A Lesson from the Life of King Zedekiah “Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay” (Ecclesiastes 5:5). By Percival Blenman It might be the weekend, and you are headed to the supermarket when you stumble upon a friend you have not seen in months. As you open your mouth to say “Hello,” you realize that you made a promise to that friend months ago that you completely forgot to keep. If you have […]
Learning from the Mistakes of Others Most of us learn by experience. Wise men learn from other people’s mistakes. Rehoboam vs. Jeroboam I. We see both good and bad examples for us in Rehoboam. Solomon, his father, had made Israel wealthy and famous, which would have been a hard act to follow. When faced with a wearied people, he did wisely in asking advice from the older advisors and also the younger. Yet afterwards he should have inquired of God. Thence he […]
A Listing Babylon destroyed Jerusalem and its last king, the wicked Zedekiah. Yet, Babylon was itself later to be destroyed, and Israel is to be delivered. Babylon’s sins are listed (Jeremiah 50‑51). Therefore, the Lord’s people are called to come out of Babylon (Jeremiah 50:8, 51:6, 45) at the time of harvest (Jeremiah 51:33). In the Gospel Age, this period of the call begins with Christ’s return (Revelation 18:1‑5).
A Time Prophecy Question The Hebrew word yom is usually translated “day,” though sometimes “year,” or “annually.” Per Gesenius, the derivation is apparently from yacham, meaning “heat.” Thus, we speak of the heat of the day around noon or mid-afternoon, or the heat of the summer as the warm part of the year. Hence, prophecies of “days” may be understood as either 24-hour days or as years, according to the reader’s understanding of the context. As mentioned in the article above, Protestants […]