Did God get it wrong about Donald Trump?

In the months leading up to the Presidential election, numerous Christians claiming to have the gift of prophecy predicted that President Trump would be re-elected. Among these were:

 

·         Pat Robertson (The 700 Club)

·         Kris Vallotton (Bethel Church, Redding, CA)

·         Jeremiah Johnson (Jeremiah Johnson Ministries)

·         Sid Roth (host of “It’s Supernatural”)

 

Many other lesser-known Christians took to social media to share their own prophecies of a Trump victory. Well, today, on Inauguration Day 2021, we can say clearly that these prophecies did not come to pass. What are to make of this observation? If so many prophets agreed in their prediction yet the prediction was not accurate, a disturbing question arises: did God get it wrong about Donald Trump?

 

Perhaps we should ask a different question: are claims of modern-day prophecy actually legitimate?

 

It is this second question that I want to address in this post, because I believe the answer to that question is “no.” I do not believe that the gift of prophecy is still in operation today. (This position is called “cessationism” since it affirms that spiritual gifts like prophecy, healing, and speaking in tongues ceased at an earlier time in church history. The affirmation that such gifts continue is called “continuationism.” We didn’t get very creative with our titles in this area of theology!) In light of the very public prophecies made by those named above (among others), I invite you to consider with me just what has happened here, and that the problem actually lies with a mistaken belief in the continuation of the gift of prophecy.

 

(NOTE: To their credit, both Kris Vallotton and Jeremiah Johnson have now publicly apologized for their recent prophecies of a Trump win. See https://religionunplugged.com/news/2021/1/12/charismatics-are-at-war-with-each-other-over-failed-prophecies-of-trump-victory)

 

I always approach posts like this with a bit of unease since I am now publicly declaring a disagreement with some people whom I respect and care about. On this issue, that group would include personal friends as well as respected continuationist theologians like Wayne Grudem, Gordon Fee, and Craig Keener. I have been blessed by the ministries of the men just named, so I don’t take disagreement with them lightly; nevertheless, it is where I stand.

 

Since this post seems destined to be rather lengthy, let me give you the outline so you can scroll ahead to later sections if you wish:

 

Why address this question?

1.      The world has heard these prophecies and taken note of their failure

2.      Failed prophecies can weaken the faith of believers

3.      The question of modern-day prophecy has big implications for a local church

 

Why I don’t accept the validity of modern-day prophecy

1.      The fact of failed prophecies

2.      The conviction that Scripture is all we need for doctrine and behavior

 

Why address this question?

 

1. The world has heard these prophecies and taken note of their failure.

 

Do a simple Google search for “failed prophecies about Donald Trump” and you’ll find blog posts, letters to newspapers, and other articles in which non-Christians are gloating over the failure of these prophecies. I fear that serious damage has been done to the credibility of Christianity in the eyes of those who don’t believe.

 

It’s one thing to play the role of pundit and get it wrong. In that role, you are only claiming to have keen personal insight; it is only your reputation that’s on the line. But when you play the role of a prophet, you’re putting God’s reputation on the line as you claim to speak for Him. The esteem that others have for Him will correspondingly take a hit when a prophecy is proven false. I grieve when I read the condescending words of those who mock the Christian faith after observing those who mistakenly think they have heard a prophecy from God.

 

2. Failed prophecies can weaken the faith of believers.

 

I also grieve as I consider what those who believed these prophecies must be thinking. Whenever someone expects God to do one thing but He does another, that person’s faith can be shaken to its core. Sometimes a person’s faith doesn’t survive the disillusionment.

 

A failed prophecy can raise all kinds of faith-weakening questions. Did God not know enough to make the right announcement to His prophets? Did He have a plan in mind but He just wasn’t powerful enough to bring it to pass? Is He not wise enough to communicate to His prophets in an unmistakable way? Any of these questions will lead to a diminishing of God if you let them take root in your mind—but they are all strongly implied in a failed prophecy. If you let them run to their logical conclusion, you end up with a God who doesn’t inspire worship, so consequently, some people just stop worshipping Him.

 

I fear that many believers today just don’t appreciate how serious a claim it is to claim to speak in the name of God. It is a serious business with potentially everlasting consequences. If you claim to give someone a message from God and set them up to have false expectations, you may unwittingly become an accomplice to the unraveling of their faith.

 

3. The question of modern-day prophecy has big implications for a local church.

 

Every local congregation of Christians has to answer the questions, “What should we teach?” and “What should we do?” As a pastor, I want to teach my congregation everything that God has truly revealed. I grieve just knowing that some of my people have never read the entire Bible—if I thought we were missing out on new revelations from God through modern-day prophets, I would be beside myself! Man does not live by bread alone, according to Christ, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God (Matt 4:4). If God is truly speaking through modern-day prophets, there is no question what a church should do—it should catalogue and study these revelations just the same as we study the words of the prophets of old. A church would be unfaithful and irresponsible to do anything else.

 

The question of modern-day prophecy also has big implications for how a church makes decisions. Imagine the potential difficulties if one part of a congregation expects God to lead the church by means of only one source (the written Scriptures) but another part of the congregation expects God to lead the church by means of two sources (the written Scriptures and modern-day prophets). What happens when the modern-day prophet speaks? How could a church take unified action in that case?

 

Think of it like this: imagine two Colonels in the Army out in the field together leading troops. One Colonel believes the General will only communicate with them through a personal messenger; the other Colonel believes the General may communicate with them through a personal messenger or over the radio. If a message comes over the radio purporting to be from the General, how can the two Colonels take unified action? One of them doesn’t even believe the General intends to communicate that way!

 

You can see how this whole question of communication can present quite a quandary. Thus, it is really a vital question for a church—vital enough that a church really can’t avoid taking a side on the issue. People are claiming to speak new revelations in the name of the Lord, and we have to decide if we’re going to believe them or not.

 

Why I don’t accept the validity of modern-day prophecy

 

1. The fact of failed prophecies

 

These failed prophecies concerning Donald Trump are just the latest failed prophecies from those who claim to have the gift of prophecy today. Interestingly, most continuationists do not dispute that predictions from modern-day prophets have at times failed to come to pass. These instances are usually explained away through appeals to a non-literal interpretation of the prediction, interference with the fulfillment from the demonic realm, or a misunderstanding on the part of the prophet. At least one continuationist theologian (Wayne Grudem) has, since the late 1980’s, attempted to defend the idiosyncratic view that the genuine gift of prophecy in the NT yields prophetic statements that might be a mixture of truth and error! (For an excellent though somewhat technical critique of Grudem’s position, see https://www.tms.edu/m/tmsj2h.pdf)

 

This simple observation about failed prophecies puts modern-day prophecy in very hot water when we consider the test for a true word from God in Deuteronomy 18:21-22:

 

“And if you say in your heart, ‘How may we know the word that the LORD has not spoken?’--

when a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the LORD has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You need not be afraid of him.”

 

That final statement—“you need not be afraid of him”—must refer to future predictions from this so-called prophet. If the prediction under consideration has already failed to come to pass, then it is obvious that we do not need to heed that word. It would be redundant for God to state what the people would have already learned for themselves.

 

Thus, God was telling the people that they need not fear any later predictions from this person. This observation creates a standard of 100% accuracy for a true prophet of God. If a person claims to be delivering a revelation from God but makes a false prediction even once, he or she is disqualified from being a genuine prophet. This standard is one that modern-day prophets demonstrably have not met; thus, I conclude that the genuine gift of prophecy must not be in operation today.

 

2. The conviction that Scripture is all we need for doctrine and behavior

 

Historic Protestantism has always taken its stand on sola Scriptura—Scripture alone as our authority for doctrine and behavior. This claim about Scripture’s sufficiency for such needs seems only proper in light of statements like 2 Timothy 3:16-17:

 

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete [other translations: adequate, thoroughly equipped, thoroughly furnished], equipped for every good work.”

 

If the written Scriptures are enough revelation to make us adequate and thoroughly equipped for every good work, what need is there for further revelation through prophets today? A defense of continuing revelation can only amount to an affirmation that Scripture is not all the revelation we need to learn what God wants us to know about Him and His plans; that Scripture is not sufficient to allow us to make wise decisions about how we should behave. As I mentioned earlier, if modern-day prophets possess the genuine gift of prophecy, we should be hanging on to their every word in the same way that we seek to hang on to every word of the written Scriptures.

 

If you’re reading this and you’re Protestant, please consider two observations. First, you should already be comfortable with the claim that God ceased to give new revelations during at least one period in the past—the Inter-Testamental Period, those 400 years between the time of Malachi and the ministry of John the Baptist. If God ceased to give new revelations during that time, it should not be shocking to consider that He may have ceased again after the New Testament was completed.

 

Second, consider that many of the doctrinal differences that you as a Protestant have with other groups stem from claims of ongoing revelation. Progressive/Liberal Christians view the Scriptures not as a unique, once-for-all revelation from God but as a time-bound, historically-conditioned record of encounters with God that can still be expected to happen today (and that might correct erroneous viewpoints that Christians held in the past). The Roman Catholic Church teaches that God might still give new, binding, authoritative revelations to the faithful through the Magisterium of the Church. This belief is the source of distinctive Roman Catholic viewpoints on Mary and the saints, among other issues. Then of course there are the pseudo-Christian cults that rely on post-biblical writings or modern-day prophets as sources of revelation. So historic Protestantism has been unique in its emphasis on the sufficiency of Scripture, and I believe this emphasis must be sounded again to correct the misunderstanding of those who would promote a continuation of the gift of prophecy.

 

I realize that what I have written here is not all that could be said on this subject and it won’t settle the matter to everyone’s satisfaction, but this much at least needs to be said in this moment. You may have believed the prophecies about Donald Trump and might be very disillusioned today. Rather than allow your disillusionment to color your thoughts about God, I urge you to consider that what I have said is true—that the fault for failed prophecies lies not with God, but in a very unfortunate misunderstanding about the continuation of the gift of prophecy. 

A Tour of the New Heaven and New Earth--Heaven Series

            In our neck of the woods, we’re not all that fond of cities. We like the shopping and the restaurants in places like Wichita or Kansas City, but on the whole we would just as soon avoid cities if we could. When we think of cities, we think of traffic jams, overcrowding, and crime. Many of us could have moved to a city at some point in time, but we prefer to live in a place like Montezuma.

            So when we read Revelation 21-22 and learn about our future home with God, we may feel a small sting of disappointment when we discover that most of the information describes a very big city! We might prefer to read about a grain elevator made of gold, but I think any disappointment will quickly disappear as we read these inspiring chapters.

            Today, we’re going to go on a tour of the New Heaven and New Earth as they’re described in Revelation. We’ll read about a spectacular city with its foundations and walls, and we’ll get a glimpse of what may lie beyond those walls. Join me in Revelation 21:1. We’ll read through 22:5, and I’ll stop and offer some comments along the way.

A Tour of the New Heaven and New Earth

            “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.” When you hear the words “passed away,” don’t think “went out of existence.” Think of the way that our bodies “pass away”—they die, but then they are resurrected in power and strength. I think our universe will have a similar transformation. I fear that I may have chosen my words poorly last week because I may have given you the impression that our universe will cease to exist, and then the new heaven and new earth will be created, but I don’t think that’s correct. I don’t believe this earth will be removed, but rather renewed—or in a very real sense, resurrected (in a very similar way to our bodies).

            Last week, we read in 2 Peter 3 about destruction by fire that will come upon our world. I believe we should conceive of that event as being similar to the way a wildfire or a forest fire cleanses an area and allows new growth and new life to spring up. I believe that is God’s plan for our world.

            The text goes on to say that in John’s vision, “the sea was no more.” That is a significant observation because the dominant feature of our planet is the sea! But this observation reminds us that our present-day seas or oceans are actually a result of God’s wrath! All of that water is from the flood of Noah’s day, an event that displayed God’s judgment upon mankind. But in the New Earth, that reminder of judgment will be taken away. Now that doesn’t mean that there won’t be lakes and ponds perhaps, because in just a bit we’re going to read about a river, but the New Earth will no longer have water as its dominant feature.

The Holy City—the New Jerusalem

            [READ v. 2] The fact that this city is called the “new” Jerusalem reminds us of the special place that Jerusalem has occupied in God’s plan. It was the capital of the Jewish nation, the seat of David’s throne—on which the Lord will reign in the Millennium. It was the site of Christ’s death and resurrection and the birthplace of the church, and one day it will be the place where Jesus will first set foot when He returns to this world. And so this city will bear the name of Jerusalem, where so many significant events have taken place.

            In v. 3, we begin to read some of the most familiar verses of this entire section [READ vv. 3-4]. “And he who was seated on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’” Obviously, that excludes the former things like death which were just said to have passed away. Those things will have no place in the New Heaven and New Earth, but the creation itself will be renewed into a new beauty that surpasses its old beauty.

            [READ v. 5b-8] Here we see a great distinction made among mankind. I will touch on this a bit more at the end of the sermon this morning, but for now simply note this—there is not one, universal destiny for mankind. Some people will be in Heaven, but some people will not. Please allow the gravity of that thought to sink into your heart, and we will revisit this reality in just a bit.

The Description of the City

            [READ v. 9-14] Notice that the city has a memorial for both of the groups through whom the Lord has primarily done His work in this world—the nation of Israel and the church. The names of the 12 tribes of Israel were on the gates of the city, and the names of the 12 Apostles were on the foundations.

            [READ v. 15-16] These dimensions describe a massive city, one that is actually larger than many countries in our world today. If this city were situated in the middle of the United States, it would stretch from the Gulf of Mexico into Canada and from the Appalachians to the Rockies! And notice that v. 16 says its height is the same—about 1,380 miles. Some of you may have heard about the man who recently broke the record for highest skydive. He was a mere 24 miles off the ground. The boundary between the atmosphere and outer space is commonly said to be 62 miles, so this measurement would seem to suggest one of two things—either the New Earth will be vastly larger than the present earth, or the composition of the atmosphere will somehow be different. Commentators disagree about whether the city will have a cube-like shape with all of its buildings reaching that height, or whether it will have more of a pyramid-like shape, like the city of Mont-St-Michel on the northwest coast of France. I’m inclined to think that it will have a pyramid shape with the throne of God serving as the focal point at the top, but either way, there will be plenty of room for all the saved people of the Earth to live there. If we were to divide the height of that city into stories and give a generous 20 feet to each story, the city would have 396,000 stories!

            [READ v. 17] That statement about measurement simply reminds us that the angel was using the same measurements that we use. The wall measures about 216 feet, which is very tall by our standards, but puny compared to the overall height of the city, but as we’ll see, the wall isn’t there for defense anyway—it serves a decorative purpose.

            [READ v. 18-21] Its hard to even imagine the beauty of such a place, especially as we read that it will constantly be reflecting light that shines from God Himself.

            [READ v. 22] The purpose of a temple, at least in the Bible, is that it is a place where the perfect God consents to have contact with imperfect humans. Think of it like a great hall in a palace where a king or queen may occasionally greet the public. A temple is a place of access to God, but it is a place of restricted access, where certain protocols and procedures have to be maintained. But in the New Heaven and New Earth, we will enjoy perfect fellowship with God, so such a place will not be needed.

[READ v. 23-26]. The mention of nations and kings in these verses raises some very interesting possibilities. Commentators have offered no less than 10 possible interpretations of these statements! Do they refer to nations in this world or do they refer to some kind of national identities in Heaven? I admit that this is some speculation, but my take on it is this—I think these verses refer to national identities in Heaven, whether they are retained from this life or whether we are re-organized into people groups in Heaven, and the kings would be believers who are appointed to lead those groups. If this is true, it would suggest that at least some of us—if not all of us—will settle on the New Earth outside of the New Jerusalem, but we will come together there for special times of worship and celebration. Thus, the New Jerusalem would have a role like that of Jerusalem in the Old Testament, where it was the gathering place for special times of worship, though most of the Jewish people actually lived elsewhere. The statement that the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it could describe something like a state fair in which people gather from far and wide to display their accomplishments and achievements.

So again, my take is this—we will be organized in some way into people groups, and some of us will be appointed to lead those groups. If it seems shocking to you to think that there may be leaders and subordinates in Heaven, just consider this—God has placed a leadership structure in everything that He has created! Angels apparently have a leadership structure, if we judge by the titles that are used to describe them in the Bible. Israel had a leadership structure, first with Moses and the elders of the tribes, then with a king. The home has a leadership structure, the church has leadership structure—even the members of the Trinity have a leadership structure for themselves. When Jesus walked the Earth, he said, “I can do nothing on my initiative…I do not seek my own will, but the will of him who sent me (John 5:30).”  God the Father and God the Son have the same attributes and abilities, but for the purpose of carrying out their plan for creation they have embraced an authority structure in which the Son carries out the will of the Father.

Now I confess that my interpretation of these verses could be wrong, but the next verse gives us a detail about which we can be absolutely certain [READ v. 27]. Once again we are warned that Heaven is not the universal destination for mankind. There are some who will not enter it—more on that thought in just a moment.

The River of Life

            As we move into chapter 22, the description now moves from the city as a whole to the central feature of the city—a river flowing from the throne of God [READ 22:1-2]. This breathtaking scene describes a wide street with a river flowing down the middle of it, lined on both sides by the tree of life. It seems that the tree of life is not simply one true but a particular variety of tree, like when we speak of apple trees or pear trees. Verse 2 says its leaves were for “the healing of the nations.” We should not take that to mean that there will be sickness in Heaven, but apparently our bodies will still need some kind of sustenance. It could be that we will receive some kind of medicine from those trees when we first enter Heaven, or our bodies may need some kind of ongoing sustenance—in the same way that Adam and Eve ate food when their bodies were still perfect. Either way, this area will apparently be like a Central Park in the city that we will get to enjoy.

            Finally, we read these words [READ v. 3-5]. Thus, the Bible ends the same way it began—with mankind sharing in God’s reign over His creation. The great drama of the Bible comes full circle as God completes His work of redemption, and humanity lives with God in the way that we were supposed to from the beginning—enjoying His presence, and reigning over the domain that He has entrusted to us.

            It is amazing when we discover that God’s original intention for us has not been set aside; His plans have not been thwarted. Instead, He will achieve them in spite of all opposition. So just as God intended, we will glorify Him and enjoy Him forever.

            But in the midst of this glorious vision, we cannot escape the reality that some people will not be allowed to enter Heaven. This is a sobering reality, but God extends to us all a gracious offer to find life through Him. In 21:6, the Lord states that he will give to the thirsty a drink from the water of life without payment, but there is a vital implication here—we must realize our need for it. Thirst is a metaphor for a real and imminent need; the need for water cannot go unmet for long before it has deadly consequences.

            In the same way, we must realize that we have a real and imminent spiritual need—the need to have our sins forgiven by God. Through our sins, we have broken God’s law, and as a fair and honest judge He cannot simply overlook these moral crimes. He must see that a fitting punishment is carried out. But because He loves us, He was willing to take our punishment for us and offer us a pardon, which He has done by sending the Lord Jesus, His own Son, into this world to die on the cross as the punishment for our sins and to rise from the grave as our hope for forgiveness and eternal life.

            The Lord will give us His pardon—He will give us the water of life—if we will simply acknowledge our need for it by repenting of our sins and placing our faith in His promise. If we do not receive His pardon, the only other option is that we will pay for our sins ourselves, and that sentence is described in v. 8 as being a place in the lake that burns with fire.

            We have a real and imminent need in our lives, and if we will accept God’s offer of salvation through Jesus, He will not turn us away! We will have a place in that great city—the New Jerusalem—which will be great because God is there. And as He promised, He will be your God, and you will be His child. Do not allow your imminent need of forgiveness to go unmet—trust in Christ today!

Advance Warning--Isaiah Series

Among students, few words inspire more fear and panic than the words “pop quiz.” We don’t like to be unprepared or caught off-guard, especially when something important like a grade is at stake. I know many adults still have nightmares about forgetting about a test—or how about those wacky dreams where you find out on the last day of the semester that you were enrolled in a class that you never attended!

 Most teachers are kind enough to announce major tests ahead of time so that students will have the opportunity to get ready for them. God acted in much the same way when He gave prophecies about the future in the Bible. God didn’t give us knowledge about future things so that we could impress our friends with charts about the end times! He revealed these details so that we can be prepared for these events and learn the right lessons from them—both before and after they take place.

 In Isaiah 44-48, God made some very specific prophecies about His plan for the Jewish people and the nations around them—prophecies that are so specific that critics of the Bible claim they must have been written after the fact. After all, the only other explanation is that the Bible is true and has a supernatural origin! Let’s read about these amazing prophecies and the lessons that God would have us learn from them. 

1. God offers specific prophecies about His plan for Israel (44:24-45:13; 46:1-7; 47:1-15)

 In this section of the book of Isaiah, God makes two very specific prophecies about His plan for Israel and the nations around them. First, He states that a man named Cyrus would one day act from a position of authority for the good of the Jewish people by allowing them to rebuild Jerusalem and the Temple of God. Now remember, in Isaiah’s day, the city of Jerusalem and the Temple were still standing. The city’s downfall had not yet taken place; this prophecy told of events that would happen almost 150 years down the road! [READ 44:24-28]

 Second, the Lord declared that Babylon would be suddenly overthrown from a position of security and dominance over other nations. Both of these prophecies were fulfilled by a man named Cyrus the Great, who was the king of the Persian Empire. Cyrus invaded and defeated Babylon and then issued a decree that any Jews living in his empire were free to return to Jerusalem and rebuild it. Turn with me to Ezra 1, and we’ll read a record of this decree [READ Ezra 1:1-4].

 I want to spend a bit more time discussing this idea of prophecy because it shows us just how unique the Bible really is. The fact that the Bible has made such detailed prophecies that later came true sets it apart from all other books and individuals who have tried to predict the future. All other so-called prophets have encountered one of two problems with their prophecies—either their prophecies were so vague that they cannot be proven true or false, or their prophecies just flat-out did not come to pass and were thus false prophecies.

 Nostradamus is a good example of a so-called prophet whose prophecies were too vague to be proven true or false. Nostradamus was a Frenchman who lived in the 1500’s, and he wrote many four-line poems called “quatrains” that were supposedly predictions of the future. Here is one example:

The young lion will overcome the older one,
In a field of combat in single fight:
He will pierce his eyes in their golden cage;
Two wounds in one, then he dies a cruel death.

 Think for a moment about the kind of event to which this prophecy could refer. Fans of Nostradamus claim that this prophecy was fulfilled by two kings fighting in a jousting match. Now, after I gave you that interpretation, you could read these words again and say, “Yeah, okay. That kind of makes sense.” But you could only say that after I told you the supposed interpretation. As it stands, this prophecy is so vague that it could refer to several different events and people. Notice how different this prophecy is from Isaiah’s prophecy—Isaiah mentioned a specific person named Cyrus, a specific country, a specific city, and a specific building. Its not hard to prove whether or not Isaiah’s prophecy came true.

 Other so-called prophets have made predictions that were specific but which simply did not come true. The prophecies of Joseph Smith are a good example of prophecies that did not come true. Joseph Smith was the founder of the Mormon church, and he made many prophecies about specific events that simply didn’t happen. For example, in the early 1800’s, he predicted that the city with streets of gold described in Revelation would be built in Independence, MO within a generation. Well, I used to live not far from Independence, MO, and I can tell you that it looks nothing like the city described in Revelation! His prophecy simply did not come true, but if we consider Isaiah’s prophecy, we can look in the history books and see that history played out precisely as Isaiah predicted it would.

 The fact that the Bible has specifically and accurately predicted the future reveals just how unique this book truly is. God has given mankind glimpses of His plan before that plan has actually unfolded, and even today we are looking forward to prophecies about the future that still await fulfillment. But why has God revealed prophecies like these that we read in Isaiah? Well, God gives us an explanation for that question as well.

2. God explains why He has given these prophecies (45:4-7; 48:3-5, 11, 17-19)

 First, in Isaiah 45:4-7, God states that He has revealed these events to show His unique identity as the one true God [READ 45:4-7]. When these events would come to pass and people would discover that God had prophesied them more than a century in advance, they would have clear proof that the God of Israel is unique—greater than all the other so-called gods whom people might worship.

The prophecies of Scripture can have the same effect today. Easter and Christmas give us a great opportunity to proclaim that Jesus’ birth, death, and resurrection not only happened, but they were actually the fulfillment of prophecies that were made centuries in advance. The events of Jesus’ life were not only significant by themselves, they were also significant because they were part of a larger plan that God announced beforehand, so that when they happened, we could see His deity on full display.

Second, the Lord states that He announced these events in advance so that when they happened, the credit for them could not be given to any other so-called gods [READ 48:3-5, 11]. The scenario that the Lord describes here is not hard to imagine. Remember—the people of Israel lived with so-called gods all around them. It was normal at that time for people to worship any number of different gods. So when these events came to pass, the Jews could have been tempted to give credit for them to other so-called gods, and so God prophesied these things in advance so that when they happened, it would be obvious that He was behind them.

Third, the Lord stated that He had announced these events to His people so that He could bless them. God wanted His people to trust Him and obey Him so that He could bless them; thus, He gave them these prophecies so that they could change their ways and be ready for Him to act [READ 48:17-19]. Can you hear the grieving heart of God as He laments the blessings that His people had thrown away? Like a kind teacher who wants her students to succeed rather than fail, God had instructed His people and given them advance warning so that they could ace His test! He warned them about discipline to come so that they would repent, and He told them about blessings to come so that they would have the hope to stay on the narrow way.

The fact that God gives us advance warning about things to come shows us that He desires to save rather than condemn. If God simply wanted to condemn us, He could leave us totally in the dark about the future, and then one day His judgment would fall on us without any warning and that would be the end of the story. But God desires to save and forgive, and so we see Him in this passage extending a call far and wide for people to come to Him and be saved. 

3. God invites all people to embrace Him as the one true God (45:20-23)

Please follow along as I read 45:20-23 [READ 45:20-23]. Notice the boundless extent of God’s offer of salvation! He extends His invitation far and wide, inviting all people to embrace Him as the one true God, casting aside all other things that they may worship to be reunited with their Creator and pardoned by Him. Every other object of worship in this world is powerless to save us from the guilt of our sins; thus, it is absolutely crucial that we embrace God as the one and only source of salvation, for to place our hope in anything else is to place our hope in a mirage and a façade—an unreal imposter.

I think the apostle Paul really said it best in Acts 17 when he was calling for a group of philosophers to leave behind their idols and embrace the living God. Please turn there with me [READ Acts 17:22-31]. There has never been any excuse to doubt that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—the God of the Bible—is the one true God, but now God has given us the ultimate demonstration of this truth through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And as Paul said, God now commands all people everywhere to repent, because God is going to judge the world by the Lord Jesus Christ. Your response to Jesus is the determining factor of your verdict from God. According to John 3:36, God’s criteria for judgment is very simple—“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”

My friend, you must realize today that anything you may worship apart from Jesus cannot save you. He is the only one who can save, and you can receive His salvation from sin and from Hell by confessing how wrong you have been to sin against Him and acknowledging that He alone can save you on the basis of His death and resurrection. Confess your rebellion against Him, accept Him as the only God and Savior, and you will have His pardon today!