The Plumbline

We saw his majestic splendor with our own eyes when he received honor and glory from God the Father. The voice from the majestic glory of God said to him, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.” We ourselves heard that voice from heaven when we were with him on the holy mountain. Because of that experience, we have even greater confidence in the message proclaimed by the prophets. You must pay close attention to what they wrote, for their words are like a lamp shining in a dark place—until the Day dawns, and Christ the Morning Star shines in your hearts. Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet’s own understanding, or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God. (2 Peter 1:16-21 NLT) If you have ever thought, "Gosh, those Old Testament prophets were so hard to understand. Maybe we don't need to study those books quite as much," then hear me out. As we read in ...

  36   “However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows." (Matthew 24:36) Last night, I caught a short clip on the TV about all the stuff that is the works for this Saturday - the supposed date of the Lord's Second Coming!  According to the report, the propagator of this sensationalism (a California church leader) is touting that he knows that the "end of days" is happening this Saturday!  Hmmm....I wonder how he does that when even the angels and Christ himself don't know when they will receive their "marching orders" for his return!!!  And what is absolutely amazing is the up-tick in "business" around this supposed  second coming of Christ! Search the infamous "Craig's List" website and you will find hundreds advertising a "safe house" for the rapture, emergency water and food caches, etc.  But...I had to share this most pr...

4-5  He turned to Jehoshaphat and said, "Will you join me in fighting for Ramoth Gilead?"  Jehoshaphat said, "You bet. I'm with you all the way—my troops are your troops, my horses are your horses." He then continued, "But before you do anything, ask  God  for guidance."   6  The king of Israel got the prophets together—all four hundred of them —and put the question to them: "Should I attack Ramoth Gilead? Or should I hold back?"  "Go for it," they said. " God  will hand it over to the king." (I Kings 22:4-6) This is just a short passage from the twenty-second chapter of I Kings.  It is just enough to set up the story before us this morning.  In encourage you to read the chapter in its entirety.  King Ahab is in control of Israel and Jehoshaphat is reigning over Judah.  Jehoshaphat was allied with Ahab through marriage (arranging for his son to marry Ahab's daughter) and was the fourth king of Judah (the southern king...