Nahum 2:4-6 Fiery Ministers & Watery Graves

Okay, so we're going to continue our study through Nahum. We're going to be in chapter 2 concentrating on verses 4 through 6. But before that I want to read the end of chapter 1 and then all the way through chapter 2 so what I did was I highlighted the The verses that we're going to be actually concentrating on today.

So Nahum chapter 1 starting at verse 15. Behold on the mountains of the feet of him who brings good news who announces peace. Celebrate your feasts. Oh Judah pay your vows for never again. Will the wicked one pass through you.

He is cut off completely. Thank God the one who scatters has come up against you. Man the fortress watch the road strengthen your back summon all your strength for the Lord will restore the splendor of Jacob like the splendor of Israel even though devastators have devastated them and destroyed their vine branches.

The shields of his mighty men are colored red the warriors are dressed in scarlet. The chariots are enveloped in flashing steel when he is prepared to march and the cypress spears are brandished. The chariots race madly in the streets.

They rush wildly in the squares. Their appearance is like torches they dash to and fro like lightning flashes. Remember his nobles. They stumble in their march. They hurry to her wall and the mantlet is set up.

The gates of the rivers are opened and the palace is dissolved. It is fixed. She is stripped. She's carried away and her handmaids are moaning like the sound of does beating on their breasts. Though Nineveh was like a pool of water throughout her days now.

They are fleeing. Stop stop. But no one turns back. Plunder the silver plunder the gold for there is no limit to the treasure wealth from every kind of Desirable object she is emptied. Yes, she is desolate and waste.

Hearts are melting and knees are knocking also anguish is in the whole body and all their faces are grown pale. Where is the den of lions and the feeding place of the young lions? Where the lion lioness and lion's cub prowled with nothing to disturb them.

The lion tore enough for her cubs killed enough for her lionesses and filled his lairs with prey from his dens with torn flesh. Behold I am against you declares the Lord of hosts. I will burn up her chariots and smoke a sword will devour your young lions.

I will cut off your prey from the land and no longer will the voice of your messengers be heard. These are heavy words from God. If God is against you who could be for you. So real quick. Chapter 2 verses 1 through 3 recap.

Last week we learned that the one who scatters and has come up against you that one is God. Okay God is the scatterer and this gets us back to Harkens us back to Genesis 10 where all of this actually began when God told the people To fill the earth multiply and multiply.

But they didn't listen and instead gathered together to build a tower and a name for themselves. That's the tower of Babel. Okay, so all this the scatterer. They called God the scatterer the one who wanted them dispersed.

So now God's coming back and taunting them. The scatterer is back and watch what happens. God then taunts them. Man the fortress watch the road. Summon all your strength. Why. Because God will be against them.

You really think they had enough strength to fight. Back and win against God. No, he's taunting them. Let's see how strong you are now. You like to plunder the other nations. You like to flay them. Crucify them, you know do all these vicious things that you did.

How are you gonna handle that when I come against you? God then promises to restore Jacob Judah like the splendor of Israel. So here we see God is against his enemies and how fierce he's going to be against them.

And then just how loving and merciful and fierce he is for his people. He's going to restore Judah Jacob back to the splendor of Israel. He doesn't have to do that, by the way, but because Judah is his bride.

He's going to raise her up and protect his bride. The shields of the Medes are red and shiny like fire. God's ministers are like a flame of fire. And we're gonna go a little bit deeper into that this this morning.

All this is highlighting God's scattering his sovereignty and his salvation. So let's get into verse 2 through chapter 2. Verse 4. The chariots race madly in the streets. They rush wildly in the squares.

The promise coming judgment of Assyria is this is described in this passage with graphic and detailed imagery. A serious enemy will attack possibly using psychological warfare. Maybe dying their equipment read as though covered with blood or actually covered with blood.

And we talked last week. About how a lot of the commentators and I myself think that the the red on the on the shields were the beginning skirmishes that Assyria was having with Judah. There was bloodshed already.

The protection of Assyria its gates and its palace will fall and the people will be taken into exile. Mourning their destruction the destruction will not end until Assyria is completely stripped of possessions and all strength.

The verses in chapter 2 affirm that Yahweh God is the one who will cause Assyria's downfall. God was the one who raised Assyria up to come in into Israel. Okay, and to to attack it, but he's also going to be the one who brings Babylon and the Medes into it to Destroy Syria because their hearts went too far.

The attackers are like a beehive of soldiers ready for action. Calculating to attack first and racing around to begin the onslaught to overwhelm their enemy. Similar to like a Hells Angels biker group.

You have here all the motorcycles as they they they drive by. Right, it's like a like a beehive almost and they thrive on beating people down in their path. Or whoever's in their path. This is a situation.

The Assyrians have never encountered before. They're encountering a large and powerful army that is aggressively moving in on them. Where they were normally the aggressor and their enemy was the frightened prey.

They now are the prey being stalked by the aggressor. So here's big strong Assyria who's gonna get devastated and was told by God. This is what's gonna happen. So they're feeling it. They're feeling the pressure.

Obviously God's taunting them. Summon your soldiers garner your strength. Protect the walls because here I come. Verse 4 describes the advance of the attackers. The text indicates the mad dash of the chariots as they move through the suburbs and outlying areas of Nineveh.

Toward the city walls now remember when we went through the the history of Assyria. How do you remember how wide that wall was? The wall was like a mile wide. Not just. You know long around the city was a mile wide.

So this is a huge huge strong structure. The imagery intended to depict the immediate step of the approach of the assault force the means. Having been dreaded at a distance when the approaching hordes brilliant uniforms came first into view and now can be observed more closely.

Okay, so this is like seeing your enemy far off and now they're coming closer and closer and closer. So now you see their shields. Okay. Now they're covered with blood because they're starting to attack you.

This is kind of like a suspense. Waiting it's coming. It's coming. It's getting closer closer closer. They have laid claim to all the territory immediately outside the city walls. The last resistance has retreated behind the safety of the city wall and the fearful chariotry of the enemy rushes about Securing every possible escape route.

So now the Assyrians are being surrounded by the Babylonians by the means. Okay, and Assyria knows this army is going to come in and they're going to be attacked. The Hebrew word for storm means to act wildly as it made madman in our verse in the NASB.

It says to race madly so The enemy is acting wildly. The end of the NIV translates captures the NAV translation captures the meaning of the Hebrew as chariots stormed through the streets. We speak of jet fighters that scream overhead.

You ever hear you ever go to one of the air shows. And you hear the the fighter jets flying overhead the sound of that.

It.

It vibrates through you this is what's happening to the Assyrians. Not only are they seeing it they're feeling it. The ground is shaking. Nahum wanted to convey the idea of panic and fear in Nineveh as they watched a powerful army arrayed against them.

The swift movement of the chariots reflecting the Sun appeared like flaming torches. The speed of the chariots could be compared with lightning. So we're going to talk about this Lightning and torches in a little bit more detail because I looked up in the dictionary biblical imagery and there's so much about lightning and Flashing throughout the Old Testament and even into the new.

Their appearances like torches they dash to and fro like lightning flashes. Appearance like torches in Hebrew this this is the word Lapid and it's a masculine noun indicating a torch or a lamp. It's used mainly of a fivery light.

Genesis 15 judges 7 15 and 20 but also depicts bright flashes of lightning. Exodus 2018. The ones I underlined are the ones that we're gonna we're gonna read in a minute. It's used figuratively of Judas conquering clans and the eyes of a divine being Daniel 10.

Flames of fire may be called torches. So we see this in Exodus 20. Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking. The people were afraid and trembled and they stood far off and said to Moses you speak to us and we will listen.

But do not let God speak to us lest we die. All right. So what is what is this telling us about God? And and What is this telling us about our? Our view of God, what is God doing? When he came to the top of the mountain, what was he what was he doing when he came there?

What would it be good?

Right that this was at the base of the mountain when they worshiped the calf. Right now God's coming in what judgment? All right, so we see lightning we see the sound of a trumpet. If we read the more of the verse that said smoke a cloud covered the top of the mountain.

So again when we read Matthew 24. Which I highly encourage you to go back and listen to pastors last message on hermeneutics. When he goes through chap part of chapter 24, the whole series is excellent.

But last week was just a gem. I mean, it's a standout among those among those lessons. So you'll see what it means with clouds. You'll see what it means with lightning. This is a symbolic of God's judgment.

Such that the people are afraid. They sell Moses. You talk to us we don't want to talk to him directly. Yes, Jerry. Sure, the pillar of cloud right and and the light absolutely.

Right.

To one it's going to be comfort to the other it's going to be punishment judgment, right? So those people who were guilty in God's sight who were worshiping the other the calf to them. This is scary. We don't want to talk to him we want to talk to Moses.

Ezekiel chapter 1 verse 13 and 14 as for the likeness of the living creatures their appearance was like burning coals of fire like the appearance of Torches moving to and fro among living creatures and the fire was bright and out of the fire went forth Lightning and the living creatures darted to and fro like the appearance of of a flash of lightning.

Now that's right out of Ezekiel chapter 1 and look at how it it relates to Nahum Verse 4 their appearances like torches they dash to and fro like lightning flashes. Right. So God's judgment doesn't. It's not actual lightning.

He's using the the Medes the Babylonian army to come in and it gives the appearance of lightning. Remember there's a spiritual element behind all the things that we see in the world. The reality of the world is behind the world right and it's being played out in the physical realm.

So the lightning the the clouds this is all symbolic of what God is doing. Against the Assyrians because of their their wickedness. Daniel 10 6. His body was like barrel his face like the appearance of lightning.

His eyes like flaming torches his arms and legs. Like the gleam of burnished bronze and the sound of his words like the sound of a multitude. You see how in each of these verses God is using Physical elements to get us to get a vision of what this is really like, you know.

We obviously we can't see into the spirit. God is spirit. We don't see him, but he's relating to us in words. We we can understand anthropomorphisms. What what is actually happening? So these are this is designed to paint a vivid picture in our mind of what the presence of God is going to look like.

Now you either know him or you don't know him. You're either going to be comforted by his presence or you're going to be punished in his presence. Yes, Jerry.

It cleansed him, but it did not kill him right. Where is when you when you see it in other places in Scripture particularly when we look in Revelation those colds.

Right.

Yes, the one image that I didn't happen to put in the lesson but comes to mind is Shadrach Meshach and Abednego. Right, they're thrown into the fiery furnace, but does the fire burn them? No, there's a fourth one in there with them.

All right, we're gonna get a little bit towards towards the end of the presentation of of how God is judging the world now. Okay to continue on. Lightning is also known as God's power and majesty. Symbolically lightning represents one of our great primordial fears.

Its grandeur and all reduce us to frighten children acutely aware of our powerlessness and insignificance. I can remember when I was little laying on my bed at night and hearing a thunderstorm. And you know what happens after you hear the thunder, right?

I'm sorry after you see the lightning you start going. One, Mississippi to Mississippi. Three, Mississippi. And each Mississippi represents a mile right? That's that's scientifically proven right, so.

Follow the science. So the lower the lower the number of Mississippis the closer this is getting. I was petrified laying on my bed. One miss it. Oh my goodness. This is horrible. So you could see like as a young kid I didn't understand about this and listen lightning is a serious thing the closer it gets to you the the scarier you get.

So think about the lightning that they're seeing and attributing this to God. All right, this comes out of the dictionary biblical imagery by Leland Rankin an excellent resource. He says to observe the activity of lightning, especially in antiquity in the absence of our current naturalistic explanations.

Was to witness the direct involvement and response of the Creator to his creation a creator in control of nature. That seems at the same time Paradoxically out of control, right? We don't know where the lightning is gonna land.

We don't know what damage it's gonna do. It seems like oh my goodness. It's out of control yet. We know that there's a creator. There's a God behind it. Who's in control? Lightning symbolizes at once both the untamable power and Unapproachable presence of God.

Biblical authors return again and again to the theme of God's control over nature as the most obviously Obvious and easily understood measures of his power. So we know that God is sovereign when disaster comes to a city has not the Lord caused that we understand all these things.

But we're not privy to God's knowledge in that realm, right? So we don't know is it gonna hit our house good, right? We don't know all we do know is that God is in control. And he works all things together for good for those who love him who are called according to his purpose.

Again, what side of the cross are you on? Are you the repentant the the repentant thief that trusts in Jesus or you the unrepentant thief that keeps cursing at him? Get us down from here. Get me out of here.

Scripture uses lightning as proof of God's terrifying presence. It frightens believer and infidel alike. Mount Sinai flashes and smolders as evidence of God's occupancy and also as proof that God attends his chosen people in battle.

Lightning routes his enemies. So again here you have lightning being used to protect God's people and route the enemies and lightning used In judgment upon people who are his who are his people. Israel was his people, but they they went after idols.

Lightning is also used as God's agent and angels, right? God has messengers. God's tools and weapons are often difficult to distinguish from his agents. God's means easily merge with his messengers personified and pictured as attendants spiritual beings.

Doing his bidding his ministers are as a flame of fire, right? So in the ancient mind lightning was evidence of divine activity mediated by angels. The Cosmological imagery of the Psalms equates the wind and fire with angels Psalm 104.

Which we're going to look at in a second the LXX understood the furies of God's wrath. Who knows what LXX means.

Good.

The Septuagint and what is the Septuagint? It's the Greek translation of the Old Testament and the word Septuagint means 70, right? So it was translated by 70 elders of Israel, right? Coincidentally, that's how many elders right?

God told Moses to have right he had 70 elders who ruled Israel with him. The these 70 elders translated the Hebrew scriptures into Greek so that Greek speaking people could understand it, right? So the Septuagint understood the furies of God wrath.

God's wrath and the heat of his nostrils manifested in the storms to be angels. A Flaming appearance marks celestial armies whether fiery chariots or angels on horseback with lightning second Kings 617.

Angels are clothed in lightning. Underscoring both the residual brightness from the presence of God Daniel chapter 10 and the their otherworldly connection. The lightning aura surrounding the creatures in Ezekiel's vision indicates both their power over the created order and their access to God's throne.

Again, I would suggest you you read through Ezekiel because this is going to give you a vivid imagery. You're gonna see the chariots gonna see the lightning you're gonna hear about the the thunder. Lightning not only marks the activity of God's loyal messengers, but also traces the downward trajectory of the fallen angel.

Remember what Jesus said about Satan? I Saw I saw Satan fall like lightning right to the earth. It's right. So again lightning a symbol of judgment. This is the words that Jesus uses Psalm 104. He makes the clouds his chariot.

He rides on the wings of the wind. He makes his messenger wins his messengers wins his ministers of flaming fire. So, how is it that we are a flaming fire? Yes.

Mm-hmm. So just for the recording because people can't hear the answer.

God's Word is going to go forth. It's either gonna judge the person hard in their heart or it's gonna soften their heart because God's Word doesn't come back void. It's gonna do what it's intended to do in the minds and hearts of the people who hear it.

So if you today if you hear God's voice do not harden your hearts. So when somebody proclaims the gospel to you that Jesus is Lord and there's salvation found in him. Judgment is coming and here there's going to be a final judgment.

How are you going to stand in the judgment? There's no other name of the heaven and earth by which men must be saved, right? It's only through Jesus. No one gets to the father, but through Jesus if you don't know the Lord.

You need to repent and trust in him. The only way to him is through Jesus. Jesus is the mediator between God and man. All right, you if you don't repent you're gonna be like the Assyrians. Okay, who God says get ahead summon up your strength.

Let's hear your argument how you were so good to the world. And then I'm gonna judge you and you're gonna be weighed and found wanting. You don't want that. You want to accept God's provision on your behalf through Jesus?

Daniel 10 6 now his body was like turquoise his face was like the appearance of Lightning and his eyes were like torches of fire and his arms and his legs were like the gleam of polished bronze. So you see this imagery over and over and over again?

Lightning. Messages of as of a flaming fire his face. It was the appearance of lightning. His eyes were like torches of fire. Again harkening back to what we see in Nahum he's saying the the enemy the Medes are coming up against the wall and They're they're running.

They're wildly thrashing about it looks like lightning like flames of fire. Then we see in the New Testament Luke 17 and they will say to you look there or look here. Do not go out and follow them for as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other.

So will the Son of Man be in his day? Again, I would suggest you go back and watch the teaching last week that pastor did he talks about this? Very very important that you understand what lightning means in Matthew chapter 24 and coming on the clouds.

Okay, let's continue. So we we read in verses 5 and 6. He remembers his nobles. They stumble in their March. They hurry to her wall and the mantlet is set up the gates of the rivers are open and the palace is dissolved.

But the question is because Nahum constantly goes back and forth who is the he that summons or remembers his nobles. And it's not easy to answer and none of the commentators say they can be sure who it's referring to.

Is it a Syria or is it the Medes he remembers he summons his nobles. Is he summoning the Medes or is he summoning the the Assyrians? There are two main problems. The first is that the verse opens with a singular verb in Hebrew.

He summons in the NIV and he commands in the new Jewish version the nearest singular subject for the he to refer to is the shatterer of verse 1 if This is indeed the subject then the description must be of the attackers.

Okay, so this would be of the Medes.

However.

The second problem is the occurrence of the word stumble which seems out of place if applied to well-organized attackers. All right, God's gonna summon them. He's got a force come against them. They wouldn't be the one stumbling.

Probably these Syrians would be the one stumbling. One of the marks of such an army is that it's meant do not stumble Isaiah 5 27. The word stumble is more appropriate if used about unready defenders hurrying to man the walls ie a Syria.

But if this is the case, there is no real subject for the singular verb summons. This is one of those cases where the commentators say it's virtually impossible to be certain what the original writer intended.

It seems more likely that the whole of verses 3 through 5 describes the attackers however translators will do well to consider which interpretation sounds best in their own language, so Here's my guess now.

Before you hear my guess I don't speak Hebrew. I Don't read Hebrew. I don't speak Greek or no Greek. So this is just my guess based on the English, okay? So he remembers his nobles is also translated as he summons or calls his officers.

So I think the he refers to God and the nobles refers to the Assyrians. Remember God was their commander when he brought a Syria against Israel. So this may not be towards the means this probably could be could be.

I shouldn't say probably this could be towards the Assyrians. This would also accurately describe their stumbling as a zero. Syria is in panic mode. He calls or summons his office and they stumble in their March.

This also coincides with the he being the scatterer. So the scatterer God summons his nobles these Syrians and they stumble in their March. Then I think the next phrase shifts to the Medes becoming the they.

They the Medes hurry to her wall meaning a Syria. Yeah, the attackers are hurrying to a serious wall because later in verse 7 name will say she is stripped. She is carried away referring to a Syria. The she and her are referring to the same party and the they is referring to her attacker.

This is my guess, okay? Next we read the mantlet is set up. I it's like what's a mantlet, right? Let's let's learn for a second where you have to look this up. The mantlet is a shield. Designed to protect and cover soldiers who are using a battery rant battering ram, which is an offensive weapon.

Now with the Assyrians who are inside the walls use a battering ram. No, they're not trying to get out. All right, the beads are the ones trying to get in. They're probably the ones setting up the battering ram and coming in to destroy the walls.

So the mantlet will be designed to protect them from being hit by objects or arrows. From inside the walls as they tried to break through the Assyrians wouldn't be using a battering ram or a mantlet. So this would have to be the Medes.

So here's my guess. And this is the AUV version not in print yet. Probably never will be now. I shouldn't say probably it never will be okay. That's the bottom line. So this is my guess. God again summons his Assyrian officers.

The Assyrian army responds, but stumbles in their March. The Medes push forward and hurry to Nineveh's wall and set up their mantlet to cover themselves. That's my best guess. May or may not be just trying to understand this a little bit better so that we can we can learn it together.

In Nahum 2 5 it may mean the king of Assyria Sinshar Ishkun Ruler at the time of Nineveh's fall called up his elite forces to defend the city yet. They stumble from weakness. They rushed to the city wall to protect it, but to no avail however other commentators.

Understand the verse to describe the invading Medes and Babylonians as they rushed to the city wall in this case the protective shield. Literally the covering seems to be a technical term denoting the besiegers defensive equipment.

The AUV version solves this apparent dilemma. We have all right. It's partly Medes partly Assyrians. All right enough of my comedic.

All right, whatever.

The gates of the rivers are opened and the palace is dissolved. The king of Nineveh will urge his nobles to lead in the defense of the city. These noble nobles will be Will stumble forth terrified disorganized and panic-stricken to take their places of command upon the city walls.

But the defense will be futile for the gates of the rivers will be opened and the palace will be dissolved. The ancient historian Diodorus Siculus Indicates that this prophecy had a literal fulfillment.

For he states that at the time of the attack upon Nineveh Heavy rains call Kishore and the Tigris River to rise and dissolve a portion of the city's walls Permitting the enemy to enter into the city and capture it.

Next we read the gates of the rivers are opened and the palace is dissolved. Right, what do you think of when you think water and dissolving or destroying. Once again, we see the use of water in judgment.

God is coming in judgment upon a Syria even with the mile-wide wall. This particular prophecy would have a dual fulfillment. The Medes would come into the city like a flood. Then water would literally be literally be used to help erode the city.

So it's a double fulfillment. Nineveh was located on the east bank of the Tigris River and was protected both by the river itself and a series of walls and Motes. It is not certain exactly what the river gates which is the revised standard version those other versions refer to.

They may be the gates which controlled the flow of water through the moats. If these gates were captured by the attackers it could either mean that the water was diverted away from the moats and The enemy could therefore approach closer to the walls or else that the water was somehow released into the city Causing damage by flood either way.

The.

Attackers the Medes coming in would overwhelm or flood the Assyrians or literally water would overwhelm and flood the Assyrians. Ancient historians have told us that the reason the city fell was because a great flood broke down the city walls.

This should not surprise us because it ties in exactly with what Nahum prophesied in chapter 1 verse 8 there He spoke about an overwhelming flood. So do we hear anything similar to this in the New Testament?

Anybody have any anything that comes to mind when you hear? Floods and. Okay, that's one that's sure you could use that. Now when I just tell you Everyone then who hears the word these words of mine and does them will it be like a wise man who built his house on?

The rock the rain fell and the floods came and the winds blew and beat on that house but it did not fall because it had been founded on the rock and Everyone who hears these words of mine and does them Will be like a I'm sorry who does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand and.

The rain fell and the floods came and the winds blew and beat against that house and it fell and great was the fall of it. Right. So here we see floods. God's judgment upon people. Yes, Maria. Yeah, sure.

No, absolutely that that's an Old Testament one. All right. Yeah, that's okay. No. Yeah, obviously Noah's flood not God's flood not Noah's flood. God flooded the entire world saved eight people everyone else was was judged.

No one survived except for Noah and his family. So here we have Jesus telling us that when the flood comes. When the flood comes not if it comes, you know. Everybody's going to get hit with trials and tribulations and things that are difficult.

You need to build your house on the rock. Now. What's the difference between these two positions? Say again foundation right and One does them he hears the words and does them and what happens to the other one?

He does not do them. Right do not be hearers of the word only be doers of the word. Right, you can hear all you want if you don't do anything you're gonna be building your house on the sand. Right, we're all going to be building something.

Our lives are evidenced by what we build and I'm not talking. As far as occupation I'm talking about what we do with our lives. We're either building the kingdom sowing into the kingdom of God or we're sowing into the kingdom of man.

Right, so if you hear God's words, you need to obey them. You need to do them. What else does this highlight between these two differing positions if you think the book of pride think of the book of Proverbs?

Right. The one who does them is like a wise man. The one who doesn't do them is like a foolish man. This is what the entire book of Proverbs is about the wise and the foolish. All right. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, right?

My son hear my words wrap them around your neck like a like a necklace. Over and over and over the book of Proverbs says do not pursue.

Folly.

She's she's called an adulterer, right? So you pursue that you're going to end up in judgment. Versus hearing God's words putting them into practice and doing them right. Knowledge is knowing the facts.

Wisdom is knowing how to use them. You need wisdom you need to know the facts not just know them but put them into practice. All right, Pesta says the book of Proverbs is really Tells us how to live life with skill how to live life correctly based on the information we have.

So where does the judgment by water come from in the New Covenant? Well the Messianic period. And we want to form a guess. Living waters. Yes Jesus says John chapter 8 whoever believes in me as a scripture has said out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.

Now this he said about the Spirit whom those who believed in him were to receive for as yet the Spirit had not been given. Right. We had the Spirit of God Running through us and again at the proclamation of the gospel.

That's that's that's Prophesying. Okay that Jesus is Lord. There will be a coming judgment. You need to flee the judgment and. And cling to Christ, he's the Messiah. He's the only one who's able to save you.

His ministers are as a flame of fire. When we preach the gospel. To some it's going to hurt them to others. It's going to save them. Our job is to preach it. We're in the obedience business. God's in the results business.

He brings the heart to life. Matthew 3 11. I. This is G. I'm sorry. This is John the Baptist. I baptize you with water for repentance. But he was coming after me is mightier than I whose sandals I am not worthy to carry.

He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand and he will clear the threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn. But the chaff will burn with unquenchable fire.

Over and over we had we have this imagery of fire of burning. Luke 12. I Came to cast fire on the earth and and would that it were already kindled. Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth?

No, I tell you but rather division from now on. In one house, there will be five divided again five divided three against two and two against three. Now is this generally what you hear about Jesus? Right, you don't often hear that Jesus, you know, his his gospel is going to divide people.

It's going to divide light from darkness truth from falsehood believer from unbeliever. Right. That's this is why this is so important. We say this over and over and over again here because it's true.

You need to flee the judgment and cling to Christ or you're going to be on the other side of the cross. The Assyrians had used their best possible materials that the world had to offer in order to gird themselves against God's wrath.

These proved no stronger than a beach hut in a hurricane. God decimated them. God will judge you if you are not found in Christ. If you don't know the Lord, you don't have peace with God. You don't have Shalom.

You need to cling to him. You need to repent of your sins and trust in him and him alone. Because the question is how will you survive the flood of judgment from a sovereign God? Any questions? All right, so we see over and over and over again.