York is going to be here. And we're going to rebuild, and we're going to be stronger than we were before... I want the people of New York to be an example to the rest of the country, and the rest of the world, that terrorism can't stop us.” – Giuliani

Even the American President, George Bush spoke those words, “As a symbol of America's resolve, my administration will work with Congress, and these two leaders, to show the world that we will rebuild New York City.” -Pres. Bush, 9/20/01

The words were followed with action. After the rubble of the Twin Towers was removed a sign was erected on the site, “A new icon will soon arise above the Lower Manhattan skyline . . . the Freedom Tower.”

It is an icon of defiance! Senator John Kerry (9/12/01), “I believe one of the first things we should commit to –with federal help that underscores our nation’s purpose–is to rebuild the towers of the World Trade Center and show the world we are not afraid—WE ARE DEFIANT!”

Donald Trump said this about the project: “ . . .we should have the World Trade Center bigger and better...What I want to see built is the World Trade center stronger and maybe a story taller.”

It was not so much about bigger, better, or stronger as much as it is defiance.

To replace bricks with bricks is restoration, replacing bricks with hewn stone is defiance: To rebuild what was destroyed is restoration, to boast of rebuilding stronger and greater than before is defiance. The tower is a symbol of defiance.

V. Alarm Five: The Gazit Stone “ . . . But we will rebuild with smooth stones . . .” Hewn (KJV), Cut (NCT), Finished (NLT), Dressed (NIV) Whatever translation you use it is clear that the intent was that sun dried bricks from mud were considered inadequate, too easily broken down. Natural stone, hewn from a rock quarry, however, could not so easily be broken and were much stronger in a wall or building.

After the bricks had fallen in Ancient Israel they replaced them with a very particular type of stone: quarried. It was carved from a mountain, shaped, smoothed...called a Gazit Stone. These stones are not made out of clay but cut or quarried out of the mountains.

The same kind of stone was used to build the Temple (1 Kings 5:17) and the walls of Jerusalem. It was very expensive, but they were stronger, better and bigger.

How does this tie into to 9/11 and Ground Zero? The first stone used in the construction of the Freedom Tower was a hewn stone from New York granite and lowered in by a crane in a ceremony on July 4, 2004.

Gov. George Pataki said, “Today is indeed a momentous day. Today we take 20 tons of Adirondack granite – the bedrock of our state – and place it as the foundation, the bedrock of a new symbol of American strength and confidence. Today, we lay the cornerstone for a new symbol of this city and this country and our resolve in the face of terror. Today we build the Freedom Tower.”

Again, there was no recognition of America departing from God, no repentance for America’s sin. Instead, just bold bragging on our own greatness and independent spirit.

Personally, I was unaware of this event, so I began searching on line, and I found this picture of the placing of the 20 ton stone. We will show it with the power point, in case you haven’t seen it before either.

This block of quarried granite was the hewn or cut stone in rebuilding the nation. He went on to say, “Today we the heirs of that revolutionary spirt of defiance, lay the cornerstone. . . “

Here is what is so silly, some years later, that stone was removed because the building plans changed and it was in the way. They could have stayed home because whatever they tried to do that day would mean nothing. . . and there is the point. By doing what they did in laying down that 20 tone granite stone, they participated in reenacting the prophecy of Isaiah 9:10. They were acting out in the same attitude of ancient Israel, and act of defiance. Instead of admitting their falling away from God and His protection, and repenting, and returning to God, they relied on their own strength and ability to build something bigger and better.

VI. Alarm Six: The Sycamore ( “The sycamores have been cut down “. . .) Is. 9:10

When the Assyrians came into Israel they didn’t just lay low the buildings, but also the land ...especially the sycamore tree.

The uprooting of the sycamore tree is a biblical symbol of judgment. For example, the destruction of the sycamores is mentioned even in the account of Egypt’s plagues. It’s a sign of national judgment, of national uprooting. The bricks falling in Israel was the foreshadowing of the nations collapse: The sycamore being cut down is a foreshadowing of the uprooting of the kingdom.

The sycamore tree commonly grows in the Middle East and Africa, Hebrew shakam. Also known as a fig mulberry . . . how do we get sycamore from fig mulberry. Greek word for fig is sukos and mulberry is moros. Sukamoros or “Sycamore.” The Mid Eastern sycamore doesn’t grow in the North East United States but a variety of that tree does, called the English sycamore.

The Assyrians would have been interested cutting down the sycamore, but the terrorists of 9/11 didn’t care about cutting down trees. . . but they did.

On 9/11 more than 2 billion pounds of steel came crashing to the ground (It registered on the Richter Scale). When the North Tower fell, a steel beam was hurled through the sky and struck down a Sycamore tree on a little plot of land at the border of Ground Zero.

This sycamore tree became a focal point of interest in the days after 9/11. Police, firefighters and volunteers would go this tree to pray and find hope. It became known as the Sycamore of Ground Zero and within it’s uprooted root system was . . . a brick. It was not a Fig Mulberry, but an English Sycamore. The alarm is different from what happened in the Assyrian attack on Israel, but this is more than just coincidence that a sycamore tree is uprooted at the site of 9/11/. This is a detail that is unbelievable, unless of course, you believe in a mighty God for whom nothing is impossible, and a God who watches over His creation and the nations of mankind.

VII. Alarm Seven: The Erez Tree “ The sycamores have been cut down, But we will replace them with cedars.” Is. 9:10.

Israel doesn’t replace the sycamore with a sycamore, but a cedar (defiance). The sycamore is a knotty, spongy, not particulary strong tree. Kind of the clay bricks of trees. The sycamore is a common tree, it grew on the lower lands, grew about 50 ft. tall. Cedar is a stronger tree, it grew tall and straight (100 ft. plus) in the mountains. DEFIANCE!

Ceder is an English world: the original word is “Erez.” It’s an evergreen (cones, leaves are needle-like) The Erez Tree a coniferous tree (conifer tree), AKA pinacea tree. Not all coniferous evergreen is necessarily an evergreen; The Erez is a pinacea (cedar, spruce, the pine, fir) and a pinacea tree would replace the sycamore. The Erez becomes a symbol of a nations defiance. In the spot the sycamore was uprooted an Erez (pinacea/conifer evergreen) would be planted. It was supposed to send a message of national hope, strength, confidence, resurgence . . . but it was actually a message of defiance.

Can you believe this? Again, I was not aware of this incredible detail, and I doubt that many of you were either. After 9/11, the sycamore was removed from the place it fell (even the roots system) and another tree was planted in that exact same spot.

In November 2003, a tree was planted in the sycamore’s spot; an evergreen (Erez tree). Just as bricks had been replaced with quarried stones, the sycamore is replaced with a cedar (a sister tree of the cedar of Lebanon.)

The evergreen was lowered by a crane, with great ceremony, exalting the human experience. “The Tree of Hope is planted in the very spot where a sixty-year-old sycamore stood the morning of September 11, 2001. . . This Ground Zero Tree of Hope will be a sign of the indomitable nature of human hope . . . “

Sign of the indomitable . . . .meaning unconquerable. The Ground Zero Tree of Hope was a sign, but not of the hope it proclaimed. It was sign of the nation’s defiant rejection of God’s call to return, repentance, renewal. America was following the ancient footsteps of Ancient Israel. It is an omen, a solemn warning for the future.

Conclusion:

Let’s wrap it up. You might respond to this saying “What does this have to do with me?”

My answer is this, It has a lot to do with every one of us. If God’s judgment is unleashed on America the good folks who go to church will suffer right alone with those that don’t, perhaps even more so because the blame will be placed on the Christians. So you should to be very concerned if you want to escape the suffering that will come under Divine judgment. We of course, have the promise of eternal life if our physical life is ended.

But more than that. I’m asking you to take a more critical look inside and see how you have contributed to the spiritual apostasy of America. What have you not done to speak and live for Jesus? What have you done to prevent and put an end to abortion? To pornography? What have you done to stand up for righteousness? Do you support any forms of Hollywood iniquity with your dollars?

I pointed out last week that the book The Harbinger is not political, it is neither democrat nor republican, but, I will point out this week that your vote for those who promote abortion is a grievous sin in the sight of God. God will not simply stand by when a nation systematically murders 50 million babies. Have you aided and abetted abortion? Lent is a time for repentance. Pastor’s are supposed to point out sin during Lent, I’m just doing my job. If the shoe fits wear it as they say.

Next Sunday, I will be revealing the last two alarms. They are very different than the first 7 because they deal with the entire prophecy as a whole.

They will be Alarm 8: The Utterance and Alarm 9: The Prophecy. Read the book!

Prayer: Lord God, sharpen our dull and broken consciences by an awareness of Your Divine Law that we may make sufficient confession of our sins this Lenten season and do whatever we can to turn hearts to God and the forgiveness we have in Jesus; in His precious name we pray. Amen.

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download