The Assyrian. You know often times we look to our Father’s word for enlightenment as to what’s the future is going to be. And certainly unfulfilled prophecy tells us exactly how things are going to come down. It’s written. It will come to pass. But today I want you to think about this; God’s given us a lot of history in His word, has he not? And sometimes by understanding and looking and studying that history it also tells us what the future holds because I’ll assure you that just as things have been in the past, in many cases is exactly how they’re going to be in the future. And by understanding the types, the historical types in our Father’s word it prepares us for the future. We can understand.
You all know the antichrist is coming first and that’s not what my message today is about. My message is that I want you to think to yourself, “Am I prepared?” Have I done everything that I can to be prepared for that on who will return? That’s important beloved and I’ll show you why here in a moment.
They Assyrian or the king of Assyria is a vivid type for antichrist. No question about it. Just as the king of Assyria laid siege on Israel and Judah over-and-over-and-over in history, so will he lay siege on Jerusalem once again in the future. Well, should that scare us? Should we be afraid of the Assyrian? Of course not. God told us in Isaiah, chapter 10, verse 24, fear not the Assyrian. Christ told us in Luke, chapter 10, verses 17-18, I give you power over all of your enemies. But does that just mean that we should ignore this historical Assyrian? No. Not when we can study him and learn more and more information that will help us understand what it’s going to be like when the antichrist is here.
Let’s begin our study today with a warning from Paul. 1 Corinthians, chapter 10, and most of you probably knew where I was going to start when I said a warning from Paul. But also in this 10th chapter of 1st Corinthians we find a fantastic promise from our heavenly Father to you. 1 Corinthians, chapter 10, verse 1:
1 Cor 10:1 Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant,
Paul says I don’t want you NOT to know this. I don’t want you to forget this, if you already knew it.
how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea;
As Moses led the true people of Israel out of Egypt they were under that cloud. Well what was the cloud? It was our heavenly Father; a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. Did they go over the sea? Did they go around the sea? No ladies and gentlemen they went through the sea.
1 Cor 10: 2 And were all
Notice the emphatic use of the repetition of the word all.
baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea;
And in deed that was a type of baptism that those people went through.
1 Cor 10:3 And did all eat the same spiritual meat;
The manna from heaven that our heavenly Father gave the people, and eventually the quail when they complained about the manna. Of course today or spiritual meat is what? The bread of life, of course. Verse 4:
1 Cor 10:4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink:
Imagine 2.1 million people approximately, coming out of Egypt. Israel; with all of their flocks and herds, and they are in the desert. How much water would it take to quench the thirst of all those? And that water came forth from that rock.
for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them:
Or went with them, better translated.
and that Rock was Christ.
The gateway to heaven. The gateway to our salvation. The living water that we partake of so freely.
1 Cor 10:5 But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness.
And do you know what overthrew them in the wilderness? It was their own unbelief. Over-and-over-and-over God told them, we’re going into the promised land, a land that flows with milk and honey. What did they do? They said, “Oh let’s send one man from each tribe into the promised land to make sure that it’s a good land.” And what did God say? “Okay, go ahead and send them”. What did they do? They came back and 10 of them lied said, “There’s no way that we can take those people. There are giants over there.” Their own unbelief.
1 Cor 10:6 Now these things were our examples,
Check it out in the Greek. “Typos”, pronounced “tü'-pos”. It means “type”
d) in a doctrinal sense; 1) of a type i.e. a person or thing prefiguring a future (Messianic) person or thing
to the intent
Whoa! To the intent? Why were we given these examples, types?
to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.
Paul is trying to get our attention here. He’s saying that these things that happened here in the old Testament happened for a reason people. Study them. Understand them so that you don’t lust after evil.
1 Cor 10:7 Neither be ye idolaters, as [were] some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.
Even as Moses was up on Mount Sinai receiving the 10 commandments, what were they doing? Down there playing. They said, “Hmff! This fellow Moses, we don’t know what to make of it. He’s been gone for 40 days!” Aaron the high priest who should have known better of all people, they said, “Make us a golden calf to lead us on into the Promised Land. We don’t know if Moses is going to be back or not!” Verse 8:
1 Cor 10:8 Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand.
Numbers, chapter 25, verses 1-9, they joined themselves to Baal Peor. God wasn’t happy.
1 Cor 10:9 Neither let us tempt Christ,
That’s detest Him.
as some of them also tempted,
Who did they tempt? They tempted God. Numbers, chapter 14, 10 times they tempted God! Over the golden calf, over the manna, over the water… And finally what? They were going to appoint captain to lead them back in to Egypt. The utmost rebellion against Gods plan.
and were destroyed of serpents.
As the children of Israel were working their way as they left Horma, and they were going around Edom, because the Edomites wouldn’t let them cross their land, the going got pretty rough and the people were complaining and again, “Moses, why did you bring us out in this desert to die?” And God was getting so tired of it that He sent fiery serpents among them and those that were bitten by the fiery serpents died. And as usual Moses interceded on their behalf and was instructed by God to make a brazen serpent that he lifted up and those that would look upon the brazen serpent, even though they were bitten by the serpent or snakes, would not die. That’s why Christ would say in John chapter 3 just as Moses raised the serpent, so must the son of man be raised on the cross. In other words, those that look upon Him, will live as well. Verse 10:
1 Cor 10:10 Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer.
Those 10 spies that went into the Promised Land, God struck them dead with a special plague. He wasn’t happy with them at all. And the reason we came here, verse 11:
1 Cor 10:11 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples:
Again, that Greek word typos. A type.
and they are written for our admonition,
For our warning is what Paul is saying.
upon whom the ends of the world are come.
Boy, have you ever talked to, and I know non of you are this way because you’re too studied in God’s word, but have you ever been talking to a new Christian and you say “the end of the world”. And I mean, the knees start shaking, “The end of the world?” Of course you know we’re talking about aiōn in the Greek language. End of the age, that’s all we’re talking about. When this world age ends and a new one begins. We’re talking about this generation, the generation of the fig tree.
1 Cor 10:12 Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.
Now this is from Paul, and listen to this:
that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall
And that’s the message I want you to get out of this today. Do you think you’re going to stand against the antichrist? And I know you are. But what I want to encourage you to do is to have that mind of have I done everything I can do to prepare for that? Do I know everything that I can possibly know about that enemy that will help me. And that’s what we’re going to do today. Verse 13, this is the promise from God. Don’t ever forget this verse:
1 Cor 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man:
There’s nothing that’s going to happen to you that hasn’t happened to man before. Some might say, “Well you don’t understand Pastor Murray, we’re going to live in that generation that we’re going to have to face the antichrist!” So what? The people in the wilderness were tempted. Were they not? This is nothing new. Man has been tempted from the get-go here on earth and the flesh in itself is a temptation.
but God [is] faithful,
You can count on Him.
who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear [it].
Man, as you are delivered up before that antichrist don’t forget this verse beloved. Think of that promise from God. Do you believe His word? Then what do we have to worry about? He’s not going to allow anything to happen to us. Verse 14:
1 Cor 10:14 Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry.
10:15 I speak as to wise men; judge ye what I say.
Do you consider yourself a wise person? Than listen to what Paul says.
As I said earlier, the Assyrian, over-and-over-and-over laid siege on Jerusalem. Let’s go to the first time that the Assyrian laid siege on Israel. We’re going to 2 Kings, chapter 15. To set the stage, things aren’t going well in Israel at all. As we pick this up I think we’re down to the last 5 kings of Israel. And as we’re going to pick it up in 2 Kings, 15:16 with Menahem. Menahem, how did he come to the throne? Well you can read it in verse 14. He smote Shallum. He murdered Shallum. Israel, the 10 tribes on a collision course with the Assyrian, the captivity. Verse 16:
2 Kings 15:16 Then Menahem smote Tiphsah,
Tiphsah is not a person but a location, a city that that lies on the Euphrates and is referred to in 1 Kings 4:24 as the limit to Solomon’s empire towards the Euphrates to the North.
and all that [were] therein, and the coasts thereof from Tirzah: because they opened not [to him], therefore he smote [it; and] all the women therein that were with child he ripped up.
Tiphsah revolted of Israel at the time that Zechariah was murdered. And here they are paying a very cruel punishment for that revolt.
2 Kings 15:17 In the nine and thirtieth year of Azariah king of Judah began Menahem the son of Gadi to reign over Israel, [and reigned] ten years in Samaria.
And you know, God wanted to be the king of Israel but what did the people of Israel say to Samuel? No, we want a man king like the heathen have. Someone who will go and fight our battles for us. I think that man is becoming somewhat disappointed and the kings of Israel a little bit less than they expected but the man kings of Israel are exactly what our Father expected.
2 Kings 15:18 And he did [that which was] evil in the sight of the LORD: he departed not all his days from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin.
You know when Israel was asking for a man king, God told them through Samuel in 1 Samuel chapter 8 verse 10 and the following verses, what men-kings of Israel would do. They’ll take your sons and daughters. They’ll make them work for you. Everything you do to produce your vineyards, your olive yards, they will take 10 percent of that and give it to their servants, and then they’ll take your sons and send them to do the fighting for you. For the king in other words. Verse 19:
2 Kings 15:19 [And] Pul the king of Assyria
Here we go, our type for the antichrist. This is the first invasion on Israel by the Assyrian and it won’t be the last, and there is still one to come in the future.
came against the land: and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver, that his hand might be with him to confirm the kingdom in his hand.
He’s trusting in the king of Assyria to keep him as king of Israel rather than trusting in our heavenly Father, and paying him off to do so.
2 Kings 15:20 And Menahem exacted the money of Israel,
And Judah was usually the one trying to bribe the enemy, not Israel, but in this case they are.
[even] of all the mighty men of wealth,
Property owners in other words.
of each man fifty shekels of silver, to give to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria turned back, and stayed not there in the land.
Now the Assyrians will be back. You know you can’t buy a bully off. Never try and buy a bully off because what you’ll give him, he’ll always be back for more.
2 Kings 15:21 And the rest of the acts of Menahem, and all that he did, [are] they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
And I’m certain God must have been quite frustrated with the kings of Israel, the men who served in that role.
2 Kings 15:22 And Menahem slept with his fathers; and Pekahiah his son reigned in his stead.
Pekahiah means Yah has observed. And you can be rest assured that Yah was observing this Pekahiah and Israel at the time. You can be assured He is observing you and I today. I hope He’s pleased. Verse 23:
2 Kings 15:23 In the fiftieth year of Azariah
Also known as Uziah. By the way he reigned 52 years, the longest king of Israel or Judah
king of Judah Pekahiah the son of Menahem began to reign over Israel in Samaria, [and reigned] two years.
And becoming a king of Israel at this time was like an early death wish. Menahem was the last king of Israel to die a natural death and his son assumed the throne.
2 Kings 15:24 And he did [that which was] evil in the sight of the LORD: he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin.
Jeroboam was the first king of the 10 tribes over to the North after the kingdom was taken away from Solomon’s son Rehoboam. But you know, God made Jeroboam the same promise that He made to Solomon. And that is IF you will follow my commandments, IF you will do things my way, I’ll be with you. I’ll bless you. What did Jeroboam do? Oh he decides, “Huh, let see… there’s 7 feasts of the Lord, let’s have an 8th one, in the 8th month!” It wasn’t appointed by God. Jeroboam also said, “Well, these Levitical priests, they won’t do what I want them to. The heck with them! I want them out of office! I’m going to appoint my own priests.” And that’s what he did. And to top it all off, he makes the 2 golden calves just like Aaron did when Moses was receiving the law, he put one in Dan and one in Bethel and he said, “Behold thy God that brought you out of Egypt.” He then told the people of Israel, “You don’t have to go down to Jerusalem to worship at the temple of God. These are your gods. Stay here in Samaria and worship.”
2 Kings 15:25 But Pekah
Pekah is kind of a version of Pekahiah which means to watch and this Pekah needed to be watched.
the son of Remaliah, a captain of his,
He’s in the army, Pekah the king.
conspired against him, and smote him in Samaria, in the palace of the king's house, with Argob and Arieh,
And these 2 are obviously trying to defend Pekahiah
and with him
This is Pekah
fifty men of the Gileadites: and he killed him, and reigned in his room.
Murderers serving as the king of Israel. Total chaos, total corruption in Israel at this time.
2 Kings 15:26 And the rest of the acts of Pekahiah, and all that he did, behold, they [are] written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.
Israel at this point is on a collision course with the captivity to the Assyrian. And you know what? We’re on a collision course to the captivity to the king of Assyria as well. Isaiah was prophesying this same thing at this time. And Isaiah by the way prophesied during the reign of four different kings of Judah. I mean Isaiah was around a long time and he was telling them this is what’s coming. 27:
2 Kings 15:27 In the two and fiftieth year of Azariah
This would be his last year.
king of Judah Pekah the son of Remaliah began to reign over Israel in Samaria, [and reigned] twenty years.
A very long reign for one of these final kings of Israel, but he won’t die a natural death.
2 Kings 15:28 And he did [that which was] evil in the sight of the LORD:
There’s nothing new here.
he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin.
They just wouldn’t listen to the prophets that God sent; prophet after prophet, trying to get the people to turn back to our heavenly Father.
2 Kings 15:29 In the days of Pekah king of Israel came Tiglathpileser
Here we go again.
king of Assyria, and took Ijon, and Abelbethmaachah, and Janoah, and Kedesh, and Hazor, and Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali, and carried them captive to Assyria.
This is referred to in Isaiah, chapter 9, verse 12. Now this is not all of Israel going into captivity, but it is a big, big chunk of it.
2 Kings 15:30 And Hoshea the son of Elah
Hosea, by the way, means deliverer. He’s about to deliver Israel right into captivity to the Assyrian
made a conspiracy against Pekah the son of Remaliah, and smote him, and slew him, and reigned in his stead, in the twentieth year of Jotham the son of Uzziah.
You want to be king of Israel at this point, what do you have to do? You have to murder the previous king, but you better have some pretty good bodyguards because the next one’s going to be after you. And note that Hoshea began to reign in the 20th year of Jotham. Now turn with me to chapter 17, verse 1. How long will Hoshea last? How long will Israel last? 2 Kings 17:1, and remember what we said about the 20th year of Jotham. Well here we have in the 12th year of Ahaz:
2 Kings 17:1 In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah began Hoshea the son of Elah to reign in Samaria over Israel nine years.
Now some people say that “God’s word contradicts itself there.” Well it doesn’t. If you have a Companion Bible you’ve got some help on this. There was mass confusion and chaos going on and anarchy going on in Israel. So after Hoshea slew the previous king, we had a period of time there that passed before Hoshea was actually recognized as king.
2 Kings 17:2 And he did [that which was] evil in the sight of the LORD, but not as the kings of Israel that were before him.
And scholars kind of wrestle with this, “what does this mean?” He didn’t do things as the kings of Israel that were before him. I like the explanation best that the scholars say that this means… you remember Hezekiah? He as a very righteous king of Israel. He reinstituted the Passover. And what did he do? He invited all of the people of the North, the 10 Northern tribes of Samaria to come to celebrate that Passover. And it’s thought by this that Hoshea did not reject the people to come to Jerusalem in participating in that wonderful Passover.
2 Kings 17:3 Against him came up Shalmaneser king of Assyria;
A type for the antichrist, again. Shalmaneser began the siege, and this is according to Bullinger, but he was not able to complete it. The siege went on for 3 years and Bullinger thinks that Sargon, one of the descendants of Cain, and there may be many of you that have read Sargon the magnificent will know, was the one that completed the siege. Other scholars believe that Shalmaneser and Sargon were one in the same. I kind of lean with Bullinger on this.
and Hoshea became his servant, and gave him presents.
Here we have the King of Israel, the last king of Israel, man-king I’ll say, serving, worshiping if you will, the king of Assyria.
2 Kings 17:4 And the king of Assyria found conspiracy
You could translate this an unlawful alliance.
in Hoshea: for he had sent messengers to So king of Egypt, and brought no present to the king of Assyria,
He stopped paying tribute.
as [he had done] year by year:
Annually.
therefore the king of Assyria shut him up, and bound him in prison.
Hoshea was paying the Egyptians to help him fight the Assyrian. And when the Assyrian found out he was giving the money that should be coming to him to the Egyptians, it made him mad and he threw him in jail. What’s the type that we can see from the Assyrian in this? Think about it. Do you think you’re going to make the Assyrian real happy with what you’re doing? Do you think he’s going to be real happy with you? No he’s not going to be happy with you. What do you think will be happening with the king of Assyria? Here the whole world will be worshiping the antichrist and you are not worshiping him. Do you think he might be a little angry with you and bind you up and throw you in prison? Does that sound so bad? What I’m asking you people, are you mentally prepared for that? Is going to prison and standing up for Jesus Christ our Savior all that bad a thing? I mean, I know you’re all very good people, but the thought of going to prison right now in your mind is probably something you really haven’t thought about that much. But that’s what I’m asking you to think about this afternoon ladies and gentlemen. How many times was Paul in prison? Was he a bad man? No, Paul was a very good man. Well especially after he was struck down on the road to Damascus. Stephen might not have had a great place in his heart for Paul, but after he was struck down on the road to Damascus he ended up in prison for what? For telling the truth! You’re liable to end up in prison for telling the truth. Bring it on! Bring it on! That’s our destiny! Our destiny is to be delivered up! And you hear people saying, “Boy, I don’t know. I don’t know if I can do that or not.” Yes you can. You know that’s what you have to do. But be prepared for it even if it means going to prison. I want you to be mentally prepared for this. More on that in a moment. Verse 5:
2 Kings 17:5 Then the king of Assyria came up throughout all the land, and went up to Samaria, and besieged it three years.
This would be from 613 B.C. to 611 B.C.
2 Kings 17:6 In the ninth year of Hoshea the king of Assyria took Samaria, and carried Israel away into Assyria, and placed them in Halah and in Habor [by] the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.
A historical document known as Sargon’s Inscription records that 27,290 were taken captive. And you can believe it was the cream of the crop, the princes of the families, the military leaders, the priests who were educated, and they left the base people in the land. Would the king of Assyria just be happy with taking the 10 tribes? And we’re really going to pick up a lot of types here, so bear with me. We’re going to chapter 18 of this same book. 2 Kings and we’re going to pick it up with verse 11. And we’re kind of going to switch gears here and we’re going to see how things are going with Judah at this time.
2 Kings 18:11 And the king of Assyria did carry away Israel unto Assyria, and put them in Halah and in Habor [by] the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes:
Why did the lord let them go into captivity? Verse 12:
2 Kings 18:12 Because they obeyed not the voice of the LORD their God, but transgressed his covenant, [and] all that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded, and would not hear [them], nor do [them].
Well we see a lot of that to day, do we not?
2 Kings 18:13 Now in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah
This is the king of Judah.
did Sennacherib king of Assyria come up against all the fenced cities of Judah, and took them.
And Appendix 67 of your Companion Bible you have Sennacherib’s cylinder (look here) And he states, “I took 46 fenced cities of Judah and I have Hezekiah as a bird in a cage in Jerusalem, and I’ve taken 200, 150 men, women and children in captivity.
2 Kings 18:14 And Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria to Lachish,
This is a city South of Jerusalem.
saying, I have offended; return from me: that which thou puttest on me will I bear. And the king of Assyria appointed unto Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold.
He’s saying I’ve offended you so please withdraw from Judah and I’ll pay whatever tribute you say for me to pay. And you know this is hard for me to understand about Hezekiah. Hezekiah was a righteous king. He was a good man. Boy especially compared to his father Ahaz. Ahaz was an idolator if their ever was one. But you know, this turned into a blessing for Judah because of Sennacherib’s blasphemy and his pride. Now let’s see, blasphemy and pride. Who does that sound like? Maybe antichrist just a little bit? Blasphemy? He’s going to be claiming to be God and standing in God’s place. Put his throne where God’s throne is supposed to be. Pride? That was his downfall. Sound familiar?
2 Kings 18:15 And Hezekiah gave [him] all the silver that was found in the house of the LORD, and in the treasures of the king's house.
Buying treasures. It won’t be enough to satisfy Sennacherib for long.
2 Kings 18:16 At that time did Hezekiah cut off [the gold from] the doors of the temple of the LORD, and [from] the pillars which Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid, and gave it to the king of Assyria.
Now in chapter 18 verse 17 which we’re about to get to, through 19:32, we have the 2nd invasion of Judah by the king of Assyria.
2 Kings 18:17 And the king of Assyria sent Tartan and Rabsaris and Rabshakeh from Lachish
About 10 miles South-East of Jerusalem.
to king Hezekiah with a great host against Jerusalem.
You know what a great host is? That’s a big army. Does the thought of that frighten you? A big army? How about Revelation chapter 9; the locust army? You know what they’ve got? They’ve got tails that sting like a scorpion. You know what that means? It means they melt the backbone of their victims using the victim’s own body as their own stomach. Does that frighten you, this big army? It shouldn’t.
And they went up and came to Jerusalem. And when they were come up, they came and stood by the conduit of the upper pool, which [is] in the highway of the fuller's field.
Now you might say, now wait a minute, Israel was doing bad and God sent the Assyrian, but Judah was doing good. Hezekiah was a good king. Why would He send the Assyrian against Judah? Understand. God will test you from time-to-time. He does not want a bunch of hothouse lilies that are going to wilt at the 1st sign of trouble. You know it’s awfully hard to become an over-comer if you never have anything to overcome.
2 Kings 18:18 And when they had called to the king, there came out to them Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, which [was] over the household,
In other words over the kings palace.
and Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder.
Now these are pretty high-ranking officials.
2 Kings 18:19 And Rabshakeh said unto them, Speak ye now to Hezekiah, Thus saith the great king, the king of Assyria, What confidence [is] this wherein thou trustest?
Well he’s pretty proud of his king isn’t he? The GREAT king of Assyria. Is that a type for us? Absolutely. Satan’s going to think he’s pretty great in his role. Verse 20:
2 Kings 18:20 Thou
“Thou” is addressed to Hezekiah…
sayest, (but [they are but] vain words,)
In the Hebrew this is saying, “You say this in lip-words”. In other words you say this with your lips but you really don’t believe it with your heart.
[I have] counsel and strength for the war. Now on whom dost thou trust, that thou rebellest against me?
2 Kings 18:21 Now, behold, thou trustest upon the staff of this bruised reed, [even] upon Egypt, on which if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it: so [is] Pharaoh king of Egypt unto all that trust on him.
God wanted His people to lean and trust on Him, not the king of Egypt, not some other man, or some other god. Verse 22, Rabshakeh continues speaking for Sennacherib, the Assyrian:
2 Kings 18:22 But
Or on the other hand…
if ye say unto me, We trust in the LORD our God: [is] not that he, whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah hath taken away, and hath said to Judah and Jerusalem, Ye shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem?
Why should Yahaveh help you when your king tore down all the illegal places of worship that the previous kings of Judah had set up? 23:
2 Kings 18:23 Now therefore, I pray thee, give pledges to my lord
Give them to Sennacherib
the king of Assyria, and I will deliver thee two thousand horses, if thou be able on thy part to set riders upon them.
Still even less depending on the bruised reed of Egypt. Can you depend on your own army? If I gave you 2000 horses, you don’t even have enough men capable of putting on there, that can fight from horse back.
2 Kings 18:24 How then wilt thou turn away the face of one captain of the least of my master's servants, and put thy trust on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen?
Your military is so week that you have no choice but to depend on Egypt.
2 Kings 18:25 Am I now come up without the LORD against this place to destroy it?
He’s saying, “Your God now Hezekiah is with me.” That word Lord there is Yahaveh.
The LORD said to me, Go up against this land, and destroy it.
Now we’ve got some problems for the Assyrian. God had not commanded him to go up and destroy Judah. This is out-and-out blasphemy.
2 Kings 18:26 Then said Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, and Shebna, and Joah, unto Rabshakeh, Speak, I pray thee, to thy servants
In other words to us.
in the Syrian language;
In Aramaic.
for we understand [it]: and talk not with us in the Jews' language
Or Hebrew.
in the ears of the people that [are] on the wall.
We understand your language so please, you know, you’re scaring our troops over here on the wall. Don’t talk in Hebrew, you’re scaring our people.
2 Kings 18:27 But Rabshakeh said unto them, Hath my master
Sennacherib…
sent me to thy master, and to thee, to speak these words? [hath he] not [sent me] to the men which sit on the wall, that they may eat their own dung, and drink their own piss with you?
In other words that’s how bad it’s going to get if the Assyrian lays siege on Jerusalem. Three years is a long time to lay siege. What do they do basically? They starve them out. If you can’t get food into the city and you’ve got probably tens of thousands of people there at the time, or over 100,000 people there, they’re going to starve to death eventually. Of course they routed water under secret passage ways in to Jerusalem and taken it away. But I also ask you to look at that maybe as a little bit of a type. If you don’t participate in the Assyrian’s or antichrist’s one world system, you’re on your own when it comes to food and water. Let me ask you this, has anyone ever warned you that we should have a little bit of food set aside for when the antichrist comes? Has anyone ever warned you that you should have some water set aside for your family? Because you’re on your own folks. You’re not going to be able to buy and sell. Has anyone ever warned you to have a little bit of precious metal available to where you can barter trade? Have you done that? Have you done it to the extent that… And some people might say, “Well, you don’t understand. You know I’m living check-to-check right now and it’s just hard for me to do that.” Boy I do understand with gasoline prices up and I filled up on the way up here and you talk about making your knees shake! That made my knees shake, filling up that SUV. Whoooh! But my point is this, it’s a lot easier right now for you to do what you need to do and to get some things set aside then it’s going to be when he actually arrives. Because I mean everything to your checking account, do you think you’re going to be able to use that? No. Not without taking the mark of the beast or worshiping him. So a little bit of a type here. A little bit graphic maybe. Verse 28:
2 Kings 18:28 Then Rabshakeh stood and cried with a loud voice in the Jews' language,
Hebrew
and spake, saying, Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria:
We’re about to see some real psychological warfare here. Propaganda.
2 Kings 18:29 Thus saith the king, Let not Hezekiah deceive you: for he shall not be able to deliver you out of his hand:
Out of the king of Assyria’s hand in other words. Don’t let Hezekiah give you false hope.
2 Kings 18:30 Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD, saying, The LORD will surely deliver us, and this city shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria.
Hezekiah can’t save you, the Lord can’t save you. Now wait a minute. I know the Lord is my deliverer, and here we’ve got the king of Assyria saying the Lord can’t delver you. That’s blasphemy.
2 Kings 18:31 Hearken not to Hezekiah: for thus saith the king of Assyria, Make [an agreement] with me by a present, and come out to me, and [then] eat ye every man of his own vine, and every one of his fig tree, and drink ye every one the waters of his cistern:
Boy! Does that sound like somebody? How about Dan chapter 11:24 when the antichrist comes in peacefully and prosperously. You see he’s promising these people around the wall in Jerusalem, “Just surrender. Just worship me, and it’s going to be good for you. I’ll pay off all your bills…” Remember where we started with Paul giving you a warning? He said, these things happened as examples for you. Types for you. Don’t be taken with his deceit. Verse 32:
2 Kings 18:32 Until I come and take you away to a land like your own land,
He’s saying, “I’ll deliver you. Hezekiah can’t deliver you. The Lord can’t deliver you. I’ll rapture you out of here.”
a land of corn and wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of oil olive and of honey, that ye may live, and not die:
And we’re talking about a death of the flesh here that they’re concerned about.
and hearken not unto Hezekiah, when he persuadeth
Or deceives, it could be translated.
you, saying, The LORD will deliver us.
“You can’t trust Hezekiah, you can’t trust the Lord”. Wrong.
2 Kings 18:33 Hath any of the gods of the nations delivered at all his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria?
None of the gods of the nations of the Assyrians have already conquered could save them.
2 Kings 18:34 Where [are] the gods of Hamath, and of Arpad?
That’s in Assyria.
where [are] the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah? have they delivered Samaria
The 10 tribes of Israel…
out of mine hand?
Let me ask you this; when the antichrist returns, who is everyone in the world going to think their God is? You know, think about what I’m saying here referring to “where [are] the gods”. Everyone in the world, I don’t care if they’re Islamic, I don’t care if they’re Buddhist, I don’t care what their faith is, they are going to think antichrist is God. Are you prepared for that in your mind? And you know what they’re going to be asking you because you’re not worshiping him? Where is your God is what they’re going to be asking you? 35:
2 Kings 18:35 Who [are] they among all the gods of the countries, that have delivered their country out of mine hand, that the LORD should deliver Jerusalem out of mine hand?
It’s saying, Their gods couldn’t save them, your God can’t save you.
2 Kings 18:36 But the people held their peace, and answered him not a word: for the king's commandment was, saying, Answer him not.
Probably smart not to let the enemy know what the effect of his speech was. It was very effective.
2 Kings 18:37 Then came Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, which [was] over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder, to Hezekiah with [their] clothes rent,
A sign of morning or grief.
and told him the words of Rabshakeh.
Pretty good speech, but the problem is Rabshakeh has not only blasphemed Hezekieh, he’s also blasphemed our heavenly Father. Chapter 19 verse 1:
2 Kings 19:1 And it came to pass, when king Hezekiah heard [it], that he rent his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the LORD.
You know when things get rough it doesn’t matter where you are. In the book of Psalms it tells us that wherever you are at anytime, you can take refuge in the house of the Lord. That’s the sanctuary. In other words you can seek protection and aid in that high tower if you will. He will deliver you as promised as stated in where we started today, 1 Corinthians 10:13. Verse 2:
2 Kings 19:2 And he sent Eliakim, which [was] over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz.
Now this is the first occurrence of Isaiah in the historical books.
2 Kings 19:3 And they said unto him, Thus saith Hezekiah, This day [is] a day of trouble,
The day of Jacobs trouble might come to mind.
and of rebuke, and blasphemy: for the children are come to the birth, and [there is] not strength to bring forth.
This is a life-threatening situation. When a mother is with child and it’s time to delver that child, if she doesn’t have the strength to deliver that child, both will die. Both will perish. What’s that got to do with what we’re talking about? Let me tell you, there’s a birth that all of you are involved in, and I don’t care if you’re a man or a woman. I’m talking about the birth of a new age. And we’re going to see as we close here in a moment in the book of Micah, not history, prophecy, we’re going to see that we have a part to play in bringing out the birth of this new age. And I ask you. Do you think we’ll have the strength to do our part to accomplish the birth of a new age? We’re going to have a lot of help. Let’s see. Verse 4:
2 Kings 19:4 It may be the LORD thy God will hear all the words of Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master hath sent to reproach the living God; and will reprove the words which the LORD thy God hath heard: wherefore lift up [thy] prayer for the remnant that are left.
Most of Judah, 46 fenced cities, walled cities. Over 200,000 people taken captive. Most of Judah is already gone captive to the Assyrian. In our day and age the Elect are the remnant that are left that have not gone into captivity to the Assyrian.
2 Kings 19:5 So the servants of king Hezekiah came to Isaiah. 19:6 And Isaiah said unto them, Thus shall ye say to your master,
Hezekiah in other words.
Thus saith the LORD, Be not afraid of the words which thou hast heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me.
And there is no reason for you to have fear either. Verse 7:
2 Ki 19:7 Behold, I will send a blast upon him, and he shall hear a rumour, and shall return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.
Historically this would come to pass. If we continued on in this same chapter we’d learn in verse 28, God told the Assyrian, I will put my hook in your nose and my bridal in they lips and lead thee back by the way you came. In verse 35 the angel of the Lord slew 185,000 of the Assyrians. Verse 32 Sennacherib, back in his home city, went into the house of his God and was murdered by his own 2 sons. This particular siege of the Assyrian was not successful. You know we’ve been talking about the future seed of the Assyrian, do you think the Assyrian is going to be successful during that siege or do you think that God will once again send a blast? Oh, maybe you could be part of that blast!
Turn with me to Micah as we conclude. Again, not history but prophesy. In the Minor Prophets, Micah chapter 4, and we’re going to pick it up with verse 8. When I was talking a minute ago about that birth that was going to be coming about, and that the men and the women were going to have part of it, my humor just went crazy with me. Have you ever seen that commercial where this little old man and little old lady are sitting in the doctor’s office and she’s like 80 he’s like 85 and the doctor tells her that her blood work shows that you’re pregnant? Then he looks at the old man and he says guess what, you are too. And the little old man just giggles and starts laughing. Have you seen that? I think that’s one of the greatest commercials. But man or woman, you’ve got a role to play in the birth that’s coming up. I’m talking about the birth of this new age. Micah 4:8, sharpen up for me. Now this gets a little deep:
Micah 4:8 And thou, O tower of the flock,
Do you know what his word flock is in the Hebrew? Check it out. `Eder - h5739. In Genesis chapter 5 verse 31,`eder is used for Bethlehem.
the strong hold of the daughter of Zion,
You’re the daughter of Zion. Bethlehem, how come that’s the stronghold for you?
unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion;
Or former dominion, the first earth age.
the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem.
What happened in Bethlehem? `Eder, the flock as it’s called there. Well let’s see… Rachel, she didn’t have the strength to bring forth, did she? She died in childbirth to the last patriarch of the 12 tribes of Israel. Named him Ben-oni, son of my sorrow. His father re-named him Benjamin, son of my right hand. Let’s see, who else was born in Bethlehem? David! Was he not? Oh, and a 1000 yards within the place that Rachel gave birth to Benjamin. And who else was born? Messiah. He is the chief Shepherd. Verse 9:
Micah 4:9 Now why dost thou cry out aloud?
This is to the daughter of Zion, that’s you.
[is there] no king in thee? is thy counsellor perished? for pangs have taken thee as a woman in travail.
Here we have that birth of a new age. Have you got a part in it?
Micah 4:10 Be in pain, and labour to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in travail: for now shalt thou go forth out of the city, and thou shalt dwell in the field, and thou shalt go [even] to Babylon; there shalt thou be delivered; there the LORD shall redeem thee from the hand of thine enemies.
Many of our brothers and sisters are already there, in Babylon. Babylon meaning confusion. They’re lost. They haven’t a clue as to what’s going to happen in these end days. Have you got a roll in doing something about that?
Micah 4:11 Now also many nations are gathered against thee, that say, Let her be defiled, and let our eye look upon Zion.
And boy will Jerusalem be defiled when that Assyrian sets up shop.
Micah 4:12 But they know not the thoughts of the LORD, neither understand they his counsel:
Or His plan.
for he shall gather them as the sheaves into the floor.
Oh let’s see, isn’t there a wonderful gospel song about (Dennis sings to a nice melody) “bringing in the sheaves”… Now doesn’t that sound wonderful? They’re bringing in the sheaves onto the floor… Do you know what floor we’re talking about here beloved? The threshing floor. Do you know what happens to the sheaves on the threshing floor? They get the whey knocked out of them. Some of the sheaves need the whey knocked out of them to bring about some sense into their heads. Do you have something to do with that?
Micah 4:13 Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion:
These are instructions the daughter of Zion. They’re instructions to you.
Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion:
What does threshing do? It separates the wheat from the chaff. It separates those that can amount to something, something that was worth something, from wicked and evil that’s worth nothing but to go into the fire.
for I will make thine horn iron,
Do you know what your horn is, symbolically? It’s your power.
and I will make thy hoofs brass: and thou shalt beat in pieces many people: and I will consecrate their gain unto the LORD, and their substance unto the Lord of the whole earth.
Boy that sounds awful rough. Beat those people? What do we beat them with beloved? Truth! That’s what we beat them with. How do we thresh today? What is this talking about? You thresh by planting seeds. Every time you have an opportunity to plant a seed you’re threshing, you’re sharing God’s truth. That’s what knocks the whey out of those sheaves and separates the wheat from the chaff. You can thresh by being an example to people. You can thresh by standing for something. And by that I mean willing to stand against the antichrist. Oh there’s a blast going to be sent against this last Assyrian siege.
Chapter 5, verse 1:
Micah 5:1 Now gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops: he
This is the Assyrian we’re talking about here, antichrist.
hath laid siege against us: they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek.
And historically they certainly accomplished this, the 10 tribes of Israel into captivity. There’s going to be a little different smiting going on this next siege. Sharpen up for me:
Micah 5:2 But thou, Bethlehem
Here we go again. Where are we pointing back to now? Jesus Christ’s birthplace. Bethlehem, the house of bread.
Ephratah,
Meaning fruitful.
[though] thou be little among the thousands of Judah,
Though you’re just a little village Bethlehem compared to the larger cities of Judah.
[yet] out of thee shall he come forth unto me [that is] to be ruler in Israel;
You remember back in verse 9 where it said, “Is there no king in thee?” God’s chosen a king.
whose goings forth [have been] from of old, from everlasting.
Oh, that sounds like somebody I know, John chapter 1, verse 1; In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. From the first earth age. You’re here in the 2nd earth age and yes beloved, in the third earth age is the eternity, Jesus Christ will be present.
Micah 5:3 Therefore will he give them up, until the time [that] she which travaileth hath brought forth: then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel.
Out of Babylon. Out of the captivity. And you’ve got a part to play in it. And you know some say, “Well, isn’t this nice? God’s going to find the people that He lost.” God hasn’t lost anyone. They’ve lost themselves.
Micah 5:4 And he
This is Jesus Christ.
shall stand and feed in the strength of the LORD,
He is the great Shepherd.
in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God; and they
His flock.
shall abide: for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth.
King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
Micah 5:5 And this [man] shall be the peace,
Hebrews chapter 7 where He’s also called Melchezadek. What’s another name? Do you know what the king of Salem is? King of peace. There will be no peace until he returns.
when the Assyrian
This is the antichrist…
shall come into our land: and when he shall tread in our palaces,
He wants to be the king. He’ll be in the palace, believe me.
then shall we raise against him seven shepherds, and eight principal men.
“hmmm. I wonder… ooh, Bullinger. How many of you think a lot of E.W. Bulllinger? Do you know what his comment regarding this verse is? When it comes time for us to know what this means, we’ll know. I think the time has come for us to know what this verse means. How many elect are there? 7000. Now that can be any number. Don’t get me wrong. Boy I mean if there’s just 7000… wow! Then there’s a lot of them in this same room. 7000 is just a number. But with 7000 elect and we add 1, Melchezadek, the King of the Zadok, then how many is that? It’s 8, is it not? I think you’ve got a part in this.
Micah 5:6 And they shall waste the land of Assyria with the sword,
What sword are we talking about? Revelation chapter 1 verse 16, that two-edged sword, the tongue of Christ that cuts both ways. When your tongue holds that same truth it’s the same sword beloved. He’s got a role for you in this.
and the land of Nimrod
That’s Assyria and Babylon.
in the entrances thereof: thus shall he
Christ.
deliver [us] from the Assyrian, when he cometh into our land, and when he treadeth within our borders.
Claiming to be Jesus. Claiming to our king. Deceiving the world.
Micah 5:7 And the remnant of Jacob
That’s you, the elect.
shall be in the midst of many people
Whoa! What are these many people? We’re talking about the kings and queens of the ethnos.
as a dew
Do you know what dew is? That’s a real pure form of water… unless we pollute it.
from the LORD, as the showers
Whoa, wait a minute… latter day rain maybe?
upon the grass, that tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men.
It’s not dependent on men in other words.
Micah 5:8 And the remnant of Jacob
That’s you.
shall be among the Gentiles in the midst of many people as a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep: who, if he go through, both treadeth down, and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver.
Whew. That doesn’t sound very Christian at all does it? The weapon beloved is the truth. That’s what we were talking about on that threshing floor. It’s the truth that separates the good from the evil. There’s a separation coming. And thank God we don’t want the wicked and the evil in the eternity. So take part in that. And you know when someone hears the truth, the truth often offends people, God’s word often offends people. My thoughts to that are so what? It’s always good for them. And hopefully they’ll see the error of their ways and turn it around. Here’s a promise, verse 9:
Micah 5:9 Thine hand
This is referring to the remnant, the elect.
shall be lifted up upon thine adversaries, and all thine enemies shall be cut off.
And I do mean ALL of your enemies. And note that cut off is used 5 times over the next verses as we close, and that 5 in biblical numerics means grace.
Micah 5:10 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD, that I will cut off thy horses out of the midst of thee, and I will destroy thy chariots:
Ezekiel chapter 38 and 39, the battle of Armageddon. Excuse me that's Hamon-gog in Ezekiel, Armageddon in Revelation. Whose battle is it at that point? It’s not yours and mine, it’s time to stand back and say go get ‘em Lord, because He’s going to do it. Why is He going to do it? Because He wants everyone to know that He is real. As we go into the eternity He wants people to know HE is God, and stop this nonsense of all the idolatry that’s going around in the world. I think He’s going to make believers out of them.
Micah 5:11 And I will cut off the cities of thy land, and throw down all thy strong holds:
No more wicked, no more evil.
Micah 5:12-13 And I will cut off witchcrafts out of thine hand; and thou shalt have no [more] soothsayers: Thy graven images also will I cut off, and thy standing images out of the midst of thee; and thou shalt no more worship the work of thine hands.
And that will include the image of the beast in Revelation 13.
Micah 5:14 And I will pluck up thy groves
The places where they practiced pagan, spiritual spring festivals; rolling Easter eggs on Easter instead of celebrating the Passover as we are doing here.
out of the midst of thee: so will I destroy thy cities.
Ginsberg says thy cities here should have been translated thy idols. 15 to conclude:
Micah 5:15 And I will execute vengeance in anger and fury upon the heathen, such as they have not heard
Thus concludes this lesson.