Tag Archives: prophecy

05/3/12

Acts 2: The Coming of The Holy Spirit

Acts 2 NIV

 

[The Day of Pentecost marked an Epiphany moment for the Christian Church as it was the day that the promise of Christ to send his Holy Spirit to mankind was fulfilled. This was the beginning of the Early Church, so the Book of Acts bears great significance in the Canon of Holy Scripture. Take note of Peter’s impassioned speech to the people gathered to witness this marvelous miracle.]

 

The Holy Spirit Comes at Pentecost

 

2 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues[a] as the Spirit enabled them.

 

5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. 7 Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? 9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,[b] 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” 12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”

 

13 Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”

 

Peter Addresses the Crowd

 

14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. 15 These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! 16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

 

17 “‘In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.
18 Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
and they will prophesy.
19 I will show wonders in the heavens above
and signs on the earth below,
blood and fire and billows of smoke.
20 The sun will be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood
before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
21 And everyone who calls
on the name of the Lord will be saved.’[c]

 

22 “Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. 23 This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men,[d] put him to death by nailing him to the cross. 24 But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. 25 David said about him:

 

“‘I saw the Lord always before me.
Because he is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken.
26 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest in hope,
27 because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,
you will not let your holy one see decay.
28 You have made known to me the paths of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence.’[e]

 

29 “Fellow Israelites, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. 30 But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. 31 Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay. 32 God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it. 33 Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. 34 For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said,

 

“‘The Lord said to my Lord:
“Sit at my right hand
35 until I make your enemies
a footstool for your feet.”’[f]

 

36 “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”
37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off —for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

 

40 With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” 41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

 

The Fellowship of the Believers

 

42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

 

Footnotes:
a.Acts 2:4 Or languages; also in verse 11
b.Acts 2:9 That is, the Roman province by that name
c.Acts 2:21 Joel 2:28-32
d.Acts 2:23 Or of those not having the law (that is, Gentiles)
e.Acts 2:28 Psalm 16:8-11 (see Septuagint)
f.Acts 2:35 Psalm 110:1

 

Charlene’s Source: retrieved May 3, 2012 from www.biblegateway.com on the World-wide Web

 

All Scripture Quotes are from the New International Version of the Holy Bible

06/30/11

Zephaniah 1

Reposted december 29, 2011

Zephaniah 1

New International Version (NIV)

 

The Book of Zephaniah is a truly prophetic book that speaks of God’s jealousy and anger against the nation of Judah and over Jerusalem. He speaks of His wrath against those who would destroy His people and steal their inheritance. We will be studying this prophetic book together to explore its truths and apply them to our own day and time.  Charlene

 

Zephaniah 1

 1 The word of the LORD that came to Zephaniah son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, during the reign of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah: Judgment on the Whole Earth in the Day of the LORD

 2 “I will sweep away everything
   from the face of the earth,”
            declares the LORD.
3 “I will sweep away both man and beast;
   I will sweep away the birds in the sky
   and the fish in the sea—
   and the idols that cause the wicked to stumble.”[a]

 

   “When I destroy all mankind
   on the face of the earth,”
            declares the LORD,
4 “I will stretch out my hand against Judah
   and against all who live in Jerusalem.
I will destroy every remnant of Baal worship in this place,
   the very names of the idolatrous priests—
5 those who bow down on the roofs
   to worship the starry host,
those who bow down and swear by the LORD
   and who also swear by Molek,[b]
6 those who turn back from following the LORD
   and neither seek the LORD nor inquire of him.”

 7 Be silent before the Sovereign LORD,
   for the day of the LORD is near.
The LORD has prepared a sacrifice;
   he has consecrated those he has invited.

 8 “On the day of the LORD’s sacrifice
   I will punish the officials
   and the king’s sons
and all those clad
   in foreign clothes.
9 On that day I will punish
   all who avoid stepping on the threshold,[c]
who fill the temple of their gods
   with violence and deceit.

 10 “On that day,”
   declares the LORD,
“a cry will go up from the Fish Gate,
   wailing from the New Quarter,
   and a loud crash from the hills.
11 Wail, you who live in the market district[d];
   all your merchants will be wiped out,
   all who trade with[e] silver will be destroyed.
12 At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps
   and punish those who are complacent,
   who are like wine left on its dregs,
who think, ‘The LORD will do nothing,
   either good or bad.’
13 Their wealth will be plundered,
   their houses demolished.
Though they build houses,
   they will not live in them;
though they plant vineyards,
   they will not drink the wine.”

 14 The great day of the LORD is near—
   near and coming quickly.
The cry on the day of the LORD is bitter;
   the Mighty Warrior shouts his battle cry.
15 That day will be a day of wrath—
   a day of distress and anguish,
      a day of trouble and ruin,
   a day of darkness and gloom,
      a day of clouds and blackness—
 16 a day of trumpet and battle cry
against the fortified cities
   and against the corner towers.

 17 “I will bring such distress on all people
   that they will grope about like those who are blind,
   because they have sinned against the LORD.
Their blood will be poured out like dust
   and their entrails like dung.
18 Neither their silver nor their gold
   will be able to save them
   on the day of the LORD’s wrath.”

   In the fire of his jealousy
   the whole earth will be consumed,
for he will make a sudden end
   of all who live on the earth.

Footnotes:
  1. Zephaniah 1:3 The meaning of the Hebrew for this line is uncertain.
  2. Zephaniah 1:5 Hebrew Malkam
  3. Zephaniah 1:9 See 1 Samuel 5:5.
  4. Zephaniah 1:11 Or the Mortar

 

An Introduction to the Book of Zephaniah

 

I. TITLE:

A. Hebrew: In Hebrew the book is titled hynpx meaning “Yahweh hides” perhaps reflecting the terror of the days of Manasseh when Zephaniah was born, or meaning “Watchman for the Lord,” or even “Zaphon [a Canaanite deity] is Yahweh”1
This was a common name in the Hebrew Scriptures (cf. a Levite, 1 Chron 6:36-38; a second priest under the high priest 2 Ki 25:18-21; cf. Jer 52:24–27; the father of Josiah–a returning exile, Zech 6:10, 14)

B. Greek: In Greek the book is titled SOFONIAS, a transliteration of the prophet’s name in Hebrew

II. AUTHOR:

A. The author, Zephaniah, traces his ancestry back four generations; this is unique among the prophets:2 1:1

1. Son of Cushi

2. Son of Gedaliah

3. Son of Amariah

4. Son of Hezekiah, (possibly the famous Judean king [c. 716-687 B.C.])

B. The author places himself during the reign of Josiah, son of Amon, king of Judah (c. 641-609 B.C.)

III. DATE: between 641 and 612 B.C. (possibly 641 and 621 B.C.)

A. The superscription places the prophet during the time of king Josiah of Judah (c. 641-609 B.C.) 1:1

B. The prophecy anticipated, but preceded the fall of Nineveh in 612 B.C. (Zeph 2:13-15)

C. Many would date the book prior to Josiah’s reforms (622-621 B.C.) which dealt with much of the nation’s idolatry (cf. 2 Ki 22–23) since there are implications of idolatry in Zephaniah’s Judah (cf. 1:4-6, 11-12; 3:1-4)3

D. Conclusion: The book was written some time between 641 and 612 B.C. and possibly between 641 and 622 B.C.
There may have been some overlap with Jeremiah since he began to prophecy in 627 B.C. Zephaniah would have been the first prophet to Judah in the 60 years since Isaiah (Nahum was about Assyria)

 

 

IV. AUDIENCE: To the people of Judah and the nations around her

V. HISTORICAL SETTING:4

A. Manasseh’s and Amon’s reigns were dark times in Judah’s history:

1. Manasseh rebuilt the high places that his father, Hezekiah, tore down

2. Manasseh was eclectic making altars to Ashtoreth (Canaanite), Chemosh (Moabite), Milcom (Ammonite), and Baal (Canaanite)

3. Manasseh restored child sacrifice (2 Ki 21) even sacrificing two of his own sons in the Valley of Hinnom

4. Worship of the heavens (stars, sun, moon, astral bodies) was common

5. Amon was named after an Egyptian god unlike most kings who were named after Yahweh

B. Manasseh paid tribute to Esarhaddon to keep Assyria from invading Judah

C. Josiah brought about the final spiritual revival for Judah when during the eighteenth year of his rule in 622 B.C. (2 Ki 22-23)

D. The Assyrian Empire Fell

1. The Assyrian power rose with Ashurnasirpal II (884-859 B.C.) and Shalmaneser II (859-824 B.C.)

2. Tiglath-pileser III (Pul in the Scriptures) began a group of conquerors who took Syria and Palestine including Shalmaneser V (727-722 B.C. who began the deportation of Samaria), Sargon II (722-705 B.C. who completed the deportation of Samaria), Sennacherib (704-581 B.C. who attacked king of Judah, Hezekiah [Josiah’s father]), and Esarhaddon (681-669 B.C. who led campaigns against Egypt)

3. Esarhaddon’s son, Ashurbanipal (669-631) ruled much of the upper Egyptian city of Thebes, but his decline and that of Assyria’s soon followed

4. Nineveh, the capital, was destroyed in 612 B.C.

VI. MAJOR THEME–THE DAY OF THE LORD:

The Day of the Lord is a major theme in Zephaniah occurring 23 times in this short book (as well as in Obadiah, Joel, and Ezekiel). It describes a time when Yahweh will come to His people and necessarily destroy evil as a means to delivering them. While Zephaniah and Joel obviously had “local” aspects in view of this coming Day of Yahweh’s presence among them (with the judgment of Assyria and Babylon), those judgments/deliverances only mirrored, or foreshadowed, the ultimate deliverance (and thus necessary judgment) which would come in the eschaton.

VII. PURPOSE:

A. To proclaim judgment on the entire world

B. To proclaim the Day of the Lord as a time when Yahweh will come to judge the wicked (including the wicked of Judah) and deliver His own5

C. To proclaim judgment on the nations which surrounded Judah (Philistia, Moab, Ammon, Assyria, Ethiopians/Egyptians

D. To proclaim hope for the remnant of Judah

E. To expose the unfaithfulness of Judah’s rulers

F. To encourage Judah to accept correction by hearing of the judgment on her neighbors

G. To expose Judah’s unwillingness to accept correction from Yahweh

H. To describe the ultimate changes which Yahweh will bring about as the nations become worshippers of Him and He becomes Judah’s King/Defender

 


 Credit: David Malick

Our Source: Bible.org