Category: Assyrian captivity

The Kingdom of God is Within You #5

Tuesday, July 15, 2025

“Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21 KJV).

Is there really a “mis-translation” in the King James Bible here?

One chastisement idolatrous Israel faced was the loss of political might in the Earth: “And if ye will not yet for all this hearken unto me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins. And I will break the pride of your power [political disaster]; and I will make your heaven as iron, and your earth as brass [agricultural/economic calamity]:…” (Leviticus 26:18,19). This governmental collapse was achieved through a series of events spanning 350 years.

Firstly, King Solomon (immediately inheriting the Davidic Covenant) constantly engaged in idolatry, thereby originating Israel’s political destruction (1 Kings 11:1-13). With Solomon dead, Israel’s 12 tribes divided. Ten northern tribes followed a new king (Jeroboam, Solomon’s servant), creating the Kingdom of Israel; the remaining two (southern) tribes formed the Kingdom of Judah, which remained loyal to the Davidic dynasty (Rehoboam, Solomon’s son) (1 Kings 12:16-20). Secondly, Israel’s northern kingdom was lost to the Assyrian troops (2 Kings chapter 17), whereas Judah’s southern kingdom fell to the Babylonian armies a century later (2 Kings chapters 24 and 25).

Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar thrice attacked Jerusalem, deposing three consecutive descendants of David (Kings Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah). “Thus saith the Lord GOD; Remove the diadem, and take off the crown: this shall not be the same: exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high. I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him” (Ezekiel 21:26-28). Messiah/Christ will reclaim David’s throne (“until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him”).

In Daniel chapter 2, the Prophet learns how God gives Israel’s political might in the Earth to successive Gentile world-powers—Babylonians, Medians–Persians, Greeks, and so on. “And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever” (Daniel 2:44). Yet, as the Pharisees knew, Jesus, “Son of David,” destroyed no government during His three-year earthly ministry….

I Will Love Them Freely #5

Friday, June 6, 2025

“I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him” (Hosea 14:4 KJV).

Behold, the LORD God’s free love for the nation Israel!

Earlier in Hosea (4:17), “Ephraim is joined to idols”—and God wanted that Northern Kingdom to be left alone in that pagan idolatry they desired. They would soon face judgment under the Assyrian Captivity (as in 2 Kings 17:1-23). As Hosea’s Book draws to a close now, however, Ephraim has a believing remnant (especially in the ages to come) confessing and forsaking that foolish sin of idolatry of their forefathers. Hosea 14:8 reads: “Ephraim shall say, What have I to do any more with idols? I have heard him, and observed him: I am like a green fir tree. From me is thy fruit found.” “Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwellingplaces, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God” (Ezekiel 37:23).

“And it shall be at that day, saith the LORD, that thou shalt call me Ishi [husband]; and shalt call me no more Baali [my lord]. For I will take away the names of Baalim [idols] out of her mouth, and they shall no more be remembered by their name” (Hosea 2:16,17). Ephraim’s idols could not hear, for they were dead and deaf, but the living LORD has heard and saved Ephraim (cf. Psalm 115:1-11). The evergreen fir tree (Hosea 14:8) symbolizes that living LORD as the answer to Israel’s spiritual and functional death. Again, Israel is seen prospering in God’s literal, physical, visible, earthly, Davidic kingdom. Israel’s model prayer is thus, Matthew 6:9-13: “After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.”

We reach the final verse of Hosea now….

No Shepherd for Israel! #6

Wednesday, July 17, 2024

“Then he said, I did see all Israel scattered upon the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd: and the LORD said, These have no master; let them return therefore every man to his house in peace” (2 Chronicles 18:16 KJV).

Why does Israel have no shepherd?

Moving up through Israel’s history, the nation’s religious leaders habitually filled its people with centuries of worthless religious tradition. Whether apostate Levites (the priestly tribe, who should have been teaching and copying Scripture), or false prophets (whose empty words distracted them from God’s pure words), or formalistic Pharisees (who were obsessed with works-religion and self-righteousness), or aristocratic Sadducees (who wallowed in skepticism, doubting the supernatural), all were shepherds who had failed miserably to communicate spiritual knowledge, spiritual wisdom, and spiritual understanding to their people. We also recognize the negligence of many of Israel’s kings (north) and Judah’s kings (south), who themselves were quite busy in being poor spiritual examples.

As touching King Ahab, whose evils his heathen wife Jezebel had inspired (1 Kings 16:29-34; 1 Kings 21:25,26), the LORD would (and did) eliminate him from the throne because his idolatry contributed to Israel’s Assyrian Captivity (part of the curses of the violated Law of Moses). Ahab was no true spiritual shepherd, but, now, he would be gone physically too (see today’s Scripture). He is a preview or type of the Antichrist, who will be the final satanic spiritual-political leader of Israel.

The Antichrist is known as “a foolish shepherd” and “the idol shepherd:” “And the LORD said unto me, Take unto thee yet the instruments of a foolish shepherd. For, lo, I will raise up a shepherd in the land, which shall not visit those that be cut off, neither shall seek the young one, nor heal that that is broken, nor feed that that standeth still: but he shall eat the flesh of the fat, and tear their claws in pieces. Woe to the idol shepherd that leaveth the flock! the sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye: his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened” (Zechariah 11:15-17).

When Christ returns and destroys the Antichrist, Israel will again be without a shepherd….

The Centurions #4

Monday, February 19, 2024

“And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him,…” (Matthew 8:5 KJV).

What are “centurions?”

After persistent pagan idolatry—disobedience to the Law of Moses—the nation Israel gradually lost its political might in the Earth. This was one of the punishments or curses of the Law (see Leviticus 26:14,15,17-19,23-25,27-39). Beginning in Judges 2:11-15, after the Israelites worshipped and served Baal and Ashtaroth (their neighbors’ heathen idols), Gentile armies begin invading the Promised Land and conquering Israel. By the time of Samuel and Saul, the Philistines are triumphant. Under David, however, Israel enjoys victory; under Solomon, Israel experiences peace.

Eventually, upon Solomon’s death, Israel splits into two kingdoms (10 tribes of Israel in the north, two tribes of Judah in the south). The idolatrous northern tribes are exiled to Assyria, whereas the idolatrous southern tribes are deported to Babylon. David’s throne is lost to Gentiles until Christ’s return, as disclosed in Daniel 2:36-45. The LORD God has now removed Israel’s political blessings, and a series of Gentile rulers govern Israel in the Promised Land.

As world history testifies, Babylonians (Nebuchadnezzar) conquer Israel, Medians-Persians overthrow Babylonians, Greeks defeat Medians-Persians, and the Romans overpower the Greeks a few centuries before Christ. Caesars—the Roman emperors—have replaced King David’s sons as monarchs. The Roman centurions and their military subordinates therefore patrol Israel’s land during Christ’s earthly ministry and Acts. Those centurions or Roman military leaders serve as a constant reminder to Israel of their nation’s political fall. By maintaining submission, order, and peace, the centurions ensure the Israelites serve the emperors’ best interests.

There was a Roman military post in Capernaum (northern shore of the Sea of Galilee); thus, a centurion appears there in today’s Scripture. Rome’s political/administrative capital in the land of Israel was Caesarea (on the Mediterranean Sea)—Cornelius’ residence in Acts chapter 10. As many as 1,000 Roman soldiers lived in a fort at Jerusalem, equating to 10 centurions. Some of these troops escorted Paul from Jerusalem to Caesarea in Acts chapter 23. One such centurion conveyed Paul and other prisoners by sea from Caesarea to Rome in the closing chapters of Acts.

We can offer another notable reason for centurions in the Holy Scriptures….

God’s Profaned Name #5

Saturday, August 12, 2023

“And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, saith the Lord GOD, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes” (Ezekiel 36:23 KJV).

How was God’s great name “profaned among the heathen?” In what way will He “sanctify” it?

The word “name” denotes all that the person, place, or thing is. For example, read Exodus 34:5-7: “And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.”

When the LORD proclaimed the name of the LORD, it was not God repeating over and over, “The LORD! The LORD! The LORD!” No, rather, it was an enumeration or listing of everything the LORD was and is—He is full of mercy, grace, longsuffering, goodness, truth, and so on. These are His attributes, characteristics, or traits. All that He stands for, all that He does, all that He believes is wrapped up in His great name.

Once Israel officially became the LORD’S nation coming out of Egypt and the Red Sea, whatever they did would either exalt the LORD’S name (righteous living) or tarnish it (sinful living). Unfortunately, like all sinners, they were not perfect, so the (Mosaic) Covenant of Law was doomed right from the start. God knew it, but they refused to accept it. When their evil deeds finally resulted in eviction from the Promised Land (a poor reflection of JEHOVAH God’s name), they continued their sinful acts in the Gentiles’ lands (another poor reflection of JEHOVAH God’s name). In the eyes of the non-Jews, the God of Israel (the one true God) was no different from their idols. Israel so miserably (!) failed (!) to be God’s light to the world, but God in His faithfulness will accomplish His will in the Earth through Israel regardless….

God’s Profaned Name #4

Friday, August 11, 2023

“And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, saith the Lord GOD, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes” (Ezekiel 36:23 KJV).

How was God’s great name “profaned among the heathen?” In what way will He “sanctify” it?

After Israel’s departure from Egypt, her people chose to enter a covenant relationship with the LORD God: “Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel…. And all the people answered together, and said, All that the LORD hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the LORD” (Exodus 19:5,6,8). Obedience would bring blessings, but disobedience would merit curses, as elaborated on later in Leviticus chapter 26 and Deuteronomy chapter 28.

True to His promise to remove the Jewish people from the Promised Land because of their habitual violation of the Law of Moses, the LORD God meted out the fifth and final course of chastisement or judgment (see Leviticus 26:27-39; Deuteronomy 28:62-65; cf. Leviticus 18:24-28; Leviticus 20:22-24). Now, as this curse took effect, the land of Palestine would be vacant, with the Israelites exiled or scattered to Assyria (north) and Babylonia (east).

Nevertheless, the LORD God states in today’s Scripture how the Jewish people continued their evil ways outside of Palestine. As they lived amongst the heathen or Gentiles, the Israelites were not reflections of the Creator’s will. When the nations observed this nonsense, they could not help but snicker and mock. Instead of, “What a wise and understanding people” (Deuteronomy 4:6), it was “What a foolish and clueless people!” Israel did not walk in her identity the LORD gave her coming out of Egypt (separation from sin, Satan, and the world). She wanted to be like everyone else—and she indeed thought and acted like everyone else.

Israel “profaned” the name of the LORD in this manner….

The Assyrian #3

Wednesday, May 17, 2023

“For through the voice of the LORD shall the Assyrian be beaten down, which smote with a rod” (Isaiah 30:31 KJV).

Who is this “Assyrian?”

Another “Assyrian” about which Isaiah the Prophet wrote is King Sennacherib: “Now it came to pass in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah, that Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the defenced cities of Judah, and took them” (Isaiah 36:1). This was approximately 702 B.C., some 20 years after Assyria had already captured Israel’s 10 northern tribes (2 Kings chapter 17). Now, in King Hezekiah’s day, another King of Assyria has come into power, and he seeks to conquer Jerusalem (southern tribes). “And when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib was come, and that he was purposed to fight against Jerusalem,…” (2 Chronicles 32:1).

Hezekiah advises his people: “Be strong and courageous, be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him: for there be more with us than with him: With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the LORD our God to help us, and to fight our battles. And the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah king of Judah” (2 Chronicles 32:7,8).

Additionally, Hezekiah prays to the LORD to intervene and save Jerusalem from otherwise certain doom (2 Kings 19:15-19; Isaiah 37:15-20). “And for this cause Hezekiah the king, and the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz, prayed and cried to heaven. And the LORD sent an angel, which cut off all the mighty men of valour, and the leaders and captains in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned with shame of face to his own land. And when he was come into the house of his god, they that came forth of his own bowels slew him there with the sword. Thus the LORD saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib the king of Assyria, and from the hand of all other, and guided them on every side” (2 Chronicles 32:20-22; cf. 2 Kings 19:32-36; Isaiah 37:33-38).

When Assyrian King Sennacherib and his troops encircled Jerusalem, the LORD defended and spared the city for David’s sake. In today’s Scripture, yet future from us, JEHOVAH God will again deliver Jerusalem from an “Assyrian….”

Whom God Helps #5

Friday, August 26, 2022

“These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep” (John 11:11 KJV).

Behold, he whom God helps!

When Israel agreed to enter a covenant relationship with JEHOVAH God at Mount Sinai, the following was spoken in Exodus chapter 19: “[5] Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: [6] And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel. [7] And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the LORD commanded him. [8] And all the people answered together, and said, All that the LORD hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the LORD.”

Since Israel preferred that works-religion (perform to get the blessing, sin to receive the curse), that is exactly what the LORD gave them. Ignoring God’s grace (what He had already done for them to make them His people), they assumed they could and would make themselves His people. However, as the centuries passed, the Jewish people corrupted the Promised Land with their idols, so the final punishment was instated as per Leviticus 26:32,33: “And I will bring the land into desolation: and your enemies which dwell therein shall be astonished at it. And I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you: and your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste.” Failing to obey the Law of Moses, they were now cursed. God deported them from the land via invading Gentile armies (especially Assyrian and Babylonian). The Fifth Course (Phase, Stage) of Chastisement began.

Therefore, in Acts 2:5-11, we read of Jews visiting Jerusalem for the feast of Pentecost, these foreigners having come “out of every nation under heaven.” In today’s Scripture, Christ’s earthly ministry, that global scattering of Israel has yet to be reversed. The nation must be revived and returned to live in the Promised Land, just (!) as (!) Lazarus (!) himself (!)….

Our latest Bible Q&A: “Can you explain ‘durst?’”

The Good Samaritan #4

Friday, August 20, 2021

“But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him” (Luke 10:33,34 KJV).

How can this classic passage, the Parable of the Good Samaritan, enlighten us concerning God’s purpose and plan for the nation Israel?

Circa 722 B.C., the Assyrian Captivity of Israel’s 10 northern tribes began. Scripture says in 2 Kings chapter 17: “[23] Until the LORD removed Israel out of his sight, as he had said by all his servants the prophets. So was Israel carried away out of their own land to Assyria unto this day. [24] And the king of Assyria brought men from Babylon, and from Cuthah, and from Ava, and from Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel: and they possessed Samaria, and dwelt in the cities thereof. [25] And so it was at the beginning of their dwelling there, that they feared not the LORD: therefore the LORD sent lions among them, which slew some of them. [28] Then one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and dwelt in Bethel, and taught them how they should fear the LORD. [29] Howbeit every nation made gods of their own, and put them in the houses of the high places which the Samaritans had made, every nation in their cities wherein they dwelt.” (See also verses 30-32.)

After removing Israel from the Promised Land, the King of Assyria settled Gentiles therein. These idolatrous heathens subsequently intermarried with the Jews, creating a hybrid religious system of paganism and Mosaic Law. Children resulting from these unions were the Samaritans of Christ’s earthly ministry. Such national/religious differences caused great animosity between these “half-Jews/half-Gentiles” and the pure-blooded Jews. As chapter 4 of John bears out, “For the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans” (verse 9). Therefore, to a Jew, Jesus making the Samaritan a “hero” in that famous parable was the equivalent to Him commending a Gentile!

Now, let us delve into the symbolism….

Confession Confusion #4

Thursday, June 24, 2021

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9 KJV).

Lo, the chief proof-text of the “short-account system!” (And how to look at it afresh, without [!] denominational eyeglasses!)

Continue reading Leviticus chapter 26, the fifth course of chastisement commencing: “[27] And if ye will not for all this hearken unto me, but walk contrary unto me; [28] Then I will walk contrary unto you also in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins. [29] And ye shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters shall ye eat. [30] And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your images, and cast your carcases upon the carcases of your idols, and my soul shall abhor you. [31] And I will make your cities waste, and bring your sanctuaries unto desolation, and I will not smell the savour of your sweet odours. [32] And I will bring the land into desolation: and your enemies which dwell therein shall be astonished at it. [33] And I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you: and your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste.”

When Israel finds herself under Gentile dominion and dispersed throughout foreign lands (Assyrian and Babylonian Captivities circa 700/600 B.C.), God tells her how to be restored to Him: “[40] If they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, with their trespass which they trespassed against me, and that also they have walked contrary unto me; [41] And that I also have walked contrary unto them, and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if then their uncircumcised hearts be humbled, and they then accept of the punishment of their iniquity: [42] Then will I remember my covenant with Jacob, and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will remember the land.”

Confession of sins is Israel’s admission of guilt of breaking the Old Covenant, worshipping and serving idols. Once she humbles herself and acknowledges her sin problem (learning the lesson of the Law of Moses), then God by His grace delivers her into the New Covenant….