Prophesy, End of the World

Having come and gone.

As I begin this writing on May 22, 2011, with no deadline as to the publishing, it has been less than 24 hours since, according to Pastor Harold Camping, the world would end. Obviously that didn't happen. In a posting dated May 21, 2011 I wrote: "Another point is that no one knows when the end of time will come." I stand corrected. I have been told that there is one who knows all and, I too, believe that God is more than capable of seeing and knowing all things including the future but I don't, at this time, think He spends a lot of time contemplating the life you or I will be living years from now. If he dwelt on the future very much He would probably turn to Jesus and say; "Go bring them home Son, go bring Our Children home" but even God has been recorded as changing His mind about some punishment He was on the verge of meting out to His chosen people. As a case in point I turn to the Bible and the Book of Amos.

The Book of Amos is said to be the oldest written Hebrew Prophesy which has been preserved. Amos was a native of Tokoa, a village about twelve miles south of Jerusalem. His Prophecies were delivered during the reign of King Jeroboam, probably about 760 - 750 b.c.. Amos, as stated by himself, "I was no Prophet, neither was I a Prophet's son but I was a herdsman and a gatherer of Sycomore fruit" but God called him to go and prophesy to the Northern Kingdom which was Israel.

Amos Chapter 1, verse 1
"The word of Amos, who was among the herdmen of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel, two years before the earthquake."

I dont know what the significance the words "two years before the earthquake" hold, whether it was the first or the strongest to be recorded but it must have been an event from which others were dated. Was it a part of God's judgement?

Amos Chapter 1, verse 2
"And he said, The Lord will roar from Zion, and utter His voice from Jerusalem; and the habitations of the shepherds shall mourn, and the top of Carmel shall wither."

Maybe that was the earthquake from verse one and there were two years before the prophesy took place.

Amos Chapter 7, verses 1 through 9
"Thus hath the Lord God shewed unto me; and, behold, He formed grasshoppers in the beginning of the shooting up of the latter growth; and, lo, it was the latter growth after the king's mowings.
And it came to pass, that when they had made an end of eating the grass of the land, then I said,O Lord God, forgive, I beseech thee; by whom shall Jacob arise? For he is small.
The Lord repented for this; It shall not be, saith the Lord.
Thus hath the Lord God shewed unto me: and, behold, the Lord God called to contend by fire, and it devoured the great deep, and did eat up a part.
Then said I, O Lord God cease, I beseech thee: by whom shall Jacob arise? For he is small.
The Lord repented for this: This also shall not be, saith the Lord God.
Thus he shewed me: and, behold, the Lord stood upon a wall made by a plumbline, with a plumbline in his hand.
And the Lord said unto me, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A plumbline. Then said the Lord, Behold, I will set a plumbline in the midst of my people Israel: I will not again pass by them anymore;
And the high places of Isaac shall be desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste; and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword."

Twice God showed Amos the means by which he intended to punish His people, Israel and twice Amos begged him not to be so harsh. Both times The Lord repented and said that it shall not be but the third time He said; "I will not pass by them again."

Amos Chapter 9, verses 8 and 9
"Behold the eyes of the Lord God are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the face of the earth; saving that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, saith the Lord.
For, lo, I, will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth."

These prophesies took place over a number of years probably spanning the period between 755 and 735 b.c.. Israel was taken by the Asserians in 722 b.c. and Judah was conquered by Babylon about 135 years later in 587 b.c.. Probably the punishment promised by God through Amos years before. Does anyone know where the remnants of the Northern Kingdom of Israel ended up or where they are today?

I began this posting by writing about how God had been recorded as changing His mind about punishing His chosen people, the Israelites but I want to end it with His promise about their future. Some say that the last two verses of the Book of Amos are pointing toward the coming of the Messiah but I believe that it is more about present day Israel. In 1948 what was left of the Israelites were granted the right to move back to, what should already have been, their homeland. Now, as it was in the time of Amos, they are surrounded by their enemies.

Amos Chapter 9, verses 14 and 15
And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them.
And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the Lord thy God.

That, to me , sounds like a promise to the present day Israelites that they would never lose their homeland again. What do you think?

Meanwhile, here on the hill, all is as well as could be expected. The garden and the blueberries are growing along with the grass and weeds. All in all, it keeps us fairly busy. Thanks for your time and input. Stay tuned. _ William