Oxford Bible Church - Living in the Last Days (audio)

Because of Solomon's compromise with idolatry, the 430 years of sin against God's Presence in the Temple (Ezekiel 4:1-8) started as soon as it was dedicated by Solomon in 1018 BC, when God's Glory filled the Temple, and continued until God's Glory departed the Temple in 588 BC, as witnessed by Ezekiel. So these 430 years correspond exactly with the time that God's Presence dwelt in the first Temple. We establish that God appeared to Solomon immediately after the Dedication of the Temple to warn him about the danger of idolatry and its consequences (1 Kings 9:1-9). This meant that he (as Israel's representative) was in deliberate sin (rebellion) against God, when he allowed idolatry to continue and increase, despite this warning. This helps to understand the seriousness of this sin, and why God had to start counting the 430 years of sin (idolatry) from this point. The 390 years of sin from the Temple Dedication in 1018 BC to when the 40 years of sin began in 628 BC with the start of Jeremiah's ministry at the start of Josiah's 13th year, perfectly confirms the long chronology, which we have constructed by tracing and harmonising the reigns of the kings of Judah and Israel, just using the information given in the Bible. The 390-year measurement also enables us to determine the exact length of Jotham's reign (22 years). The Biblical account says he reigned at least 20 years, but it does not specify the exact length of his reign, but the 390 years provides this one piece of missing information. Another wonderful confirmation of this Biblical Chronology of the kings is that it explains why God measured exactly 70 years for the Desolations of the Land. 2 Chronicles 36:14-21 explains the cause of the Desolations (unrepentant idolatry), and why they had to last 70 years (they had to continue until the Land had enjoyed her lost Sabbaths - v21). Because of their sin, Israel failed to keep God's Law concerning the Sabbath Year (Leviticus 25:1-3) - God told them to rest the Land 1 year in 7. Therefore, He removed them from the Land, until the Land had enjoyed the correct number of Sabbaths, as He had warned them He would do in Leviticus 26:31-35. Thus the time of the Desolations was measured on this basis. Therefore, if a proposed chronology is correct, it must be able to explain why God measured exactly 70 years for the Desolations of the Land, according to this Sabbath principle. As the climax of this video, we demonstrate the perfect solution to this difficult challenge, thus providing an independent confirmation of this chronology!

In Ezekiel 8-11, Ezekiel had a 2nd major vision where he saw the Glory of God leaving the Temple on account of Israel's idolatry, which was even going on within the Temple itself. This idolatry had aroused God's anger, so that He was now ready to move in Judgment. The departure of God's Presence from the Temple marked the start of this time of Desolating Judgment, as signified by the scattering of burning coals over the city (10:2). By this departure in 588 BC, God was initiating the Desolations of Jerusalem. From the moment God departed from Jerusalem, her desolation was inevitable and irreversible, for she was now without His protective covering. The start of this Desolating Judgment was physically manifested as the final Siege of Jerusalem by Babylon, at the very same time that God's Glory departed from the Temple. After Ezekiel's first vision, when God called him to be a prophet (1:1 - 3:14), in 4:1 - 7:27, God revealed the Desolations that would fall on Israel, which would begin with the final Siege of Jerusalem, and that the cause of these desolating judgments was 430 years of sin (idolatry), from 1018 - 588 BC, made worse by the fact that God's Presence and Glory was with them in the Temple. It was direct sin against the holiness of God. Finally, we show that these 430 years (of idolatry, against God's Presence in the Temple) began from the Dedication of the Temple, when God's Glory filled the Temple, because even by the time the Temple was dedicated, Solomon had allowed idolatry to take root at the heart of Israel; and even though God had appeared to him immediately after the Dedication of the Temple and warned him about this very issue (1Kings 9:1-9), he did not repent, but rather he greatly multiplied his foreign wives and for their sakes he increased his permission and promotion of idolatry in Jerusalem. This meant that his sin was rebellious in nature. The fact God had appeared to Solomon twice made this sin even more serious. 1Kings 11:1-13 describes how this idolatry began during Solomon's reign, and that it was so serious, that God announced to Solomon that as a result of this sin, his Kingdom would be divided after his death. So, clearly the 430 years of sin against God's Presence in the Temple are not to be measured from the Division of the Kingdom, as some say, but must start before that, even at the Temple's Dedication. Thus, the 430 years of sin against God's Presence in the Temple covers the entire time that God's Presence was in the Temple from its Dedication in 1018 BC, until God's Glory departed the Temple in 588 BC, as witnessed by Ezekiel, at the start of the final Siege of Jerusalem, which resulted in the Temple's destruction in 586 BC.

We study the ministry of Ezekiel and his visions, as he warns Israel about the soon-coming Judgment of Desolations coming on Jerusalem and the Land, as a result of their idolatry. Ezekiel 4:1-8 reveals the 430 years of sin, which led up to the final Siege of Jerusalem in 588 BC, which marked the start of these Desolations, which were prophesied to last 70 years in Jeremiah 25:11. These 430 years of sin consist of 390 years followed by 40 years. The nature of the sin which initiated the 430 years of sin is revealed in 1Kings 9:1-9 and 2 Chronicles 7:11-22, as the sin against the Presence of God in their midst in the Temple, by the idolatry and worship of other gods. We show that these 430 years of sin began with the Dedication of Solomon's Temple in 1018 BC. After the first 390 years were completed in 628 BC, a judgment was inevitable, as Josiah discovered when he enquired of the Lord - this was the 70 years Servitude to Babylon, which Israel would experience along with all the other nations in the region (Jeremiah 25:1-14), which started in 609 BC with the end of the Assyrian Empire, when it fell to Babylon, and ended in 539 BC, with the end of the Babylonian Empire, when it fell to Cyrus, king of Persia. 628 BC marks the end of the 390 years of sin and the start of the 40 years of sin, which coincide with the 40 years of Jeremiah's ministry (628 - 588 BC), in which he warned Israel to repent and to submit to God's discipline through Babylon, otherwise they would also suffer the greater judgments of Captivity in Babylon, and finally the Desolations of Jerusalem and the Land. Because Israel continued in sin, in 607 BC, she started to come under the Judgment of Captivity in Babylon, which was again measured by God as a 70-year period from 607 - 537 BC (Jeremiah 29:1-14). Because Israel still did not repent, the number of people going into Captivity continually increased in stages, until the whole nation went into Captivity in Babylon in 586 BC. These 70 years ended in 537 BC with the Cyrus Decree releasing the Jews to return to Israel. Once the allotted 40 years of final warnings had ended in 588 BC, with Israel still unrepentant, God consigned her to the even greater judgement of the Desolations of Jerusalem and the Land, which included her total expulsion from the Land. This Judgement of Desolation was also measured out by God to last 70 years, from 588 - 518 BC (Jeremiah 25:11, 2 Chronicles 36:14-21, Daniel 9:2). Ezekiel saw God's Glory leaving the Temple because of the idols, and this took place at the end of the 40 years, in 588 BC (Ezekiel 10-11), coinciding with the start of the final Siege, which resulted in the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple soon after, and the whole nation going into Captivity in Babylon in 586 BC. Thus we can distinguish 3 distinct (but related) 70-year periods of escalating judgement on Israel: (1) the Servitude, (2) the Captivity, and (3) the Desolations, which were prophesied over Israel, and which were perfectly fulfilled on time. Because Israel did not repent, God kept increasing the severity of His discipline of His people. In addition, we note a 4th period of 70 years from the Destruction of the first Temple in 586 BC until the Dedication of the 2nd Temple in 516 BC, which we could call the Desolations of the Temple.

We explain the 390 years of Israel's sin (1018 - 628 BC) followed by the 40 years of Judah's sin, the 40 years of Jeremiah's warnings from 628 - 588 BC (Jeremiah 25:3), which led up to the final Siege of Jerusalem (Ezekiel 4:1-8), which marked the start of the 70 years of Desolations of Jerusalem and the Land from 588 - 518 BC (Ezekiel 4:9 - 7:27), as prophesied in Jeremiah 25:8-11. We show that the 390 years of sin resulted in Israel's Servitude to Babylon, and the extra 40 years of sin resulted in the greater Judgment of the Desolations. This explains why Jeremiah told Israel to submit to Servitude under Babylon, because it was an unavoidable divine discipline, and he also pleaded with them to repent, lest the greater Judgment of the Desolations should come upon them. These time measurements confirm the chronology of the time of the kings that we have been developing by taking the Bible literally. This produces a chronology, which is about 60 years longer than the shorter chronology, which is commonly used. This shorter chronology changes the Bible's chronology to make it fit with Assyrian chronology. So for example, the true date of the start of the Divided Kingdom is 993 BC, rather than 931 BC (the date given in most books). The shorter chronology can make no sense of Ezekiel's 430 years (390 + 40). We show that the starting point for the 430 years of sin must be the start of the Great Jubilee Cycle - the Dedication of Solomon's Temple. The nature of the sin which initiated the 430 years of sin is revealed in 1Kings 9:1-9 and 2 Chronicles 7:11-22, as the sin against the Presence of God in their midst in the Temple, by their idolatry and worship of other gods. This sin led to God's Glory leaving the Temple in 588 BC (Ezekiel 10), resulting in its destruction soon after.

The prophet Jeremiah ministered during the reign of King Josiah. For 40 years, from 628 - 588 BC he warned Judah to repent or else God would send desolating judgments upon her, but she refused (these are the 40 years of Judah's sin in Ezekiel 4:6). Therefore, when time ran out in 588 BC, the final Siege of Jerusalem by Babylon began, which marked the start of the Desolations of Israel and Jerusalem (see Ezekiel 4-7, confirmed by Ezekiel 24). Jeremiah made some stunning prophecies concerning three 70-year periods of judgment upon Israel and the nations, at the hands of Babylon. In this study, we see how two of them were perfectly fulfilled. We see how Jeremiah 25:1-14 is a 2-fold prophecy, which predicted: (1) 70 years of Servitude of Israel and the nations to Babylonian domination (609 - 539 BC), which started in 609 BC with the end of the Assyrian Empire, when it fell to Babylon, and ended in 539 BC, with the end of the Babylonian Empire, when it fell to Cyrus, king of Persia, and (2) 70 years of Desolations for Israel and Jerusalem, which included their total expulsion from the Land (588 - 518 BC). Jeremiah warned God would increase the level of judgement from Servitude to Desolation, because of Israel's lack of repentance, despite many years of Divine warnings. (The other 70-year period of Captivity in Babylon is from 607 - 537 BC - see Jeremiah 29:1-14). Jeremiah 27 confirms that the start of Babylonian domination over the nations began in 609 BC (v1,3). It says that if any nation submits to Babylonian rule she would be spared worse judgment, but if she rebelled she would suffer increasing Captivity and Desolation (including total expulsion from her land). Despite Jeremiah's warnings, this happened to Israel, because she resisted God's discipline through Babylon.

After Hezekiah the next king was Manasseh, followed by Amon (both evil kings), followed by Josiah (a good king), who was killed by Pharaoh Necho of Egypt at the battle of Megiddo in 609 BC. Josiah's reign coincides with the decline and fall of the Assyrian Empire. In 612 BC the Assyrian capital, Ninevah, was destroyed by Babylon, just as Nahum had prophesied, and 609 BC marks the final end of the Assyrian Empire. At this time, the Babylonian Empire took over from Assyria as the dominant power in the region. Soon after, this dominance was made complete by Babylon's decisive victory over Egypt at the famous battle of Carchemish in 605 BC. From that time on, Egypt was no longer able to exercise international power. 609 BC marks the start of a 70-year period, granted by God, of Babylonian dominance over the nations (Jeremiah 25:8-14), which ended with the Fall of Babylon at the hands of the Medes and Persians in 539 BC.

This is the 4th and final part of our study on King Hezekiah's reign. After a recap of the previous videos on Hezekiah, Derek reveals the full typology that results from realising there were 2 invasions by Sennacherib in the reign of Hezekiah, where the rerun of Hezekiah's 15 years is a type of the rerun of Daniel's 70th Week (the coming Tribulation). We see how Sennacherib, the Assyrian king, is a type of the antichrist, and how his 2nd invasion of Israel in 701 BC is a type of Armageddon, threatening Israel's very survival. Just as the Angel of the Lord (Jesus Christ) personally destroyed Sennacherib's army in 701 BC in the Land of Israel, in response to Hezekiah's prayer (Isaiah 37), so Jesus Christ will personally destroy the antichrist's armies, who have invaded Israel at Armageddon, in response to Israel calling upon His Name to save them (Revelation 19). In this context, it is interesting that in Micah 5:5-6 the antichrist is described as 'the Assyrian'. When he invades the Land of Israel, the one who saves them will be Christ Himself, the Son of David (Micah 5:2). He will "deliver Israel from the Assyrian" (v6), when He returns at the end of the Tribulation (the time of birth pains) and completes the regathering and restoration of Israel (v3). Then He will establish His Kingdom of peace over Israel and the whole world, reigning as the King of kings from Israel. He will be 'the Ruler in Israel' over the whole world, for His power and greatness will extend 'to the ends of the earth' (v2,4,5). He will rule from Jerusalem over the whole earth (Zechariah 14:3-9, 16-19).

My book: 'The Imminent Invasion of Israel' (available on Amazon) discusses in detail the unfulfilled prophecy in Ezekiel 38 of an invasion of the Mountains of Israel in the latter days, by a coalition of nations led by Russia, Iran and Turkey. God Himself will intervene and judge the invaders, resulting in his Name being glorified in the nations (a world-wide revival). See also my 5-part youtube series: 'The Imminent Invasion of Israel'. Everything is in place for this invasion to take place. All that is needed is a catalyst to cause Russia to step into the leadership of this coalition. In my book, I discuss 2 possible catalysts: (1) Israel bombing Iran's facilities used to develop a nuclear bomb, and (2) Israel increasing its settlement activities or even annexing the West Bank. The recent conflict with Hamas in Gaza and the associated internal unrest within Israel between the Jews and Arabs made me aware that a future conflict of this nature could also be a possible catalyst for the Ezekiel 38 invasion. If such civil unrest took place again and Israel felt forced to impose itself more strongly on the Palestinian Arabs, especially in the West Bank, then Russia could see this as an opportunity to create an international coalition of mostly Islamic nations to invade and take over the West Bank in the name of protecting the Palestinians and establishing a Palestinian State there, thus enforcing the 2-state solution, in accordance with UN resolutions. However, the prophecy points out that the real motive of the invading nations is the financial reward from increasing their military footprint and power in the Middle-East, as well as this being the first step towards the ultimate destruction of Israel (which would certainly be the main motive and objective of Iran and Turkey). It is this unlawful attempt to seize God's covenant Land, which He has given to Israel, and this existential threat against God's covenant People, which stirs the Lord to take action against the invading armies to destroy them, and thereby glorify Himself in the eyes of the nations (see Ezekiel 38:14,16 and 39:7, where God speaks of: 'My people Israel', and 'My Land', and describes Himself as: 'the Holy One in Israel'). When this prophecy is fulfilled in detail, just as the Bible predicts, many will realise that the God of Israel, the God of the Bible, is alive and well, and that therefore the rest of the Bible must be true.

The Christian life is the expression of our personal love relationship with the Lord. The spiritual disciplines are for the purpose of drawing closer to God, and deepening our relationship with Him, and thereby growing spiritually. Derek shares how to introduce a new believer to the life of a disciple of Jesus, based on God's love and grace to them. It's all about loving God based on His amazing love for us, and this includes spending time with Him in the Bible and Prayer. Our love for God will also cause us to want to please and glorify Him in the way we life our life. Derek points out the 2 opposite ditches of indiscipline and legalism. When we love God we give Him our heart, and this will be naturally expressed in a disciplined life of seeking God, and obeying His revealed will.

The essence of the Christian life is our love relationship with God rather than following a list of rules. A disciple is a follower of the Person of Jesus, who wants to be as close as possible to Him. This does involve discipline. There are important disciplines that are part of being a disciple, like Bible reading and having a devotional time with God every day, with praise, prayer and confession, being faithful in Church, and finding ways to serve God and people. But we do not do them for their own sake but as expressions of our love for the Lord, in order to be close to Jesus and glorify Him. We are precious to the Lord. Above all, He wants our heart. He wants us to give Him our heart, which starts by opening (the ears of) our heart to Him, to receive His words of love and His grace to us, for our ears are the receivers of our heart (Isaiah 55:1-3). Then as He fills us with Himself (His life and love), He takes possession of our hearts by his Spirit (Presence), and our hearts become fully His, so that we then love Him with all our heart.