Scripture
Babylon will become a heap of ruins, a haunt of jackals, an object of horror and hissing, without inhabitants.
~Jeremiah 51:37, NASB
Quote
History is the unrolled scroll of prophecy.
~James A. Garfield
When it comes to Messianic prophecies, Isaiah is second to none but when it comes to the kingdoms of this world, Jeremiah’s prophecies are incredible. They are beyond human comprehension. How did he do it and why can’t it be duplicated today? I am a preacher. I study the word and God speaks to me through His word and prayer. The messages I preach come from the overflow of my time with Him but I am not a prophet, not in the sense of Jeremiah, Isaiah or Ezekiel. I heard a TV preacher say some 30 years ago that Germany would always be divided because of their treatment of the Jews and I was ignorant enough to repeat what he said. Ronald Reagan was more of a prophet than myself, He said in his famous Berlin speech…General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall! Mr. Reagan made that speech on June 12, 1987 and the wall came down two years later.
Ancient Babylon was one of the Seven Wonders of the world. Herodotus, a Greek historian in 450 BC, wrote… “Babylon surpasses in splendor any city in the known world.” The wall around the city was 56 miles long and 320 feet high. The wall was so broad {80 feet} that they could have chariot races on the top; it was equivalent to a four lane highway. Jeremiah predicted, “Babylon’s thick walls will fall down flat. It high gates will be set on fire.” He also predicted that after its destruction, it would uninhabited forever. This is incredible. No one has ever attempted to rebuild the great city. It is more or less a desert. Jeremiah died long before the prophecy was fulfilled yet he spoke of these events like he was reading them from a news paper. How do we explain this? Only one explanation that I know of: God inspired him.
I head a story once that went like this…A King was asking his chamberlain, “How do we know there is a God?” The chamberlain said, “The Jews Sire, the Jews.” How can you explain the survival of the Jews when so many have made it their mission to destroy them. Ezekiel compared Israel’s enemies to lions. The first lion was Egypt, then there was Assyria, then Babylon, and we can add Hitler, Stalin and now Islam to the long list of Israel haters. All these political entities vowed to annihilate Israel. You can also throw the Philistines and all the Canaanite Tribes into the mix and yet Israel has survived. Jeremiah sent them a letter before he died telling them not to give up. He assured them that God would take care of their enemies and He would also take care of them. The Jews have been divinely and providentially protected; there is no other explanation. No one is going to destroy them. Anyone who attempts to destroy them will bring destruction upon themselves. This I believe without a doubt.
We went down into coal mining country yesterday. Brett Tidwell’s grandmother was laid to rest on a beautiful hill top very near an area where they once mined coal. My neighbor Ray Edwards says that at one time, when coal was to the economy what oil is now, Jasper had more millionaires per capital than any place in America. We did see some beautiful old homes. I was a bit shocked as I got on line to confirm Ray’s statement: Jasper is the same size as Hartselle, 14,000 plus in population. Actually, Hartselle is a tad larger population wise but Jasper seems much bigger to me. I thought it would be the size of Athens [21,000] at least. They have a Jim & Nicks BBQ and I saw two markets that I would like to visit. Brett told me at the game last night that Ray was right.
I went by to see our Church team play at Wilson Morgan and I must have given them moral support because they came back and won. It was 10-8 in favor of Flint when I left. I was afraid Popeye’s would close before I could get some spicy chicken wings. I love me some Popeye’s. They have the best biscuits in the world. Big Mama and Holly are heart broken: Ryder’s team got eliminated last night. They lost in the last inning 11-10. They played good.
Remember tonight is VBS Pre-registration. VBS begins next Monday morning.