The Clash of Two Kingdoms

 

The Clash of Two Kingdoms. 

Standing for Truth against the attitude of the age.

Dear family, we live in a world that is increasingly at war with the foundational Truth of God’s Word.

We live in a culture that looks at the eternal realities of Heaven, Hell, and Salvation, and labels them as “harmful.”

We live in a society where the Truth of Christ is ignored—or worse called a psychological threat.

Ephesians 6:12
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

There is a war, it’s a spiritual one, invisible to the naked eye, however, the symptoms are physical manifestations that can be seen.

Kind of like disease is invisible to the naked eye however, the symptoms can be seen and felt.

Jesus said these symptoms, would become increasingly more evident, like labor pains; more frequent, more intense, when delivery is drawing near. Matthew 24:8

Just recently, the state of Maine's Supreme Court, ruled unanimously in, Emily A. Bickford v. Matthew A. Bradeen, that the mother be restricted from taking her eleven-year-old daughter to their local Church and gave the father full authority to dictate whether their daughter could associate with any of the Church members other than her mother.

SIDE NOTE: This same Maine Supreme Court previously issued high-profile rulings in favor of transgender rights and blocked efforts to restrict them.

Dear Jesus, I pray every member of this Maine Supreme Court be disbarred and run out of office in shame for promoting their evil agenda rather than the best interests of the child. Lord, do not ignore that they have used their robe to abuse and mutilate children. Thank You, for holding them accountable and seeing to it that justice is served.

Bradeen argued the Church was a “dangerous and harmful environment” that had caused his daughter to suffer from anxiety.

Secular judges ruled that teaching the child the Bible (the way we do), verse by verse, chapter by chapter, and introducing her to the concepts of Salvation and the end times, caused “severe psychological distress” and “anxiety.”

According to court documents, the child suffered panic attacks and became hyper-fixated on end-times teachings. She left notes around her father’s house out of fear that her non-believing family members would be left behind during the Rapture. 1 Thessalonians 4:17.

NOTE TO DAUGHTER: Well done young lady. Concern for the eternal soul of loved ones should be praised not litigated. Your concern is not a problem but a blessing! Not “severe psychological distress” but conviction. Stay the course.   

Conviction is not a psychological disorder; it is the Holy Spirit drawing a soul to repentance. How a person responds leads to Salvation, or damnation. The choice is theirs. God won’t force. Just invite.

The overstepping court stepped in, under the false flag of “the best interests of the child.” (As if they know what's best).

They ordered that a non-believing father dictate the mother’s rights to take their daughter to hear the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

To the secular mind, this might be a rational, legal solution to a family dispute.

However, to those who know the Lord, this is an egregious travesty of justice, an assault on religious liberty.

It forces the question God's children have faced for thousands of years:

What do we do when the laws of man collide with the laws of God?

Our Sacred Duty

The secular court system wrongly believes that it possesses the ultimate authority to define what is “good” for a child.

They look at clinical metrics, psychological evaluations, and earthly comfort.

But the Bible gives us a completely different point of view.

True wholeness and wellbeing come from a Biblical Foundation.

Not being separated from it.

As soon as the not so supreme court removed prayer from schools in 1962, then Bibles in 1963 the grades went down and crimes went up.

The supreme court had no standing to rule on such things. They, with their God complexes, were overstepping their jurisdiction.

God did not give the state authority to govern the souls of our children.

He gave that sacred duty to parents.

Deuteronomy 6:6–7
And these Words which I command you today shall be in your heart. ⁷ You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.

In other words, by your words and deeds be constantly teaching the Word of God to your children.

Scripture does not say, “Teach your children the Word of God, if it’s okay with Uncle Sam.”

It does not say, “Expose them to the Truth, as long as it doesn’t hurt their feelings.”

When we train up a child in the way they should go, we are setting and securing their eternal trajectory.

Proverbs 22:6
Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.

To withhold the Word of God from a young, impressionable mind out of fear of “anxiety” is to deny them the very Medicine that cures and gives peace to the soul.

Philippians 4:6-7
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Our Godly Foundation

The tragedy of the Maine ruling is that it contradicts the very principles upon which this nation was built.

Our nation's Founders never intended for secular courts to audit or restrict the teaching of the Bible. In fact, they promoted it, funded it, published Bibles for it, and believed that the survival of American liberty depended on Biblical literacy.

Noah Webster, often called the Father of American Scholarship and Education, wrote:

“The ecclesiastical and political culture of the United States is dependent on the Christian religion... All the miseries and evils which men suffer from vice, crime, ambition, injustice, oppression, slavery and war, proceed from their despising or neglecting the precepts contained in the Bible.”

Patrick Henry, the man who said, “Give me liberty or give me death,” also said:

"It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ. For this very reason peoples of other faiths have been afforded asylum, prosperity, and freedom of worship here."

John Adams, the first Vice President, the second President, a signer of the Declaration of Independence stated: “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”

John Quincy Adams, sixth President, eldest son of John Adams, said: “Duty is ours, the results are Gods.”

Benjamin Rush, Founding Father, signer of Declaration of Independence, Father of Medicine, Founder of five universities, Founder of Sunday School, Father of public school, said: “The Bible contains more knowledge necessary to man in his present state than any other book in the world.”

2 Peter 1:3
His Divine Power has given to us all things that pertain to life and Godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue.

President Ronald Reagan said: “Of the many influences that have shaped the United States of America into a distinctive Nation and people, none may be said to be more fundamental and enduring than the Bible.”

Our Founders promoted Bible teaching because they knew human laws are weak, but God’s Word has the Power to change hearts and minds, building the character and integrity necessary to lead quiet peaceable lives in all Godliness.

The Word of God is the foundation of our founding documents.

When a court claims it is in a child’s best interest to be shielded from Biblical teaching, it betrays the very heritage of freedom our Founders shed blood to establish.

 

Our Holy Response

So, how do we respond?

The slow wheels of human justice mean that an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court could take more than a year. While lawyers milk the clock, drafting briefs, a young soul is kept from the very environment God prescribes. Hebrews 10:25.

No child has a year to waste.

The world is drifting downstream toward the lake of fire. If we’re not standing against the current, pushing back, walking upstream, we’re drifting with the world, away from God.

When Peter and John were commanded to never speak or teach in the name of Jesus.

They were faced with the exact same choice this mother faces today.

They didn’t blink.

Look at their response:

Acts 4:19–20
Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. ²⁰ For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.

When they were arrested again for refusing to comply, Peter set the precedent for Christian civil disobedience.

Acts 5:29
We must obey God rather than man!

There is a line where submission to earthly authority becomes rebellion against God.

Like Daniel in the Lions’ Den, when he was told not to pray. Daniel 6:10-24.

Like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednigo, when told to bow. Daniel 3:19-27.

When the government restricts a mother’s responsibility to raise her child in the ways of the Lord, the state has crossed the line. It has stepped out of its domain and into God's domain.

Romans 3:4
 Let God be true, and every human being a liar.

Our Solemn Commitment

Dear Church, the legal protections we have taken for granted are being bent to the point of breaking.

This case could set a precedent from which there is no turning back.

A precedent that could label the Bible as dangerous hate speech, harmful to the psychological and emotional wellbeing of children.

But do not despair, do not panic. Fight. Fight. Fight.

Pray for this family, mom and dad and child.

Pray for the pastor and people of Calvary Chapel to speak and act in the Love of Christ, with wisdom and grace.

Pray for Liberty Counsel as they prepare to take this case to the US Supreme Court.

Pray for Godly wisdom for all the judges and lawyers and legal teams on both sides.

Pray the Lord’s will be done. For wrong to fail and right prevail. That Justice is served. That Freedom and Truth rings loud and clear. That what the devil meant for harm, God will turn around and use for Good.

With our words and our deeds, we commit to teaching our children, and all those God has given us, the Words and Ways of the Lord.

We commit ourselves to Truth.

We commit as Joshua did:

Joshua 24:15
As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

Let’s pray.

Lord Jesus, we commit our all, to You. We pray You cause us to stand when the world tells us to sit. Please speak through us when the court tells us to be silent. No matter the war, we commit to You, our Prince of Peace. No matter the deception, we commit to Truth. As for we, and our house, we serve You, our Lord.

Thank You for loving us.

We love You, forever.

Amen.  

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Prayer Propels Purpose, Mark 1:35-39

 

Prayer Propels Purpose,
Finding Clarity in a Crowded, Confused World, 
Mark 1:35–39

St. Francis de Sales: “Every one of us needs half an hour of prayer a day, except when we are busy—then we need an hour.”

Marin Luther: “I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.”

A couple days ago as I was walking into the Clubhouse a man said, “Hey, I like your shirt.”

I was wearing a T shirt that said: PRAY.

Then, he said, “I pray every day. But I used to not believe in God.”

His wife said, “He was an atheist.”

He went on to explain, “I was watching TV, but was really thinking, questioning God, Are you real? Give me a sign. Say something. And just like that, I heard a Voice, not sure if it was out loud or in my head, but the Voice said: Shut that d--- thing off. That’s all it took. Now, I pray every day. And I quit drinking.”

Yesterday, I was ordering some new Bibles and saw a video for a Study Bible. There was a lady in a coffee shop, lots of noise, coffee machines blending, grinding, her phone was dinging one message after another. (Can you work Late? Don’t forget, report is due today. Have you checked the news? When can we talk?)

As lady walks to table, narrator’s voice says, “Sometimes the world has a way of drowning out life's deeper questions. Cut through the noise.”

Lady sits down with her coffee, and types in her phone, "I'll talk to you later." She puts the phone away, pulls out her Bible and just like that ALL the noise stops as she reads her Bible.

The same day I saw an AI generated ad of a phone charger on a nightstand that had a robotic hand. A girl on the bed next to it had a sleeping mask pushed up on her forehead and she was staring at her phone. The hand took the phone from her, put it in the charger and pushed the sleep mask over her eyes.  The caption read: I know it's AI, but you needed to see this.

The world is a noisy place, noisier than ever. Maybe not outwardly, like when kids made lots of noise playing outside. Now the noise is piercing deeper, screaming inwardly through earbuds and cell phones, blaring vile indoctrination into souls.

I had no idea at the time, but all that stuff I saw and heard, basically by accident, was the Lord preparing for you, the introduction to this message.  

We live in a noisy, crowded, confused world, if we aren't careful, the noise will drown out the Lord, and the world will dictate the direction of our lives.

2,000 years ago, Jesus faced similar pressure.

The whole town was at His door. Everyone wanted Him.

And what did Jesus do?

He did NOT cave to the crowd or the noise of the world. He withdrew to a sacred solitary place to pray.

Why?

Because Jesus knew a Truth that we desperately need today: Prayer propels purpose.

Before we can find clarity in a crowded world, we must disconnect from the crowd and connect with the Creator.

Today, as we continue our march through the book of Mark, it’s like we’re watching another scene from the motion picture life of Christ.

In Mark 1:35–39 we discover how a life of prayer anchors a life of purpose.

Here’s a little context as we drop into the scene:

Jesus just launched His public ministry in Capernaum. Yesterday, the Sabbath, Jesus astonished the people in the synagogue with His teaching. Then, He amazed them with His authority as He cast out a demon. His fame spread like wildfire throughout the entire region of Galilee (Mark 1:21-28).

He left the synagogue, walked less than 100’ to the home of Andrew and Simon Peter (they were brothers) and He immediately healed Peter’s mother-in-law of a severe fever (Mark 1:29-31).

Then, “At evening, when the sun had set, they brought to Him all who were sick and those who were demon-possessed. ³³ And the whole city was gathered together at the door” (Mark 1:32-34).

Picture the scene. Capernaum was a bustling, densely populated fishing hub. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of desperate, hurting, broken people were inches from Jesus' face.

He spent the late hours of the night working in the dark, amidst the buzzing of mosquitoes, the snarling of demons, the stench of sweat and disease and He was showing compassion, reaching out, laying hands on the sick, casting out demons, bearing their grief, carrying their sorrow, replacing their misery with hope and joy.

By any modern marketing metric, Jesus had achieved a total breakthrough. He was an overnight viral success.

The crowd wanted Him. His disciples were thrilled with Him. The momentum was magnificent. At last, the Messiah has come! MIGA! (Make Israel Great Again!) 

How should Jesus respond to this moment?

How do you react when the whole world wants what you’re selling? 

If Jesus followed a business advisor, a political strategist, or a megachurch consultant, He’d stay in Capernaum, consolidate His base of operation and power, capitalize on the crowd, lease a coliseum, build a stage, set up healing lines, send invitations throughout the region.

But Jesus does something completely counter to culture. That’s where we drop into the scene today, and witness the secret engine of Christ's ministry... and yours. (Yes, you have a ministry.)

³⁵ Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed. 

The Lord through Mark writes that Jesus got up in the morning, a long while before daylight.  

The original text looks like this: πρωῒ ἔννυχον λίαν (prōi ennychon lian).

Prōi refers to the fourth watch of the night, between 3:00 AM and 6:00 AM.

Ennychon means "in the night,"

and lian means "exceedingly" or "much."

Jesus (even though He worked the night shift) did not wait for the dawn. He did not wait for sunlight to peak over the Sea of Galilee. He woke when the night was dark and quiet. 

Why?

One reason was because of the lifestyle of Capernaum.

First-century homes in Galilee were not insulated, detached suburban houses with private bedrooms and backyard fences. They were built as insulae—clusters of small, single-room stone dwellings around a central courtyard.

Multiple generations lived crammed together. Privacy was a luxury that most folks in a fishing village simply did not have.

Remember the population of Capernaum was around 1,500 people packed together on 15 acres.

So, the moment the sun rose, courtyards all around the village would fill with crying children, clanging pots and pans, grinding millstones, and neighbors conversing.

If Jesus had slept in, stayed until daylight, the noise and the people would've swallowed His time, His day, and His ability to proactively, intimately, hear from His Father.

So, He quietly stepped around the sleeping, perhaps snoring, bodies of His disciples, unlatched the wooden door, and slipped out into the cool night air, while the rest of the world lay sleeping.

If He needed to get alone to pray. So do we.

But do we?

He went out and departed to a solitary place

Solitary place, is the Greek word is: ἔρημος (eremos). It means: desert, wilderness, a desolate, wasteland. 

The wilderness, throughout the Bible is monumental.

In the ancient Jewish mind, the eremos (wilderness) was not just a physical place, but a profound spiritual arena. 

On one hand, it was a place of danger, wild beasts, spiritual warfare and wandering.

On the other hand, eremos was a sacred place. 

The wilderness was where God spoke with Moses from the burning bush.

Where God led and fed Israel for 40 years.

Where Elijah heard God's still, small, voice.

Where John the Baptist was a voice crying in the wilderness.

Where he pointed to Jesus and said, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.”

Where Jesus fasted 40 days and nights and battled the flesh and the devil and won.

By going to the eremos, Jesus was intentionally seeking a sacred sanctuary, where the noise of the world could not interrupt intimate communication with the Father.

In the wilderness He received clarity and power to propel His purpose.

and there He prayed

In the Greek text, the verb for prayer here is προσηύχετο (prosēucheto).

It is written in the imperfect tense denoting a continuous, ongoing, or habitual action.

Jesus did not walk into the wilderness, say, “Hi Abba, bless the world, amen” and check prayer off His, To Do list.

He prayed and kept on praying. He immersed Himself in prayer. He lingered there. Hour after hour, as the stars shifted, the sun lifted from under the horizon, Jesus was engaged in an ongoing, continuous dialogue of intimate communion with His Heavenly Father.  This is a beautiful, powerful, Life giving place where time stands still.

But the noisy crowded world all too soon finds a way of butting in.

The peace of this sacred moment was shattered when...

³⁶ And Simon and those who were with Him searched for Him. 

The English translation “searched for him” is way too nice. It softens and sanitizes the raw emotion of the verb the Lord chose to use: κατεδίωξεν (katediōxen).

This word appears nowhere else in the entire New Testament.

However, it's used in ancient Greek military literature to describe an army pursuing a fleeing enemy. It is a hunting term. It means to hunt down, to track relentlessly, to pursue with aggressive intent. 

This was not Peter and friends, leisurely looking for Jesus. This was Peter and posse, hunting Jesus. They woke up, saw the crowd already gathering at the door. They realized their Star had vanished and they panicked.

Peter rounded up a hunting party and set out to track Him down.

³⁷ When they found Him, they said to Him, “Everyone is looking for You.”

They don't say, “Good morning, Master, we missed you.”

They exclaim, "Πάντες ζητοῦσίν σε" (Pantes zētousin se), “Everyone is looking for you!” 

Jesus responds calmly with a smile: “You sound like my mom when I was 12😊” Luke 2:48-49.

Peter's not laughing. Can you hear the subtle rebuke? “Jesus, what in the world are You doing out here in the dirt? The cameras are rolling, the crowd is waiting, there’s a line of sick folks wrapped around the block... and You're out here in the wilderness, doing nothing!”

To Peter and the posse, ministry success must’ve been measured by popularity, satisfying the masses.

Whaddya doin’ Jesus? Everybody’s looking for You.  C’mon, we’ve got people to please!

People pleasing is a problem.

This is where many ministries fall.

Outside they look fine, platforms, power, people, lots of people...

Inside they're poor, blind, naked.

Jesus worked late ministering to the masses.

He had to be tired but refused to allow His flesh to control Him.

He gave no place to the pressure of popularity.

Jesus got away and prayed so He could hear and follow the Father's lead, not human need.

FOLLOW GOD'S LEAD, NOT HUMAN NEED

Jesus said I only say and only do, what I see and hear from My Father. John 5:19, 8:28, 12:49, 14:10.

Most treat prayer like a spiritual spare tire. It sits in the trunk, forgotten, gathering dust...until we get a flat tire. Then, we pull it out, pump it up, and hope it works.

But for Jesus, prayer was not the spare; but the steering wheel. It directed every turn, acceleration, and stop.

Luke 5:16
But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places (wilderness) and prayed.

The Greek implies a continuous, habitual, ongoing, customary lifestyle.

Our public work for God will never be more than our private life with God.

Matthew 6:6
When you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

 Before we can find clarity in a crowded world, we must disconnect from the crowd and connect with the Creator.

Jesus knew that if He did not regularly disconnect from the noise of the crowd, it would distort His hearing from the Father.

He understood the Truth of Isaiah 40:31:

 But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run and not grow weary, they shall walk and not faint.

Notice the sequence: first you must wait before you can run. If you run without waiting, you will faint before reaching the finish line.

Perhaps that’s why Peter and posse were so anxious. Did they expect Jesus to jump up and say, "My bad, sorry, let's hurry we don't want to keep the crowd waiting."

But Jesus got away from the noise of the world and heard the Voice of His Father. Therefore, He was able to follow God's lead over human need and knew exactly how to answer because, clarity of purpose is forged in the presence of the Father. In other words: Prayer Propels Purpose.

³⁸ But He said to them, “Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth.”

³⁹ And He was preaching in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and casting out demons.

Billy Graham faced similar temptation and won. He was a huge success, became a household name. Hollywood celebrities were converted, the media loved him. Powerful politicians urged him to run for office, believing his popularity could change the nation through legislation. It would have been easy to settle down, establish a local seat of power.

However, like Jesus, Billy heard the Voice of his Father, over the call of the crowd, and said that God called him to do one thing: preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. He stayed the course and reached over 200 million souls worldwide and the number is still growing.

In the end Billy said his greatest regret was not spending more time alone listening to the Lord.

The noise of the world, the pull of people, can easily drown out the Voice of the Lord if we don't intentionally invest time in that sacred secret place with the Lord in prayer.

Let's pray. 

Holy Lord Jesus, please help us to hear You by investing time with You. We are not too busy, we are too lazy. We don’t love You enough to make time for You. Please forgive our selfish, lukewarm, worldly ways. Thank You for Your example, so simple, yet so hard, at least for our flesh. Help us die to self and live to You. Please put us to work, keep us busy about Your business, as soul winners and disciple makers, making an Eternal difference in all those You’ve given us.

Thank You for speaking to us. Help us to listen.

We love and trust You forever.

Amen.

Prayer Requests: 

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Email: pray4measap@aol.com

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This was feed for you to read. Now it’s Seed for you to sow.

 

Flat Tyre, Ezekiel 26

 

Don’t tell anyone, but Sebring Florida is known as a premier retirement destination. It’s listed on prominent lists such as Travel & Leisure’s "Destination: Retirement" and World Atlas’s Nine Best Florida Towns for Retirees.

Highlands County is ranked in Florida’s top five for retirees.

Just this morning (9/6/26) front page news in the Highlands News Sun reported: America’s No. 1 underrated vacation destination is Lake Placid, right here in Highlands County.

(Shhhhh, don’t tell anyone or they’ll show up and mess it up.)

In our little retirement village, most live comfortably, securely. Nothing fancy, but none that we know of are going hungry. Although a little hunger would probably do us all a little good.

It’s good to be able to enjoy the fruits of your labor. It’s a great place, but also a dangerous place.

All too often, when life is easy, we become lukewarm and lazy, physically and spiritually.

Especially in America where even the poorest are rich compared to the rest of the world. And almost everyone thinks they’re going to heaven, even though they never pray, read their Bible or go to Church, they just walk about with head held high doing whatever is right in their own eyes. Which is exactly how the Bible describes a culture in chaos, corruption, moral and societal collapse. Judges 17:6, 21:25.

Jesus warns the Church in Revelation 3:16-17. Because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked

1 Corinthians 10:12. Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.

Which brings us to our text today.

Centuries ago, Tyre, was a towering island city in the sea, a shining superpower that fell into that exact same high-headed, stiff necked, selfish, strong delusion.

However, in Ezekiel 26, the Lord lets them (and US) know, that no fortress, no walls, no security no gated community, can stand against the Sovereignty of the Almighty.

1.    The Sin, Ezekiel 26:1–6

And it came to pass in the eleventh year, on the first day of the month,

The year is 586 BC, the same year as the fall of Jerusalem by Babylon.

The city was destroyed, the temple plundered, the people killed or captured. It was 911 on steroids, the deepest grief in the history of the nation.  

that the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

The Lord is still speaking to those who are listening.

² “Son of man, because Tyre has said...

Not only is He speaking, but He is listening. By your words you will be justified and by your words you will be condemned. Matthew 12:37.

So, Tyre said something. God was listening. Depending on what they said they will be justified or condemned.

...against Jerusalem, 

Ruh Roh, we don’t need to go any further to know they are already in trouble.

For he who touches Jerusalem touches the apple of God’s eye. Zechariah 2:8.

Behold, all who rage against you will be ashamed and disgraced; those who contend with you will be reduced to nothing and will perish. Isaiah 41:11.

Genesis 12:3. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

That’s why the devil poisons so many against Israel. The poison doesn’t hurt Israel nearly as much as the people or nation infected by it.

And that was the catalyst of Tyre’s demise.

‘Aha! She is broken who was the gateway of the peoples; now she is turned over to me; I shall be filled; she is laid waste.’

Aha! means to gloat over another’s grief.

Notice Tyre’s selfishness. Jerusalem is broken, she is laid waste, she is turned over to me, I shall be filled.

They did not send aid. They did not mourn. They did not show compassion over Jerusalem’s ashes.

Instead, they celebrated, because Jerusalem was a major trading hub by land, whereas Tyre ruled trading by sea.

With Jerusalem gone, that opened a whole new market share for Tyre.

Proverbs 24:17-20. “Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles; ¹⁸ Lest the Lord see it, and it displease Him, and He turn away His wrath from him.”

2.     The Sentence, Ezekiel 26:3–6

³ “Therefore thus says the Lord God: ‘Behold, I am against you, O Tyre, and will cause many nations to come up against you, as the sea causes its waves to come up. ⁴ And they shall destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers; I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her like the top of a rock. ⁵ It shall be a place for spreading nets in the midst of the sea, for I have spoken,’ says the Lord God; ‘it shall become plunder for the nations. ⁶ Also her daughter villages which are in the fields shall be slain by the sword. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.’

This brief overview of His judgement against them opens letting them know: Because you were against Jerusalem, I AM against you.

HIStory proves this prophecy True.

Starting with Nebuchadnezzar, many nations as sea waves came against Tyre, wave after wave after wave until finally 250 years later, Alexander the Great, destroyed the 150’ high stone walls, brought down her towers (multistory apartment complexes), and turned her from a tall, towering Tyre, to a Flat Tyre.

Today, the once beautiful Island is a peninsula of flat rocks where fishermen spread their nets to dry... just as God had said.

Her ruins can be seen lying flat under the surface of the sea.

Speaking of towers, this week is the 25^th anniversary of 911. Twenty-five years ago this week we lost thousands of lives in one day from and Islamic terrorist attack.

Today, we have Muslim Marxist Mayor Mamdani (and others like him), being applauded for spewing and spreading the same anti-American, anti-Christian, Islamic ideology. Which fits perfectly into the message of this chapter.

3.    The Summary, Ezekiel 23:7-14

Now with amazing detail the Lord zooms and summarizes what will happen.

⁷ “For thus says the Lord God: ‘Behold, I will bring against Tyre from the north Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, king of kings, with horses, with chariots, and with horsemen, and an army with many people. ⁸ He will slay with the sword your daughter villages in the fields; he will heap up a siege mound against you, build a wall against you, and raise a defense against you. ⁹ He will direct his battering rams against your walls, and with his axes he will break down your towers. ¹⁰ Because of the abundance of his horses, their dust will cover you; your walls will shake at the noise of the horsemen, the wagons, and the chariots, when he enters your gates, as men enter a city that has been breached. ¹¹ With the hooves of his horses he will trample all your streets; he will slay your people by the sword, and your strong pillars will fall to the ground. 

HIStory records that shortly after the fall of Jerusalem, Nebuchadnezzar marched to mainland Tyre (known as Old Tyre or Palaetyrus).

The siege lasted 13 years (585–572 B.C.).

Just as it was written Nebuchadnezzar battered the walls, tore down the towers, breached the city and slayed the people.

However, without a navy, Nebuchadnezzar was unable to invade the shining island city of Tyre sitting safely about a half mile out in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of modern day Lebanon.  

And thus, HIStory’s spotlight shifts from Nebuchadnezzar to, they.

¹² They will plunder your riches and pillage your merchandise; they will break down your walls and destroy your pleasant houses; they will lay your stones, your timber, and your soil in the midst of the water. ¹³ I will put an end to the sound of your songs, and the sound of your harps shall be heard no more. ¹⁴ I will make you like the top of a rock; you shall be a place for spreading nets, and you shall never be rebuilt, for I the Lord have spoken,’ says the Lord God.

Remember verse 3: God will cause many nations as waves of the sea to come against Tyre.

Wave after wave came and went.

For over two centuries, skeptics mocked this prophecy, claiming God's Word failed because the island city of Tyre remained wealthy and powerful.

However, history always, eventually, catches up with HIStory.

Fast forward 240 years to 332 B.C. and meet the tidal wave that takes out Tyre.

A young Greek warrior called Alexander the Great.

This is where the towering Tyre turns into a Flat Tyre.

Alexander did not have a massive navy, but he had a massive strategy. He ordered his army to take the rubble left behind by Nebuchadnezzar, the stones, the timber, the soil and lay it in the sea. (Verse 12).

Just as God had prophesied.

It took seven months of working and fighting but they built a massive, 200-foot-wide land bridge (a causeway) stretching from shore to island.  

To get enough material the soldiers literally scraped the old site clean, right down to the bedrock.

Look again at Ezekiel 26:4-5 written centuries before Alexander was even born:

I will also scrape her dust from her and make her like the top of a rock. ⁵ It shall be a place for spreading nets in the midst of the sea...

We just read those words repeated in verse fourteen: 

¹⁴ I will make you like the top of a rock; you shall be a place for spreading nets, and you shall never be rebuilt, for I the Lord have spoken,’ says the Lord God.

Today, if you visit the geographic location of ancient Tyre, you will find those words literally fulfilled. God’s Word is always True. The towering island city is no more, her ruins can be seen under the surface of the sea. The land bridge has turned to a rocky peninsula where fishermen spread their nets to dry in the sun.

4.    The Tsunami, Ezekiel 26:15–21

15 “Thus says the Lord God to Tyre: ‘Will the coastlands not shake at the sound of your fall, when the wounded cry, when slaughter is made in the midst of you? 16 Then all the princes of the sea will come down from their thrones, lay aside their robes, and take off their embroidered garments; they will clothe themselves with trembling; they will sit on the ground, tremble every moment, and be astonished at you. 17 And they will take up a lamentation for you, and say to you:

“How you have perished,

O one inhabited by seafaring men,

O renowned city,

Who was strong at sea,

She and her inhabitants,

Who caused their terror to be on all her inhabitants!

18 Now the coastlands tremble on the day of your fall;

Yes, the coastlands by the sea are troubled at your departure.” ’

19 “For thus says the Lord God: ‘When I make you a desolate city, like cities that are not inhabited, when I bring the deep upon you, and great waters cover you, 20 then I will bring you down with those who descend into the Pit, to the people of old, and I will make you dwell in the lowest part of the earth, in places desolate from antiquity, with those who go down to the Pit, so that you may never be inhabited; and I shall establish glory in the land of the living. 21 I will make you a terror, and you shall be no more; though you are sought for, you will never be found again,’ says the Lord God.”

The fall of Tyre was an emotional and economic tsunami for the region. They mourned the loss of enormous trade revenue.

However, there’s a much larger, more deadly, tsunami that swept the region, and is sweeping our nation, our world. 

No fortress, no walls, no gated community, no security system, can stand against the Sovereignty of the Almighty.

Speaking of God’s Sovereignty consider, JerUSAlem versus Tyre.

From Ezekiel 4-24 we listened to the Lord warn Jerusalem of impending judgement for her sins.

Yet...

In God’s Sovereignty He repeatedly calls Jerusalem, His chosen city, the city of God, where He chose to put His name, His habitation, His resting place forever. 2 Chronicles 6:6, Psalm 132:13–14, 2 Chronicles 7:16, Psalm 48:1–2, 1 Kings 11:36.

Zechariah 3:2: "And the Lord said to Satan, 'The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?'"

God’s Eternal covenant stands. Period.

Whereas, the Lord says of Tyre: I will bring you down to the Pit, I will make you a terror, you will never be inhabited, you will be sough but never found again.

Now, notice the irrational response of the world regarding what God has blessed versus what He has cursed.

At the disciplining destruction of Jerusalem, the world rejoiced. (Ammonites, Moabites, Edomites, Philistines, Tyre, Ezekiel 25-26).

At the destruction of Tyre, the world mourned.

In the not-so-distant future the world will mourn the destruction of Babylon (Revelation 18).

Something is wrong with this picture. It's backwards. It’s an enormous tsunami of deception.

Isaiah 5:20
Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil;
Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness;
Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

Recently, a cat and a couple doves revealed the same backward delusion is on the rise today.

A few days ago, I shared this on our village Facebook page:

Last night I heard a loud ruckus. I looked out our dining room window, and an orange cat was on top of our car, about four feet from the dove nest on the east side of our carport. He stared at me and froze. I quickly went to the living room window, which was closer to him, when I opened the blinds he bolted away. Both mama doves in our two nests were gone.

Thank the Lord, this morning the mamas are back sitting on their eggs.

If you see a cat that looks like this picture. Shoot it. Or catch it. Or take it home and keep it. Or anything to try to keep it from eating these beautiful doves and their soon to be here babies.

The comments looked something like this:

Shoot it????????

Nooooo, don't shoot it!!! All creatures belong to God and He gives us the right to kill for food only. Circle of life my friend. #advocate

Some tried to defend me:

I’m sure it was meant shoo it not shoot…

To which I responded, thank you, that was nice... but I’m not that nice. 

My wife went into damage control:

          He didn’t mean it “literally” shoot it, for heaven’s sake!

One comment shared a cute Christmas tale about a tabby cat that kept baby Jesus warm and how Mary stroked his forehead up and down in the shape of an “M” and that’s why, to this day, tabby cats have an “M” on their forehead. 😊

However, I’m sadly amazed that no one said, “Oh thank God the cat didn’t eat the mama,” or “Poor doves must’ve been petrified,” or “So glad they had enough courage and commitment to return to the nest.”

Sidenote: They're still there. I just checked. 
It appears they hired some sparrows as watchmen:

No one defended the doves, only the perpetrator. The one who came on my property uninvited to kill, steal and destroy. And the people defended that.  I know it’s just a cat, but it’s an eerie reflection of the attitude of the age...

Then, for an experiment, I made a separate post on the same Facebook page: 

https://abortionclock.com/

67,607,955

ABORTIONS IN THE UNITED STATES SINCE ROE V. WADE

 So many were upset about simply mentioning the killing of a cat, surely EVERYBODY will be alarmed about 67 million babies slaughtered (and rising at 3,085 per day, 129 per hour, 1 innocent child painfully pulled limb from limb every 28 seconds).

How many comments filled the feed? What did they say?

Hold that thought, we’ll come back to it in a moment.

Millions upon millions have come on our property uninvited, many, kill, steal and destroy. And the people defend them, ignoring justice for the innocent victims.

In broad daylight, amidst thousands of people, before millions online, a boy shot dead an American hero. He turned himself in. He is guilty beyond the shadow of a reasonable doubt. Yet, it took nearly a year before a decision was made to go to trial. People laugh as they imitate the murder, they mock the grieving widow and her two small children.

A mother strangled her three small children to death. Masses gather to protest, in favor of the murderer. Eleven jurors voted, not guilty. One dared to stand alone. One holdout prevented justice for the innocent from being completely ignored.

Ezekiel 22:30
So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one.

At least for the moment, one man stood against the crowd and provided a stay of execution, of the vile celebration that would’ve followed, the applause that would’ve erupted, for a woman’s right to murder her children—at any age.

This cheering for evil, the dark, the bitter, is fueled by the same demons, that applaud every 28 seconds, over a million times a year, for the butchering bloodshed of babies still in the womb, the egg, the nest.

Romans 1:28
 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting

2 Thessalonians 2:11
 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie.

The deluded corruption of Romans 1:28, 2 Thessalonians 2:11, is being fulfilled in full measure, right before our very eyes.

Okay now, what about the abortion clock post?

Well, perhaps, if the stats were deaths of cats we would have gotten more action.

How many comments did we get showing compassion for babies?

Crickets all...

But one.

One dared to stand alone. One voice against the silent crowd:

God forgive us.

Murdering the helpless IS the atrocity that has led to our demise…and from what we see on social media, we will go down cheering and gloating for murders, criminals and animals, but NOT stand up for the victims.

It is THE sign of our end. We are just blind to it.

 

Friends, there is a great tsunami of deception sweeping the world, the nation, our neighborhood.

The Good News is, God never gives us a warning without giving us a Way out.

He has given you today.

Today is the day to wake up oh sleeper!

Ephesians 5:14
Awake, O sleeper, and rise up from the dead; and Christ shall give you light.

Today, you have a choice.

Deuteronomy 30:19
I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore, choose life, that both you and your descendants may live.

Let’s pray.

Lord Jesus, please keep us from being deceived, give us wisdom to discern between good and evil, dark and light, bitter and sweet, lest we find ourselves cheering the wrong and cursing the right. Lord, we choose You, today, tomorrow, forever. Don’t let us ever forget. Now, please use us to help all those You’ve given us, to choose You, too.

Thank You.

We love You, forever.

Amen.   

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