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Prophe-Zine Issue 104
PropheZine Newsletter #104
October 1, 2000
Bob Lally Publisher/Senior. Editor
Bob Ippolito Asst. Editor
Zenith Merrill Asst. Editor
To Subscribe, Unsubscribe or Change email addresses see notice at the
bottom of this newsletter.
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IN THIS ISSUE
----THE CHRIST CLONE TRILOGY
----GREETING FROM BOB LALLY
----MINISTRY NEWS
----ARTICLES
Gospel Track Society..........The Middle East In Bible Prophecy
Grant R. Jeffrey.......... Living In The Shadow Of The Second Coming
J.R. Church..........So, Who Was Job?
----CHILDRENS POETRY
----SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
----SUBSCRIBE and UNSUBSCRIBE
----PRIVACY NOTICE
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THE CHRIST CLONE TRILOGY
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You should be aware that one of the big differences about The Christ
Clone Trilogy is that it was written primarily for unbelievers as an
evangelistic tool. There is occasional profanity and the descriptions
of Tribulation violence is not intended for those with a weak stomach.
As BeauSeigneur explains, 'I wrote this series to reach a secular
audience, so it's got to look and read like a secular novel. After all,
what good is an evangelistic book if the people you want to reach won't
read it? Or as Paul said in I Cor. 9:22, 'To the weak I became as weak,
that I might gain the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I
might by all means save some.'
Never have I seen the events of end-times prophecy more precisely and
imaginatively played out. Remarkably, BeauSeigneur does such a
convincing job of presenting the Antichrist that you will almost find
yourself pulling for him, exactly as Matthew 24:24 says it will be. As
you read the first two books of the Trilogy, you may also wonder if this
is a Christian series at all. Keep reading! By the middle of book 3 all
your doubts will be removed and you'll find as strong a presentation of
the Gospel as you've read or heard preached anywhere.
The Trilogy's author, James BeauSeigneur is a committed Christian and a
long-time friend of the PropheZine ministry, which is another reason for
my writing to you. For every Trilogy set sold through the publisher's
web page PropheZine will receive a very generous donation. So not only
do you get the best end-times series, you save $8.90 off what you'd pay
for the books through a book store or an on-line book seller, AND you
contribute to the ministry of PropheZine. The purchase
must be made through PropheZine at this address:
http://www.prophezine.com/bookstore/james.html
The Christ Clone may not be for everyone, but as one reader put it, 'if
you want a heart-pounding story that goes right up to the gates of Hell
to reach the lost, I recommend the Christ Clone Trilogy.'
So far we have sold 90 sets through PropheZine! Here are some important links!
READ ABOUT AND ORDER: http://www.prophezine.com/bookstore/james.html
COMMENTS: http://www.prophezine.com/text/trilogy/
Remember, The author is providing a commission to PropheZine.
COMMENTS:
'Shalom, loved the trilogy, couldn't put it down until finished. Another book in the pipeline? Hope so. May our Sar Shalom richly bless you all.'
'I am 1/2 way through the first book. I like what you have done. Fiction mixed with truth and its making for a good book!'
'In regards to 'The Christ Clone Trilogy' the story line is awesome. Rather then a marketing driven path adventure like the 'Left Behind' series it deals in real world facts and situations that make it riveting to read. I'm not done yet but look forward to finishing all three. '
So, order now! http://www.prophezine.com/bookstore/james.html
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GREETINGS FROM BOB LALLY
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Hi:
As many of you are aware, when Mimi stepped down as Senior Editor, Lori Eldridge agreed to take responsibility for the Newsletter for a period of time. That time has expired and I have now taken on that responsibility. We at PropheZine thank Lori for all the effort she put forth in preparing each newsletter.
Enjoy this newsletter with articles by Gospel Track, Grant Jeffrey and J.R. Church.
Bob Lally
PropheZine
bob@prophezine.com
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MINISTRY NEWS
by Bob Lally
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Greetings Everyone,
The News is finally complete after numerous mini-modifications. A great big THANK YOU to Simon from England. Simon is a college student so I would appreciate your prayers for this coming year for him.
If you are a webmaster we have added a number of methods for you to use to add the PropheZine News Bites to your site http://www.prophezine.com/headlines/ . Simon also added a feature that allows John Terry (John@prophezine.com) to send the news from the site. So, use http://www.prophezine.com/text/lists.html to subscribe to the News Bites and receive them as an email. You will receive only 4-5 news items in each email even though we add 15-25 per day. No sense swamping you with information!
I know I have been promising a shopping mall on PropheZine but we concentrated on the news instead. Now, we will concentrate on the mall. It will be a unique design allowing others to place the mall on their sites (their logo) and receive the majority of the commissions. I'll keep you informed.
God Bless!
Bob Lally
PropheZine Senior Editor
bob@prophezine.com
A R T I C L E S
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The Middle East In Bible Prophecy
Gospel Track Society
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These are amazing days in which we are living. Almost every week we read about some new development in the Middle East, but the most amazing thing is that all of these major developments are foretold in the Bible in one manner or another. Over half of the Bible is prophecy, and many of these prophecies tell us the future of Israel, Egypt and the World.
Before you can understand these prophecies, you must know a little about the history of the Israelites, and the promises of God to them.
About 2,000 B.C., God called Abraham and told him to leave the city of Ur, his home town, and go on a journey to the north and west to another country. He told him in Genesis 12:1-3, that he would give him this new country and from his descendants, He would possess this country. God fulfilled His promise and the Jews are the descendants of Isaac, Abraham's son by Sarai. Many of the Arabs are the descendants of Ishmael, Abraham's son by Hagar, and Egyptian. These two sons and their mothers had quarrels and their descendants are still fighting today.
The Jews rejected Jesus. When they crucified Him, they cried out, 'His blood be upon us and our children.' Forty years later, 70 A.D., Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans, and the Jews were scattered into all the world. The rain began to fail and the land became a desert. God's curse fell upon the Jewish nation because they rejected Jesus Christ. For 2,000 years they have been scattered over all the world. God's Word tells us that in the last days, that He will gather the Jews out of all the nations, and will take away the curse from off the land and it will be fruitful again. We are now seeing this happen. God is gathering them back because their Messiah, Jesus Christ, is soon going to return to earth, and this time they will accept Him as their King. He will establish His throne in Jerusalem and rule the world for 1,000 years of peace.
ISAIAH 11:11-14
And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. The envy of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim. But they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the west; they shall spoil them or the east together: they shall lay their hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey them.'
ISRAEL...The Jews have returned. The adversaries are being cut off. Has not God cut off Egypt, and made it hard for her to war against Israel even in our day? 'They shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines to the west.' One of the main ways the Jews have returned to Palestine is by the airplanes of the nations of the west cooperating with the U.N.
God is now dealing with Israel. Many wars and troubles have come and are going to come upon them to get them in the place where they will be willing and anxious to receive their Messiah (Jesus Christ).
EGYPT...The prophecies in chapter 19 of Isaiah and Ezekiel 29:13-15, tell us that because Egypt persecuted the Israelites during the time of Moses, a curse would be upon their land and their people and would no longer be a great nation but a base people. Egypt, under the Pharaohs was the greatest nation in the world. Since the curse came upon it, it has become a base nation.
ISAIAH 19:22 'And the Lord shall smite Egypt: He shall smite and heal it: and they shall return to the Lord, and He shall be intreated of them, and shall heal them.'
This prophecy is being fulfilled right today. Egypt has smitten and God has used the armies of Israel, France and England to do it.
The situation in the Middle East might clear up from time to time but it will always start in again until God has brought all these things to pass.
ARMAGEDDON...The last seven years of the 'age' is known as the Tribulation Period. During this Tribulation period God will pour out great judgements upon the world because of the sins and wickedness of men. At the end of this Tribulation period there is to be a battle of Armageddon. All the armies of the nations of the world will be gathered together in the valley of Armagedo just north of Jerusalem. They will be there to destroy Israel but Jesus Christ shall destroy all of these armies at His Coming and that will be the Battle of Armageddon. (Zech. 14, Isa. 13:1-18).
Already we see the armies gathering in that vicinity. We see the stage being set for this great slaughter. It will start with little wars and grow and grow until there will be a great climax 'Armageddon.'
During this seven years Tribulation, a great King, known in Bible prophecy as the antichrist, will rule ten nations. He is to make a pact to protect Israel seven years. Dan. 9:27. Israel certainly wants a protector right now.
RUSSIA...In Ezekiel 38 and 39, the Bible prophesies that Russia will come down to fight Israel in the last days and God will destroy the armies of Russia before they reach Palestine proper. Right now Russia would like to come down on Palestine and get the Arabian oil. Also, she might fight against Israel to help her friends, the Arabs. All this will come to pass soon.
ATOMIC WAR...The Bible prophecies the terrible destruction of the last days in such a way that it describes what could be a world-wide atomic war. In Revelation 8:7-12 and 9:18, it tells us that one third of the world will be burned over, and one third of the people killed. Scientists tell us this is exactly what would happen if we had a full scale atomic war. Also read Isaiah 2:17-21. Here it describes the people of the world digging into the rock and making holes and hiding in caves for protection from the Judgement of the last days. This is exactly what the countries of the world are now doing. They are putting factories and national security installations underground.
THE RAPTURE...Did God let His people perish in the flood of Noah's Day? No, they were put in a place of protection before the judgement of God came upon the world. Did not God put His children, Lot and his family, in a place of protection before He destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah with fire? Jesus said this coming Tribulation would be the greatest judgement of God upon the world and do you not see that God is going to take the children of God to Heaven before this last judgement is poured out on the world?
LUKE 21:36 'Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worth to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.'
If you want to escape the things that are coming on the world, you will have to be a born-again Christian.
1 THESSALONIANS 4:16,17 'For the Lord himself shall descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive, and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord.'
This advent is known as the rapture. All of the prophecies have been fulfilled that have to be fulfilled before the rapture. Jesus is coming very soon. Are you ready? Is your heart right with God? Friend, don't you want to be a Christian? Don't you want to miss this great time of tribulation and judgement that is coming upon the earth?
God is love. He does not want you to suffer. He does not want you to go to Hell. He gave His only begotten Son for you. Jesus shed His blood for you so you can have your sins forgiven. The Holy Spirit is speaking to your heart tight now trying to get you to turn from sin and turn to God. All of this proves that God loves you and He does not want you to go to Hell.
God will not tolerate sin. You cannot go to Heaven if you are living in sin. The judgement of God comes upon all men because God is a just God and God must punish sin. If you will accept Jesus Christ as your Saviour, then your account I settled with God because Jesus Christ suffered for your sins at the Cross. When you repent of your sins and accept Jesus Christ into your heart, your sins will be forgiven and you will be happy because the burden of sin, shame and guilt has been lifted from your soul.
Repent and accept Christ today. Tomorrow may be too late....
GOSPEL TRACT SOCIETY
P.O. BOX 1118
INDEPENDENCE, MO. 64051
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Living In The Shadow Of The Second Coming
Grant R. Jeffrey
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You and I live in the most extraordinary generation since Jesus walked in Jerusalem two thousand years ago. Since 1948 more prophecy have been fulfilled than in all the generations leading up to our lifetime. When the nation of Israel was reborn at midnight May 15, 1948 the prophetic clock began ticking inexorably in the final countdown to Armageddon.
Israel's Covenant With Death
A few years ago the leaders of Israel and its deadly enemy, the PLO, signed a peace treaty that promised an end of the deadly warfare that has characterized the Middle East for four decades. Yasser Arafat and Yitzhak Rabin took the first tentative steps towards a possible peace treaty in the Middle East. Does this mean true peace is at hand? Or, will a false peace lead inevitably to the war prophesied by the ancient prophets of Israel?
The Arab governments and the PLO now offer Israel 'peace for land.' But what kind of 'peace' are they offering? There are two concepts of 'peace' in the Arab language. One represents true peace such as we enjoy between Canada and the U.S.A. where we genuinely wish our neighbors well. The other concept of peace is more like 'an armed truce.' During the crusades the leader of the defeated Muslim armies, Saladin, offered the English general, Richard the Lion Heart, a peace treaty. However, two years later, after rebuilding his armies, Saladin broke his agreement and defeated the English armies. In Yasser Craft's speeches to Arab audiences, he explained that he will offer Israel 'the peace of Saladin.' This proves that he is offering Israel 'an armed truce' rather than true peace. The PLO have not relinquished their commitment to conquer all of the land of Israel. All Palestinian groups uses emblems, flags and letterhead that contains maps showing that all of Israel and the territories must be conquered from the Jews.
The PLO have often declared that their long-term strategy is to eliminate Israel in a plan called 'liberation in phases.' Since 1974 Yassir Arafat decreed that during the first phase of his 'Phases Plan' the PLO will establish a beachhead in Gaza and the West Bank. In the second phase their armies will take over Jerusalem. In the final phase, they will build up their strength in Gaza and the West Bank to finally conquer all of Israel. On Sept. 1, 1993 Arafat confirmed to an Arab audience that his peace accord was part of his 'Phases' plan.
During interviews many Arabs declare they will never be content until they recover the entire land of Israel from the Jews. Arafat stated in 1980: 'Peace for us means the destruction of Israel.' The Koran teaches that, if a land was ever occupied in the past by Muslims, then it must be recovered by Jihad, or holy war. Although Yasser Arafat has pledged to eliminate references to the destruction of Israel from the Charter of the Palestine Liberation Organization, it is significant that he has refused to call for a conference to do so. Furthermore, most of his Arab allies refuse to relinquish their goals to destroy the Jewish state.
The Coming War of Gog and Magog
However, the study of Bible prophecy provides some insight into the ongoing peace negotiations. Thousands of years ago the prophet Ezekiel (Chapter 38 & 39) predicted that a huge confederacy of Arab nations under Russian leadership will join together to attack Israel after the Jewish exiles have returned to their homeland. Despite massive changes in Russia the hardliners in the KGB, the army and military-industrial complex are trying to maintain their power. The prophet declared that a future military leader of this alliance will say 'I will go up against a land of unwalled villages; I will go to a peaceful people, who dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates.'
For the last forty-five years Israel did not 'dwell safely.' Israel has remained an armed camp for decades surrounded by two hundred million Arabs. It is forced to spend more on defense than any other country. However, this recent peace accord may create a false sense of security and safety over the next few years that will allow Israel to relax its defenses and 'dwell safely.' This peace agreement may set the stage for the fulfillment of the great War of Gog and Magog prophesied by the prophet Ezekiel. This battle will be won by God's spectacular intervention with supernatural earthquakes and pestilence defeating the combined Russian and Arab armies. This miraculous deliverance by the hand of God will motivate Israel to rebuild the Third Temple and resume animal sacrifices as described by Daniel 9:24-27.
These awesome prophetic events will prepare the way for the fulfillment of the prophecies of the rise of Antichrist and his signing of a seven-year treaty with Israel. This will commence a seven year countdown to the return of Christ and His saints at the Battle of Armageddon to establish His millennial kingdom. These exciting events in the Middle East encourage us as Christians to live in constant expectation of the glorious Rapture of the Church to meet our Lord. Jesus said, 'when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh' (Luke 21:28). Yet we must live in a spiritual balance in these last days. Although He may come today He may also delay His return for a generation because our Lord 'is long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance'(2 Peter 3:9) We must live and witness to those around us as though the Rapture will occur tomorrow. Yet we must also plan and work as though we have a hundred years. His command is that we 'Occupy till 1 come'(Luke 19:13).
The Strategic Importance of Territory
Israel requires military control of the Golan Heights, Gaza and thc West Bank in order to provide the strategic depth to defend itself against the overwhelming military force of its Arab enemies. Every military study in the last twenty five years has concluded that Israel cannot be defended by conventional forces and weapons if it loses military control over these vital territories. The U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff 192 study confirmed Israel could not give up the Golan, Gaza or the West Bank and survive an Arab invasion. Without the West Bank Israel will be less than nine miles wide at its center near Tel Aviv where almost eighty percent of its population lives. In a future conflict enemy armies could cut Israel in two parts by attacking from the PLO controlled high ground of Judea and Samaria (West Bank). The Jewish state could be overrun in a matter of days.
In a future war Israel will be forced to resort to nuclear weapons when it finds its small diminished territory about to be overcome by enemy armies. The Israeli army calls this 'the Samson Option' because it would destroy the Middle East, just as Samson brought down the temple on his enemies. Despite this grim reality the present Israeli government has agreed to relinquish these strategic areas. For the first time since its creation in 1948 Israel's conventional army and air force will not be able to successfully defend its vital territory and population from an armed invasion.
Setting the Stage for a Treaty with Antichrist
The United Nations and the Arab states continue to call for the elimination of Israel's nuclear weapons. The introduction of Iranian nuclear weapons and the growing possibility of Libya, Syria and Iraq joining the nuclear club has altered the strategic balance. It is difficult to see how a balance of nuclear terror could continue for very long between Israel and the Islamic states dedicated to its destruction. Plans to ban nuclear weapons from the Middle East may tempt a future Israeli government to agree to relinquish its nuclear option.
Israel realizes that an unstable Arab regime might be tempted to use their atomic warheads even though it would result in mutual assured destruction. In Islamic religious philosophy they would gain paradise if they died a devastating war to cleanse the 'infidels' from Jerusalem. In a few years these events will set the stage for a superpower to guarantee Israel's security and borders. Several prophecies describe the revival of the Roman Empire in the end times to dominate Europe and the world as it did thousands of years ago in the days of Christ. The rise of the European Community is creating an economic and political superpower that is increasing its involvement in the Middle East.
The prophet Daniel wrote that a future Antichrist will arise in the last days to control the revived Roman Empire. Daniel predicted that 'He shall confirm a covenant with many for one week.' This verse indicates that this future European dictator will confirm a treaty to defend Israel for seven years. The signing of this future treaty will start the final seven-year countdown to Armageddon, the climactic battle when Jesus Christ will defeat the armies of the world to establish His kingdom forever. This interim peace agreement between the PLO and Israel may set the stage for the fulfillment of these tremendous prophecies leading to Christ's return in our generation.
While we rejoice at the prospects of a peace agreement in the Middle East we need to recognize that the ancient prophets warned that a false peace would set the stage for the momentous events that conclude with the Battle of Armageddon. Jeremiah (6:14) warned that in the last days men would say 'Peace, peace! When there is no peace.' Our world will not know real peace until Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace comes. In light of these facts it will be some time before true peace will exist between Israel and the Palestinians. According to the Bible, real peace will only come to the Middle East when Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, changes the hearts of both the Arabs and the Jews. Then both peoples will dwell as brothers in true peace forever under the rule of their Messiah.
Used with permission of Grant Jeffrey. Based on his book 'APOCALYPSE - The Coming Judgment of the Nations' - Frontier Research publications Inc. Box 12, Station 'U' Toronto, Ontario M8Z 5M4
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SO, WHO WAS JOB?
BY: J.R. CHURCH
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The story of Job offers insight into one of the great mysteries of life. The account of his suffering has brought comfort and hope over the centuries to many a person perplexed with the heartaches of life.
The book raises the age-old question on whether suffering is a punishment for sin or a development of one's character. Job is a study in suffering, but few have ever considered the possibility that Job may present a prophetic scenario.
Does not all of the Bible weave a singular pattern presenting God's great plan of the ages? Like the other prophecies of the Bible, God may have used this ancient book to yield a prophetic prediction of that which would befall His Chosen People down through the centuries.
The word, Job, means 'the persecuted one,' and like that ancient sufferer, the Jewish people have seen more agony than any other race or nationality in history. The Jew has certainly been 'the persecuted one.' The world has always been quick to accuse and ridicule the Jew.
The Israelites have always been like a square peg in a round hole - the misfits of humanity - not because of some inferiority, quite the contrary. The Jew has been persecuted in spite of his great contributions to humanity in the fields of art, music, law, government, economics, medicine, science and religion.
The world has been abundantly blessed because of Abraham's seed, but they do not recognize it, nor do they accept it. Sad to say, there are whole nations that consider the Jew to be like a cancer that must be eliminated from the human race.
From time to time, I receive letters across my desk from people who suggest that I stop taking the side of those 'murderous Jews.' In fact, they seem to think that the Israelis are responsible for their continuing conflicts with the Arabs. Not for a moment do they consider placing the blame on those who pulled the triggers.
They blame the Jews for everything! They do not care that it was a Jew who invented the telephone, the television, and many of the miracles of modern medicine. They don't blame the Arabs for bringing the world to the brink of Armageddon, they blame it on the Jews!
There are some who suggest that today's Jews are not even Jews. They promote the theory that the tribes were lost to history. They have attempted to trace their migration into Europe, believing the ancient Israelites became the progenitors of the British, French, Germans, etc.
Still others believe that the Indians of North America were the descendants of the 'ten lost tribes.' It seems that everybody is a Jew but the Jew. When it comes to suffering, however, there is no doubt who wins first prize. Let us observe the life of Job and consider the possibility that his life was a prophetic profile of suffering Israel.
So, Was Job a Gentile?
Some rabbis suggest that Job was a Gentile - one of the very few they could accept as a righteous man, having lived long before Moses. But was he really a Gentile? The fact that Job lived another 140 years after his restoration seems to suggest that he lived as a contemporary with others in the Bible who lived to be between 100 and 150 years old. It is quite possible that he lived during those years when Jacob joined Joseph in Egypt. So why should he have to be a Gentile? Allow me to suggest that he could have been the very person listed in Genesis 46 as one of the sons of Issachar who accompanied Jacob into Egypt:
'And the sons of Issachar; Tola, and Phuvah, and Job ...' (Genesis 46:13).
Jacob's family settled in the land of Goshen, an area covering the fertile delta of the Nile. Job must have been one of those seventy people who accompanied the patriarch into Egypt, otherwise the earliest collection of Hebrew Scriptures would not have included the story of his life. It does not seem reasonable that the story of a Gentile should be included in an otherwise Jewish book.
If Job was written before Moses, then the book could have been authored in Egypt. The statement in chapter 1, verse 3, wherein Job is called '
the greatest of all the men of the east,' may simply be a reference to the territory east of Goshen in the northeastern corner of Egypt, rather than some unknown territory east of Canaan. Jeremiah suggests as much. He places the land of Uz between Egypt and Philistia:
'Pharaoh king of Egypt, and his servants, and his princes, and all his people;
'And all the mingled people, and all the kings of the land of Uz, and all the kings of the land of the Philistines, and Ashkelon, and Azzah [Gaza], and Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod,
'Edom, and Moab, and the children of Ammon' (Jeremiah 25:19-21).
It is quite possible that biblical scholars simply overlooked Jeremiah's reference to the land of Uz being between Egypt and Philistia. Jeremiah starts out with Egypt, mentions Uz, then writes about the land of the Philistines, whose major cities were Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron and Ashdod.
Next he writes of Edom, Moab and Ammon in successive order from south to north. Jeremiah does not jump around with his geographical references. Therefore, it stands to reason that Jeremiah also mentioned Egypt, Uz and Philistia in correct order from south to north.
The reading of the passage leads one to conclude that Uz was located east of Goshen and may have extended across the Sinai peninsula - as far east as the territory of Edom. The book of Lamentations speaks of Edom dwelling in the land of Uz:
'Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom, that dwellest in the land of Uz ...' (Lamentations 4:21).
It is possible that the land of Uz may have been the name of a wide region encompassing many tribes. Job, however, must have lived just east of the Nile delta.
It is quite likely that Job was an Israelite, son of Issachar, and that he grew rich as a keeper of cattle - the very occupation of Jacob's family when they settled in Egypt.
Just because Job was a man of position, whose wealth was measured in cattle and possessions, does not mean that he conformed to the picture of roving Chaldean tribesmen in the second millennium B.C.
Just because the Sabeans and Chaldeans robbed him does not mean that he had to live in the Arabian Desert, as some suggest. The Sabeans and Chaldeans traveled the trade routes between Babylon and Egypt regularly.
Northeastern Egypt was right in the middle of the most heavily traveled caravan route extending from Mesopotamia through Egypt and into Africa.
Some think that the book has a strong Aramaic flavor and that Job lived near the center of Aramaic influence. During the second millennium B.C., Aramean tribes settled in the Fertile Crescent from the land of Babylonia to the rivers of Egypt and controlled the caravan routes throughout the Middle East. Evidently, Job lived along a major trade route for these caravans.
When the Sabeans and Chaldeans robbed him, Job did not pursue. Had he lived in the Mesopotamia valley, it would have been a simple matter for Job's friends to round up the culprits. The fact that they did not, suggests that they took the booty too far away - too far for Job to muster an army and go after them.
So, When Was the Book Written?
The book of Job is considered to be the oldest book in the Bible - predating Moses. Job must have lived during the early part of those 230 years that the sons of Jacob occupied the land of Goshen - along the fertile delta of the Nile - having moved there at the invitation of Joseph.
According to Genesis 36:15, Job's friend, Eliphaz, and his son, Teman, were descendants of Esau, twin brother to Jacob and progenitor of the Edomite people. Geographically, Teman was an Edomite city.
'These were the dukes of the sons of Esau: the sons of Eliphaz the firstborn son of Esau; duke Teman, duke Omar, duke Zepho, duke Kenaz,
'Duke Korah, duke Gatam, and duke Amalek: these are the dukes that came of Eliphaz in the land of Edom ...' (Genesis 36:15,16).
Teman was the son of Eliphaz and grandson of Esau. Furthermore, a city was named after him. According to Jeremiah 49:7, the city of Teman was once considered to be a center of wisdom:
'Concerning Edom, thus saith the Lord of Hosts; Is wisdom no more in Teman? is counsel perished from the prudent? is their wisdom vanished?' (Jeremiah 49:7).
It is also possible that the book was written some years after Job's death and during the period of suffering under Egyptian bondage. It may have been written as an inspiration for the Israelites to keep trusting in the God of their fathers in spite of their harsh circumstances. The story of Job gave hope to an otherwise hopeless people.
It is even possible that someone contemporary with Moses wrote the book - though we have no historical evidence. Whoever wrote this longest narrative of a single man in the Bible had to be quite gifted - an educated author with a flair for writing.
We are told that Job eventually regained his wealth and lived to see four generations:
'After this lived Job an hundred and forty years, and saw his sons, and his sons' sons, even four generations. 'So Job died, being old and full of days' (Job 42:16,17).
The term 'four generations' has a familiar ring to it. That was the number of generations that God mentioned to Abraham when He predicted the Egyptian bondage:
'And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;
'And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.
'And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age.
'But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full' (Gen. 15:13-16).
We do not know the age of the Genesis Job when he and his father, Issachar, moved to Egypt. But he must have been a young man, since Joseph was only in his early thirties. Issachar, himself, could not have been much older than Joseph, being the ninth son of Jacob's twelve. If listed in the order of their ages, Job was the third son of Issachar, listed among four. So he may have been a young child when the family moved to Egypt.
We are told that Job lived another 140 years after his ordeal and died a rich man - perhaps some years before the onset of Pharaoh's persecution. The story of his life could have been written as an encouragement for the Israelites who were suffering Egyptian bondage.
There is no mention of Egypt in the book of Job, but that could have been because the writer did not want to stir the waters of a delicate political situation. One may recall, when Moses interrupted Egypt's tranquility, Pharaoh's persecution of the Israelites took a distinct turn for the worse.
No one really knows when Job was written. But we cannot dismiss the possibility that Job appealed to a disheartened people facing the heartless antics of the Pharoah who knew not Joseph. The Israelites were enslaved and made to work for the mad ruler.
The Prophetic Aspects of Job
Job is the story of a suffering man whose hope and destiny lay in the hands of God:
'There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.
'And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters.
'His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east' (Job 1:1-3).
The story of Job is basically this: Job was a man greatly blessed of God because of his righteousness. It seemed that God had a wall of protection around Job and had made him one of the richest men in the world. But the great accuser came before the throne of God and declared that, if given a chance, Job could be made to curse his Creator. Basically, that's when the persecution of Job began.
Job was not a vile and wicked man. His persecution was more than just a punishment for sin. As best we can determine, it was God's way of testing the ruggedness and durability of His creation.
That is what men do today when a new product is developed. For example, the space shuttle has been through hundreds of rigorous trials, some bordering on abuse, in order to see whether it would stand the test. Once it passed all of the testing, then it was ready to perform the great task for which it was designed. Such is true of the human race and especially Israel, for God had promised Abraham that through his seed all of the families of the earth would be blessed.
There are some who believe that God has disinherited Israel and that New Testament Christianity has replaced the Chosen People as the heirs to the covenant. Such is not the case, however, for we must remember that even though Job appeared to be forsaken, in the end he was restored and given a greater position than that which he possessed before his problems began. I am convinced that Job lays out a prophetic scenario for the nation of Israel.
In the story, Job lost everything he had. Satan had claimed that if an ill wind were allowed to blow upon the life of Job he would curse God. In response, the Lord allowed an army of Sabeans to slay his servants and steal his 500 yoke of oxen. At the same time a fire fell from heaven and destroyed his 7,000 sheep.
Furthermore, soon afterward, a band of Chaldeans stole his 3,000 camels. As if that were not enough, God also allowed a violent wind to destroy the house where his seven sons and three daughters were feasting. There were no survivors. Almost overnight Job lost everything he had.
The devastated Job then arose, tore his mantle, shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground to say:
'... the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.
'In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly' (Job 1:21-22).
If that were not enough, God allowed Job to suffer a physical illness:
'So went Satan forth from the presence of the Lord, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown' (Job 2:7).
Thoroughly demoralized, the pitiful Job took a piece of broken pottery with which to scrape his boils and sat down among some ashes. The ashes were probably prepared as a disinfectant and cleansing agent for the oozing sores that covered his body. Both Job and his wife were emotionally devastated, not only by their bankruptcy, but also by the loss of their children. Through it all, Job maintained his faith in God, but his wife could not.
'Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die' (Job 2:9).
Job's wife seems to be typical of that part of the family of Israel, which could not stand the test. The Israeli people have certainly had their share of those.
It is said that during the days of World War II, in one of the concentration camps, some of the Jewish prisoners put God on trial. They had attorneys for the plaintiff and attorneys for the defendant. Court was convened, and for several days arguments were heard. The accusations were made that God was responsible for all of the problems that beset the Jews. After several days of deliberation, the jury brought in its verdict. They declared that God was guilty. Sounds like the wife of Job. 'Give up,' she said. 'Curse God, and die.'
I have heard it said that some Jews have prayed, 'Oh, God, if we are the Chosen People, please choose somebody else for a while!' Such has been the dilemma of the Jew in the midst of a persecution greater than that which has befallen any other race or nationality throughout the annals of history.
In the depths of his illness, Job's three friends came to comfort him - Eliphaz, the Temanite, Bildad, the Shuhite, and Zophar, the Naamathite.
Unfortunately, they were far from being a comfort to the hurting Job. Prophetically, may I suggest that these three friends appear to represent the three basic divisions of the human race - the descendants of Shem, Ham, and Japheth - who, instead of being a comfort to the persecuted Israel down through the centuries, have taken the place of the accuser.
Eliphaz delivered three speeches, Bildad three, and Zophar two. Following each discourse, Job defended himself. Basically, these three friends had one view of the problem - Job was a hypocrite. Though he appeared to be outwardly good, they believed him to be a wicked man. Otherwise, according to their concept of God, the suffering of Job would be unjust. Job, on the other hand, though he was suffering, would not accuse the justice of God. In chapter 9, verse 2, Job was faced with the frustrating question: '... how should man be just with God?'
In verses 32 and 33, he continued:
'For he is not a man as I am, that I should answer him, and we should come together in judgment.
'Neither is there any daysman betwixt us, that might lay his hand upon us both' (Job 9:32-33).
What a dilemma! Job admits that he has no daysman - no advocate - no lawyer - to plead his case. In chapter 19, however, his faith was rewarded by the revelation of a coming Redeemer and by a future resurrection.
'For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:
'And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God?' (Job 19:25-26).
This observation made in the midst of his suffering represents a prophecy of the coming resurrection. It implies a magnificent promise of Christ, Who will come someday to raise the dead and save Israel from its dilemma.
Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar believed Job was afflicted because of some great sin he had committed before God. However, there are many sinners in the world who do not suffer as Job suffered. Therefore, the suffering of Job cannot be attributed to some secret sin. Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar were also sinners before God, and yet they were not afflicted as Job was. Now, to be sure, the Chosen People have suffered because of sin, but there must be a far greater reason for the suffering of Israel.
The three friends of Job, which I believe represent the three divisions of the human race, seem to regard God as small and petty, exacting in His relations with men - basically that God only rewards good and punishes evil. They would look at anyone who is suffering and accuse him of some secret sin. This appears to be a worldwide concept of Jewish suffering. The world is quick to condemn the Jew.
At this point in the story, another man made his appearance - Elihu, the son of Barachel, the Buzite. Elihu presented a better opinion of the problem. His account of God is noble and true. It is noteworthy that in the last chapter, God did not classify him with the other three philosophers.
If Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar represent the three divisions of humanity, and if Job represents the nation of Israel, then who is Elihu and what does he represent in prophecy? It is my opinion that Elihu represents Christianity's concept of God. The word Elihu means 'God of him.' The word Barachel means 'God hath blessed.' These words seem to be descriptive of New Testament Christianity.
On the other hand, Elihu was a Buzite, which means 'scorned, despised.' Unfortunately, this too is indicative of Christianity down through the centuries. Christianity has also been the brunt of criticism by an unbelieving world. The opinion of many today is that Christians are trying to shove religion down everybody's throat, and that ministers are only preaching for money. Yes, just like Elihu the Buzite, Christians are scorned and hated. As a prophetic profile of Christianity, Elihu admitted that he was younger than Job and his three friends.
'And Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite answered and said, I am young, and ye are very old; wherefore I was afraid, and durst not shew you mine opinion' (Job 32:6).
Just as Elihu considered himself to be younger than the others, even so, Christianity is a relatively young religion - younger than Israel - younger than the human race. If Elihu is a prophetic profile of Christianity, then some of his opinions also reflect the opinions of Christianity. He said of Job and his three friends:
'...there was none of you that convinced Job, or that answered his words:
'Lest ye should say, We have found out wisdom: God thrusteth him down, not man' (Job 32:12-13).
Elihu perceived that they could not convince Job of his sin, nor could Job convince them of his innocence. Job's three friends refused to listen to Job's defense, for they would not admit that they could possibly be wrong. They considered Job to be suffering because he was a bad man. They did not want to believe that Job could be good.
Such is the world today. It seems that many are not willing to give Israel the benefit of the doubt. On the other hand, Elihu accused Job of speaking words without wisdom and multiplying his words without knowledge.
'Job hath spoken without knowledge, and his words were without wisdom' (Job 34:35).
'Therefore doth Job open his mouth in vain; he multiplieth words without knowledge' (Job 35:16).
That was not nice of Elihu to accuse Job. When God appeared and began to speak, He accused Elihu of the same thing:
'Who is that that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?' (Job 38:2).
Elihu was guilty of the same indiscretion he leveled against Job. Such is true, I think, of Christianity. Let us not be so quick to condemn Israel, for we have no right to throw stones.
The appearance of the Lord seems to be a prophetic picture of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ in power and great glory.
'Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind ...' (Job 38:1).
The Shekinah Glory on the day of Pentecost was described as a rushing mighty wind - tongues like as of fire sat upon each of them. It is the same kind of appearance as was given on Mt. Sinai when God came down in the pillar of cloud and fire.
At the end of Job's affliction God came to make His judgment, and frankly He didn't have much good to say about Job, his three friends, or Elihu. And of Job He said, 'Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth?'
And finally, of Eliphaz and his friends God said, 'My wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends: for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job hath' (Job 42:7).
God's wrath kindled here, may be a prediction of Armageddon. Please note, disaster was averted when Job prayed for his friends. At this point, God turned the captivity of Job.
He either gave him seven more sons and three more daughters, or He raised his seven sons and three daughters from the dead and returned them to their father. At least it appears to be a prophecy of the future resurrection. Otherwise the Bible might have said that God gave seven MORE sons and three MORE daughters.
'He had also seven sons and three daughters' (Job 42:13).
Furthermore, the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning and doubled his riches. So, who was Job? He was the ultimate Jew. He was a prophetic profile of the Chosen People in their suffering and their destiny. We can be certain that God will turn the captivity of Israel just as He turned the captivity of Job.
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CHILDRENS POETRY
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My Season!
By Rebecca M. Lally
My favorite time of year is...
Bike riding with friends until the day comes to an end.
My favorite time of year is...
when swimming is fun and tanning in the sun.
My favorite time of year is...
when the moon glimmers at night and the sun shines so bright.
Can you guess this time of year...
It is summer, and it is here!!!
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