The American Wisdom Series

Presents Amos

Do you believe we are in the last days? Do you think you are in good standing with the Lord? We are going to let Amos tell us the answers to those questions, just the way the Lord told him!

Amos means "burden" or figuratively "infliction", the application of which you will totally and completely understand by the time we are only part way through this informative book, but only if you will open your eyes and ears to see and understand the Word of God and the simplicity in the way our Father communicates to His children. One of those simple ways is that He had His prophets foretell us and place in writing all the things that would befall us in the final generation and THEN He had all those things "acted out" in type, like a play upon the stage (though they really happened) so that we could get a visual PICTURE of the way things would be spiritually in these last days. In fact, the apostle Paul made it a point to remind us that those things which happened unto our forefathers were types and ensamples for us to understand today:

1 Cor. 10:11
Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

So do you think you are in good standing?

[12] Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.

Take heed =  âëÝðùblepoôblep'-o  Strong's #991
A primary verb; to look at (literally or figuratively):—behold, beware, lie, look (on, to), perceive, regard, see, sight, take heed. Compare G3700.

John 14:15
If ye love me, keep my commandments.

John 14:23
Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

To that end, all that is really necessary to understand the simplicity of what the great Book of Amos is about is contained in the first two verses of chapter one which is easy unveiled to those who choose to "study to shew themselves approved unto God" and to do the work of "a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth (2 Tim. 2:15)".

You might say that the title and subject of Amos is contained in the "transliteration*" of the words of the names and places and titles in the first verse which is unveiled in the simple "translation" of those words. And you do not need to be fluent in the Hebrew language by any means, but you do need to be skillful in breaking back the English into the original languages, even all the way to the prime root(s) of the word(s). To do this properly you should have among your study tools the bare minimum of at least a King James Bible (we highly recommend the "Companion Bible", by Kregel Publishers) and a Strong's Concordance, which is exactly what we will use in the documentation in this study.

Amos Chapters 1 & 2

Here is verse one of the Book of Amos:

Amos 1:1
The words of Amos, who was among the herdmen of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.

There is much said in Amos 1:1. First, we learn that Amos was "among" the herdmen, i.e. he was one of the many "herdmen of Tekoa"! What does Tekoa mean?

Tekoa = òÇB÷zt^eqoòa€tek-o'-ah Strong's #8620
A form of #8619; Tekoa, a place in Palestine:—Tekoa, Tekoah.

òÇB÷z˜taòqoòa€taw-ko'-ah Strong's #8619
From #8628 (in the muscal sense); a trumpet:—trumpet.

Herdmen =  ã÷«ðÉnoòqeòdno-kade'  Strong's #5349
Active participle from the same as #5348; a spotter (of sheep or cattle), that
is, the owner or tender (who thus marks them):—herdman, sheepmaster.

Wow! This is easy so far:

Amos was a type of God's elect in this final generation who are those "sons and daughters" Joel spoke of who "Blow the Trumpet" (they are from Tekoa). They are those "sons and daughters" who call forth the "wise virgins" the "good fruit". They are those "sons and daughters" who prophesy (Acts 2:18) and "mark", i.e. seal, those 144,000 of the tribes of Israel in Rev. 7:4! Got it? They are "doers" of His Word and they "keep His Word and have not denied His name". The other "shepherds" we will read of are those false ones Christ warned us about who would come in His name preaching traditions of men and deceive the foolish virgins, the unwise sheep, sealing and "marking" their flocks for the beast, the other messiah, the fake Jesus.

And if we dig a little more we can learn what the timeframe is of this vision of Amos. It was...

... in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel...

Uzziah =  äiˆf„òË€uòzzŒòyaòh ooz-zee-yaw',Strong's #5818
From #5797 and #3050; strength of Jah; Uzzijah, the name of five Israelites:—Uzziah.

#5797  æòÊ æBò  €oòz €oòz  oze, oze
From #5810; strength in various applications (force, security, majesty, praise):—boldness, loud, might, power, strength, strong.

#3050  déˆyaòhhyaw
Contracted for #3068, and meaning the same; Jah, the sacred name:—Jah, the Lord, most vehement. Cp. names in "-iah," "-jah."

Jeroboam =  íòÈáøˆéˆyaòrob€aòmyaw-rob-awm' Strong's #3379
From #7378 and #5971; (the) people will contend; Jarobam, the name of
two Israelite kings:—Jeroboam.

#7378  áéø„ áeø^o  rŒòyb ruòb  reeb, roob
A primitive root; properly to toss, that is, grapple; mostly figuratively to wrangle, that is, hold a controversy; (by implication) to defend:—adversary, chide, complain, contend, debate, X ever, X lay wait, plead, rebuke, strive, X thoroughly.

#5971  íò€am am
From #6004; a people (as a congregated unit); specifically a tribe (as those of Israel); hence (collectively) troops or attendants; figuratively a flock:—folk, men, nation, people.

Joash = H3060  LSBäéŠy^ehoòaòshyeh-ho-awsh'
From #3068 and (perhaps) #784; Jehovah fired; Jehoash, the name of two
Israelite kings:—Jehoash Compare #3101.

#3068  äåˆäÊéŠy^ehoòvaòhyeh-ho-vaw'
From #1961; (the) self Existent or eternal; Jehovah, Jewish national name of
God:—Jehovah, the Lord. Compare #3050, #3069.

#784  LàÅ eòshaysh
A primitive word; fire (literally or figuratively):—burning, fiery, fire,
flaming, hot.

... two years before the earthquake.

In plain and simple terms, Amos saw the spiritual condition of our nation two years before the return of Christ! Once again... WOW!

But what of this "Fire" of "YeHoVaH"? Do you not know that God IS a consuming fire?

Hebrews 12:29
For our God is a consuming fire.

Joel 3:16
The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.

To further document the time frame that this is the same time of the "earth shaking" Joel spoke of, here are words of Amos in verse 2:

Amos 1:2
And he said, The LORD will roar from Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the habitations of the shepherds shall mourn, and the top of Carmel shall wither.

Carmel =  ìîÆøŠkÇkarmelkar-mel' Strong's #3759
From #3754; a planted field (garden, orchard, vineyard or park); by implication garden produce:—full (green) ears (of corn), fruitful field (place), plentiful (field).

The word "shepherd" used here is "raah" and is NOT the same as the sheepmaster or tender of sheep, i.e. "noqed", that Amos was. And the word "habitations" means pastures or house. Thus the meaning becomes quite clear. These are the false shepherds who mark their sheep for Satan who have helped lay waste and wither the fruitful mount where once there were many fruitful trees, but now they are withered and are as branches of deadwood.

In Amos 1:2 we learned that the LORD will soon come and roar from Zion (like a lion Joel says), and "utter" His voice, which means to "avenge" and "bring forth in recompense", i.e. to judge from Jerusalem where He is returning to rule ALL nations with a rod of iron as the King of kings and Lord of lords.

Let's read it again:

Amos 1:2
And he said, The LORD will roar from Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the habitations of the shepherds shall mourn, and the top of Carmel shall wither.

2 Peter 3:12
Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements [evil rudiments] shall melt with fervent heat?

2 Thes. 2:8
And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

And soon all the nations of every race and every language shall be warned that the real King of kings is coming to judge them in the Valley of Jehoshaphat and their glorious One World System, Babylon the great, shall fall at the shout and at the great earthquake which is the great overturning of this flesh age when Yeshua returns at the sound of the 7th Trump.

Do you remember what we learned in Joel concerning what it is that those saints who are delivered up to the kings and rulers of the nations will be proclaiming? "Prepare WAR!" ... "for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision (Joel 3:9-14)." And the heavens and the earth shall SHAKE when He returns.  Joel 3:16 "The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.

Next Amos the sheepmaster is going to give us a synopsis of "the punishment thereof" which as Dr. Bullinger notes in the Companion Bible specifically refers to the earthquake spoken of in Amos 1:1. "The punishment thereof" will be used a total of "8" times in the "uttering" of His voice as the reasons are given for the avenging on this Day of Vengeance. In other words, Amos is going to recap the sins of the nations which they have transgressed against God and His people. By the way, the number "8" denotes "new beginning" in Biblical numerics, and so it is that with this earthquake there shall be a new beginning, even the beginning of the Millennium, for the King of kings and His saints will then take over rule for the next 1000 years exacting discipline and teaching the spiritually dead how to "discern between the holy and the profane (Ezek. 44:23)", which is something they obviously cannot do now!

It should be noted that there are several expressions that are used in all 8 "utterings" to the nations. One of those is a Hebraism which means "continually", "perpetually", as in "time and time again" which is how some translations render the expression "for three transgressions and for four". It is the same Hebraism as "unto the third and to the fourth (generation)" which also means continually, i.e. from generation to generation, etc. etc.

Next, the expression "shall devour the palaces" is used concerning all the nations and Judah as well, to show what it is His "fire" shall consume. He shall consume their "palaces" which are the citadels, the "high places", i.e. the churches of the nations. It is also where the kings and rulers dwell who shall to the very last man and woman bow to the King of kings and Lord of lords. Yes, all of the following nations we are going to read of today are fortresses and represent the strongholds of the nations (ethnos) both militarily and more importantly, religiously. The "fire" from the "consuming fire", i.e. Almighty God (Heb. 12:29,) shall DEVOUR the palaces of every single one of them!

One more note:Although specific nations are singled out, they represent the whole of the nations whose "transgressions" are listed among those given here. In that sense, they serve as types and examples of the transgressions against God and His people by ALL the nations. Also, because of the sheer volume of information available in God's Word and secular history as well, it is not within the scope of this study to go into the background and explicit details of the transgression of the nations described herein. However, those who desire to gain a deeper understanding of the sins of the nations are encouraged to make an in-depth study of the historical events on their own. An understanding of what is meant by "transgressions" is also essential:

transgressions =  òLÛtÆpesha€peh'-shah  Strong's #6588
From #6586; a revolt (national, moral or religious):—rebellion, sin, transgression, trespassive

#6586 = òLÛtÈpaòsha€ paw-shah'
A primitive root (rather identical with #6585 through the idea of expansion); to break away (from just authority), that is, trespass, apostatize, quarrel:— offend, rebel, revolt, transgress (-ion, -or).

Rev. 19:11
And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.

[12] His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.

2 Thes. 1:4
So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure:

[5] Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer:

[6] Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you;

[7] And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,

[8] In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:

Damascus

Amos 1:3
Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have threshed Gilead with threshing instruments of iron:

Damascus means "activity" and Dr. William Smith writes in his "Bible Dictionary", A. J. Holman Co., pg. 69, that "Damascus is the oldest city known to history". And so we begin with the nations whose activity from the very beginning has been to "thresh", meaning to break or tread upon, Gilead which was the mount that was rich in "pastures" and "forests" and was "well watered".

[4] But I will send a fire into the house of Hazael, which shall devour the palaces of Ben-hadad.

Again, you should learn the history of all these people and places and events. Here is just a little info on Hazael and Ben-hadad, both of Damascus:

Long wars with Israel characterized the reign of Ben-hadad, son of Hadad, king of Damascus. "Hadad" means "mighty" in Hebrew and was "originally the indigenous appellation of the sun among the Syrians, and thence transferred to the king as the highest of earthly authorities. The title appears to have been an official one, like Pharaoh." (Smith's Bible Dictionary)

As you become familiar with the story you will find that Ben-hadad became seriously ill and sent Hazael to the prophet Elisha to inquire as to whether he would recover. When Hazael returned, he lied to Ben-hadad concerning what the man of God said and told him Elisha said he would recover. Then, the next day Hazael assassinated the king and ascended to the throne. Sounds just like the MO of one we read about in Isaiah 14:13-14, doesn't it? "For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: [14] I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High."

Hazael means "God has seen" or "God is watching". And the many, many transgressions of the type of Hazael of Damascus have not gone unnoticed and will not go unpunished! Meanwhile the prayer of the saints of the Most High God continue:

Rev. 6:10
And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?

Be patient! Not long now! The great earthquake shall come soon enough! Feel and/or see any "tremors" lately? (I speak in a spiritual sense though the signs in the earth continue.)

[5] I will break also the bar of Damascus, and cut off the inhabitant from the plain of Aven, and him that holdeth the sceptre from the house of Eden: and the people of Syria shall go into captivity unto Kir, saith the LORD.

He will crush the gates of their strongholds, their "pastures" and "houses" of Aven, i.e. emptiness, which all stem from that one who has wielded the sceptre over the nations even from the garden of Eden. And so is written that on the Day of the Lord, which is the Day of Vengeance for unrepentant transgressors, that those who have been the "capturers" will now become the "capturees"! Each shall reap what he or she has sown. That goes for both individuals and the nations as well.

Amos 1:6
Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Gaza, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they carried away captive the whole captivity, to deliver them up to Edom:

Gaza symbolizes the wholesale delivering up of God's people by the kenites to all that is "red", even communism and socialism and if it were possible, even into the hands of the "Red Nation". Those deeper students who are familiar with Ezekiel's prophecies, know that this delivering up to Edom (meaning "red"), which is the land of Esau, i.e. Russia, shall yet happen in the fulfillment of Ezk. 38 & 39. The word Gaza means "the strong" as in a strong people.

[7] But I will send a fire on the wall of Gaza, which shall devour the palaces thereof:

[8] And I will cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod, and him that holdeth the sceptre from Ashkelon, and I will turn mine hand against Ekron: and the remnant of the Philistines shall perish, saith the Lord GOD.

"Philistine" means "wanderer" or "vagabond". Do you know who the first "wanderer" was? Yes, it was Cain. In your historical and biblical research you will also find that Joshua found a confederacy of five cities - Gaza, Gath, Askelon, Ashdod and Ekron - all ruled by princes with whom he did not go to war. All those cities worshipped "special divinities, such as Dagon, Derketo, Baal-Zebub and Ashtoreth, whose images were carried with them on their campaigns..". (Smith's Bible Dictionary)

So do you know who it is that "holds the sceptre" from Ashkelon? It is even Satan, who shall be cut off and bound in the pit when Jesus Christ returns. And the unrepentant remnant of the Philistines shall receive his same death sentence.

Amos 1:9
Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Tyrus, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they delivered up the whole captivity to Edom, and remembered not the brotherly covenant:

The walls of Tyrus, that great international city of trade and commerce which you can read about in Ezek. 27, shall fall in the great earthquake at the "shout" and at the sound of the 7th Trump. Tyrus in Hebrew means "rock" and the king of Tyrus is that "rock who is not our Rock (Deut 32)", even Satan himself as documented in the 28th chapter of Ezekiel. Tyrus symbolizes the globalization which is and has taken place during this final generation brought forth by the beast of Rev. 13:1, known by most people simply as the New World Order.

[10] But I will send a fire on the wall of Tyrus, which shall devour the palaces thereof.

Tyrus and economic tyranny and oppression shall be no more, forever and ever!

Amos 1:11
Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Edom, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he did pursue his brother with the sword, and did cast off all pity, and his anger did tear perpetually, and he kept his wrath for ever:

It is written that Esau shall live by the sword and shall die by the sword. Read Genesis chapter 27 concerning the "two nations" in Rebecca's womb. And as we noted earlier, Esau will yet pursue his brother Jacob according to the manner of Ezk. 38 & 39 when that army of many nations led by the chief prince Meshech comes against true Israel in the battle of Hamon-gog.

Here is the Hebrew for "chief" prince:

chief =  LàøÊroòshroshe
From an unused root apparently meaning to shake; the head (as most easily shaken), whether literally or figuratively (in many applications, of place, time, rank, etc.):—band, beginning, captain, chapiter, chief (-est place, man, things), company, end, X every [man], excellent, first, forefront, ([be-]) head, height, (on) high (-est part, [priest]), X lead, X poor, principal, ruler, sum, top.

[12] But I will send a fire upon Teman, which shall devour the palaces of Bozrah.

Teman was a tribe who was descended from Esau and who were noted for their wisdom (Jer. 49:7) while Bozrah means "an enclosure" or "sheepfold". The prophet Jeremiah also prophesied that Bozrah would become a desolate waste. "For I have sworn by myself, saith the LORD, that Bozrah shall become a desolation, a reproach, a waste, and a curse; and all the cities thereof shall be perpetual wastes (Jeremiah 49:13)."

Edom shall feel the power of the great earthquake and the fire of His wrath in the Valley of Jehoshaphat for the continual transgressions thereof and Esau shall never again pursue his brother with the sword.

Amos 1:13
Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of the children of Ammon, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have ripped up the women with child of Gilead, that they might enlarge their border:

Ammon was Lot's younger son. You will find that "When David was king, the Ammonites defied Israel, prepared for war, and hired auxiliaries from the Arameans" all so that "they might enlarge their border". No more! No more shall anyone take advantage of God's people or try to destroy His pasture so they can take it over.

[14] But I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah, and it shall devour the palaces thereof, with shouting in the day of battle, with a tempest in the day of the whirlwind:

Rabbah was the chief city of the Ammonites and her defiant days of "transgressions" are over when the saints of the Most High shout and the tempest of His fury comes against them.

[15] And their king shall go into captivity, he and his princes together, saith the LORD.

The king of Rabbah is the same one who is the king of Tyrus who is also the god of Gaza and Gath and Ashdod, etc. He is the false king of kings who shall go back into captivity, into the pit, when Yeshua returns.

Amos 2:1
Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Moab, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime:

Moab means "scarcely, water of a father" or "to desire" and you can read in God's Word the many times that the Moabites rebelled and turned on Israel. However, this prophecy concerning the king of Edom brings us right up to the 20th century and the beginning of the 70 years of bondage, the 70 year "yoke" placed on our brother Esau, which began in 1917, the year of the kenite led Bolshevik revolution and the overthrow of the monarchy of Russia. You see, the king of Edom, Nicholas along with his wife Queen Alexandria, were shot to death on July 16, 1918, by the order of Soviet officials and buried in a lime pit. How about that!

You will also find that 1917 was the year when the Zionists began to "work the ground" by fomenting World Wars and exercising the powers of the four hidden dynasties in order to bring about the planting of the fig tree, which they successfully did on May 15, 1948. The Zionist movement officially began with the following declaration on November 2, 1917:
The Balfour Declaration
November 2, 1917

During the First World War, British policy became gradually committed to the idea of establishing a Jewish home in Palestine (Eretz Yisrael). After discussions in the British Cabinet, and consultation with Zionist leaders, the decision was made known in the form of a letter by Arthur James Lord Balfour to Lord Rothschild. The letter represents the first political recognition of Zionist aims by a Great Power.

Foreign Office
November 2nd, 1917

Dear Lord Rothschild,

I have much pleasure in conveying to you, on behalf of His Majesty's Government, the following declaration of sympathy with Jewish Zionist aspirations which has been submitted to, and approved by, the Cabinet.

"His Majesty's Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country."

I should be grateful if you would bring this declaration to the knowledge of the Zionist Federation.

Yours sincerely,
Arthur James Balfour

http://www.israel.org/mfa/go.asp?MFAH00pp0

[2] But I will send a fire upon Moab, and it shall devour the palaces of Kirioth: and Moab shall die with tumult, with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet:

To "die with tumult" means to die without dignity when the shout at the 7th Trump sounds. Kirioth or Kerioth was the ancient capital of Moab which some scholars believe was the birthplace of Judas Iscariot who betrayed Christ, as the latter half of his name means "man of Kerioth". And speaking of betrayal, it was Grigori Efimovich Rasputin, an uneducated "evil" monk who became the personal advisor of the royal family of Russia during the last years of their rule.

[3] And I will cut off the judge from the midst thereof, and will slay all the princes thereof with him, saith the LORD.

In other words, the time is coming soon when Jesus Christ will end the prolonged judgment, which is the sentencing of those who have "transgressed", and He will then execute the sentence! This will fulfill the prayers of the saints in Rev. 6:10 who are at this moment "crying with a loud voice saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?"

Soon, His Justice shall be served unto all!

The Word of God, through Amos the sheepmaster, has declared that on the Day of the Lord, the day Jesus Christ returns, He shall judge the nations for their transgressions against Him and against His people Israel, true Israel, as in the "House of Israel", not the little nation in the middleast that is now called Israel. Amos gives us a preview of those nations and their transgressions just before the summer fruit is ready to harvest (Amos 8:1). In fact, his vision is to the time of the end just two years before the great earthquake when the Lion of the Tribe of Judah shall roar from the Valley of Jehoshaphat.

But do not think that God's people are innocent and exempt from His wrath. They are not. Amos will now address the whole House Israel as they exist at this time, which is split into two separate houses as in two separate branches which Ezekiel calls "sticks" in chapter 37 of his book. They shall be joined together and restored as one when Messiah returns. Meanwhile, here are Judah's transgressions:

Judah

Amos 2:4
Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have despised the law of the LORD, and have not kept his commandments, and their lies caused them to err, after the which their fathers have walked:

When the Word of God, which is His law, is not taught and His commandments therefore are not kept, then the lies and the traditions of men take over and replace His truth. Those religious (and even civil) traditions look good to man (as he sees them) and sound real good (as he hears them), but as the Proverbs declare TWICE for emphasis "There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death." (Proverbs 14:12, 16:25).

ALL who have gone astray and have been led astray have done so because they have "eaten bad fruit" which comes not from God, from the Tree of Life, but from the bearer of bad fruit himself, even Satan the devil. Those of house of Judah have walked after their forefathers in the idolatrous traditions of men, forsaking His Holy Word, and thus erring in truth. Here is what Christ said to those who claimed to be the religious leaders of Judah:

Matthew 22:29
Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.

Judah shall pay the price on the Day the Earth Shakes!

[5] But I will send a fire upon Judah, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem.

Their temples and their Beth-Avens shall be destroyed when Jesus' feet touch the Mt. of Olives, just as Jesus told His disciples:

Mark 13:2
And Jesus answering said unto him, Seest thou these great buildings? there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.

Israel

[6] Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they sold the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of shoes;

How is it that Israel has SOLD the righteous and the needy? Are you familiar with the 3rd Seal, the 3rd Trump, the black horse, which is the power of economics? When the economy is not set up and run according to God's laws against deceit and usury, it will eventually enable the taskmasters who control it to ENSLAVE the people? Here is the 3rd Seal as described by John:

Rev. 6:5
And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.

[6] And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.

Amos 8:4
Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor of the land to fail,

Welfare and entitlement programs DESTROY the "spirit" of the poor and needy. God doesn't like it! It is OK to help someone who is "down on their luck" but to continue to enable them to stay there is ungodly and unholy. If you do not know that then you cannot yet tell the difference between that which holy and that which is profane.

[5] Saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit?

This is the 3rd Seal which Amos is talking about. The deceivers of our people can hardly wait until it is "pitch dark" that they may tip the balance and rip off the people. The "Hidden Dynasty of the Economy" is such a Satanic "smoke screen" that it shocks most Christians when they discover what our central banking debt system of usury is all about. It is about SLAVERY with dragon as your king! If you do not have this seal in your forehead and you do not understand the "national debt", which by the way we cannot pay off, then find and read the booklet, "The Hidden Dynasty of the Economy". It may help open you eyes.

[6] That we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes; yea, and sell the refuse of the wheat?

We have allowed the kenites to make merchandise of God's people. SHAME ON US! God doesn't like it and there shall be an accounting of everyone's WORKS when He gets here! Amos is telling us why!

[7] The LORD hath sworn by the excellency of Jacob, Surely I will never forget any of their works.

Yes, we as nation have forgotten the God who unconditionally promised our father Abraham and confirmed through Isaac and Jacob that He would give us all that we needed in this great land "from sea to shining sea". And the birthright nations of Ephraim and Manasseh, England and America the Beautiful respectively, were to be the standard bearers of Christianity and we were to "Proclaim LIBERTY (not enslavement) throughout ALL the land and unto the inhabitants thereof". Those underlined words are taken directly from Leviticus 25:10 and are inscribed on America's Liberty Bell and relate to the jubilee year which also concerns ECONOMIC FREEDOM!

Leviticus 25:10
And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubile unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family.

By the way, March 3, 2001, marked the  70th Anniversary of our National Anthem! "70" in biblical numerics denotes "Israel and her Restoration". Visit http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0194015.html to rediscover the history and read the complete words of "The Star Spangled Banner", by Francis Scott "Key". Here is the final stanza, which gives praise to "Our Father which art in heaven"...

"O thus be it ever when free men shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation;
Blest with victory and peace, may the heaven-rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: “In God is our trust!”
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!"

Amos 2:7
That pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, and turn aside the way of the meek: and a man and his father will go in unto the same maid, to profane my holy name:

[8] And they lay themselves down upon clothes laid to pledge by every altar, and they drink the wine of the condemned in the house of their god.

Note: All the examples Amos has used are examples which are contained in the law, yes, in the Old Testament. Apparently this "non-credentialed by man's seminaries" servant of God, knew the scriptures very well, didn't he? Imagine that! If you are fortunate to possess a Companion Bible there are scriptural references to these laws contained in the parallel column. You should check them out.

[9] Yet destroyed I the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was strong as the oaks; yet I destroyed his fruit from above, and his roots from beneath.

[10] Also I brought you up from the land of Egypt, and led you forty years through the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite.

Exodus 20:2
I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

"Most Holy Father and Lord, we know and from the chronicles and books of the ancients we find tat among other famous nations our own, the Scots, has been graced with widespread renown. They journeyed from Greater Scythia by way of the Tyrrhenian Sea and the Pillars of Hercules, and dwelt for a long course of time in Spain among the most savage tribes, but nowhere could they be subdued by any race, however barbarous. Thence they came, twelve hundred years after the people of Israel crossed the Red Sea, to their home in the west where they still live today. The Britons they first drove out, the Picts they utterly destroyed, and even though very often assailed by the Norwegians, the Danes and the English, they took possession of that home with many victories and untold efforts; and, as the historians of old tome bear witness, they have held it free of all bondage ever since. In their kingdom there have reigned one hundred and thirteen kings of their own royal stock, the line unbroken by a single foreigner."

So what else has our Father done for us that we are ungrateful for and despise?

Amos 2:11
And I raised up of your sons for prophets, and of your young men for Nazarites. Is it not even thus, O ye children of Israel? saith the LORD.

Note: You can read about the vows of the Nazarites in Numbers chapter 6. Samson, Samuel and John the Baptist were all Nazarites.

[12] But ye gave the Nazarites wine to drink; and commanded the prophets, saying, Prophesy not.

[13] Behold, I am pressed under you, as a cart is pressed that is full of sheaves.

Rev. 19:15
And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

The question is often asked, "If God is all powerful, why does He allow pain and suffering, etc." In other words, why doesn't He put to an end to it and stop it all? The answer is "He will my friend! He will! And soon! As soon as He returns". The question is, "Will you be placed in the "winepress", or will you join with the mighty saints who come with the Lord as the whole congregation gathers together on the Mount of His Return and "sing along with Moses" (Rev. 15:3)." (Sure, he'll be there!) It is written in the great Book of Ezekiel that the righteous shall dwell with Yeshua in Jerusalem, in the city of our God, but outside that city the winepress will be trodden (Rev. 14:20).

Yes, Jesus Christ shall put an end to all wickedness and all the evil rudiments upon this earth (2 Pet. 3:12). And during the Millennium if someone decides to pick up Satan's tail and spread some of his liberal "dung" among the people, God's servants shall bring forth His "rod of iron" to them and apply it if necessary! Got it? For IT IS WRITTEN that our people are going to be taught the DIFFERENCE between that which is Holy and that which is profane and He SHALL CAUSE THEM to DISCERN between the unclean and the clean! Obviously we have a big problem in this nation discerning between right and wrong both civilly and religiously and in upholding and maintaining the laws of God. Have the Clinton years taught you anything? One thing is for sure Christian: If you call yourself a "virgin", i.e. a Christian, and yet you support liberal, socialist, entitlement policies, programs and agendas then you do NOT know Jesus Christ, the Word of God, and you are fulfilling the admission requirements for your entry into the Millennial School of Disciplinary Education. You shall attend every day for 1000 years and then be given a final exam. (Actually, it is written that Satan shall "be released for a short time" to personally administer the test. Oh, it will a fruit test!) Here then is what shall be taught in the Millennium:

Ezekiel 44:23
And they [the Zadok, i.e. God's elect] shall teach my people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.

That is what the Millennium is all about and the lessons of 6,000 years of continually "straying from God's ways" demonstrate the pain and suffering and ugly consequences of "eating bad fruit". You are what you eat, spiritually! Eat bad fruit and you will be seduced by the evil one! (Now where have we read that before?) God says He is the tree from which you are to get your fruit: Hosea 14:8 "... I am like a green fir tree. From me is thy fruit found."

Those who have eyes to see know that the "summer fruit" has almost ripened and it shall soon be harvest time and that the Lord God is coming to the Valley of Jehoshaphat with His angels to reap and to judge the nations, including His people as well. It will be a time for each to show forth his fruit and to reap exactly what he or she has sown. Unfortunately for many, many in that valley of decision it will be time to feel the heat from His "fire" and carry their burden from the hand of Almighty God. And as it is written, NONE shall escape!

Amos 2:14
Therefore the flight shall perish from the swift, and the strong shall not strengthen his force, neither shall the mighty deliver himself:

[15] Neither shall he stand that handleth the bow; and he that is swift of foot shall not deliver himself: neither shall he that rideth the horse deliver himself.

[16] And he that is courageous among the mighty shall flee away naked in that day, saith the LORD.

We are studying the words of Amos the prophet, one of the "herdmen" from the town called "trumpet" (Tekoa), which he saw concerning the House of Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel, "two years before the earthquake" (Amos 1:1). Amos' visions concerned these last days, late in summer just before the great harvest at the end of this flesh age (Amos 8:1-2). In fact, Zechariah declared that when Jesus Christ returns, the people will head for the mountains, JUST LIKE they did in the days of the "earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah" spoken of by Amos the prophet! A wise person can take heed and put two and two together.

Zech. 14:4
And His feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.

[5] And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.

Amos 3:1
Hear this word that the LORD hath spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying,

[2] You only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.

(1)    [3] Can two walk together, except they be agreed?

Can you "walk with the Lord" and not agree with His Word?  In other words, can you walk with the Lord while at the same time worshipping Satan, the Instead-of-Jesus, and following the traditions of men which are contrary to His Word? The answer is obviously, no you cannot!

(2)    [4] Will a lion roar in the forest, when he hath no prey?

Jesus Christ, the Lion of Judah, would not "Roar from Zion" if His people were not in danger of falling prey to His wrath.

(3)    [...4] will a young lion cry out of his den, if he have taken nothing?

Lions do not roar without a reason for roaring.

(4)    [5] Can a bird fall in a snare upon the earth, where no gin is for him?

A bird cannot fall into a trap unless one is set for him. Unfortunately, God's people have set their own trap by their own doings.

(5)    [...5] shall one take up a snare from the earth, and have taken nothing at all?

The snare also does not snap closed unless someone steps into it. It is written that in these last days God's children who do not have eyes to see because they refuse to study His Word do not and will not hear His Roar and therefore they shall be taken up in the snare, the very trap they have set for themselves. Yes, many Christians today cry "Lord, Lord" (Mat. 7:21-22), and they think they "walk with the Lord", but they really stumble about and they will fall in that great apostasy, the great falling away to Satan when he is cast to this earth by Michael and his angels (Rev. 12:7-9). Paul teaches about the snare, the trap, the stumblingblock of the unwise virgins:

Romans 11:8
(According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day.

[9] And David saith, Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumblingblock, and a recompence unto them:

Actually, it is Jesus Christ Himself, the stone rejected by the builders, who is their stone of stumbling and their rock of offence [snare, trap-stick], because they are disobedient in not studying His Word, i.e. not walking with Him. You see, they follow a form of "churchianity" founded on the traditions of men which do NOT AGREE with the Word of God. Can two walk together except they agree?

1 Peter 2:8
And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.

We continue in Amos chapter three:

(6)    [6] Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid?

The trumpet sounds the alarm of war. It is blown to WARN the people. Would our Father have His servants, the watchmen, "Blow the Trumpet in Zion" if there was no ensuing battle?

(7)    [...6] shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it?

Shall calamity (from judgment) befall a city whereby the LORD has not inflicted it justly? Let Sodom and Gomorrah be your witnesses for as it was in the days of Lot, so shall it be before that great and terrible day (Luke 17:28). And not only has God "warned His children" through the prophets, He has also given many demonstrations to let us know that He means business. But one thing is absolutely sure. He WILL NOT do anything that should come as surprise to anyone! All you have to do is read and absorb His Word, all of it.

Amos 3:7
Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but He revealeth His secret unto His servants the prophets.

Therefore, dear Christian, the Lion has ALREADY ROARED! And through His prophets that roaring goes forth this very day as the sons and daughters of this final generation, who are His servants and His handmaidens, both male and female, DO PROPHESY! They see (understand) and they DO teach the visions of the prophets. Acts 2:17 "And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams."

Listen to words of Amos, the "herdman", because MANY, in fact MOST, of the shepherds of the churches of our land do NOT teach the prophets to our Christian brothers and sisters! Yes, many, many Christians have faithfully gone to their churches for decades and have NEVER even read the Minor Prophets, much less studied them line by line. They are what Paul calls "babes", i.e. Baby Christians, which are "spiritually" what most of the Baby Boomer's have remained. Here is Paul's incredulous admonition to the churchgoers of our land:

Hebrews 5:12
For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.

You have been a Christian for how long and you know not the scriptures, His Word? Shame on you, baby, baby!

[13] For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.

Do not be angry with this man for calling them "babies". That is what your Father through His servant Paul calls those unwise virgins! They should be skilful trumpet blowers but instead they still suck on milk bottles.

[14] But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

Amos 2:12
But ye gave the Nazarites wine to drink; and commanded the prophets, saying, Prophesy not.

Amos 3:8
The lion hath roared, who will not fear? the Lord GOD hath spoken, who can but prophesy?

Mark 13:23
But take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all things.

WHERE ARE THEY?

Thank God there are some. Thank God for the sons and daughters who love studying His Word!

We live in the most exciting Biblical era in the history of this flesh age. In fact, we live in "those days" that the disciples and the prophets of God spoke about and wrote about and desired so much to see in their mind's eye even a glimpse of what "these days" would be like, the days immediately preceding the return of Yeshua Messiah. Of course, not all that they wrote concerning these days was good news.

For example, they warned time and time again that our people would go into bondage (code word "Egypt") with "taskmasters" and all. And so it has come to pass in this nation that our people have truly become economic serfs through the bondage of a "debt system" economy founded upon unholy usury and through oppressive taxation, much of which is disguised as licensing fees, permit fees, etc. Let's see, the statisticians tell us that average Americans must work at least 5.5 months, which is from Jan. 1 to mid May, just to pay their taxes. Add on top of that all the usury from mortgages, credit cards, car loans, college loans, etc. Then, after paying all the utility bills there are very few dollars left in many households which they can call their own. And do you think there are no taskmasters? Try skipping a few mortgage payments and see if the whip doesn't start cracking. Or do not pay your local school taxes and see how long you maintain ownership of your property. The taxmaster will come taketh it away!

The prophets, and the Prophet of prophets Himself, also warned us of the great spiritual deception that would befall us in these last days because of the MANY Christian ministers who would come and teach the traditions of men and not the Word of God line by line and verse by verse whereby our people could discern between that which is right and wrong, clean and unclean, and between that which is holy (Christ) and that which is profane (Satan)! In fact, in this very Book of Amos we are now studying, Amos declares that in these last days there would be (and there is) a great "famine, not for bread or a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord (Amos 8:11-13)".

And so it is that we live in the days of spiritual and religious "confusion" amidst the oppression of the first Beast of Rev. 13:1 known secularly as the New World Order.You want to see what condition America, the largest of the 10 tribes of the House of Israel, is in during these latter days just before the great harvest? Stick with this Book of Amos for he saw her "two years before the great earthquake". Sadly, she has become an harlot and is steeped in religious confusion (tumult, Babylon), and suffers under political and economic oppression. And the Hidden Dynasty of Education continues to blow from the four winds (N.E.W.S.) a dark smokescreen straight from the bottomless pit into the eyes and ears of our people so that many cannot see the sunlight of truth nor the unholy beast who now wields the power of the Four Hidden Dynasties (Economics,Religion, Politics and Education).

But before Jesus Christ returns, our Father wants the perpetrators of the confusion and the oppression to be given fair warning! In other words, He wants the Trumpet to sound that He is coming to put an end to Babylon the Great! And He will use a few good men (and women) to accomplish it! Perhaps He will use you! Do you have a destiny? It is written that some will be delivered up before the councils and the synagogues of Satan and give His testimony! What an exciting time that will be!

Amos 3:9
Publish in the palaces at Ashdod, and in the palaces in the land of Egypt, and say, Assemble yourselves upon the mountains of Samaria, and behold the great tumults in the midst thereof, and the oppressed in the midst thereof.

tumult = äîÈeäîÀm^ehuòmaòh meh-hoo-maw' Strong's #4103
From H1949; confusion or uproar:—destruction, discomfiture, trouble, tumult, vexation, vexed.

oppression = ÷eLòÈ ÷LÝòÈ  €aòshuòq €aòshuòq  aw-shook', aw-shook' Strong's #6217
Passive participle of H6231; used in plural masculine as abstraction tyranny:—oppressed (-ion). [Doubtful.]

[10] For they know not to do right, saith the LORD, who store up violence and robbery in their palaces.

Since the proclamation we are reading in Amos is directed to the whole House of Israel in these last days, one cannot help but be reminded of the same message given by Ezekiel, the watchman, also to the whole House of Israel (Ezek. 23:17):

Ezekiel 22:23
And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

[24] Son of man, say unto her, Thou art the land that is not cleansed, nor rained upon in the day of indignation.

[25] There is a conspiracy of her prophets in the midst thereof, like a roaring lion ravening the prey; they have devoured souls; they have taken the treasure and precious things; they have made her many widows in the midst thereof.

Yes, the religious and civil leaders in this nation are in big doodoo!

THE PRIESTS

[26] Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they shewed difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.

THE PRINCES (governors, rulers)

[27] Her princes in the midst thereof are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood, and to destroy souls, to get dishonest gain.

[28] And her prophets have daubed them with untempered morter, seeing vanity, and divining lies unto them, saying, Thus saith the Lord GOD, when the LORD hath not spoken.

[29] The people of the land have used oppression, and exercised robbery, and have vexed the poor and needy: yea, they have oppressed the stranger wrongfully.

[30] And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.

[31] Therefore have I poured out mine indignation upon them; I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath: their own way have I recompensed upon their heads, saith the Lord GOD.

Amos 3:11
Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; An adversary there shall be even round about the land; and he shall bring down thy strength from thee, and thy palaces shall be spoiled.

[12] Thus saith the LORD; As the shepherd taketh out of the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear; so shall the children of Israel be taken out that dwell in Samaria in the corner of a bed, and in Damascus in a couch.

[13] Hear ye, and testify in the house of Jacob, saith the Lord GOD, the God of hosts,

[14] That in the day that I shall visit the transgressions of Israel upon him I will also visit the altars of Bethel: and the horns of the altar shall be cut off, and fall to the ground.

[15] And I will smite the winter house with the summer house; and the houses of ivory shall perish, and the great houses shall have an end, saith the LORD.

Then shall all nations know that The Lord GOD, the God of Hosts, IS God! There is none other!

As we look out across the fruited plains and purple mountains majesty, we need ask ourselves "What has this nation come to after all our Father has done for His people, the children of the House of Israel, upon whom He has shed His grace and blessed far above any other nation in the history of mankind, according to the unconditional promise He made to Abraham and re-confirmed in Isaac and Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel?"

There is certainly nothing wrong or unholy about being wealthy if it is obtained by honorable means, but today many of our leaders, both religious and civil, have become a bunch of fat-cats who live in winter and summer homes, aloft in their ivory towers at the expense of the poor and needy, some of whom are poor and needy physically, some of whom are poor and needy spiritually, and some who are poor and needy both physically and spiritually. So hear this O' fat-cows: The Lord GOD has a few words for you which you had better take heed to before He pays you a personal visit at which time He will recompense you according to your evil deeds and cast you all out of your palaces and citadels into cow patties.

Amos 4:1
Hear this word, ye kine of Bashan, that are in the mountain of Samaria, which oppress the poor, which crush the needy, which say to their masters, Bring, and let us drink.

Deut. 24:14
Thou shalt not oppress an hired servant that is poor and needy, whether he be of thy brethren, or of thy strangers that are in thy land within thy gates:

[2] The Lord GOD hath sworn by His Holiness, that, lo, the days shall come upon you, that He will take you away with hooks, and your posterity with fishhooks.

Note: "Posterity" should be translated "residue" or "remnant".

[3] And ye shall go out at the breaches, every cow at that which is before her; and ye shall cast them into the palace,

... saith the LORD.

The LORD God, "He that formeth the mountains, and createth the wind, and declareth unto man what is his thought, that maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth upon the high places of the earth (vs. 13)", He has said it, and that makes it so!

Now here is something that really stinks, because it is religious!

Amos 4:4
Come to Bethel, and transgress; at Gilgal multiply transgression; and bring your sacrifices every morning, and your tithes after three years:

But oh how our people love to go to church and sing songs and give money and put on a big show of how religious they are.

[5] And offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven, and proclaim and publish the free offerings: for this liketh you, O ye children of Israel,

...saith the Lord GOD.

Amos will document in the next chapter how our Father despises all this religious Bethelism or Churchianity. Here's a preview:

Amos 5:21
I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies.

[22] Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept them: neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts.

[23] Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols.

That's right, Jesus said there would be wars and rumours of wars, followed by economic globalization, famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in divers places.

Note: If you are fortunate to have a Companion Bible take notice of the structure on page 1236 for verses 6 - 11.

FAMINE

Amos 4:6
And I also have given you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and want of bread in all your places:

...yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.

"Cleanness of teeth" is a figure of speech meaning there is nothing to eat, i.e. no bread. Of course the "famine" of the end time is not for bread and the thirst is not for water! Amos explains this in chapter 8:

Amos 8:11
Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:

We are in the midst of that great "famine of bread", for the true Bread of Life, and a "thirst for water", for the living water of Truth. And you can thank the MANY Christian preachers and ministers, the hirelings, who conduct great church services with songs of praise and worship and all sorts of other religious works while perpetuating the traditions of men instead of returning to the LORD and teaching His Word!!

"... and there shall be famines... (Mat. 24:7)"

Amos 4:7
And also I have withholden the rain from you, when there were yet three months to the harvest: and I caused it to rain upon one city, and caused it not to rain upon another city: one piece was rained upon, and the piece whereupon it rained not withered.

[8] So two or three cities wandered unto one city, to drink water; but they were not satisfied:

...yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.

The thirst for truth in these last days shall cause many Christians to faint.

Amos 8:12
And they shall wander from sea to sea [even from sea to shining sea], and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it.

[13] In that day shall the fair virgins and young men faint for thirst.

Amos 4:9
I have smitten you with blasting and mildew: when your gardens and your vineyards and your fig trees and your olive trees increased, the palmerworm devoured them:

...yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.

The palmerworm is the gnawer stage of the locust army who will consume everything that is left over. However, as we learned from the Book of Joel, the early stages of the locusts have already consumed the nation's storehouses, i.e. our treasuries through usury, as well as the "fruit from the vineyard", and "the wheat from the barn", i.e. the harvest.

Amos 4:10
I have sent among you the pestilence after the manner of Egypt: your young men have I slain with the sword, and have taken away your horses; and I have made the stink of your camps to come up unto your nostrils:

...yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.

Pestilence always follows famine and our nation is plagued with many social pestilences which are disgusting, repulsive, and stink to high heaven. The horses, which are symbolic of "power" have been taken away and taken over by the children of disobedience. Those horses are the four horses of Rev. chapter 6, which are the Four Hidden Dynasties of Religion, Politics, Economics and Education.

"... and there shall be famines, and pestilences... (Mat. 24:7)"

Amos 4:11
I have overthrown some of you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and ye were as a firebrand plucked out of the burning:

Dr. Moffat translates this verse: "I sent you a shattering earthquake, like God's own shattering of Sodom and Gomorrah...". What does it take to get our people's attention?

"...and there shall be earthquakes in divers places... (Mark 13:8)."

...yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.

[12] Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel: and because I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy God, O Israel.

Rev. 6:15
And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;

[16] And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:

Amos 4:13
For, lo, He that formeth the mountains, and createth the wind, and declareth unto man what is his thought, that maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth upon the high places of the earth, The LORD, The God of hosts, is his name.

Well, get ready America and Canada and Great Britain, etc., the Christian nations of the world, "prepare to meet thy God, O Israel".
 

Amos chapter 5

Luke 11:9
And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.

Note: If you do not already know the rich history and the migrations of the 10 northern tribes of the house of Israel, then contact Artisan Publishers and purchase the booklet "The Abrahamic Covenant", by E. Raymond Capt. www.artisanpublishers.com Or here on our site log unto pamphlet #1064.

Amos 5:1
Hear ye this word which I take up against you, even a lamentation, O house of Israel.

[2] The virgin of Israel is fallen; she shall no more rise: she is forsaken upon her land; there is none to raise her up.

2 Thes. 2:3
Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

Amos 5:3
For thus saith the Lord GOD; The city that went out by a thousand shall leave an hundred, and that which went forth by an hundred shall leave ten, to the house of Israel.

Thus we have the great message of Amos chapter five written to the virgins of Israel showing them the difference between wisdom and foolishness along with the incriminating evidence of the perversion in our land, pestilences and plagues which do come as a result of spiritual famine and departing from the wisdom of His Word! (See structure on page 1237 of the Companion Bible for complete structure.)

Seek ye Him (vs.4)
Seek NOT Beth-el (vs.5)
Seek the LORD (vs.6)
Seek Him (vs.7)

[4] For thus saith the LORD unto the house of Israel, Seek ye me, and ye shall live:

Amos 8:12
And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it.

Amos 5:5
But seek not Bethel, nor enter into Gilgal, and pass not to Beer-sheba: for Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, and Bethel shall come to nought.

However, this verse is really quite simple because Father is telling us that there is no salvation in any of those places, not in a church, not in setting up altars, and not in making covenants. You must seek Him! That is the ONLY way!

You can go to church (Bethel) regularly for years and years and more years and still be slaughtered with the majority in the spiritual warfare. You can set up altars all day and all night, such as at Gilgal, and you can make covenants all the way to Beer-sheba, but unless in these latter days you seek the LORD thy God through His Word, not man's, with all your heart and all your soul, your little old church isn't going to do you a bit of good on that Day! The sad part is that the life giving instructions to Seek Him and obey His Voice, not man's, was given to our people and recorded in His Word long, long ago! Here it is in the Book of Deuteronomy:

Deut. 4:29
But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him,if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.

However, even though we all, the good, the bad, and the ugly, go through the tribulation of Satan, those who seek the Lord in these latter days and are obedient to His Voice, which is His Word, have nothing to fear. For as it is written in Rev. 9 that only those who have NOT the seal of God in their foreheads shall be harmed (spiritually slaughtered by the king of Babylon, Satan, when he comes to earth as  the false-christ). And yet the truth of the matter is, for the benefit of those who desire to escape physical harm in some rapture, that true Christian soldiers do not even fear he who can kill the flesh body. We are all going to shed the flesh and graduate from earth school sooner or later anyway, are we not? Matthew 10:28 "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."

Let's continue a couple of more verses in the Pentateuch:

[30] When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the LORD thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice;

[31] (For the LORD thy God is a merciful God;) He will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which He sware unto them.

Amos continues:

Amos 5:6
Seek the LORD, and ye shall live; lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and devour it, and there be none to quench it in Bethel.

And now here are some words to you "preachers" and "princes" who reign over the Bethels and the Halls of Justice in our land, who pervert His Word and pervert His justice. You all better get your act together real fast:

[7] Ye who turn judgment to wormwood, and leave off righteousness in the earth,

wormwood =  äðˆòÂìÇla€aõnaòhlah-an-aw' Strong's #3939
From an unused root supposed to mean to curse; wormwood (regarded as poisonous, and therefore accursed):—hemlock, wormwood.

[8] Seek Him that maketh the seven stars and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with night: that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD is his name:

Amos 5:8 also corresponds to that which is written in the Book of Job, chapter 38, where the LORD is speaking to Job out of the whirlwind. Job has been listening for 36 chapters to a trio of preachers all of whom have "darkened counsel by words without knowledge (Job 38:2)"! These are Beth-Aven type preachers who speak on and on and yet they do NOT know what they are talking about, because they have no knowledge of His Word.

Job 38:31
Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion?

Can you bind up a cluster of stars or change Orion's belt? Can you bring forth the procession of the constellations (next verse)?

[32] Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season? or canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons?

Mazzaroth is the 12 signs of the Zodiac marking the path of the sun in the heavens. (See appendix 12 in the Companion Bible concerning the Plan of God in the stars.)

[33] Knowest thou the ordinances of heaven? canst thou set the dominion thereof in the earth?

The ordinances of heaven, i.e. the laws of the physical universe, did NOT begin with a Big Bang! "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" and he SET them in their paths. So much for the Big Bang Theory. It belongs in the trash can along with the Rapture Theory and the Theory of Evolution!

[34] Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, that abundance of waters may cover thee?

Amos 5:9
That strengtheneth the spoiled against the strong, so that the spoiled shall come against the fortress.

Amos 5:10
They hate him that rebuketh in the gate, and they abhor him that speaketh uprightly.

[11] Forasmuch therefore as your treading is upon the poor, and ye take from him burdens of wheat: ye have built houses of hewn stone, but ye shall not dwell in them; ye have planted pleasant vineyards, but ye shall not drink wine of them.

Deut. 28:30
Thou shalt betroth a wife, and another man shall lie with her: thou shalt build an house, and thou shalt not dwell therein: thou shalt plant a vineyard, and shalt not gather the grapes thereof.

Amos 5:12
For I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins: they afflict the just, they take a bribe, and they turn aside the poor in the gate from their right.

Amos 5:13
Therefore the prudent shall keep silence in that time; for it is an evil time.

Daniel 12:1
And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.

Hebrews 11:6
But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.

... and it doesn't get any better than that!

We are studying the exciting book of the prophet Amos, who was among the herdman of Tekoa (which means trumpet), and whose words concern the 10 tribes of the house of Israel two years before the great earthquake in the days of Uzziah, which prophetically means in the days before the earthquake when Jesus Christ returns.  Zech. 14:5 "And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee."

Next we are going to learn the same lesson we learned in Hosea (whose name means "salvation"), which is that God does not pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and religious ceremony, etc. What He wants is for His children to love Him ("agape" not just "phileo") and to Seek Him through His Word whereby they can be knowledgeable and know the difference between the holy and the profane, even Christ and Satan, the false-christ, and be able to discern between the clean and the unclean, and be able to "judge according to His judgments" both civilly and ecclesiastically.

Hosea 6:6
For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

We now continue in the 5th chapter of Amos:

Amos 5:14
Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live: and so the LORD, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as ye have spoken.

Ezekiel 44:23
And they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.

...but they shall also establish righteous judgment in the gates of the cities according to that which is good, HIS WORD!

[24] And in controversy they shall stand in judgment; and they shall judge it according to my judgments: and they shall keep my laws and my statutes in all mine assemblies; and they shall hallow my sabbaths.

Amos 5:15
Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate: it may be that the LORD God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph.

[16] Therefore the LORD, the God of hosts, the Lord, saith thus; Wailing shall be in all streets; and they shall say in all the highways, Alas! alas! and they shall call the husbandman to mourning, and such as are skilful of lamentation to wailing.

[17] And in all vineyards shall be wailing: for I will pass through thee, saith the LORD.

Amos 5:18
Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! to what end is it for you? the day of the LORD is darkness, and not light.

[19] As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him.

You better learn to discern! There is only one God, YHVH, the great I AM who brought our forefathers forth from the land of Egypt. Seek Him, and ye shall live! Hosea, among others, also spoke concerning the bear and lion during this time of great famine and drought and how it is that God's people have forgotten Him:

Hosea 13:4
Yet I am the LORD thy God from the land of Egypt, and thou shalt know no god but me: for there is no saviour beside me.

[5] I did know thee in the wilderness, in the land of great drought.

We are in the wilderness now, in the land of the great famine and drought of these end times (Amos. 8:11), even the valley of the (spiritually) dry bones scorched by the drought (Ezk. 37).

[6] According to their pasture, so were they filled; they were filled, and their heart was exalted; therefore have they forgotten me.

It is a hard thing for many people to see how it is that many good church goers in this land have forgotten God. To forget God is to forget His Word, which doesn't mean to forget that it IS the Word of God, but to ignore studying it line by line. Many would rather just go to church, i.e. Seek Bethel!

Note: We are not condemning churches or going to church or our brothers and sisters who simply cannot see that the traditions of men are a "stench" to our Father. We are merely studying the sad song our Father is trumpeting in the ears of His children through His servant Amos.

[7] Therefore I will be unto them as a lion: as a leopard by the way will I observe them:

[8] I will meet them as a bear that is bereaved of her whelps, and will rend the caul of their heart, and there will I devour them like a lion: the wild beast shall tear them.

The lion, the bear and the leopard which are spoken of here in Hosea 13 and also in Daniel 7:4-6 and Revelation 13:2 shall come upon them and consume them. They are all part of that great beast, the one world political system. Amos adds the serpent himself in vs. 19.

[9] O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in me is thine help.

Turn to Him, to His Word, and seek Him for only He can save you. This is so simple. Do you realize that Jesus Christ even did away with all ritualism and blood sacrifices and handwriting of ordinances (Col. 2)? You do not need to belong to some religion or religious organization (seek not Bethel) nor conform to ANY of their do's and don'ts. Our Father has repeated three times alone in this 5th chapter of Amos what it is He wants us to do: "For thus saith the LORD unto the house of Israel, Seek ye me, and ye shall live (Amos 5:4)".

Amos 5:20
Shall not the day of the LORD be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it?

[21]I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies.

[22] Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept them: neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts.

That, is music to the ears of our God, yes, "Liberty and Justice for All"! That can ONLY be achieved under His righteous judgments, through teaching and keeping His Holy Word, thereby KNOWING the difference between the Holy and the profane and discerning between the clean and the unclean.

[23] Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols.

* Note: There is nothing wrong with songs and music. Our Father loves music and a joyful heart, but if you do not seek Him and instead you wallow in the traditions of men and allow the festering pestilence of liberalism and perverted justice to keep our Liberty Bell silent, that Precious Bell with His Words declaring a Jubilee in the land inscribed right on it, then get ready to sing a sad, sad song! The good news is that those who Seek Him now and are "sealed with His Word" shall overcome the beast of deception and will be singing the victory Song of Moses (Rev. 15) on that day of Christ's return instead of mourning and lamenting.

Songs are not what is music to our Father's ears! JUSTICE and the execution of His divine laws with Political Righteousness and NOT Political Correctness are music to His ears!

[24] But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.

[25] Have ye offered unto me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness forty years, O house of Israel?

[26] But ye have borne the tabernacle of your Moloch and Chiun your images, the star of your god, which ye made to yourselves.

[27] Therefore will I cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus, saith the LORD, whose name is The God of hosts.

Acts 7:41
And they made a calf in those days, and offered sacrifice unto the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands.

[42] Then God turned, and gave them up to worship the host of heaven; as it is written in the book of the prophets, O ye house of Israel, have ye offered to me slain beasts and sacrifices by the space of forty years in the wilderness?

This is taken from Amos 5:25-27.

[43] Yea, ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Remphan, figures which ye made to worship them: and I will carry you away beyond Babylon.

Do you do as your forefathers did, or do you Seek the LORD God through His Word? How long have you been a Christian? Do you still celebrate Easter?

Acts 7:51
Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.

Most of our people are not eating their fruit from the tree of life, His Word. That is why we are in such big trouble. The question is: "How wise are you in the final generation?" It is written in the Book of Daniel that the "wise" in this generation would understand the words of the prophets (Dan. 12:10). Do you? Do you know from which tree you get your fruit? Your Father says you are to get it from Him.

Hosea 14:8
Ephraim shall say, What have I to do any more with idols? I have heard him, and observed him: I am like a green fir tree. From me is thy fruit found.

[9] Who is wise, and he shall understand these things? prudent, and he shall know them? for the ways of the LORD are right, and the just shall walk in them: but the transgressors shall fall therein.

In chapter 5 we saw how much our Father despises the hypocrisy and idolatry of those who sing praises to Him and give their tithes and offerings to their churches while they ignore His Word, the perfect law of liberty, and allow injustice and perversity to ring throughout our land, even if they do so in ignorance! I mean, it is not like there is a shortage of Bibles in our land, right? We are to hold our leaders, whether they be preachers, teachers, or politicians, accountable for their actions and what they say and/or teach.

Therefore in chapter 5, verse 18, of the Book of Amos, He gave churchgoers a "Woe" of warning and said in verse 24 that it is "judgment" running down from the high places of the land as a torrent of waters and it is "righteousness" flowing as a mighty river that is "music to His ears". You see, church does not impress Him at all, especially when so very little of His Word is taught there. He makes it very clear that He wants us to love Him and to Seek Him, through His Word, not Beth-el.

The Lord is now going to sound another "Woe" of warning through the herdman, Amos, to the leaders of our people in chapter six. That's right, these two "Woes" in Amos are given as warnings of His wrath to come and God help those who are on the receiving end of the cup of His indignation when He pours it out upon the ungodly in the very near future. And as we shall see, the first to be "Walloped by the Woes" are the leaders of our people, both religious and civil, i.e. the priests and preachers followed by the lawmakers, judges, etc., for they are those to whom our people come for righteous decrees, for judgment and justice. Unfortunately the injustice in our land has gone so far that now all too many of our people also look to them for their security through entitlement programs such as health care and social security and education and other system benefits all designed to allow the government to be the big brother provider of their security, i.e. to take care of them!

Amos 6:1
Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria, which are named chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel came!

One thing should be obvious and self evident when you look at the religious and political leaders of our people, i.e. the men and women "which are named chief", to whom our people look for "judgment and justice" (see the structure on chapter 6 and the note on verse 1 in the Companion Bible). Many of them have become a bunch of arrogant, self serving hypocrites who have set themselves up to enjoy the "good life" at the expense of their own people by supplying themselves with "pork barrels of perks" while at the same time exempting themselves from many of the laws and ordinances which they have prescribed for Joe Citizen. In fact, you will find this same Woe in the Book of Isaiah:

Isaiah 10:1
Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and that write grievousness which they have prescribed;

You lawmakers on Capital Hill prescribe and write much grievousness for our people. But be forewarned: While you "are at ease" now, you are also prescribing your own future grievousness which shall fall upon your self-serving heads, for it is written that you shall reap what you sow at the time of harvest. Hint: Go visit a winepress and get a clue!

[2] To turn aside the needy from judgment, and to take away the right from the poor of my people, that widows may be their prey, and that they may rob the fatherless!

Yep, that describes many of them!

[3] And what will ye do in the day of visitation, and in the desolation which shall come from far? to whom will ye flee for help? and where will ye leave your glory?

Amos 6:2
Pass ye unto Calneh, and see; and from thence go ye to Hamath the great: then go down to Gath of the Philistines: be they better than these kingdoms? or their border greater than your border?

[3] Ye that put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near;

Amos 6:4
That lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the stall;

[5] That chant to the sound of the viol, and invent to themselves instruments of musick, like David;

[6] That drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief ointments: but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.

Of course our Biblically illiterate people, anesthetized with the traditions of men instead of awake and alive with His Word, let them get away with it. We had better start paying attention to the words spoken of by the holy prophets, like the herdman Amos. The apostle Peter reminds us to do just that:

2 Peter 3:1
This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance:

This is important to keep in mind!

[2] That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour:

Better listen to what old Amos has to say, right?

[3] Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,

Scoffers only pretend to have your best interest at heart but they do not! They are concerned with their own self interests.

[4] And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.

No, the sand is running out of the hour glass and our Father shall bring this flesh age to a close real soon!

Amos 6:7
Therefore now shall they go captive with the first that go captive, and the banquet of them that stretched themselves shall be removed.

[8] The Lord GOD hath sworn by himself, saith the LORD the God of hosts, I abhor the excellency of Jacob, and hate his palaces: therefore will I deliver up the city with all that is therein.

[9] And it shall come to pass, if there remain ten men in one house, that they shall die.

[10] And a man's uncle shall take him up, and he that burneth him, to bring out the bones out of the house, and shall say unto him that is by the sides of the house, Is there yet any with thee? and he shall say, No. Then shall he say, Hold thy tongue: for we may not make mention of the name of the LORD.

Well, when is the last time you heard one of our statesmen stand up and invoke the name of God on the floor of the House or the floor of the Senate and remind those "writers of grievousness" of the words of Thomas Jefferson in our Declaration of Independence (from oppression), that there is a Higher Court, a Supreme Judge, who shall surely overturn their evil judgments on that great day, if not sooner? Here are the words from that great document:

"We, therefore, the Representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions," (Declaration of Independence)

rectitude,  1: the quality or state of being straight 2: moral integrity: RIGHTEOUSNESS 3. the quality or state of being correct in judgment or procedure. (Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Tenth Edition)

[11] For, behold, the LORD commandeth, and he will smite the great house with breaches, and the little house with clefts.

[12] Shall horses run upon the rock? will one plow there with oxen? for ye have turned judgment into gall, and the fruit of righteousness into hemlock:

Amos 6:13
Ye which rejoice in a thing of nought, which say, Have we not taken to us horns by our own strength?

"And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor." (Declaration of Independence)

[14] But, behold, I will raise up against you a nation, O house of Israel, saith the LORD the God of hosts; and they shall afflict you from the entering in of Hemath unto the river of the wilderness.

Here is the documentation of who Hemath is:

1 Chron. 2:55
And the families of the scribes which dwelt at Jabez; the Tirathites, the Shimeathites, and Suchathites. These are the Kenites that came of Hemath, the father of the house of Rechab.

ïP÷­ qayin kah'-yin #7014
The same as H7013 (with a play upon the affinity to H7069); Kajin, the name of the first child, also of a place in Palestine, and of an Oriental tribe:—Cain, Kenite (-s).

Revelation 2:9  I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of themwhich say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.

Revelation 3:9  Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.

You better learn who they are for like locusts they have already consumed the treasuries and most of the "vineyard" of true Israel. In chapter 7, Amos will be shown a vision of the locusts and see how "small" Jacob, the natural seed of the House of Israel, has been reduced to when the locusts have finished "eating all the grass". Don't miss it!

In the 7th chapter of the great Book of Amos, our Father shows the herdman from the town of Tekoa, which means trumpet, several "visions" of the last days, even of the time of trouble called the great tribulation. However, before we "see" Amos' visions, let's review some familiar scriptures concerning the time of that great tribulation and then this 7th chapter will be very easy to understand.

First of all, it is well documented that the time known as the great tribulation begins when Michael, the one who is now holding back Satan, the son of perdition (2 Thes. 7), stands up and casts that son of perdition along with his angels out of heaven to this earth (Rev. 12:7-9). Then there will be that time of spiritual trouble, great tribulation, such as never was since there was a nation even to that time:

Daniel 12:1
And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.

Matthew 24:21
For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.

[22] And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.

[23] Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.

[24] For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.

Also, "If it were possible" is an expression meaning that it is not possible. You see, it is written in Rom. 11 that God's very elect will not bow a knee to Satan. But if it were possible, the false messiah and his band of merry angels disguised as angels of light would surely do so. However, God's elect shall remain as wise virgins and they shall make it through the hour of darkness, as it is written.

Additionally, the wise not only understand that the period of Satan's reign as the false-christ has been shortened, but they know from Revelation chapter nine that the shortened period of time for Satan and his angels, i.e. Apollyon and his devastating locust army, is five months. Rev. 9:5 "And to them [the locusts from the pit] it was given that they should not kill them [the people], but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man."

Now let's stop and consider that Amos' vision historically speaking was for the period two years before the great earthquake of Uzziah which we have shown from Zech. 14 is prophetic of that great earthquake two years "before the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee (Zech. 14:5)." Therefore this Book of Amos changes from prophecy to current events before the sound of the 6th trumpet when Satan is cast out of heaven. How up to date are you on current events? Jesus said "Take Heed" as in stop, look, and listen, five times in Mark 13 concerning the events of these last days.

With that background in mind, consider now the following three "visions" of Amos the prophet. Do you know that it is recorded in the Book of Joel, which was quoted by Peter on that first Pentecost Day in Acts 2, that in the last days the young men would see "visions" which simply means they would "see" as in "understand" the "visions" of the prophets and they would teach them to their brothers and sisters. May God grant you the spiritual "eyes to see" and understand these visions of Amos?

Amos 7:1
Thus hath the Lord GOD shewed unto me; and, behold, he formed grasshoppers in the beginning of the shooting up of the latter growth; and, lo, it was the latter growth after the king's mowings.

Here it is:

[2] And it came to pass, that when they had made an end of eating the grass of the land, then I said, O Lord GOD, forgive, I beseech thee: by whom shall Jacob arise? for he is small.

[3] The LORD repented for this: It shall not be, saith the LORD.

Amos 7:4
Thus hath the Lord GOD shewed unto me: and, behold, the Lord GOD called to contend by fire, and it devoured the great deep, and did eat up a part.

[5] Then said I, O Lord GOD, cease, I beseech thee: by whom shall Jacob arise? for he is small.

[6] The LORD repented for this: This also shall not be, saith the Lord GOD.

Let's recap:

So far we have learn that instead of allowing Satan and his locust army to consume all the grass (the people) and the fire to devour and dry up the sea, i.e. the people (Rev. 17:15), and the land (of true Israel), our Father has decided to hold back the sounding of the 6th trump and the release of the four winds (Rev. 7:1-14) and drop a plumbline right smack in the middle of His people Israel. He will confirm in verse 8 that He shall not pass by His people anymore, meaning they shall not escape their chastisement and the tribulation of the spurious messiah and his angels, the great locust army. He fully intends to release them in their fury when He is ready according as it is written in Rev. 9:13-21.

You see, our Father loves His children very, very much and because of that deep love He is very patient and "longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). So we now will learn from Amos where our Father "stands" in relation to His children.

Amos 7:7
Thus He shewed me: and, behold, the Lord stood upon a wall made by a plumbline, with a plumbline in his hand.

[8] And the LORD said unto me, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A plumbline. Then said the Lord, Behold, I will set a plumbline in the midst of my people Israel: I will not again pass by them any more:

The vision of the plumbline is simply this: The plumbline represents the straight and true Word of Righteousness, the Word of God, which you must use as your guide to build your house, if you are indeed "wise". Hear the words of the prophet Isaiah:

Isaiah 28:16
Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.

[17] Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.

Matthew 7:21
Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

[22] Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

[23] And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

[24] Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:

[25] And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

We continue with Amos 7:9 following the Lord's statement in verse 8 that He will not pass by the sins and idolatry of His people anymore:

Amos 7:9
And the high places of Isaac shall be desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste; and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.

Jeroboam, whose name means "the people become numerous" was the king of the 10 Tribes of the House of Israel. During his reign the "golden calves" of idolatry were set up and the Bethels became Beth-Avens. And you should know what the "sword" is from Rev. 1:16. It is the Word of God, even the plumbline by which judgment for all shall be measured. The question is, "Where do you stand right now in relation to the plumbline. Are you on course, strait and true, or are you swinging like a pendulum with the traditions of men?

Next we shall see a mainstream idolatrous priest, one named Amaziah, who does not like to hear what Amos the herdman has to say from the Word of God.

Now there's a surprise!

We saw that Amos the Shepherd from Trumpetville (Tekoa) was shown several "visions" directly from the Lord GOD. If you are a student of the Book of Revelation and know what the 7 Trumpets are you should have recognized that the first two visions, which were the locust army consuming the grass of the land and the fire burning up the sea and the land of His people, were visions of the events of 6th Trump when the desolator, Satan posing as Jesus Christ, is cast to this earth with his angels (Rev. 12:7-9) to deceive the whole world and spiritually consume it. Of course Amos saw that the desolation was going to be a total desolation and he cried out to God who told him that it would not happen that way.

God then showed Amos that although the locusts He had formed should come (i.e. the 6th Trump was ready to sound) He would first stand on a wall and hold a plumbline in the midst of Israel by which those who were wise could see the truth and build upon that wall of His protection using that plumbline, the Word of God. This is the period of the 5th Trump, the Trumpet of Grace, the time of teaching and the "sealing" of the truth in the minds of the 144,000 in Rev. 7:4-8 and the multitudes as well in Rev. 7:9.

What needs to be pointed out, however, is that Amos did not learn "eschatology" from a school for prophets nor obtain a degree from a Theological Seminary, nor did he have a big church building. This is very important because there has been much said in this Book of Amos concerning the churches, the Bethels, and it has not been favorable by any means. Remember we were warned in chapter 5 to "Seek not Bethel" but to "Seek the Lord God, and ye shall live". You seek Him through the Word of God.

Do you recall in Mat. 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21, when the disciples came to Jesus and asked Him what would be the signs in the last days just before He returns to destroy the temple in Jerusalem where the false messiah will be standing? His first warning to them was to watch out for deception from Christian preachers. "Take heed, let no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many (Matthew 24:5)." So according to the words of Jesus Christ, preachers are a big problem in our land. In fact in the concluding verse of this chapter, Amos will lay charge to the idolatrous priests for the great harlotry of our people because they reject the true teachings of God's Word and His prophets and even go out of their way to prevent His servants from teaching the truth. To that end, we are going to learn what you can expect from many of the leaders of the religious community.

Hint: You can expect that they will turn on you and bring false charges and misrepresent what you teach from God's Word. In fact, some of you have already had experiences such as these.

We are also going to see why it is our people are starved for truth. Their church leaders are not only not interested in teaching truth, but some of them, like the preacher we are going to read about today, cannot even correctly quote a prophet of God. No wonder our people are ignorant of God's Word. With leaders like that, whose spiritually blind congregations believe they are truly God's ministers, our people are in Big Trouble. Remember, Christ warned us about them.

So open your eyes and let's see a prominent minister of a Big Bethel in action. This priest's name is "Amaziah" which means the "strength of Yah", which is not what he actually is but rather what he thinks he is. Nevertheless, Amaziah has heard what Amos prophesied in verse 9 here in chapter 7. Here is what he does about it:

Amos 7:10
Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, Amos hath conspired against thee in the midst of the house of Israel: the land is not able to bear all his words.

So what does Amaziah do when he hears Amos the herdman teaching the TRUTH directly from God's Word? First and foremost, he REJECTS the Word of God from the mouth of His prophet, and then falsely accuses Amos of "conspiring" against the king and tries to get the political leader to shut him up... all for the good of the people of course because they cannot bear all Amos' words, not because good old sweet tolerant Amaziah has anything against Amos! Of course not! Just look at Amaziah! He's a holy man of god!

Now let's see what else Amaziah has to say about the prophet of God. Again, the false priest has already LIED twice and accused Amos of an evil conspiratorial motive while implying that his own motive is pure and honorable, i.e. for the good of the people. You see, Amaziah the big preacher is representative of a lot of preachers today who believe that you tell your congregations what they want to hear, like nice stories and anecdotes, and get them feeling real good with pretty mood music and make them believe they are making great sacrifice to God when they fill the collection plate and sign up to help with the annual fund raising chicken barbeque. Am I being unkind? Well, teaching the truth of God's Word straight on, which sometimes steps on everyone's toes, including the teacher's, is not popular with the majority. It never has been.

Amaziah continues:

[11] For thus Amos saith, Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel shall surely be led away captive out of their own land.

1 John 4:1
Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

Slightly twisting God's Word and His words to make it appear that God said something which He did not, or did not say something which He did, is the age old subtle MO of Satan which he first used in the garden of Eden when he misquoted God's words to Eve. He also misquoted scripture to Jesus Christ when he tempted Him in the wilderness by omitting the words "to keep Thee in all Thy ways" and adding the words "lest at any time" to Psalms 91:11-12. Check it out. So is it any wonder then that his ministers do likewise in twisting and misquoting scriptures?

Here is something else you need to be aware of concerning preachers in this final generation. They do not want you teaching God's Word anywhere in or near their churches.

Amos 7:12
Also Amaziah said unto Amos, O thou seer, go, flee thee away into the land of Judah, and there eat bread, and prophesy there:

[13] But prophesy not again any more at Bethel: for it is the king's chapel, and it is the king's court.

Amos is now going to address the Reverend Uppity, PhD, ThM, BRE. (Doctor of Philosophy, Master of Theology, Bachelor of Religious Education).

Amos 7:14
Then answered Amos, and said to Amaziah, I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet's son; but I was an herdman, and a gatherer of sycomore fruit:

[15] And the LORD took me as I followed the flock, and the LORD said unto me, Go, prophesy unto my people Israel.

Amos now has a few choice words for Amaziah and they are not His own. He will do as we are all instructed to do and that is speak in the manner of "Thus saith the LORD!" First, Amos repeats the charge Amaziah gave to Him to STOP teaching the truth:

Amos 7:16
Now therefore hear thou the word of the LORD: Thou sayest, Prophesy not against Israel, and drop not thy word against the house of Isaac.

[17] Therefore thus saith the LORD; Thy wife shall be an harlot in the city, and thy sons and thy daughters shall fall by the sword, and thy land shall be divided by line; and thou shalt die in a polluted land: and Israel shall surely go into captivity forth of his land.

polluted  =  àîÅèÈtÖaòmeòtaw-may' Strong's   #2931
From H2930; foul in a religious sense:—defiled, + infamous, polluted (-tion), unclean.

àîÅèÈ tÖaòmeòtaw-may' Strong's #2930
A primitive root; to be foul, especially in a ceremonial or moral sense (contaminated):—defile (self), pollute (self), be (make, make self, pronounce) unclean, X utterly.

Luke 21:8
And He said, Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them.

Amos 5:4
For thus saith the LORD unto the house of Israel, Seek ye me, and ye shall live:

[5] But seek not Bethel, nor enter into Gilgal, and pass not to Beer-sheba: for Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, and Bethel shall come to nought.

Matthew 25:11
... Lord, Lord, open to us.

To which He will reply:

[12] But He answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.

Do you know how to answer the age old questions, "When does the end come?" and "When is the final generation"? Well, we have now come to the next to the last chapter, the incredible 8th chapter, of the Book of Amos in which Amos will be given a vision of the time of the end, even of the timing of the end, and some very important information necessary for our understanding in these last days. For that reason we are going to take some extra time in covering this chapter. So let's begin.

Amos 8:1
Thus hath the Lord GOD shewed unto me: and behold a basket of summer fruit.

Why is this so important? Let's read the next verse and we will find out.

[2] And He said, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A basket of summer fruit. Then said the LORD unto me, The end is come upon my people of Israel; I will not again pass by them any more.

You see, our loving Father, Adonai Yahveh, has just TOLD US that this VISION of the Summer Fruit concerns the "end time", the final generation when the "end is come upon My people Israel"! So this concerns the 10 tribes of the House of Israel, i.e. America, Great Britain, Canada, &c. If we dig a little deeper we will also discover that He gave us a cute little saying, a play on words (a figure of speech called a Paronomasia) in this verse using the words "summer fruit" and "end" which are like-sounding or rhyming words in the Hebrew language. They are "õP÷­qayitskah'-yits" and "õ÷«qeòtskates" which means "Ripe is the fruit, ripe is the time."

So all we have to do as God's servants in order to understand the time being spoken of is to understand the symbology of the vision Amos saw. Remember we all ready know that it identifies the "end coming upon His people". Let's start with "summer". Jesus told us how to know when "summer" is near in Mat. 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21. Let's go to Mark 13:

Mark 13:28
Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When her branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is near:

The "Parable of the Fig Tree" actually begins in the fig grove in the garden of Eden where mother Eve was spiritually AND physically seduced by Satan and where the seed (offspring) of that serpent, Cain and his generations of kenites (sons of Kain), between whom God had placed enmity with the seed of the woman, Abel and the children of Adam, was symbolically covered up by the fig leaves that were sewn together and placed over her womb. If you look up "fig" in a dictionary you will find that it figuratively symbolizes something hidden as in the expression "It is a fig". Yes, the truth of what happened in the garden has remained hidden and obscured by traditional fairy tales of "apples and snakes" unto this very day. Satan just loves it. And you know that Amaziah (see chapter 7) would certainly never allow such a teaching of truth as this in his nationally recognized church.

Nevertheless, and to make a long study short, the sons of Cain would eventually affix themselves to the tribes of Israel (1 Chron. 2:55) and eventually infiltrate the tribe of Judah (read Ezra and Nehemiah concerning the Levite and the Nethinim) and lay claim that they are actually of the good seed of Adam, through Abraham and Judah, and that they are God's chosen people, both of which are LIES! They are those "bad figs", those "liars" of the synagogue of Satan identified in Rev. 2:9 and 3:9 whose fake ID's are taught by the two churches of Smyrna and Philadelphia, the only two churches Christ found no fault with.

Also, in the 24th chapter of the Book of Jeremiah, the prophet Jeremiah was shown two baskets of "figs" and identified one as very "naughty figs" which could not be eaten and the other as very "good figs". So the tribe of Judah today is actually a mixture of good figs (those who really are of Judah) and the bad figs (those who are imposters). However, Jeremiah saw BOTH baskets, both the good and the bad figs, set out in the land of Judea. Do you know historically when that occurred? It was on May 15, 1948, when the United Nations, which was set up and instituted by the Zionists themselves, gave sanction to the state of Israel. It has COME TO PASS!
Next verse:

[29] So ye in like manner, when ye shall see these things come to pass, know that it is nigh, even at the doors.

[30] Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done.

But we are to be even more perceptive than that and be able to SEE when the fruit is ripe! What fruit are we talking about? What is fruit symbolic of anyway? Hopefully you are not at the level where you think all the trees talked about in Bible have bark on them and that Eve ate an apple from a fruit tree. Trees are used symbolically THROUGHOUT the Bible to represent people, men and women, even Satan, known as the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and that old "box cedar" in Ezek. 31, and Jesus Christ, the Tree of Life. If you have never read the 31st chapter of Ezekiel regarding "trees" then do so now! (Live link)to-Ezekiel 31 Our Father even likens Himself to a great fir tree, an Evergreen Tree (symbolic of eternal life) and says you are get your "fruit" from Him (Hosea 14:6). You see, good trees produce good fruit and bad trees produce bad fruit. Consider the words and the warning of Jesus Christ:

Matthew 7:15
Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

[16] Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

[17] Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.

[18] A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

[19] Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

[20] Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

Amos 8:3
And the songs of the temple shall be howlings in that day, saith the Lord GOD: there shall be many dead bodies in every place; they shall cast them forth with silence.

Amos 5:23
Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols.

We have also learned in this book of Amos about the "Fat-cats" in high places who take advantage of our people and rip them off. Our leaders who should have continued to build our nation using the same "plumbline" our founding fathers did, have allowed the sons of the House of Hemath (1 Chron. 2:55), i.e. the kenites, the bad figs, to enter in and they now literally rule over us, using many of our own leaders as "pawns in the game"! Remember the vision Amos saw of the locusts consuming our land? What do you know about the Hidden Dynasty of the Economy? Do you know why we have a many Trillion Dollar national DEBT and even more DEBT than that among our local cities, and counties, and townships, &c? We were warned long ago by the Word of God through Moses that the stranger, the kenite, would become the head and rule over us through the power of economics, through lending (usury). We have not followed God's laws of economics and have not declared the jubilee inscribed on our Liberty Bell. Here are the simple words of warning from our Father in the great Book of Deuteronomy. So simple and easy to understand are they, that they need no commentary whatsoever:

Deut. 28:42
All thy trees and fruit of thy land shall the locust consume.

[43] The stranger that is within thee shall get up above thee very high; and thou shalt come down very low.

[44] He shall lend to thee, and thou shalt not lend to him: he shall be the head, and thou shalt be the tail.

[45] Moreover all these curses shall come upon thee, and shall pursue thee, and overtake thee, till thou be destroyed; because thou hearkenedst not unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which he commanded thee:

We continue now in chapter 8 of Amos and if you recall, we discussed in detail the following verses, 4-7, earlier.  These verses describe the 3rd Seal of Revelation chapter 6 which is the Black Horse of the Hidden Dynasty of the Economy, the one whose rider has a "pair of balances in his hand" and sells "a measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny (Rev. 6:5-6)". Barley is poor man's wheat and a "penny" at the time of this writing was actually a day's wages. Our Father wants us to be keenly aware of this injustice and corruption of the markets and the economic captivity in these last days.

Amos 8:4
Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor of the land to fail,

[5] Saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit?

[6] That we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes; yea, and sell the refuse of the wheat?

[7] The LORD hath sworn by the excellency of Jacob, Surely I will never forget any of their works.

[8] Shall not the land tremble for this, and every one mourn that dwelleth therein? and it shall rise up wholly as a flood; and it shall be cast out and drowned, as by the flood of Egypt.

Amos 8:9
And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord GOD, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day:

Joel 2:1
Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand;

[2] A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations.

Amos 8:10
And I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; and I will bring up sackcloth upon all loins, and baldness upon every head; and I will make it as the mourning of an only son, and the end thereof as a bitter day.

Finally, in this 8th chapter of the Book of Amos, in the Old Testament of all places, we have come to the verse that fully explains what the famine of the end time is which Christ talked about in Mat. 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21. We need also understand that this is no longer prophecy and that we are right now in the midst of that great famine.

Amos 8:11
Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:

Matthew 25:31
When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall He sit upon the throne of his glory:

[32] And before Him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:

[33] And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

[34] Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

[35] For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:

[36] Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

[37] Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?

[38] When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?

[39] Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?

[40] And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

Amos 8:12
And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it.

John 6:35
And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

Amos 8:13
In that day shall the fair virgins and young men faint for thirst.

[14] They that swear by the sin of Samaria, and say, Thy god, O Dan, liveth; and, The manner of Beer-sheba liveth; even they shall fall, and never rise up again.

Because it is so critical that one fully understands the "famine" of the end time caused by the lack of wisdom and knowledge from His Word, and in so far as all prophets are all in one accord concerning the events of these last days, let's let one of them give us some further explanation of the famine. We will conclude this study with the words from Hosea, whose name means "salvation", as in the salvation of His people Israel:

Hosea 4:1
Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.

[2] By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood.

[3] Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away.

Amos 8:8 Shall not the land tremble for this, and every one mourn that dwelleth therein?

[4] Yet let no man strive, nor reprove another: for thy people are as they that strive with the priest.

[5] Therefore shalt thou fall in the day, and the prophet also shall fall with thee in the night, and I will destroy thy mother.

[6] My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.

[7] As they were increased, so they sinned against me: therefore will I change their glory into shame.

[8] They eat up the sin of my people, and they set their heart on their iniquity.

[9] And there shall be, like people, like priest: and I will punish them for their ways, and reward them their doings.

[10] For they shall eat, and not have enough: they shall commit whoredom, and shall not increase: because they have left off to take heed to the LORD.

"We thank our Father so much that we are privileged in these last days to eat our "daily bread" from the table of the Lord, His Word, and to drink that "living water" from His well of Truth, His precious Word. May we be of service to our starving brothers and sisters according to your will, Father." Amen

Let us now consider some of the important things we have learned so far from this great Book of Amos, whose name means "burden". One very important lesson we need to See and Understand is that Amos was just a hard working herdman and a gather of sycamore fruit. He did not have a degree in theology nor did he graduate from a seminary! Yet he knew the Word of God because He loved the Lord and he loved studying His Word, whereas the big popular, well respected church preacher, Amaziah, who probably had man's credentials out the ying yang, had little time for God's Word and in fact rejected God's Word and banned His servant Amos from teaching truth in or anywhere near his big cathedral.

So never let some foolish virgin (either man or woman) tell you that you cannot understand God's Word or be used mightily by God because you are just an average middleclass hardworking person. Why? Because you now KNOW from the very Word of God that it is the LORD God, NOT MAN, who calls His servants and He alone who opens their eyes and ears to be able to see and understand the visions and the truth from His Word. And His servants show themselves approved by studying that Word (1 Tim. 2:15) and they are sanctified by that Word which is truth: (John 17:17 "Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.")

We also learned that Amos, the shepherd of a small flock, was from Tekoa, which means "trumpet" as in Trumpetville. That is revealing in itself, for if you were familiar with the 7 Trumpets of Revelation you would know that Amos was shown the same visions of the Trumpets that John saw. And Amos not only saw the devastation caused to date by the locust army in control of the Four Hidden Dynasties (Politics, Education, Economics and Religion), he saw the complete devastation through the 6th Trump which if God had not delayed the sounding thereof (Rev. 7:1-4) and shortened Apollyon and his locust armies defacto reign, there "would be no flesh saved", as in no one sealed by His truth.

It is just remarkable that Amos was shown by God thousands of years ago the curses (pestilences) of our day, which are those societal scourges, all the (fat cat) political and judicial injustices and the economic oppression through an usurious monetary system, using tipped balances, which is likened to the captivity (call it slavery) of the taskmasters of Egypt. And let us not forget to mention the corrupt leadership of the churches and the rejection of truth by the Amaziahs of Churchianity, for it precisely because of the famine of these last days that we as nation have incurred such pestilences. That's right, it is written that such curses, which again are the famines and pestilences, etc., of Mat. 24 and Mark 13, would come upon us as a RESULT of not studying and adhering to the Word of God, which is His Voice. "Well", you say, "if our Christian brothers and sisters are not listening to His Voice, then whose voice are they listening to?" Hey, you're starting to understand the sin of Samaria!!

If you have read God's Word with understanding and have learned from the prophet Amos what the famine of the end time really is (Amos 8:11), then it is really easy to See how unfortunate (but true) it is that the majority of our people listen to many, many preachers and ministers, even great Amaziah's, who all come in the name of Christ and yet deceive their congregations by teaching the blinding traditions of men and not God's Word chapter by chapter and verse by verse. Christ warned us about them, didn't He?

Also, if you understand the Word of God through His prophets, who all wrote about this final generation, it then becomes quite clear that Jesus Christ did not actually give us any new revelations in Mat. 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21! In fact, Jesus stated in Mark 13:23 that He had foretold us all things, even of "the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand)... (Mark 13:14)". Have you ever wondered what "let him that readeth understand" means? It means let him that reads the words of the Daniel (and the prophets) with understanding, know the full extent and the simplicity of what Christ was talking about, even the details of the spiritual desolation of the last days during the reign of Satan as the false-christ, the abominable one who will stand in the holy place claiming to be God.

No, there is nothing new under the sun. The curses Amos saw in our day were "promised" long, long ago (as we reckon time) to come upon us IF we listened and hearkened to men's voices instead of the Voice of the LORD thy God. Here is what our Father said would happen if we were drawn away from His Word:

Deut. 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:

Deut. 28:33
The fruit of thy land, and all thy labours, shall a nation which thou knowest not eat up; and thou shalt be only oppressed and crushed alway:

Deut. 28:38
Thou shalt carry much seed out into the field, and shalt gather but little in; for the locust shall consume it.

Deut. 28:42
All thy trees and fruit of thy land shall the locust consume.

Deut. 28:38
Thou shalt carry much seed out into the field, and shalt gather but little in; for the locust shall consume it.

Deut. 28:42
All thy trees and fruit of thy land shall the locust consume.

Deut. 28:43
The stranger that is within thee shall get up above thee very high; and thou shalt come down very low.

[44] He shall lend to thee, and thou shalt not lend to him: he shall be the head, and thou shalt be the tail.

Too bad we have allowed Hemath to enter into our storehouse and consume away the fruit of our land, both physically and much, much worse spiritually!

Deut. 28:48
Therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies which the LORD shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things: and he shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he have destroyed thee.

Let us now complete the Book of Amos. The subject is still the House of Israel. We left off in the last verse of chapter 8 with the promise that they that swear by the god of Bethel, who is that false Jesus, shall fall. You see, worshipping the false-christ while believing he is actually the real Jesus IS the sin of Samaria, i.e. the sin of America and Great Britain and Canada and those Christian nations who have now become distressed and oppressed and afflicted at the hand of the locust nation. The fair virgins and young men do faint in this generation because of thirst, because of the dearth for truth. In other words, they have no idea that they are worshipping the wrong Jesus because they are ignorant of the Word of God. Though their Amaziah's in the churches of our land bring them into the Bethels, they bring them to the altar of the Golden Calves of Samaria. They have been sorely deceived in their minds which means they already carry the Mark of the Beast in their foreheads but they know it not.

Now learn even from the Book of Amos that the LORD God will destroy the temple of false worship and every idol with it when He returns.

Amos 9:1
I saw the LORD standing upon the altar: and he said, Smite the lintel of the door, that the posts may shake: and cut them in the head, all of them; and I will slay the last of them with the sword: he that fleeth of them shall not flee away, and he that escapeth of them shall not be delivered.

Amos 9:10
All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, which say, The evil shall not overtake nor prevent us.

Again, what is the sin of Samaria? It is to worship the false god of Bethel. It is to have the Mark of the Beast in your forehead instead of the Seal of God in your forehead. The words Mark and Seal mean the same thing. Call it the Seal of Satan and the Seal of God or the Mark of the Beast and the Mark of the Lord. It is what is IN your MIND. And all those who worship the beast, the false messiah, shall be spiritually slain in this final generation. There shall be NO ESCAPE, no where to run and hide.

Amos 9:2
Though they dig into hell, thence shall mine hand take them; though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down:

[3] And though they hide themselves in the top of Carmel, I will search and take them out thence; and though they be hid from my sight in the bottom of the sea, thence will I command the serpent, and he shall bite them:

[4] And though they go into captivity before their enemies, thence will I command the sword, and it shall slay them: and I will set mine eyes upon them for evil, and not for good.

Amos 8:2
And he said, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A basket of summer fruit. Then said the LORD unto me, The end is come upon my people of Israel; I will not again pass by them any more.

Amos 9:5
And the Lord GOD of hosts is he that toucheth the land, and it shall melt, and all that dwell therein shall mourn: and it shall rise up wholly like a flood; and shall be drowned, as by the flood of Egypt.

So do not think that God is not in complete and total control at ALL TIMES! And if you are one of His, you have nothing to worry about for it is not you your Father is angry with.

[6] It is he that buildeth his stories in the heaven, and hath founded his troop in the earth; he that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD is his name.

Col. 1:16
For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

[17] And He is before all things, and by him all things consist.

Amos 9:7
Are ye not as children of the Ethiopians unto me, O children of Israel? saith the LORD. Have not I brought up Israel out of the land of Egypt? and the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Syrians from Kir?

[8] Behold, the eyes of the Lord GOD are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the face of the earth; saving that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, saith the LORD.

[9] For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth.

Amos 9:10
All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, which say, The evil shall not overtake nor prevent us.

Yes, the sinners of His people shall die (spiritually) by the sword and not rise up to eternal life at Christ's return. They shall stand naked and ashamed (Rev. 6:15-17) for the sin of Samaria, idolatry, and wish that the mountains and hills would fall upon them rather than face the King of kings and Lord of lords. They will go through the winepress and the 1000 years of teaching we call the Millennium after which they can be raised up to eternal life at the Great White Throne Judgment. This is the second resurrection, or it will be the second death for those who do not make it (Rev. 20:14).

So there is good news because the Plan of God, though it entails tough love, is designed to bring His children, even of all nations, into His loving arms. Let us now read of the restoration of His people in the Millennium, in that day when the Lord returns.

Amos 9:11
In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old:

[12] That they may possess the remnant of Edom, and of all the heathen, which are called by my name, saith the LORD that doeth this.

Acts 15:13
And after they had held their peace, James answered, saying, Men and brethren, hearken unto me:

[14] Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name.

[15] And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written,

[16] After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up:

[17] That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things.

[18] Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world.

Let's read about those days ahead when all the evil rudiments are burned up by His fire and true Peace and prosperity become reality because the Prince of Peace reigns on high.

Amos 9:13
Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt.

[14] And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them.

[15]And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the LORD thy God.

In conclusion, it just seems fitting to end this great Book of Amos with the simple instructions our Father gave to us long ago.

Deut. 30:11
For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off.

[12] It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?

[13] Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?

[14] But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.

[15] See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil;

[16] In that I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it.

Ezekiel 44:23
And they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.

[24] And in controversy they shall stand in judgment; and they shall judge it according to my judgments: and they shall keep my laws and my statutes in all mine assemblies; and they shall hallow my sabbaths.

Deut. 30:17
But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them;

Therefore KNOW THIS and know it well. If you listen to preachers, teachers, pastors, politicians, popes, priests, elders or anybody else without CHECKING them out in God's Word, the probability that you are being fed and therefore eating bad fruit is humongous. Don't you know your very soul depends on it? Christians are so worried about suffering a little pain in the flesh that they listen to unscriptural, unfounded "fly away" stories, while they ignore His Word, which means they have FORSAKEN HIM and refused to listen to His Voice.

So go for it Christian. You can be a wise virgin or a foolish one who shall faint, which means to fall in the great apostasy of these end times. But it was written long, long ago that if you eat of that bad fruit, in the day you do you shall surely DIE!

[18] I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it.

[19] I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:

[20] That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto Him: for He is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.

Amos 5:4
... Seek ye Me, and ye shall live:

[5] But seek not Bethel...

[6] Seek the LORD, and ye shall live;

... lest He break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and devour it, and there be none to quench it in Bethel.