The Gospel Of Repentance

Chapter 1:   The prophet voices his complaint to God in vs. 1-4. He’s tired of seeing wicked prevailing and justice not being served. This speaks to the holy zeal of the prophet has for God's righteous judgment against sin. God’s response is He’ll send a nation, the Chaldeans (Babylonians) to judge his people, vs. 5-11. The prophet is even more perplexed because is God is using a nation more wicked than Judah to punish them vs. 12-17. It goes to show us that God in his sovereignty can use the most wicked of sinners to fulfill is purposes. God can use anyone as his instrument of judgment for he owns all people creationally.                        Chapter 2:   The prophet sits as a watchman to hear what the Lord has to say. The Lord commands him to write the vision on tablets and wait for the vision to manifest for it will not tarry vs. 2-3. The prophet uses five curses or woes to describe the Chaldean’s condition and pending destruction.   1.     Extortion  - The Chal

Nahum was a Hebrew prophet who name means comfort. He predicted the destruction of Nineveh, the capital city in Assyria. The Assyrians were destroyed by the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar in 612 B.C. so we know the prophet preached his oracle in the seventh century B.C. This generation of Ninevites refused to repent unlike the generation in Jonah’s day over one hundred years earlier. Chapter 1 -   The prophet describes the utter destruction of Nineveh. God even declares he will prepare their graves which amplifies that reality that he’ll wipe them out vs. 14. Chapter 2 – The prophet continues on with his oracle of Nineveh’s destruction: In verse one he declares he'll scatter the Babylonians like they scattered the nations. In verse two we read the Lord will retrieve Israel. The rest of the chapter is devoted to a vivid destruction of Nineveh vs 3-13. Chapter 3 – The death of Nineveh is described: They’re described as a bloody city - verse one. They’re also full

Chapter 3 -   The prophet speaks against Judah and Israel. The rulers do not show justice, but practice evil and devour the people like savage beasts resulting in God not hearing them when they cry out vs 1-4. The false prophets would declare peace if they were fed, but would declare war, if they weren't. These false prophets would ultimately be embarrassed because they didn't have a true word from the Lord vs 5-7. Micah made it clear that he was filled with the Spirit of the Lord, and declared God's truth vs 8. Chapter 4 - In the end times (Millennium), nations will come to Israel to learn God's law. War will end. People will be at rest finally. The Lord will bring back all his captives to where he has scattered them. Chapter 5 - The prophet predicts the coming of the Messiah vs. 2. Israel's enemies will be destroyed in the last days for plundering them. Israel is referenced as lion and young lion. Israel will be restored to their own land vs 5-9.

Micah who was a Hebrew prophet name means, “Who is a God like You?” prophesied in the eighth century B.C. Micah prophesied prior to the fall of the northern kingdom of Israel by the Assyrians in 722 B.C. Chapter 1 -  God through the prophet pronounces judgment on the northern kingdom of Israel (Samaria) vs. 6&7. Primarily he’s dealing with the southern kingdom of Judah. The prophets laments for both nations, and says not to tell their neighbors they hear and rejoice over nations demise, vs. 8-13. The end of the chapter deals the prophet telling the people they need to deal with their sin by going into deep mourning about their iniquities. This was a sign of genuine grief for sin vs. 16. Chapter 2 -  Because the evil rich robbed the poor, God is going to judge them by a turncoat (i.e. enemy) to plunder them and remove their boundaries; their apportioned land will be taken, vs 1-5. The people also listened to false prophets instead of true, hindering God’s message, vs 6

The majority of leaders and parishioners in the Church say we’re required to tithe, that is one is to give a tenth of their income to God every week. But, I ask the reader the following questions: When and where did the tithe originate? Who was it for? And, what was it’s purpose? Before answering those questions, let’s site the most popular verse regarding tithing, Malachi 3:8-10: “Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, “In what way have we robbed You?” In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, for you have robbed me, even this whole nation (i.e. Israel, not the church). Bring all the tithes in the storehouse that there may be food in my house, and try me now in this, says the Lord of Hosts if I will not open the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing that there shall not be enough room for you to receive it (italics added). It’s unfortunate that this passage regarding the tithe has been isolated in light of so many other passages in the

What is water baptism? What is it’s purpose? Who can participate? The word baptism comes from the Greek word baptisma which means to submerge or immerse. This also is in reference to John’s baptism and Christian baptism. There’s no mention of baptism in the Old Testament. The first time we encounter baptism is in the gospel of Matthew where we find John the Baptist baptizing in the Jordan River. The purpose for this was for repentance of sins, and to prepare the participant for the Messiah (Matthew 3:5-6). John’s baptism was incomplete and was never meant to save or take away sins. In short, water baptism can not save anyone (emphasis added)! For if it could, Jesus dying on the cross and shedding his blood would have been in vain.   John declared to the religious leaders that Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire (Matthew 3:11). In fact, when Jesus approached John to be baptized, John tried to prevent him and replied, “ I need be baptized by you, and you’re com

                                                          THE BOOK OF JONAH Commentary: Jonah was a Hebrew prophet  whose name means dove. He was the son of Ammitai. The time of Jonah’s one prophecy was in the latter part of the eighth century B.C. God commanded Jonah to prophecy against Nineveh; an evil gentile city in the country of Assyria. Jonah refuses to travel there which was eastward, so instead, he heads to a town named Joppa (today Jaffa), boards a ship, and heads west toward Tarshish he hopes to run from the presence of the Lord.                                                     The Lord caused a great  tempest on the sea while Jonah was sleeping at the bottom of the ship.  The captain and other men on the ship are in a panic and call upon their gods. They awake Jonah and command him to call on his God.  As the men throw the cargo into the sea to lighten the load, the tempest becomes worse.  They cast lots to see who it will fall on; the lot fell on Jonah. Once