consumed them – Praying Pint

8.n.And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison and will come out to deceive the nations

Revelation 20:7 And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea. And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and consumed them, and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

Why is Satan imprisoned for a time and then released? Why not cast him into hell before the 1,000 years? Joseph A. Seiss writes, “God uses even the wickedest of beings, and overrules the worst depravity, to his own good and gracious ends. He allows Satan liberty, and denies him liberty, and gives him liberty again, not because the Devil or the Devil’s malice is necessary to him, but to show his power to bring good out of evil, to make even the worst of creatures praise him, and to turn their very wickedness to the furtherance of the purposes they would fain defeat” Phillips, Rob. The Searcher’s Guide to the Apocalypse: A Verse-by-Verse Quest to Understand the Book of Revelation .

Perhaps Satan’s release serves as final proof that the heart of man is desperately wicked and can be changed only by God’s grace. Imagine the tragedy of this revolt: People who have been living in a perfect environment, under the perfect government of God’s Son, finally show their true colors and rebel against the King. Their obedience during the 1,000 years is false humility and feigned submission, not true faith in the Messiah. “This rebellion proves that a rule of perfect law cannot change the human heart; sinners would rather follow Satan,” writes Warren Wiersbe

Many commentators say that Satan is loosed so that those who grow up during the millennium, under the perfect and righteous reign of Christ, have the chance to choose between good and evil, between God and Satan. Satan is loosed and immediately plays the tempter’s role. Though bound in prison for a thousand years, he is as vile and as subtle, as merciless and as ruthless, as diabolical and as evil, as he was in the beginning. He has not changed. And, sadly, mankind has not changed either.

But who are these followers of Satan? Premillennialists like J.F. Walvoord and R.B. Zuck say they are survivors of the tribulation. They enter the millennium in their natural bodies, bear children and repopulate the earth (Isa. 65:18–25). Under ideal circumstances in which every person knows about Jesus Christ (cf. Jer. 31:33–34), many will outwardly profess faith in Christ without actually placing faith in Him for salvation. The shallowness of their professions becomes apparent when Satan is released. The multitudes that follow Satan are evidently those who have never been born again in the millennial kingdom

4.m. I form light and create darkness; I make well-being and create calamity; I am the LORD, who does all these things.

Job 1:13-22 Now there was a day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, and there came a messenger to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them, and the Sabeans fell upon them and took them and struck down the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants and consumed them, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “The Chaldeans formed three groups and made a raid on the camels and took them and struck down the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, and behold, a great wind came across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young people, and they are dead, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”

Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”

In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.

Genesis 3:19    By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

Psalms 49:17     For when he dies he will carry nothing away; his glory will not go down after him.

Ecclesiastes 5:15     As he came from his mother’s womb he shall go again, naked as he came, and shall take nothing for his toil that he may carry away in his hand.

Ecclesiastes 12:7    and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

1 Timothy 6:7    for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world.

Lamentations 3:38    Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that good and bad come?

Isaiah 45:7    I form light and create darkness; I make well-being and create calamity; I am the LORD, who does all these things.

Amos 3:6    Is a trumpet blown in a city, and the people are not afraid? Does disaster come to a city, unless the LORD has done it?

Psalms 39:9    I am mute; I do not open my mouth, for it is you who have done it.

When we limit God’s omnipotence we can only end up, as Kushner did when he wrote: “When bad things happen to good people”. Kushner addresses the conundrum of why, if the universe was created and is governed by a God who is of good and loving nature, there is nonetheless so much suffering and pain in it – essentially, the evidential problem of evil. Kushner seeks to offer comfort to grieving people. His answer to the philosophical problem is that God does his best and is with people in their suffering, but is not fully able to prevent it.

This book was on the Best Seller list for many months. Why was it on the best sellers list? Because when we limit God’s omnipotence, “He could not prevent it”, somehow we can accept what has happened. God loves me and wanted to prevent this tragedy but was unable to stop it from happening. Think about this for a second. God the creator of everything out of nothing(Omnipotent) and who is every present everywhere (Omnipresent) is somehow not omnipotent in what transpires within His creation.

Who can say what is right or wrong, or good or bad with what God purposes and plans? Who can adequately explain the workings of God? God’s word says He loves me unconditionally and that he can do more than I ask and much more than I can imagine. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son” “He will never leave you or forsake you” “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways”

Belief in God and salvation through Jesus Christ His Son is clinging to, relying on, and trusting in Him alone no matter what happens. His ways and will are perfect and even if I do not understand them I can trust Him.

Everything in this world is in the hands of the eternal creator. We do have temporary care of what God gives us and at the same time, we must be willing to give it up for His plans and purposes of which will may not fully understand but can fully trust. Job said it well “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”

172. Is it because there is no God

1 Kings 22:51 Ahaziah the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria in the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and he reigned two years over Israel. He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and walked in the way of his father and in the way of his mother and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin. He served Baal and worshiped him and provoked the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger in every way that his father had done.

2 Kings 1:1 After the death of Ahab, Moab rebelled against Israel. Now Ahaziah fell through the lattice in his upper chamber in Samaria, and lay sick; so he sent messengers, telling them, “Go, inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover from this sickness.” But the angel of the Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say to them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Now therefore thus says the Lord, You shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.’” So Elijah went. The messengers returned to the king, and he said to them, “Why have you returned?” And they said to him, “There came a man to meet us, and said to us, ‘Go back to the king who sent you, and say to him, Thus says the Lord, Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.’” He said to them, “What kind of man was he who came to meet you and told you these things?” They answered him, “He wore a garment of hair, with a belt of leather about his waist.” And he said, “It is Elijah the Tishbite.” Then the king sent to him a captain of fifty men with his fifty. He went up to Elijah, who was sitting on the top of a hill, and said to him, “O man of God, the king says, ‘Come down.’” But Elijah answered the captain of fifty, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.” Then fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty.

Again the king sent to him another captain of fifty men with his fifty. And he answered and said to him, “O man of God, this is the king’s order, ‘Come down quickly!’” But Elijah answered them, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.” Then the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty. Again the king sent the captain of a third fifty with his fifty. And the third captain of fifty went up and came and fell on his knees before Elijah and entreated him, “O man of God, please let my life, and the life of these fifty servants of yours, be precious in your sight. Behold, fire came down from heaven and consumed the two former captains of fifty men with their fifties, but now let my life be precious in your sight.” Then the angel of the Lord said to Elijah, “Go down with him; do not be afraid of him.” So he arose and went down with him to the king and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Because you have sent messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron—is it because there is no God in Israel to inquire of his word?—therefore you shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.’” So he died according to the word of the Lord that Elijah had spoken. Jehoram became king in his place in the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, because Ahaziah had no son.

I am intrigued by this statement; “Thus says the Lord, Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending to inquire”. How many times are we needing to walk with God but we search for something else to comfort, satisfy, or to trust in. When God is first in our life, His presence is always there with us, in our heart, mind, and soul. When God is not first, and though He is there, His presence is not in our heart, mind, and soul. The reason it is not there is that we do not want it there. We don’t want to submit. We don’t want to live to honor Him with our whole heart, mind, and soul. We don’t want to leave the pleasures and comforts of our lifestyle. We want to be the one in charge. We want to be the one who decides what will be prioritized in our life each day. We want control.

God is always there but will not share (our heart, mind, and soul) with another. If we push Him out – out He will stay, howbeit knocking at the door to our heart. We need to be intentional in our commitment, service, following, trusting, reliance, and obedience.

122. Why have you despised the word of the Lord, to do what is evil in his sight?

2 Samuel 12:1 And the Lord sent Nathan to David. He came to him and said to him, “There were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor. The rich man had very many flocks and herds, but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. And he brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children. It used to eat of his morsel and drink from his cup and lie in his arms, and it was like a daughter to him. Now there came a traveler to the rich man, and he was unwilling to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the guest who had come to him, but he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.” Then David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die, and he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.”

Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul. And I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your arms and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah. And if this were too little, I would add to you as much more. Why have you despised the word of the Lord, to do what is evil in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and have taken his wife to be your wife and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.

Isaiah 57:17-18     Because of the iniquity of his unjust gain I was angry, I struck him; I hid my face and was angry, but he went on backsliding in the way of his own heart.

Jeremiah 6:13     “For from the least to the greatest of them, everyone is greedy for unjust gain; and from prophet to priest, everyone deals falsely.

Ezekiel 33:31    And they come to you as people come, and they sit before you as my people, and they hear what you say but they will not do it; for with lustful talk in their mouths they act; their heart is set on their gain.

Luke 12:15    And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

Colossians 3:5     Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.

Jeremiah 5:3    O LORD, do not your eyes look for truth? You have struck them down, but they felt no anguish; you have consumed them, but they refused to take correction. They have made their faces harder than rock; they have refused to repent.

Sin has a way of blinding us from what we are doing that is not right in the eyes of our God. When sin takes our heart and minds captive it does not let go. It hardens our heart and pridefully sets to convince our mind that what we have done or are doing is right even though God’s word says it is wrong.

How does sin find its way so easily into our Christian lives? Peter says it like this; “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.”

Keep your eyes on Him alone who is worthy. Live to bring honor and glory to His name. Stay in His presence and desire to follow and obey Him.

Secret Places in Your Heart

“Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”

“For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.”

Psalms 51:6 Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Psalms 5:9 For there is no truth in their mouth; their inmost self is destruction;

Psalms 125:4 Do good, O LORD, to those who are good, and to those who are upright in their hearts!

2 Kings 20:3 “Now, O LORD, please remember how I have walked before you in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in your sight.”

1 Chronicles 29:17 I know, my God, that you test the heart and have pleasure in uprightness. In the uprightness of my heart I have freely offered all these things, and now I have seen your people, who are present here, offering freely and joyously to you.

2 Chronicles 31:20 Thus Hezekiah did throughout all Judah, and he did what was good and right and faithful before the LORD his God. And every work that he undertook in the service of the house of God and in accordance with the law and the commandments, seeking his God, he did with all his heart, and prospered.

Proverbs 2:21 For the upright will inhabit the land, and those with integrity will remain in it,

Jeremiah 5:3 O LORD, do not your eyes look for truth? You have struck them down, but they felt no anguish; you have consumed them, but they refused to take correction. They have made their faces harder than rock; they have refused to repent.

1 Peter 3:4 but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.

What is knowing the “intent of our heart” based upon? In our culture, some leaders and teachers would say: 1. if it makes you feel good and does not have intent on harming others then the intent is good. 2. if it is socially accepted it is good. 3. if it benefits you it is good. We must be careful on how we look at that secret place in our heart and what is used to judge it. If we use the culture around us as the guide to understand our heart intent, we are on a path leading away from God. How can using a cultural norm ever replace God’s word. Many times in scripture we are reminded of those who looked intently into God’s word, meditated on it, and desired to be lead by God through His word on a life path that honored and glorified God. It is only through His word and with a desire to be lead by God will we ever understand the intent of our heart. Lack of knowing His word is not an excuse. I am convinced we will have to give account for the neglect we give toward this. God’s word will search out and expose the secret places in your heart inline with that which humbly serves, honors, follows, obeys and glorifies God. David said it this way: “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!”