ot2kings18

Caution to students of God's Word - Please remember two things when using our studies: #1. Our commentary is not God's Word. It is only our interpretation or understanding of "His Word" and even though we try our best to be accurate we may or may not be correct. #2. The King James translation, or any other translation, of the original Hebrew text has some words which were given different translations at different places probably because of the interpreters preconceived ideas of what they think God meant to say. For example: According to the notes in the "Drake's Annotated Reference Bible" the Hebrew word hayah in the KJV is Trans. (became) 67 times, (becamest or came to pass) 505 times, (become) 66 times, and (come to pass) 131 times, but for some reason in Genesis 1:2 it is translated (was)! That sure changes the way a person perceives the original creation of the earth, doesn't it? Gen. 1:2 And the earth was (became) without form, ... Having said that, let us continue with our "Key Knowledge" lessons. These are pamphlets containing knowledge, we believe, you must have to fully and accurately unlock and understand the Word of God.

John 15:26
But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:

John 16:13-14
[13] Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. [14] He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

This Bible Study was originally written by Roger Christopherson,
published at http://www.theseason.org/

Without the leading by the Holy Spirit, there is no understanding of the truths, for all the truth of the Scriptures are revealed to us by God's Spirit.

II Kings 18:1 "Now it came to pass in the third year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, that Hezekiah the son of Ahaz king of Judah began to reign."

Editor's Note: Christian, PLEASE REMEMBER as you read these accounts of what happened in ancient Israel (to and for our ancestors) The Lord had all this happen, as Paul told us in 1 Corinthians 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.

This verse dates back to a time just prior to the scattering of the ten tribes of the house of Israel. "Hezekiah" in the Hebrew means, "the might of Ya (God)". We will see in this chapter that Hezekiah is just the opposite that his father Ahaz, for Ahaz tore down everything that was of God in the Temple, and replaced it with the altar of Damascus.

II Kings 18:2 "Twenty and five years old was he when he began to reign; and he reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name also was Abi [in the Hebrew should read "Abijah"], the daughter of Zachariah."

"Abijah" in the Hebrew tongue means "Standing for Jah [God]". This Zachariah is not the prophet and author of the book in the Minor Prophets. Abijah taught her son well to be a great king.

II Kings 18:3 "And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that David his father did."

Under Hezekiah, it was clean-up time, for Hezekiah cleaned out all those high places, the altars to strange gods and all forms of idolatry. What a relief from the wickedness of his fathers that went before him.

II Kings 18:4 "He removed the high places, and brake the images, and cut down the groves, and brake in pieces the brasen serpent that Moses had made: for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it: and he called it Nehushtan."

That image of the brasen serpent that Moses had made while the Israelites were in the wilderness, was a relic that they had hung on to and bowed down before. Hezekiah broke it into pieces so that it could be not used in the future. The children of Israel actually came to that serpent and burned incense to that old snake on the stick. Hezekiah called that old serpent, translated "nother but a piece of Brass" [Nehushtan]. Hezekiah told the people that the image or idol is nothing but the substance that it is made of, it can do nothing for you so get rid of it. So we can see exactly what Hezekiah thought of placing anything higher than the Almighty God. The serpent on the stick was a good thing when Moses used it, for it drew the Israelites attention back to God. However, later on that image of the serpent became an object of worship and replaced God as the One to be worshipped.

Hezekiah was the most righteous king of all the prior kings, and he was the son of Ahaz, the most wicked of all the kings. Ahaz never saw an idol that he did not love to bow down to. Remember how the last chapter ended, Israel went down to Egypt for their protection and the Assyrians wiped out not only Israel but Egypt also. So God told Hezekiah that if you follow Me, I am going to take care of your enemies for you. God promised Hezekiah that if you do it My way, then I will bless you.

II Kings 18:5 "He trusted in the Lord God of Israel; so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor any that were before him."

Hezekiah was a good man, honest and right before God. God could trust Hezekiah for his mind was tuned to the ways of the Father. Hezekiah trusted God that He would keep His Word in all matters.

Do you? Sure we like to say, "I love and trust God", but when the chips are down, do you actually trust God to see you through? Do you try to force God to conform to your ways, or are you willing to trust and conform your ways to God's ways? When God told Hezekiah, "you follow My ways, and I will take care of your enemies," Hezekiah believed God. Christianity is not just a religion, but it is a reality, it is our way of life. You can trust in the Father, and it is called faith. That is the way that Christians are to walk, by faith. Know that where your ability ends, that is where God's ability begins.

II Kings 18:6 "For he clave to the Lord, and departed not from following Him, but kept His commandments, which the Lord commanded Moses."

Hezekiah stuck to the commandments, all of them, and trusted in God to lead him and his people.

II Kings 18:7 "And the Lord was with him; and he prospered whithersoever he went forth: and he rebelled against the king of Assyria, and served him not."

Of course Hezekiah followed good judgment, because he stayed within the laws and commandments of God. Hezekiah understood God's Word and followed those ways and teachings. The first thing Hezekiah did was study the writings of the Moses and the prophets, and then he knew What God expected of him. Then God blessed him and caused those things that he did to prosper.

In Ahaz's day, his father had become a servant to the king of Assyria, and gave him much tribute, however Hezekiah would not step into the role of servant to anyone but God. Ahaz thought he could buy his freedom form this wicked king, to keep him from coming against Judah and Jerusalem. When Hezekiah came to the throne, God was with him and he told the king of Assyria that those ways of his father were over. No more taxes from Jerusalem. Of course the king of Assyria took this response as an insult, and send his forces against Jerusalem, so that Hezekiah would not set an example to the rest of the nations to stop paying taxes to him.

II Kings 18:8 "He smote the Philistines, even unto Gaza, and the borders thereof, from the tower of the watchmen to the fenced city."

Hezekiah removed the influences of the Philistines completely, for only the True God had a place in Judah.

II Kings 18:9 "And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, that Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against Samaria, and besieged it."

The events of this siege is what we studied and covered in the seventeenth chapter. After three years of besieging the city, it fell and the entire nation of the "House of Israel" was removed from off their land and taken to places in Persia [Iran], and northern Iraq of today. The scattering of the 10 tribes of the "House of Israel" took place over several years, and they were removed by groups, or tribal clans. These groups of people would never be known by Israel again, but by names such as Cimmerons, Gauls, Saxons, Brits, Scythians, Celts and so on, but they would all be know as "Caucasians" even to this day. The Assyrian inscriptions detail these groups and state the numbers in each group and where they were removed to.

II Kings 18:10 "And at the end of three years they took it: even in the sixth year of Hezekiah, that is the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel, Samaria was taking."

We know from history that Shalmaneser started the siege and died before it was completed. His son, Sargon succeed him and completed the siege and carried out the scattering of the house of Israel. So the Assyrians are going to try to bring down Judah in the same manner that they brought down Israel, with a three year siege. In the inscriptions of Sargon, he brags that in one trip he took twenty seven thousand two hundred and forty, removed to Media. Of course when he would remove and empty a town, he would move in other peoples to fill those vacant towns.

This was sort of like the Indian nations being removed from off their lands and into reservation of the 1800 in America.

II Kings 18:11 "And the king of Assyria did carry away Israel unto Assyria, and put them in Halah and in Habor by the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes:"

Editor's Note: So much for the ancient "House of Israel"! And it's history as a nation.

But first let me say, the medes were a people that worshipped only one God, and it makes the student of God's Word wonder as to who that one God was. When you locate this location on the map, notice the location of the Caucasus mountains to the "House of Israel's" escape routes out of the land of the medes. This then is when and where the migrations started to take place. This is the Word of God that we are not talking about here, not fairy-tales. God removed Israel off the land and moved them into lands of milk and honey, and blessed us greatly to do the world of our Heavenly Father, and bless the rest of the nations of the world.

It was not accident that this all took place for in the latter days, in the generation of the fig tree, these tribes would be the superpowers of the world, feeding the world, and controlling the gates of our enemies.

II Kings 18:12 "Because they obeyed not the voice of the Lord their God, but transgressed His covenant, and all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded, and would not hear them, nor do them."

This is the reason that God caused Israel to be scattered, "Because they obeyed not the voice of the Lord their God." They broke the covenant of God, and worshipped the gods of the nations around them. If you want your life to end up just as house of Israel, then turn your back on God and his commandments and laws.

II Kings 18:13 "Now in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah did Sennacherib king of Assyria come up against all the fenced cities of Judah, and took them."

Now let's see how Hezekiah and his "House of Judah" make out, since he is trusting whole heartly is God for his countries protection.

This was eight years after the scattering of the house of Israel by the Assyrian general Sargon that king Sennacherib gave the order to come against the cities of Judah. Judah sat back and watched as the Assyrians hauled their brothers away, for everything was going well with Judah. To that time Judah was buying its freedom annually, with mule trains of gold and silver flowing off to Assyria, and Lachish it's capital. Now that Israel is taken care of and all the relocations are over with, the army is free to attack another nation. It looks bad for Hezekiah and Judah, however remember what God told Hezekiah? You follow My ways, and I will take care of your enemies for you.

The thing that Sennacherib really wanted was Egypt, and these nations of Israel and Judah were just stepping stones to get out of the way on his march to Egypt. Hezekiah is now under great pressure, and we will see how his faith in God holds up.

II Kings 18:14 "And Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria to Lachish, saying, "I have offended; return from me: that which thou puttest on me will I bear," And the king of Assyria appointed unto Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold."

So what is Hezekiah doing wrong here? Hezekiah always tried to do that which was right in the sight of the Lord, even to his enemies. There was an agreement that was made by his father, king Ahaz to pay all this silver and gold, in exchange for their freedom. To keep the two nations from going to war. However here Hezekiah told the king of Assyria to "go bark up a tree", he was not going to buy freedom any more because God would give him victory in all matters. Then when the king of Assyria got the message, he started his troops in the direction of Jerusalem, taking many of the cities along the way, so Hezekiah is having second thoughts as to what he had done. He is now on his knees offering the talents of silver and gold, that he was to have sent over the past few years.

It was like missing a few payments at the bank, and the banker is coming to throw you out of your house. Then after you are served with the papers, you try to scrape up all the back payment money, along with interest, penalties, and the kitchen sink to please the banker enough to leave you alone, and go back to the way that things were. However the banker has taken a closer look at your house and he desires it for himself. Do you see the situation that Hezekiah is in? The Assyrian wants Jerusalem for himself.

Christian, there is no reason for any cause that you owe Satan anything, for Satan is the type of this Assyrian as stated here. You owe Satan nothing. It doesn't matter what league of agreement your ancestors made with Satan, you are not bound by them when you are in the Lord. Never apologize to Satan for anything that you have done, for he is the one that caused the fall in the first place. Christian, we don't take anything off anybody, when it comes to the ways of Satan and his realm. There is no bargaining with thugs or murderers, or with Satan and his people under any cause. Satan gives no bargains, for all of his deals lead you into the pit with him.

II Kings 18:15 "And Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the house of the Lord, and in the treasures of the king's house."

The point here is that Hezekiah did not go to God, but he went to king Sennacherib to buy his protection, just like his father Ahaz had been doing. Hezekiah is on a guilt trip to keep the bargains that his father made with this devil king. Hezekiah took his eyes off the Lord and trusting him for a moment, and fell to the same temptations of his father. Hezekiah is giving away all of God's treasures for the sake of his freedom. Christian, if you are a pastor, you had better look out how and what you do with the Lord's treasures, the tithe, and the house of God.

II Kings 18:16 "At that time did Hezekiah cut off the gold from the doors of the temple of the Lord, and from the pillars which Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid, and gave it to the king of Assyria."

Remember that God had blessed Hezekiah greatly, and he had plated the temple doors, pillars and all the rest of the house of God with pure gold. Now Hezekiah is taking it all off the temple doors and pillars, and putting it in baskets to be hauled off to the king of Assyria. This man of God came into God's house and ripped off the whole place, so when is he going to come to his senses?

Do you think that this is going to change Sennacherib mind, and keep him from going after Jerusalem? Of course not, it only gave him the urge to go for more. The Assyrian saw the state of mind that his enemy was in, and it meant sure victory. Victory? No way, for the king of Assyrian is on his way to Egypt, and he is not making any detours.

II Kings 18:17 "And the king of Assyria sent Tartan and Rabsaris and Rab-shakeh from Lachish to king Hezekiah with a great host against Jerusalem. And they went up and came to Jerusalem. And when they were come up, they came and stood by the conduit of the upper pool, which is in the highway of the fuller's field."

This is what Sennacherib thought of the gold from God's house, for there was no thanks but only contempt. This conduit of the upper pool is where the water came into the city of Jerusalem. The names of these three men that came from the king of Assyria is not their names but their titles. The title of "Tartan" is the Commander and chief of the army. "Rabsaris" is a title chief of the heads, and "Rab-shakeh" was the political officer, chief of the captains. King Sennacherib sent the top commanders of his army and political realm to work out a deal with Hezekiah and the people of Judah. Silver and gold just did not work this time with the Syrians, nor will it work with Satan, for he will own all in the world at his coming, and the only thing that he wants are the souls of all men and women, Christians included, to worship him.

II Kings 18:18 "And when they had called to the king, there came out to them Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, which was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder."

So Hezekiah is going to send out the top leaders of Jerusalem to meet with these Assyrians. Along with these leaders is little Shebna, the Kenite scribe, which is going to try to deal with these Assyrians. Hezekiah sent his lawyer, the court reporter, and the Kenite scribe to tell the Assyrians how it shall be.

II Kings 18:19 "And Rab-shakeh said unto them, "Speak ye now to Hezekiah, `Thus saith the great king, the king of Assyria, `What confidence is this wherein thou trustest?"

Rab-shakeh was the political chief, and he wanted to speak directly with Hezekiah to make the terms of surrender known to him. The question came up again, when Rab-shakeh saw this legal team coming out of the gate, he thought, do you expect me to trust you again, after what you have said and done?

II Kings 18:20 "Thou sayest, (but they are but vain words) I have counsel and strength for the war. Now on whom dost thou trust, that thou rebellest against me?"

This Assyrian is reminding Hezekiah that he told the king to "go bark up a tree", that you have taken some greater counsel for your strength in war when you stopped paying the taxes. I'm sure that Hezekiah had much more to say than that, and the king of Assyria took Hezekiah at his word.

II Kings 18:21 "Now, behold, thou trustest upon the staff of this bruised reed, even upon Egypt, on which if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it: so is Pharaoh king of Egypt unto all that trust on him."

Hezekiah's forefathers did lean of the Pharaoh of Egypt, and this Assyrian is reminding Hezekiah that it did them no good, nor will it do him any good. Not once did any Pharaoh keep any of his agreement all the way back to the time of Moses, and this Assyrian chief is reminding Hezekiah of that fact. The Assyrian is telling the truth when he said, your leaning on Pharaoh is like leaning of a reed, for all that would happen is that your hand would be run through by that reed. A reed is a sharp thorn that is like a knife that can jab you.

II Kings 18:22 "But if ye say unto me, `We trust in the Lord our God:' is not that He, Whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah hath taken away, and hath said to Judah and Jerusalem, `Ye shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem?' "

Now this is where the Assyrian turned the gun on himself and shot his cause, for he is reminding Hezekiah that his strength was completely with God. He is reminding him that it was at the altar of God where he would get his strength, and that all the heathen gods and high places were taken away. Rab-shakeh this political chief is reminding Hezekiah just where to go to get that strength, to the altar of God in the house of God.

Christian, when you turn to God after messing up along the way, that is the time to repent and come back to God and His Ways. Hezekiah messed up when he apologized to the Assyrian his enemy, and you just don't do that. That makes God angry.

II Kings 18:23 "Now therefore, I pray thee, give pledges to my Lord the king of Assyria, and I will deliver thee two thousand horses, if thou be able on thy part to set riders upon them."

This is not to say that there were not two thousand men left in Jerusalem, for there were thousands more than that. But this was a challenge, and the horsemen were cavalrymen and the cavalry was the strength of Egypt. The Assyrian is saying this to insult Hezekiah, for he was saying; I could even give you two thousand of my best horses and it would not save you, because you don't even have men that could handle my horses.

II Kings 18:24 "How then wilt thou turn away the face of one captain of the least of my master's servants, and put thy trust on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen?"

He is saying all this to force Hezekiah to surrender without a fight and the loss of life of his men. Sure it does look bad for Judah at this moment, and it requires that something be done on Hezekiah's part.

II Kings 18:25 "Am I now come up without the Lord against this place to destroy it? The Lord said to me, `Go up against this land, and destroy it.' "

He is now saying that, "Do you think that I came up here without your Lord's permission to destroy you?" In Isaiah 10:12 it states; "Wherefore it shall come to pass, that when the Lord hath performed His whole work upon mount Zion and on Jerusalem, I will punish the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his high looks."

It states that God will use this enemy the Assyrians, and then because of their "stout heart and high looks" God would in turn destroy Assyria, and that is exactly what will happen. Isaiah had been prophesying for many years by this time, warning that Assyria would be coming, and the people just did not believe him. This Assyrian chief knew those threats and was now throwing them back in the face of Hezekiah.

II Kings 18:26 "Then said Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, and Shebna, and Hoah, unto Rab-shakeh, "Speak, I pray thee in the Syrian language; for we understand it: and talk not with us in the Jews' language in the ears of the people that are on the wall."

The legal team that came out of Jerusalem did not want the conversation to be heard by the soldiers on the wall, for it could destroy their moral. Isaiah the prophet of God said that Assyria would destroy them, and here they are standing before them in person ready to do the job. This is why this little kenite scribe wanted their discussion to be spoken in the Syrian tongue.

II Kings 18:27 "But Rab-shakeh said unto them, "Hath my master sent me to thy master, and to thee, to speak these words? Hath he not sent me to the men which sit on the wall, that they may eat their own dung, and drink their own piss with you?"

Rab-shakeh is reminding them that the he came to warn the men on the wall that a great siege would follow if they would not give up their arms, surrender. That is exactly what the Assyrians were prepared to bring on Jerusalem if they refuse to surrender.

II Kings 18:28 "Then Rab-shakeh stood and cried with a loud voice in the Jews' language, and spake, saying, "Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria:"

Rab-shakeh turned from the legal team and spoke directly to the men on the wall so that they could hear all the warnings that he was giving to their king.

II Kings 18:29 "Thus saith the king, `Let not Hezekiah deceive you: for he shall not be able to deliver you out of his hand:"

Hezekiah again is the king of Judah. Reb-shaken is telling Hezekiah's troops on the wall, there is no way that Hezekiah can deliver you out of the hand of the Assyrians.

II Kings 18:30 "Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord, saying, `The Lord will surely deliver us, and this city shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria.' "

Rab-shakeh is trying to shake up the troops on the wall by telling them that even their God will not be able to deliver them from the hand of the Assyrians. From the wall these troops of Judah can look out and see the vast numbers of troops that the Assyrians have brought with them for the siege. Rab-shakeh is blaspheming against God. He is saying that God can not deliver them, and this statement would unite true believers.

II Kings 18:31 "Hearken not to Hezekiah:' for thus saith the king of Assyria, `Make an agreement with me by a present, and come out to me, and then eat ye every man of his own vine, and every one of his fig tree, and drink ye every one the waters of his cistern:"

Editor's Note: Remember , The Lord had all this happen, as Paul told us in 1 Corinthians 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.

The king of Assyria already had all the silver and gold, and now he is asking that they bring themselves out of the city and give themselves over as a gift to the king of Assyria. If you do that, I will allow you to return to your farms, and eat of the fruit that you grow yourselves. Sure there is a cistern involved in this offer, for the Assyrian does offer a pit, and that pit is destruction. Remember that this is a type of Satan, and you just cannot trust any promise that is made by him. This is a type of the false messiah, and Sennacherib simply cannot be counted on to keep any of his words.

There is much more in this verse with respect to types than what appears on the surface, for we are in the generation of the fig tree, and what spiritual waters are you drinking from to quench your thirst. This man might have been sincere with what he was saying, but he could not be trusted to follow through with the promises he made. Remember that it was the policy of the Assyrians to remove the people from off their lands, to other location that they were strangers of. The removal to other lands kept the enemy nations from having a base to rebuild their armies, to come against them in the future. That is exactly how Satan works when he comes at the time of the end, for he will do everything in power to upset you from your ways, and take away your foundation base of the Word of God. Satan will take you to where you will learn to trust and rely on him.

When Satan comes, he will call himself by what ever causes it takes for you to worship him. He will promise you peace and prosperity, and any other thing that you desire and have a weakness for. All for the sake of getting you to commit your soul and trust to him.

II Kings 18:32 "Until I come and take you away to the land like your own land, a land of corn and wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of oil olive and of honey, that ye may live, and not die: and hearken not unto Hezekiah, when he persuadeth you, saying, `The Lord will deliver us.' "

Did you get that? "I come and take you away to the land like your own land." That is exactly what they did to the house of Israel and to every other nation that the Assyrians had conquered. That is the basis of the fly-away "Rapture" theory, for Satan will come to fly them away to another promise land, only the place where they will be taken is right into Satan's bed. Remember what Jesus warned us about in Matthew 24:19; "And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days." This is a spiritual warning to those Christians that think they can break ranks, and go flying off with Satan, instead of waiting in the field for the true Messiah. How good does the "rapture theory" sound when you know what the result of the flight to Satan's bed will be.

This Rab-shakeh was telling them that they would end up just like their brother Israel, hauled off to a desert land in northern Iraq. The promise was to provide them with peace and prosperity, corn and wine, bread and vineyards, olive oil and honey, and all the rest that goes with peace and prosperity. These men of Judah had eight years to see what these Assyrians did to their brothers to the north, and that is exactly what they were going to do to them. This is the choice that they are making to Hezekiah and to Jerusalem. This is a strong statement against God, and God will not allow it to go unanswered.

II Kings 18:33 "Hath any of the gods of the nations delivered at all his hand out of the hand of the king of Assyria?"

He is reminding the men of Judah that of all of the nations that Assyria has conquered, none of their gods have been about to save them from our hands. Do you think that your God is any different than their gods? Of course the answer about those other gods is no, for their gods and idols are nothing. However they will see their true power of Judah's God very shortly.

II Kings 18:34 "Where are the gods of Hamath, and of Arpad? where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah? have they delivered Samaria out of mine hand?"

II Kings 18:35 "Who are they among all the gods of the countries, that have delivered their country out of mine hand, that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem out of mine hand? ` "

This Syrian has just made a major mistake, for he was putting himself over the God of Hezekiah, stating that even their God was no match for Assyria. He even uses the sacred name of God when he blasphemes against the Lord. He is cursing the creator of all things here.

II Kings 18:36 "But the people held their peace, and answered him not a word: for the king's commandment was, saying, "Answer him not."

The people of God had discipline in their ranks, and held their peace as the Assyrian was going on in his cursing and blasphemy. Christian, we are to discipline ourselves in the Word of God, even as Hezekiah was pressured into doing what he did, we are to hold our peace, and answer him not. Remember that this is a type of the Antichrist, Satan, when he comes to earth making the same claims and promises to fly you off, i.e. rapture you from off the land and send you to his places of peace and prosperity within his system. Those places are deserts and full of all sorts of wickedness. Get into God's Word and get wise concerning those thing of prophecy told of our generation of the end times. Learn to pay attention to those things that are happening today, and learn to apply it to God's Word. As long as the discipline holds on the wall, the enemy will never have a foothold into the ranks of God's people.

II Kings 18:37 "Then came Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, which was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder, to Hezekiah with their clothes rent, and told him the words of Rab-shakeh."

These three that were sent out to meet with Rab-shakeh came back into the city completely devastated. Did they have any trust in God for the victory? Absolutely not! They came to Hezekiah and told him of the words that Rab-shakeh had said outside the wall.

To study the Bible is the noblest of all pursuits; to understand it, the highest of all goals. We pray that with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, you accomplish both.

doctrine of many of our Christian churches, (The Man on a White Horse)
political direction of our country, (The Man on a Red Horse)
economic direction our country has taken, (The Man on a Black Horse)
and teaching of our schools and media, (The Man on a Pale Horse)

The Four Hidden Dynasties of the New World Order Revelation 6:1-8
"The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse"
Did you know all four are being ridden by Satan?