The American Wisdom Series 

 http://www.americanwisdomseries.com

Presents 

Revelation 2:17  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.

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.

Jeremiah

Chapter 22

"The Promise of the Branch."

The first nine verses of this chapter deal with king Jehoiakim of Judah. We have seen how rough God deals with priests and pastors that make false statements, and lies about him, and now, based on these examples, we'ill see how God will deal with the kings and rulers of the Christian nations who allow their country to sink into a state of abomination and perversion. One of these ancient leaders, when he died, they gave the funeral of an ass, they drug his body off into the pasture and let him rot and the buzzards have at him. This is how God feels towards those leaders and government that allow their nations to slip into perversion.

Documentation on this is in Romans 13:1, 2; "Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God." [1] "Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation." [2]

Jeremiah 22:1 "Thus saith the LORD; Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and speak there this word,"

This house is the house of king Jehoiakim. God put Jehoiakim on the throne and He also can take Jehoiakim off the throne. Jehoiakim took the things that God granted to him to gain power, and those things were misused.

Jeremiah 22:2 "And say, Hear the word of the LORD, O king of Judah, that sittest upon the throne of David, thou, and thy servants, and thy people that enter in by these gates:"

The throne was in Jerusalem at this time, and Jeremiah is going there to deliver this message to every one that enters into the twelve gates of the city. The judgment seat sat at the gate of the city, when it was a public hearing.

Jeremiah 22:3 "Thus saith the LORD; Execute ye judgment and righteousness, and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor: and do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow, neither shed innocent blood in this place."

Jeremiah ordered those at the gate giving out judgment to be fair, and give out righteous judgments in sentencing. Satan is the oppressor, and all evil and wrong works are from Satan. Jeremiah is telling them to stay away from doing Satan's work. It is the duty of those that rule to protect and safeguard the fatherless, widows, and the strangers in the community, and when sitting in judgment the innocent must be protected. The guilty that shed innocent blood in murder must die. This should be the law of any land.

In the free world where our officials are elected, they are still the rulers of the land. When a person elected to office violates as king Jehoiakim did, the same applies in the eyes of God.

Jeremiah 22:4 "For if ye do this thing indeed, then shall there enter in by the gates of this house kings sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, he, and his servants, and his people."

To understand what this means, "this house kings sitting upon the throne of David", you have to understand where the kings are, and who they sit over in these latter days. Remember that both houses were destroyed and scattered. The House of Israel was scattered by the Assyrians between 745 and 722 B.C., while Babylon destroyed the House of Judah, and king Zedekiah around 480 B.C., and killed king Zedekiah's sons. However we will see later how Jeremiah transplanted the three daughters of king Zedekiah into Spain and Ireland, where they were given in marriage to extend the throne over the tribes of the House of Israel.

God gave them all a choice, life or death and the choice was up to each individual as to whether they would obey the punishment of captivity for their sins, or face death through pestilence, famine, and the sword of the Babylonian army.

Jeremiah 22:5 "But if ye will not hear these words, I swear by myself, saith the LORD, that this house shall become a desolation."

This is God swearing by Himself that what He has threatened to do, it shall come to pass. If the people refuse to hear the Words of the Lord through Jeremiah's mouth, and heed to them, this kingdom of the House of Judah will become a desolation. Historically it came to pass exactly as God said it would. In the futuristic sense, spiritually, it also shall come to pass, at the sounding of the seventh trumpet, as God said it will.

Jeremiah 22:6 "For thus saith the LORD unto the king's house of Judah; Thou art Gilead unto me, and the head of Lebanon: yet surely I will make thee a wilderness, and cities which are not inhabited."

"Gilead" was known for it's healing balm. God is saying that the king's house of Judah could be a healing balm that I could count on. As far as the "head of Lebanon", it refers to the "cedars of Lebanon" which are evergreen trees, and it signifies everlasting life and love, and it represents the people of the House of Israel. That House of Israel today is comprised of the Christian nations of the world, and documented in Hosea 1:10; "Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, `Ye are not My People,' there it shall be said unto them, `Ye are the sons of the Living God.' "

Jesus Christ is the living God, and those that call themselves the sons of God, call themselves Christians. The ten tribes are not in the middle east, but scattered through the world, and where they are, they have lost their identity with their forefathers as being Israelites. They simply have lost their identity, and call themselves "Caucasians" after the event of migrating through the Caucasus Mountains in the seventh century B.C.

So these people of the ten tribes of the House of Israel [those Christian nations] are what is known as the "Cedars of Lebanon". God is telling the people of the tribe of Judah that they could have been this balm of Gilead if they had tried, but instead most of them will also become scattered as the Cedars of Lebanon, the other ten tribes.

Jeremiah 22:7 "And I will prepare destroyers against thee, every one with his weapons: and they shall cut down thy choice cedars, and cast them into the fire."

God is warning the House of Judah that He is the one that will prepare the Babylonian enemy to destroy Judah, and He will give them the weapons of destruction. In the time to come, that destroyer is Satan, the false-christ and that is His name, "the destroyer". God is going to cut down the "cedar house", their houses of God and turn them over to Satan. God is going to take those self-righteous leaders, who have changed God's Word, and brought their traditions into the Christian houses of God , and turn them over to Satan upon his arrival.

This is not something to worry about, for God is in control, and you still have the choice of life or death spiritually. Eternal life comes by the repentant heart, and your confession to the Father in Jesus Christ's name. Then studying and doing things God's Way. Eternal death comes from the self-righteous heart, and the rejection of Christ and His ways and Word.

Jeremiah 22:8 "And many nations shall pass by this city, and they shall say every man to his neighbor, Wherefore hath the LORD done thus unto this great city?"

Jerusalem was leveled and destroyed exactly as God had warned that it would be. By looking at this historical event we see where God does keep His Word. He did it then, and He will keep his Word shortly, for all the events concerning the time of the end are closing in fast.

Jeremiah 22:9 "Then they shall answer, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD their God, and worshiped other gods, and served them."

This is the reason for the destruction of Jerusalem, and the death and captivity of the people who turned their back on God. "Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God, and worshiped other gods, and served them." In Jeremiah's day it was in the groves, where they worshiped the false fertility god "Baal" mixed with all sorts of religious practices. Today the Christian church has picked up as many strange ideas and idolatries as Judah did in the days of Jeremiah.

Today the biggest road block in most churches is that tradition -- "the rapture theory", that is to say those preparing souls to fly with the first Messiah that comes. The first supernatural person to arrive will be the false-christ, Satan, as Jesus has warned us in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21. My fellow Christian, that is another god. That other god is going to have the entire world making an image to his religious and political system, just to be able to buy and sell in his system. When you bow to that image and take his number, then you will be in the possession of that system, and it's ruler, Satan.

The so called Christian church of today will take that number and bow to that image, because they have been taught in ignorance to do just that. However, the elect of God will see right through Satan and all his tricks and deceptions because the elect of God will know the truth of the order of events of the end times. Those things that Jesus told us to be aware of will be sealed in the mind of the elect of God. We are aware of what will happen and in what order. That is what prophecy was written for, to keep you from being deceived, and give us the knowledge before hand as to what will take place when. (First to the Last)

Jeremiah 22:10 "Weep ye not for the dead, neither bemoan him: but weep sore for him that goeth away: for he shall return no more, nor see his native country."

Jeremiah is telling the people to "weep not for the dead", and that would be for king Josiah. However the king that goes away was king Jehoiachin, who was taken captive before this time of destruction. King Jehoiachin the king of Judah turned over the throne to Babylon to save his life, and advocated the power of God to Nebuchadnezzar before the time. God doesn't like it when world leaders who are supposed to know better let abominations enter right into the government and take over the people.

Jeremiah 22:11 "For thus saith the LORD touching Shallum the son of Josiah king of Judah, which reigned instead of Josiah his father, which went forth out of this place; He shall not return thither any more:"

"Shallum" is one of the names for king "Jehoahaz". He was the son of Josiah. The name means "retribution". Josiah was a good king and ruled as best he could according to God's law, and God blessed both Josiah and the people that were under him.

Jeremiah 22:12 "But he shall die in the place whither they have led him captive, and shall see this land no more."

When king Jehoahaz reigned and had authority, he did not use his authority according to God's law, and God allowed him to be taken captive, as recorded in II Kings 23:34; "And Pharaoh-necho made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in the room of Josiah his father, and took Jehoahaz away: and he came to Egypt, and died there."

Jeremiah 22:13 "Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by wrong; that useth his neighbour's service without wages, and giveth him not for his work;"

Here we are talking about Jehoahaz's younger brother, king Jehoiakim, and his reign. This was a form of the communist system, and God doesn't like it. Jehoiakim took the wealth away from those that worked and earned their wage, and gave it to those who refuse to work. It is a form of working without a wage, while the worker is taxed out of his wage. God calls this "useth his neighbour's service without wages". Karl Marx and the rest of his heathen tribe follow after this old king Jehoahaz. God doesn't appreciate lazy stiffs that will not contribute to their wage, nor does God appreciate those leaders that allow this to happen.

Jeremiah 22:14 "That saith, I will build me a wide house and large chambers, and cutteth him out windows; and it is cieled with cedar, and painted with vermilion."

This is what those leaders say that follow that communistic way. They want the best of everything, the largest house, one that smells nice, and looks bright and cheerful. They take the money and give part to the lazy people, and take the rest for themselves. They, thenselves, get ahead at the cost of the workers and labors. The gains are not by and through the blessings of God, but by their own underhandedness, and short changing the producing public.

Jeremiah 22:15 "Shalt thou reign, because thou closest thyself in cedar? did not thy father eat and drink, and do judgment and justice, and then it was well with him?"

Jeremiah is calling the attention of Jehoahaz that his father Josiah made himself great not with splendor, but with justice and honesty. Josiah did those things that were right by God's laws. A fancy house with much to show out front does not make a good leader.

Jeremiah 22:16 "He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well with him: was not this to know me? saith the LORD."

Josiah made sure that there was justice in all matters concerning the poor and needy, and the lazy stiffs were dealt with properly. God is saying that when you do that you are honoring me. God is very much aware of leadership, and those misusing it will be held accountable for their misuse. The widows and orphans, as well as those who needed the help because of handicapped and so on were taken care of. You have these conditions in all nations, and He is aware of those in leadership, and how they provide for the needy, and abuse their authority. God sets nations up, and He will bring them down when it pleases Him.

Jeremiah 22:17 "But thine eyes and thine heart are not but for thy covetousness, and for to shed innocent blood, and for oppression, and for violence, to do it."

Many leaders say one thing yet they do another. This is quite common in a democracy because the people don't take the courage to force them to honor their words. (Here in the United States our elected leaders have learned that they can continually win re-election by stealing from the producers, giving small portion of what they stoled to the lazy, giving another portion to the general public in the form of public works projects; just enough to win our vote and using the rest to benefit themselves and we will ignorantly keep re-electing them over and over again) God says we are not to judge them by what they say, but what they do, and if their fruit bring forth things that are abominable, then that is what they are. Today many say they are Christians, and from their mouths pour lies, because what they promote while in office is straight from Satan. This is not new, for that is how Jehoiakim ruled, and God did not like it then, and He doesn't like it now.

God is saying that the only way that they procede to get ahead is to take it from those that have something. They are rip-off artists in a high places. God allows those is charge to shed innocent blood, and oppress the innocent and cause violence, and in doing so they are causing judgment to come upon themselves. They may think that they are getting away with something, however, He will hold them accountable before His throne.

Jeremiah 22:18 "Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah; They shall not lament for him, saying, Ah my brother! or, Ah sister! they shall not lament for him, saying, Ah lord! or, Ah his glory!"

God is telling us that at their death there will be no tears for those that rule that way. We see that in those communistic countries, once a leader dies, his statutes are taken down, and all the blame of the current government is put on them. Anytime a leader rules like Jehoiakim, their popularity lasts as long as they remain alive. Lets face it, he just cares for nobody, and nobody cares for him when he does the abominable things.

Jeremiah 22:19 "He shall be buried with the burial of an ass, drawn and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem."

The "burial of an ass" is done with a rope and another ass. You just tie a rope around it, and drag it out of the gate of the city, and let the buzzards have their fill with him. In other words, God is saying, that is the type of spiritual burial they deserve to have,  Historically that is the type of burial that Jehoiakim did receive. The note to remember is that an ass receives no funeral, and in all the records of Judah, Jehoiakim is the only king where there is absolutely no record anywhere of any burial for Jehoiakim.

Funerals are a set time to remember the important and honorable things that were done by the person in his lifetime. There is absolutely nothing good anyone had to say about Jehoiakim for his entire reign. Those that were on the receiving end deserved nothing, and of course had no respect for what they did get, and those that had it taken from them and given to the lazy, were glad to get rid of him. The humor to the whole thing was that it was the king of Babylon that caused his end, and in our generation, it will also be the king of Babylon of the end times that will cause this type of rulers spiritual death.

Jeremiah 22:20 "Go up to Lebanon, and cry; and lift up thy voice in Bashan, and cry from the passages: for all thy lovers are destroyed."

This is written to Jerusalem, the city who has leaders like this. Jerusalem thought it had many allies [lovers], and when the end was about to come, there wasn't one nation that came to her side. The Pharaoh in Egypt even turned his back when destruction came upon Jerusalem.

Jeremiah 22:21 "I spake unto thee in thy prosperity; but thou saidst, I will not hear. This hath been thy manner from thy youth, that thou obeyedst not my voice."

God is saying that this has been the nature of Judah from the very beginning. God was with them when they became a prosperous, and wealthy nation. He gave them His laws to instruct them, and guide the people to live and be blessed by, and they would not listen nor follow his laws and commandments. The idea of what was happening was that no one wanted to rock the boat, when the rulers and priests got out of hand, and away from God's Word.

They would create their new ways of doing things against God's Word, and then they would lie to the people and say, "don't worry, it doesn't matter, there is a way of escape." My fellow Christian, when God says there is a time of judgment coming, and a time of testing you can count on it. In our day we have to look forward to that time of deception, and it will come.

Jeremiah 22:22 "The wind shall eat up all thy pastors, and thy lovers shall go into captivity: surely then shalt thou be ashamed and confounded for all thy wickedness."

As the false prophets and false priest told their lies, the people relied on what they said. They believed it because all the priests mouthed the same story. You see it today when everyone relies on something just because the majority believes in it. When the wind, or bad spirit come in and possess those pastors, God is saying they all will go into captivity, along with  their lovers; Those people that listen to and agree with them without checking, to see if what they say agrees with the Word of God.

Christian, when the army of Babylon came to the walls of Jerusalem it was too late too for them to change their minds or religious practices. The gates were shut, and the side they were on was set. Jeremiah had warned them ahead of time to get out of the city before hand, and submit to the Chaldeans, and save your life, but the majority did not listen. God gave the warning, and the people listened to the false prophets and the majority sided with them. They all went into captivity, however those that resisted against God died from the pestilence and famine, or the sword.

Today we also have the warning of a great time of tribulation, such as this world has never seen before. It is a time when the entire world will follow the false prophets and false pastors, in the vast majority of our Christian churches, and they will all be led into Satan's one world system, and just as in Jerusalem during Jeremiah's day, they will be proud to be deceived. The wind or false spirit will also lead them to be part of Satan's kingdom, and they will worship the image of the beast. There will also be a few that are not deceived because they know what God's warnings are, and they are on the look out for the signs of the times.  Are you one of God's watchmen? I hope you are!

Jeremiah 22:23 "O inhabitant of Lebanon, that makest thy nest in the cedars, how gracious shalt thou be when pangs come upon thee, the pain as of a woman in travail!"

Jeremiah is addressing us in our generation. The question is asked, when you are well off [make nest in the cedars], how well off will you be when the birth pangs of a new age comes upon you? The word "gracious" as it is used in the Hebrew text is "how you should be pitied". It is a pitiful site to be resting in something so false, that shall be taken from you.

Jeremiah 22:24 "As I live, saith the LORD, though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were the signet upon my right hand, yet would I pluck thee thence;"

God is swearing by Himself that He will perform this to happen. God is saying that He doesn't care if Coniah the son of Jehoiakim was wearing the signet of my ring on his right hand, I would still throw him away. Jerusalem had become a worthless state of leaders, liars, perverts, thieves, and so on that had turned their face against God. God is putting His guarantee on the fact that these pack of worthless rulers will be gone. I don't want them anywhere around me.

God has changed the name of Jehoiakim' to "Jeconiah" [whom God has established], and then to "Coniah". In the Hebrew "Je" is the name of God, and God has withdrawn any attachment to this king. He is showing Coniah that He is departing from all the leaders of Jerusalem for their abominations. Coniah is established for destruction.

Jeremiah 22:25 "And I will give thee into the hand of them that seek thy life, and into the hand of them whose face thou fearest, even into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of the Chaldeans."

All of the males of the royal family were destroyed when the Army of Babylon came upon Jerusalem, and God gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar. That is also exactly as it shall be when the king of Babylon of the end times comes, as we read of in Revelation 9:4 "And it was commanded that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads."

The hurt is the deception that will come over those that refuse to place the seal, or Word of God in their minds. My fellow Christian, that seal is your defense against the false-christ, Satan, and if you are tied up in a rapture theory, or the any moment doctrine, you are in trouble, and are taking the mark of the beast. It is God that turns those, who refuse to listen to Him, over to the king of Babylon , whether in Jeremiah's day, or our generation. It is time to wake up, my fellow Christian.

Coniah did exactly what our leaders are doing today. He turned the armed forces of Judah over to the "new world order" in Babylon, before God told him what to do. He turned over the taxes and the treasury to foreigners, and became part of an alliance to a ruler that was against God. Though Nebuchadnezzar did, later repent and follow God, What Coniah did was exactly what we see going on today in America, Canada, England, etc. Countries claiming to be of God, but, committing themselves to a "Godless World order" that will become the seat for the false-christ's rule. America is in the same state that Jerusalem was in, just prior to the fall and destruction by Babylon some 2500 years ago.

This isn't politics, this is God's Word being given as a warning as to what is happening today. We are to be wise and our wisdom comes from God's Word which is the seal of God in our forehead.

Jeremiah 22:26 "And I will cast thee out, and thy mother that bare thee, into another country, where ye were not born; and there shall ye die."

When Coniah went captive, his queen mother went with him into Babylon which is where he died. (HE DIED THE "SHADOW OF DEATH" WE READ ABOUT IN THE 23rd. PSALM ) Though he died in the flesh in Babylon, (HE STILL HAS THE POSIBILITY OF THE REAL DEATH, THE DEATH OF HIS SOUL AWAITING HIM, i.e. "THE LAKE OF FIRE".) after "THE MILLENNIUM" and "THE GREAT WHITE THRONE OF JUDGMENT", 

Jeremiah 22:27 "But to the land whereunto they desire to return, thither shall they not return."

Once the door to the wedding of the Lamb shuts, there is no opening it. Once the Babylonian army enters Jerusalem, that is it, for the full seventy years that God said they would be in captivity. To those in the flesh, there will be very few that were still alive at the end of the seventy years. When God closes this age of grace, and salvation by faith, and the time of tribulation starts, the door will be shut. You will either have the seal of God or knowledge in your mind, [heart] or you do not. That seal is your only protection from the deception of the spurious messiah, and those without the seal will go into the Millennium age to receive a thousand years of teaching and discipline. The opportunity for salvation by grace will end when this flesh age ends at the seventh trump, the real Jesus Christ's return.

Coniah had several sons, and neither he nor any of his sons would ever get out of bondage in Babylon, for they remained there until their death.

Jeremiah 22:29 "O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD."

There is a great emphasis to those that remain on the earth, to listen to the Word of the Lord. That Word is the seal that will protect His own in the time yet to come. Fellow Christian, can you see the Word of God coming to life right before our eyes. To me it seems like almost every day another event happens that fulfills a prophecy of our end times. Coniah is the removing of God's name from the land, and that is exactly what is happening to our land today, as well as from the other Christian nations, as the rulers are turning over to the new world system the power and authority that God placed within them.

We are seeing many Coniah's every day, from every corner of the earth, as the four hidden dynasties tighten their choke hold on the nations of the earth. God's blessing's are being withdrawn from us, taxes are going to the world system, and the abomination that is taking place in the military in the form of Sodomy will turn our forces into a third rate force. God promised it, and it shall come to pass.

We that follow God's Word and ways are immune to the deception that shall come, but the power will be handed over to the Babylonian system of the end times, and its ruler, Satan, the false-christ.

Jeremiah 22:30 "Thus saith the LORD, Write ye this man childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days: for no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in Judah."

This doesn't mean that Coniah would be childless, for he did have many children. But the king line of Coniah ended while in captivity in Babylon. From this point on, it would be through the three daughters of Zedekiah that the lineage of David would continue through and beyond the captivity of Babylon. But God removed His name from Coniah and his children as far as ruling over any of the tribes of Israel.

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Rhine Publishing Co.
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