" Woe to you who long
for the day of the Lord!
Why do you long for the day of the Lord?
That day will be darkness, not light. It will be as though a man fled from a lion
only to meet a bear"
- Amos 5:18-19
That Day When We Jump From the Frying Pan
Often people talk about how excited they are about the return of the Lord, but Amos warns
the people of his day concerning their miscalculation of what this Day of the Lord would be like.
Amos said the Day of the Lord would not be a day of light (think rainbows and butterflies NOT),
but it would instead be a day of darkness. Amos said it would be like escaping from a lion to get eaten by a bear. We could say it would be like jumping from the frying pan into the fire. Escaping today’s temporary worldly problems could be considered escaping the lion or jumping from the
frying pan only to have to deal with eternal, spiritual problems (ex. being eaten by a bear; landing
in the fire). These bigger problems will include a personal evaluation by the Lord himself. For many people the real problems and the true failures will suddenly appear, not disappear when Jesus returns.
In context, Amos was rebuking the people of Israel who assumed the Day of the Lord was
going to be God’s judgment on the other nations and the restoration of Israel. Amos says
that this is not the whole story, because Israel would also be undergoing judgment and
evaluation on that day. The Israelites of Amos’ day had a false sense of security based
on a faulty theological understanding of God’s intentions for the Day of the Lord. This same presumption prevented the Jews of Jesus day from understanding his words, his warnings
and his invitation to salvation.
"Some of the [heretics] … simply deny the Law and the Prophets for the sake of their lawless and impious doctrine. And under the pretense of grace, they have sunk
down to the lowest
abyss of perdition." – Caius (250 AD)
The Babylonian Talmud indicates that Rabbis served also as the physicians and were very creative prescribing strange prescriptions.
Olam (Hb) - Eternity (Eng) - The Hebrew word olam means in the far distance. It is difficult or impossible to see what is into the distance beyond the horizon and, so it is with the future. The word olam is also used for time in the distant past or future for the same reason: it is difficult to know or perceive. Olam is translated as "eternity" or "forever," but the Western mind understands the English translation to mean a continual span of time that never ends. In the Hebrew mind olam is simply what is at or beyond the horizon and a very great distance away.
A portion of a scroll of John's Gospel used in 125 AD still exists. It is called the John Ryland Manuscript. It is a small fragment of papyrus with John 18:31-33 on one side and John 18:37 on the back. The Greek words from 125 AD are exactly the same Greek words translated in your Bible today.
Do I recognize God's justice and anger with sin during the day?
Because I will someday, if not immediately, face God's judgment I will avoid sin and rebellion.
"When there were no oceans, I (Wisdom) was given birth, when there were no springs abounding with water...I was there when he set the heavens in place."
Proverbs 8:24-27
Mozambique - Bible translations and leadership training
Galyn Wiemers points at a projection left on an ashlar. These rock projections (one on both sides of the block) would have served as handles for the workers to attach ropes in order to pull and then lift the ashlar block into place. Several ashlars on the south and east side (particularly in the southeast corner) of the
Temple Mount can still be seen. (click on image for larger size)
A close up of the Trumpeting Stone that was found directly under the southwest corner. The Hebrew inscription can be clearly seen on the railing. It is read right to left, and says:“For the place of trumpeting to . . .”
This was the corner railing located at the top of the southwest corner of the Temple Mount. The Jewish priest would stand infront of the inscription and sound the trumpet to announce the beginning and closing of Sabbath days and feasts.
Josephus describes this place on the Temple Mount wall when he writes:
Above the roof of the priests’ chambers, . . . it was the custom for one of the priests to stand and to give notice, by sound of trumpet, in the afternoon of the approach, and on the following evening of the close, of every seventh day, announcing to the people the respective hours for ceasing work and for resuming their labors. - Josephus IV:9:12
Jesus' brother, James, the author of the book of James was pushed over the railing of the Temple Mount to his death. It may have been from this trumpeting stone that he fell in 63 AD.
