"When Wise and Good Men Are Betrayed into Intemperate Passions"

Continuing my Bible study in Job:

(Job 11:1) Then Zophar the Naamathite answered and said, (2) "Should not the multitude of words be answered? And should a man full of talk be justified? (3) Should your lies make men hold their peace? And when you mock, shall no man rebuke you?"

A third friend of Job speaks, and much rougher than the first two. He insinuates that Job is just a babbler, talking with a great many words, but not really saying anything. More severely, he even accuses Job of lying and mocking! As demonstrated in a previous study lesson, this is how NOT to comfort a friend in distress! In an early Bible commentary, Matthew Henry says it beautifully, "It is sad to see what intemperate passions even wise and good men are sometimes betrayed into by the heat of disputation, of which Zophar here is an instance."

This may be a good time to point out that I prefer the early commentaries, 18th century or before. Although I realize that people at any era can be mistaken, it seems to me that in latter times, they are more apt to err in important doctrinal issues. As men were more readily recognized and gained fame for their "wisdom", it seems their pride grew and some wanted to be the first to discover something never before found in the scriptures. Frankly, I believe that is what happened with regard to the doctrine of a pre-tribulation rapture. It was an idea first dreamed up in the 1800's that had religious speakers scrambling to be the first to spread the new doctrine to make a name for themselves. But the well-read and studied commentaries of the 1700's make no mention of a pre-trib rapture. It's amazing how many people believe in a rapture before the Second Coming of Christ now because that is what they have been taught. You can bet this was a tool of Satan's. I have read that in a 1933 issue of the Moody Monthly by the Moody Bible Institute, there was an article that said that Christians did not need to take a stand at the time on whether or not to recognize atheistic Communist USSR, because the Second Coming would resolve the problem. Imagine what that kind of promoted belief did to allow evil to run rampant in the world and to immoralize our culture! Christians need not make a stand on any of the issues of the day because they would be raptured away anyway!

(4) "For you have said, 'My doctrine is pure, and I am clean in Your eyes.' (5) But oh, that God would speak, and open His lips against you, (6) And that He would show you the secrets of wisdom, that they are double to that which is! Know therefore that God exacts from you less than your iniquity deserves."

Zophar tells Job that although he believes himself to be clean and pure, God's wisdom is double-fold or infinitely exceeding the wisdom of man, and He would tell Job where he had erred. After all, he says, God chastises and afflicts much less than Job's sin deserves, insinuating that his sin must be great, even though he does not see it.

(7) "Can you by searching find out God? Can you find out the limits of the Almighty? (8) They are as high as heaven; what can you do? Deeper than hell; what can you know? (9) Their measure is longer than the earth and broader than the sea. (10) If He cuts off, and shuts up, or gathers together, then who can hinder Him?"

Paraphrased, "Do you really think you can understand the depths of Almighty God? In whatever He does, there is no man who could stop Him."

(11) "For He knows vain men; He sees wickedness also. Will He not then consider it? (12) For vain man would be wise, though man be born a wild ass's colt."

God knows the hearts of men. He can see the wickedness of evil men when people may not. Zophar is asking Job if he doesn't think that God would have to act when He knows the wickedness of a man. Whether the meaning here is that vain empty man would be wise if it weren't for the fall, or whether only as a gift from God, either way, of himself, he is born into this world without understanding and wisdom.

(13) "If you prepare your heart, and stretch out your hands toward Him; (14) If iniquity be in your hand, put it far away, and let not wickedness dwell in your tents; (15) For then shall you lift up your face without spot; yes, you shall be steadfast, and shall not fear;"

Zophar continues in his insinuation that Job has sinned and brought his calamity upon himself, but if he will repent and return to God, then Job in all good conscience, can have confidence and be rooted and grounded in the Lord, and will therefore have nothing to fear.

(16) "Because you shall forget your misery, and remember it as waters that pass away;"

With that renewed confidence and steadfastness in the Lord, the peace and rest that ultimately comes with it will make the pain of his afflictions a fleeting memory.

(17) "And your life shall be clearer than the noonday; you shall shine forth, you shall be as the morning. (18) And you shall be secure, because there is hope; yes, you shall dig around you, and you shall take your rest in safety."

Whether "dig" here means to literally dig, or one of the original word's other meanings, to delve into, search out, or explore, the implication is that Job will be able to do his work in peace and safety.

(19) "Also you shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid; yes, many shall make suit unto you. (20) But the eyes of the wicked shall fail, and they shall not escape, and their hope shall be as loss of life."

Paraphrased, "In the rest and safety of the Lord, none will make you afraid. Although many will come to you with their supplications and petitions, you shall have confidence that the wicked will fail; therefore you will have nothing to fear.

That is, Zophar has insinuated, if Job would only repent of his sin!

In the Last Days Perilous Times Shall Come

This week was full of news that shows we are in very perilous and very shaky unstable times, times when good is called evil and evil good:

This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. - 2 Timothy 3:1

Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! - Isaiah 5:20

The news surrounding the Libya ordeal is astounding and not as is being reported by the mainstream media. There has been no bigger murderer of the Jewish people since Hitler than Gadhafi, yet our president dragged his feet when it came to speaking out against him. He had no trouble calling for Murbarak to step down, who had been an ally of the US. It seemed perhaps he had been shamed into doing something when France and England began to act. Then came the U.N. no-fly zone resolution. It was after that when Obama put Gadhafi on notice! I'm sure Gadhafi was shaking in his boots! Obama was so quick to turn over the reins to someone else that you had to wonder if it was just a wink to Gadhafi, especially given some of the investigations that have shown ties between Gadhafi and Obama, or at least those close to him. Now come reports that Obama's handling of the Libyan conflict may be part of a bigger plot to finally bring about a one-world government through a military doctrine called "Responsibility to Protect", which promotes global governance while allowing the international community to penetrate a nation's borders under certain conditions. Libya is a testing ground for the doctrine. The following World Net Daily articles more fully explain the implications of the doctrine and name some of the far-left radicals behind it.

Soros Fingerprints on Libya Bombing
Another Stunner Behind Obama's Libya Doctrine
Libya Bombing an Attempt to Create 'New World Order'?

Imagine the possibilities! Especially when you consider the hostility toward the U.S. Add to the mix a president who is actively trying to destroy our country. When our economy and sovereignty are ultimately destroyed, we are just one of many equal countries, one among countries that hate us and that for which we stand. Obama is busy trying to destroy all that we originally stood for, as well. He is very deliberately trying to erase our Christian heritage and to erase God from our founding documents. See the following article with its many links to other articles for examples:

Is Obama Purging God from America 'By Design'?

Huge government control and bureaucracy removes freedoms and will be used to force us into a one-world system. Necessarily, the right to bear arms will have to be revoked so that the American people cannot revolt. You can see that in the works, but this week came news that may bring it about more quickly. Michelle Malkin has done tremendous investigative reporting on a huge Obama scandal that is being hushed by the mainstream media, Project Gunrunner. Tens of thousands have died in the Mexican drug wars, many killed with semi-automatic firearms our U.S. government provided! Now Americans are dying by the same firearms. When I read about all the anti-gun types involved in this scandal, I shudder to think our government may be sacrificing lives, some who are border patrol agents armed with beanbag guns, to further their attempts to get control of our guns.

Project Gunrunner: Obama’s Stimulus-Funded Border Nightmare

Speaking of sacrificing lives, we've long been sacrificing innocent babies for convenience. So some human lives are apparently dispensable, but daily I was hearing the news this week about the high school boys who sacrificed two baby chicks. PETA was outraged and they were talking about it in Australia, even! I'm not saying what they did was right, but does it rise to the importance of human lives sacrificed for convenience or political gain?

This week also came the news that Israel has released a map detailing almost 1,000 Hezbollah rocket and missile sites across southern Lebanon, many of which are situated near hospitals, homes and schools. It's a violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, but where is the UN and where is the outrage?

Map Shows Almost 1,000 Hezbollah Rocket and Missile Sites Across Southern Lebanon

A study was just released that shows there are 8 times as many attacks on Jews in the United States as there are attacks on Muslims, but we are holding Islamophobia hearings in the Senate!

Study Shows 'Islamophobia' in U.S. a Myth
'Islamophobia' Hearings Shaped by Radical Palestinian

Then on top of all the news last week, I received an email from Olive Tree Ministries telling me about a new book by a former member of a New Age church who "tells all" and who believes the antichrist "is already in the world awaiting mankind's call." The article that was emailed to me can be found here:

Waiting in the Wings

I love Olive Tree Ministries, but I do have to say, they are obviously believers in a pre-tribulation rapture, and I do not find substantial Biblical evidence for that. I have tried to get people to honestly debate that one with me, as I would really love to see what they see, but for now, I have to say that I see quite the opposite:

"Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory." - Matthew 24:29-30

As a direct answer to the question about the end of the world and the sign of Jesus's return, Jesus tells his disciples about the many tribulations to come and then specifically says that AFTER the tribulation, He will return. How does it get any clearer than that? How are these passages from Jesus Christ Himself reconciled by believers in a pre-trib rapture? I have not heard. Anyway, this is one of those doctrinal issues about which I can agree to disagree. I believe it can be a dangerous one for those who will be expecting Christ and may fall for a false one, but then again, those who know the Word of God well should not be deceived. After all, none of us see scripture 100% correctly at this stage of the game:

For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. - 1 Corinthians 13:12

As my husband always reminds me regarding this issue, we all must be ready right now, because our lives can be snuffed out today in any number of ways. If you are ready for your Lord today, you will be ready for Him when He returns, if you do not falter, and endure till the end:

"But he who endures to the end shall be saved." - Matthew 24:13