17th Avenue ‘graffiti bridge’ in Pensacola, FL

Whatever you do, do it unto the LORD..

a message of hope

The hopeless season of COVID-19 the world is living in…

The history…

On Jan. 11, 2020: China reports first death from novel coronavirus.

On Jan. 21, 2020: first confirmed death in the united states.

Today, 184 countries have been affected, 1,622,167 confirmed cases, with 97,264 deaths world wide.

In the US alone 467,184 confirmed cases and 16,736 deaths.

On Apr. 2, 2020 the US reached a new benchmark with 1,000+ deaths in a single day.

The problem…

When the world, a nation, or it’s people find themselves in the midst of a grievous calamity, they soon begin to realize, their strength is not in the arm of flesh.

When the Psalmist was confronted with the same, he cried out… “unto thee, lift I up mine eyes, O thou that dwellest in the heavens… have mercy upon us O LORD, have mercy on us!” Psalm 123

The statistics…

According to World Health Organization, every year there is an estimated 40-50 million abortions in the world. This is approximately 125,000 abortions per day. Every minute of every day, approximately 100 babies are murdered by abortion alone!

According to National Right to Life, the consequences of Roe v. Wade since 1973, is 61,628,584 abortions in the US alone.

In the last 47 years, this 61 million+ averages out to 1,311,246 per year or 3,592 per day.

The lie…

“When a woman is pregnant, that is not a human being inside of her” Alexandra Desanctis, National Review

The Truth…

“Lo, children are a heritage of the LORD, and the fruit of the womb is His reward”! Psalm 127:3

The word heritage in the Hebrew is something that is inherited like a piece of property, a possession, an heirloom.

The word reward, is translated payment of a contract, compensation, the price or wages paid to one who is worthy to receive.

Notice the fruit of the womb is not the reward of the parents or grand parents, it is the LORD’s… it is His heritage and His reward.

The world is killing His heritage and His reward!

May God have mercy on the world when the vial is filled with His indignation.

The remedy-

“If my people which are called by name shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then  will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land”. 2 Chron. 7:14

When the world, a nation, or it’s people does not regard His outstretched arm, nor regard His counsel and reproof, He will laugh at their calamity, and will mock when their fear cometh!

He that hath ears to hear, let him hear what the Spirit saith!

brother malachi

The Perfect Gift for Christmas!

“Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift” II Corinthians 9:15

Every good gift and perfect gift is from above and cometh down from the Father of light, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. Of His own will begat He us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures. But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name: which were born not of blood, nor the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

Yeshua was that true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. So receive The Light, lest ye walk in everlasting darkness!

malachi

 

 

 

 

 

‘the suppression of light continued’

I posted this in 03/2009. We are some 6 years later and see the spiritual degradation that has taken place in the United States of America. It will only get worse, less she repent and turn from her wickedness.

Kim Davis is only a testimony that we are at a level 2. It will get much worse with each passing day.

Consider speaking for the word of God.

http://www.mikehuckabee.com/FreeKimDavis

brother malachi

A Word From Malachi

On March 22, 2009 I posted a report from the Associated Press ‘the suppression of light brings forth utter darkness’ concerning the Obama administration’s endorsement of a U.N. declaration calling for the worldwide decriminalization of homosexuality.

Comments from the article detailed the administration expressed a concern for human rights around the world by saying…

Well, anyone that keeps up with the persecution of Christians through out North Korea, China, India, Iraq, Africa, etc… will understand that our government does not only care about the inhumane acts perpetrated against the body of Christ, but has taken a ‘blind eye’ approach to these heinous human right violations.

How can something so blatant receive nothing more than this ‘blind eye’ view?

It is because we are living in a world that is dominated by a spirit of darkness. In order for this darkness to prevail, light must be suppressed.

I have been considering…

View original post 604 more words

to be in the balance of God’s judgment and found wanton

In the epistle to the Romans the Apostle Paul speaks to the dangers of an individual or a nation, that has been given a clear understanding of who Yahweh is, and then turns their back on Him.

Rom 1:17  For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
Rom 1:18  For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
Rom 1:19  Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
Rom 1:20  For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
Rom 1:21  Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
Rom 1:22  Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
Rom 1:23  And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
Rom 1:24  Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:
Rom 1:25  Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
Rom 1:26  For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:
Rom 1:27  And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meet.
Rom 1:28  And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
Rom 1:29  Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,
Rom 1:30  Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
Rom 1:31  Without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:
Rom 1:32  Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

Contained in the portion of scripture is a vivid picture of how the United States of America has handled the true and living God. Rest assured, this flippant handling of God will not go without consequences, and grave it will be.

Consider God’s handling of Israel, in Samaria-

In 845 B.C. the king of Syria encamped around Samaria prohibiting any goods from going in and no one from coming out, that they might break the backs of Israel.

2Ki 6:24  And it came to pass after this, that Benhadad king of Syria gathered all his host, and went up, and besieged Samaria.
2Ki 6:25  And there was a great famine in Samaria: and, behold, they besieged it, until an ass’s head was sold for fourscore pieces of silver, and the fourth part of a cab of dove’s dung for five pieces of silver.
2Ki 6:26  And as the king of Israel was passing by upon the wall, there cried a woman unto him, saying, Help, my lord, O king.
2Ki 6:27  And he said, If the LORD do not help thee, whence shall I help thee? out of the barnfloor, or out of the winepress?
2Ki 6:28  And the king said unto her, What aileth thee? And she answered, This woman said unto me, Give thy son, that we may eat him to day, and we will eat my son to morrow.
2Ki 6:29  So we boiled my son, and did eat him: and I said unto her on the next day, Give thy son, that we may eat him: and she hath hid her son.
2Ki 6:30  And it came to pass, when the king heard the words of the woman, that he rent his clothes; and he passed by upon the wall, and the people looked, and, behold, he had sackcloth within upon his flesh.

‘In the balance of God’s judgment and found wanton’. The judgment was so grievous they were left to eat the fruit of their loins.

It is important to understand that God told them what would happen if “when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened”…

Found in Deuteronomy 28:15-68 ‘the fruits of disobedience’.

Deu 28:15  But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:

Deu 28:53  And thou shalt eat the fruit of thine own body, the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters, which the LORD thy God hath given thee, in the siege, and in the straitness, wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee:

The fruit of disobedience can be very catastrophic. Some may say, this warning is not issued to America but the nation Israel… and you  think that God will wink at America’s willful shaking of her fist in His face?

We would be better served if we repented and pleaded for His mercy.

brother malachi

when the bow tie becomes a symbol of hate

Photo is one of the numerous pictures of murder Dyllann Roof’s web site http://lastrhodesian.com/.

I have intentionally given some time for the political dust to settle surrounding the horrific events of Emmanuel AME in Charleston, SC before posting these opinions. As I listened to the political pundits begin to dissect the events after Dyllann Roof was arrested, I was taken aback by where they laid the blame.

Following his brutal savagery at the Emmanuel AME Church in Charleston, SC, there was a national fire storm lead by Walmart to remove the confederate flag from their store. These actions were quickly followed by Amazon, Sears,  EBay, Etsy, Target, Spencer Gifts, and others, as if an inanimate object of fabric, fashioned in a banner, and hung on a stick is the crux of the matter.

The thought process that is spreading like wildfire, is that the confederate flag is a symbol of hate and that Dyllann’s obsession with the confederacy is what wrought him to commit such a grievous act. So if we can remove the confederate flag from our society, it will give no one else the reason to hate and commit such a heinous act. If any one reading this post has a ounce of common sense, they would realize this thought process is ludicrous. There are hundreds of thousands that are engaged in the historical accounts of the Confederacy and many that even participate in Civil War reenactments, yet would never engage in such atrocities that happened in Charleston.

The problem with the pundits in our society, is that they don’t understand what hate is and where it originates. For the answer, one only need to turn to the Architect’s blue-print for life.

In the Matthew’s account of the gospel, the religious folk of Jesus’ day came and asked Him why His disciples did not was their hands when they ate bread?, to which Jesus responded…

“Hear, and understand: Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man…  Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught? But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with un-washen hands defileth not a man.

The content of a person’s heart is what dictates their actions. Whether it is an act of love or hate, it originate in the heart, and manifest itself through the acts of the individual. What determines the content of ones heart, is not a flag that flies in their yard or the images on the cloths they wear, it has to do with the resident spirit in an individual’s heart and that is either a spirit of Christ or Satan.

Consider the words of Jesus when the religious leaders sought to kill Him.. “you do the works of your father the devil”. Herein lies the problem, the society does not want to acknowledge the spiritual conflict, so they cannot discern the sign of the times

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Confusion of faces:

A man in Louisiana is asking for an explanation from Walmart after his request for a Confederate flag cake at one of its bakeries was rejected, but a design with the ISIS flag was accepted.

Chuck Netzhammer said he ordered the image of the Confederate flag on a cake with the words, "Heritage Not Hate," on Thursday at a Walmart in Slidell, Louisiana. But the bakery denied his request, he said. At some point later, he ordered the image of the ISIS flag that represents the terrorist group.

"I went back yesterday and managed to get an ISIS battleflag printed. ISIS happens to be somebody who we’re fighting against right now who are killing our men and boys overseas and are beheading Christians," Netzhammer said.

A spokesman for Walmart told ABC News, "An associate in a local store did not know what the design meant and made a mistake. The cake should not have been made and we apologize."

"That’s an ISIS battleflag cake that anybody can go buy at Walmart," Netzhammer explains in a video posted on YouTube showing the sheetcake. "But you can’t buy a Confederate flag toy, with like, say, a ‘Dukes of Hazzards’ car."

Netzhammer, 48, of Pearl River, Louisiana, told ABC News, “I’m not doing this out of hate for Walmart. They are choosing what’s offensive or not. If a Muslim walked in a Walmart and saw pork, they would think that’s offensive.”

Netzhammer, who is unemployed and previously worked as a car and heavy equipment mechanic, said, “I am your everyday Joe.”

Last week, companies like Walmart, Amazon, Etsy and eBay announced that they were banning sales of Confederate flag merchandise in the wake of the shooting death of nine African Americans in Charleston, South Carolina, on June 17, allegedly by a racist gunman who was seen in photos wearing the flag.

"We never want to offend anyone with the products that we offer," Walmart said in a statement last week as it announced the ban. "We have taken steps to remove all items promoting the Confederate flag from our assortment — whether in our stores or on our web site."  abcnews.go.com

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Does anyone think Walmart is sorry that they made a cake with the ISIS battle flag, but would not do the same for the confederate flag, or that their ignorance was what brought to light this revelation of hypocrisy?

When chaos and spiritual ignorance rules the thought process of a society, this foolishness will abound, for chaos manifest ignorance and ignorance propagates the fruit of confusion.

Consider the Gold Gym tank top shirt Dyllann Roof is wearing in the above photo. What if Planet Fitness began a movement to shut down any and everything associated with Gold’s Gym due to accusations that Gold’s Gym has fostered a spirit of hate and drove Dyllann to commit this violent act of murder? Sound utterly ridiculous?… one would be correct.

What will be next, a shirt donning an image of Malik Zulu Shabazz, national chairman of the radical New Black Panther Party, or maybe the infamous Louis Farrakhan? Mr. Farrakhan thinks the debate ought not be over the Confederate, but the American flag. He thinks the American flag should be abolished as it is a symbol of hatred and oppression.

 

At the Metropolitan AME Church in Washington, DC on Wednesday, Louis Farrakhan, the leader of the Nation of Islam stated in his speech – “I don’t know what the hell the fight is about over the Confederate flag. We need to put the American flag down. Because we’ve caught as much hell under that as the Confederate flag,” comments that were meant with cheers and applause. He added, “Who are we fighting today? It’s the people that carry the American flag.”

Audio of Louis Farrakhan speaking before the Metropolitan AME Church in Washington, DC on 6/24/15

From this photo, one might construe that ‘bow ties’ are a symbol of hatred and oppression? There is a petition to have Walmart remove them from their shelves.

All of this verbiage surrounding the flags is nothing more than spiritual smoke and mirrors, a precursor to the Word of God. With each day America finds it to be quite offensive… “for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God”.

What is one to do? Dwell in the secrete place of the Most High, abide under the shadow of the Almighty. You will find Him a refuge, a fortress, a God in whom you can trust. His name is Yeshua ha Mashiach.

brother malachi

America, a nation headed for overthrow

What does a nation in bondage look like?

Let all the earth fear the LORD: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.  For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.  The LORD bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought: he maketh the devices of the people of none effect. 
The counsel of the LORD standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations. 
Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance. 
The LORD looketh from heaven; he beholdeth all the sons of men. 
From the place of his habitation he looketh upon all the inhabitants of the earth.  He fashioneth their hearts alike; he considereth all their works. There is no king saved by the multitude of an host: a mighty man is not delivered by much strength.  An horse is a vain thing for safety: neither shall he deliver any by his great strength. 
Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy; To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine.

A nation that was once blessed of the LORD, but she has since forgotten Him, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which they were obligated to do.

 
A nation that has eaten and is full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein;  A nation whose herds and flocks, silver and gold, and all that she has, has been multiplied;

Then her heart was lifted up, and she forgot the LORD her God, which brought her forth into a prosperous land, from a house of bondage; 
She was led of the LORD, time and time again through periods of great uncertainty and chaos; He walked with her through the wilderness and carried her when she could not go in her own strength, that he might prove unto her, to do unto her good at thy latter end.

But she said in her heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth. She would do well to remember the LORD her God: for it is he that giveth her power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto her fathers, as it is this day. 

And it shall be, when she forgets the LORD her God, and walks after other gods, and serve them, and worships them, The LORD testifies against her, that in that day she shall surely perish.  As the nations which the LORD destroyed before her face, so shall she perish; because she would not be obedient unto the voice of the LORD her God.

When it goeth well with the righteous, the city rejoiceth: and when the wicked perish, there is shouting. By the blessing of the upright the city is exalted: but it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked.

A nation ready for the overthrow, and may God have mercy on America!

brother malachi

“it is the voice of a god, and not of man”

photo- supreme court ruling on homosexual marriage. a.abcnews.com

Rom 1:17  For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
Rom 1:18  For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
Rom 1:19  Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
Rom 1:20  For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
Rom 1:21  Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
Rom 1:22  Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
Rom 1:23  And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
Rom 1:24  Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:
Rom 1:25  Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
Rom 1:26  For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:
Rom 1:27  And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.
Rom 1:28  And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
Rom 1:29  Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,
Rom 1:30  Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
Rom 1:31  Without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:
Rom 1:32  Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

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His eternal power and Godhead has been revealed to America, so that we are without excuse.

Our willful rebellion against God has left us a nation that has conjured up vain imaginations of who God is and what He thinks,thereby making decisions that are foolish and contrary to the clear teaching of His word.

For this cause God has turned our nation over to a reprobate mind. A nation that is imprisoned by our vain and evil thoughts. Minds and actions that have succumb to every kind of wickedness, sin, deception, malicious behavior, a nation that has positioned itself as a hater of God.

A nation that has heard of God’s pending judgment, yet chooses to  shake its fist in the face of God, not only by participation of the wickedness, but by proliferation of the same through it’s laws is very unwise. For by the blessing of the upright the city is exalted; but it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked. America has made herself ready for “the overthrow”.

photo- news.com.au

For the highest court in the land, to know what God’s word says and diametrically oppose it, is not only the epitome of rebellion, but is willfully choosing to place it’s people under God’s reprehensible judgment.  

Act 12:21  And upon a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and made an oration unto them.
Act 12:22  And the people gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of a god, and not of a man.
Act 12:23  And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost.

It is appointed unto man once to die… then the judgment!

Oh LORD, forgive us of our sin.

brother malachi

the vision of malachi

Blood Moon- 10.08.2014

A prophetic view from a word from malachi-

The vision of Malachi, which he saw concerning America in the days of Bush (the elder), Clinton, Bush (the younger), and Obama, presidents of the United States of America. 
Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me. 
The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but America doth not know, my people doth not consider. 
Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward. 
Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. 
From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment. 
Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers. 
And this United States is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city. 
Except the LORD of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah. 
Hear the word of the LORD, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah. 
To what purpose is your worship unto me? saith the LORD: I loathe your Easter and Christmas cantatas; and I delight not in your vacation Bible school. 
When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts? 
Don’t come to Sunday morning worship services, Sunday school or mid-week Bible studies; it is iniquity, even the revival meetings. They are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them. 
And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood. 
Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; 
Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. 
Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. 
If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: 
But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it. 
How is the faithful city become an harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers. 
Thy silver is become dross, thy wine mixed with water: 
Thy government officials are rebellious, and companions of thieves: every one loveth gifts, and followeth after rewards: they judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them. 
Therefore saith the Lord, the LORD of hosts, the mighty One of Israel, Ah, I will ease me of mine adversaries, and avenge me of mine enemies: 
And I will turn my hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin: 
And I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counselors as at the beginning: afterward thou shalt be called, The city of righteousness, the faithful city. 
America shall be redeemed with judgment, and her converts with righteousness. 
And the destruction of the transgressors and of the sinners shall be together, and they that forsake the LORD shall be consumed. 
For they shall be ashamed of the oaks which ye have desired, and ye shall be confounded for the gardens that ye have chosen. 
For ye shall be as an oak whose leaf fadeth, and as a garden that hath no water. 
And the strong shall be as tow, and the maker of it as a spark, and they shall both burn together, and none shall quench them.

I pray America will repent, if there is any healing in her bruise and if not, may God will have mercy on her.

brother malachi

the sign of Jonah…

Image: Complements of the Blogosphere

We have all heard the ole’ adage “seeing is believing”, but I have not found that to be true when it comes to the spiritual realm.

In the Gospel of Matthew 12:22-24, one is brought unto Jesus who was possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and He healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw.

Matthew goes on and states “all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David? But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.” Now ‘all the people’ and the ‘Pharisees’ saw the same event, but their take on what had just happened before their very eyes was quite different.

Following this miraculous event of the man possessed with the devil, the religious folk make the following request…

 

Mat 12:38  Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee.
Mat 12:39  But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:
Mat 12:40  For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
Mat 12:41  The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.
Mat 12:42  The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.

 
In essence the religious folk were thinking, if they could see a mighty work from Jesus, it would assure them of who He said He was, but Jesus told them to be looking for THE SIGN of the prophet Jonah. Now no speculation is needed as to what the sign was? “For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth”.

So how did the religious leaders handle ‘this sign of Jonah’…?

Resurrection Sunday-

Mat 28:11  Now when they (the followers of Christ) were going, behold, some of the watch came into the city, and shewed unto the chief priests all the things that were done.
Mat 28:12  And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave large money unto the soldiers,
Mat 28:13  Saying, Say ye, His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept.
Mat 28:14  And if this come to the governor’s ears, we will persuade him, and secure you.

The events of the resurrection were met with the same willful spiritual ignorance as when the man was brought unto Him that was possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and He healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw. Even though the sign was openly manifest, the religious folk could NOT comprehend.

Some time later the Pharisees and Sadducees prompted Jesus again that He might show them a sign. Again Jesus responds that the only sign that will be given is THE SIGN of the prophet Jonah.

Mat 16:1  The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would shew them a sign from heaven.
Mat 16:2  He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red.
Mat 16:3  And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?
Mat 16:4  A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed.

Now it would be easy for one to think that Jesus was referring to the “three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth”.

I beg to differ. I think there is another sign associated with Jonah that can only be gleaned when one studies the actual account of Jonah being sent of God to that great and wicked city of Nineveh.

If you are familiar with the story you remember that Jonah did not go at first, when he was instructed of God to preach the pending judgment of Nineveh, he instead went to Joppa and boarded a ship headed to Tarshish.  It was along this journey that Jonah was introduced to the great fish and spent three days and three nights in its belly before being regurgitated back to life.

Now when he finally arrives at Nineveh after his intended cruise to Tarshish, he begins a three day journey preaching the pending judgment of God upon the city in forty days. Now there is not one mention in the scripture of any mighty work that Jonah did other than to preach the message that God had sent him to preach.

So what other sign of Jonah would have manifested itself in Nineveh? Simply the fact my friend, that when Nineveh heard of God’s most certain judgment, they BELIEVED and repented and turned from their wickedness. They simply believed that Jonah was a prophet of God, and the word of God spoken by Jonah was TRUE!

With regard to the religious leaders of Jesus’ day, they heard, yet their minds were immersed in a spiritual stupor and refused to believe. The Messiah was standing before their very eyes, having proved His validity with undeniable signs and wonders, but they did not believe, that the prophecy might be fulfilled… “he hath blinded their eyes and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart and be converted”.

It is my opinion that if you do not desire the later sign, you can not and would not believe the former.

My friend, do you know Him? Have you ever heard of Him? There is no other name given under heaven, whereby men may be saved.

brother malachi