Yeshua forewarned of the alienation and moral sickness that would pervade mankind just before the time of his return: “Because lawlessness (i.e., ἀνομία, from -α (‘not’) + νομος, ‘torah’) will be increased,” he said, “the love of many will grow cold (i.e., ψύχομαι, ‘be extinguished’)” (Matt. 24:12). Note the link between Torah and love: true love requires respect for God’s authority, for without that the divine image is disfigured and desecrated. Likewise the Apostle Paul foresaw that the “End of Days” (אַחֲרִית הַיָּמִים) would be a time of peril (καιροὶ χαλεποί) because people would become increasingly narcissistic, self-absorbed, infatuated with their own sense of self-importance, abusive toward others, disrespectful to elders, ungrateful, heartless, unforgiving, without self-control, brutal, treacherous, and so on (2 Tim. 3:1-4). Therefore, in light of the spiritual war that rages all around us, it is vital that we remain firmly rooted in what is real by taking hold of our identity and provision as children of God. “God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power (גְּבוּרָה / δύναμις) and of love (ἀγάπη), and of a “sound mind” (σωφρονισμός), i.e., a “delivered” mind — centered and “healed” from inner chaos (2 Tim. 1:7). The name of the LORD (יהוה) means “Presence,” and in Him “we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). He is as close as our heart and our very breath (Rom. 10:8). We are not to be troubled like the world that lives in terror of man, nor are we to crave security from the vain devices of mere men. No – we must look to God Almighty, the Master of the Universe. He alone is our Refuge and Defense, the One who gives us steadfast love in the midst of these storms. “Let not your heart be troubled” – God is in control of the whirlwind, friends…
According to orthodox Jewish eschatological tradition, the period of time immediately before the Messiah’s arrival is sometimes called ikvot meshicha (עִקְּבוֹת מְשִׁיחַ), the time when the “footsteps of the Messiah” can be heard. Some of the “signs” of this period include the rise of various false prophets, numerous wars and “rumors of wars” (including the rise of Magog: Iran), famines, earthquakes, worldwide apostasy from the faith, persecution, and a globalized sort of godlessness that is revealed in unbridled selfishness, greed, chutzpah (audacity), shamelessness, and a general lack of hakarat ha-tov (gratitude). The greatest sign, however, will be that Israel will exist once again as a sovereign nation, despite the prophesied exile among the nations (Deut. 4:27-31; Jer. 30:1-3).
Hebrew Lesson:
For more on this fascinating subect, see the article “Birthpangs of Messiah.“
Though we are optimistic about the purpose and end of reality, and though we believe that God “works all things together for good” (Rom. 8:28), we are not therefore monistic idealists, that is, those who falsely say that evil is not real or who claim that it is “part of God.” We are given “exceedingly great and precious promises,” yet in this world we suffer and experience real pain, heartache, and troubles. Yeshua said “in this world you will have tribulation,” though that is not the end of the story, of course, for there is the cheer of God’s’ victory, even if we must repeatedly ask God for grace to endure our troubles without murmuring (John 16:33; Heb. 4:16). I realize that is often difficult, and some of you might be within the fiery furnace even now. You might be asking, “Where are you, Lord, in all of this? Why don’t you bring me out of these troubles?” In such testing you need endurance (ὑπομονή) to hold on to hope, believing that God uses affliction to refine you for good. As Paul said, “We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces refined character, and refined character produces hope” (Rom. 5:3-4). Each of us is still upon the “Potter’s wheel,” and God’s hand continues to shape us into vessels that one day will reveal his glory and honor. “The LORD will give strength to his people; the LORD will bless his people with peace” (Psalm 29:11).
False teachers tend to be “people pleasers.” They desire the esteem of the crowd, the praises of men, and therefore appeal to the murmurings of the unregenerate heart: “Do not prophesy to us what is right; speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits” (Isa. 30:10). They flatter people by “tickling their ears”; they offer either platitudes or “new revelation” based on their own imagination. Consequently, they tend to be grandiose and quick to disparage God’s faithful servants. Thus Korah accused Moses of wanting to exalt himself, when this only disclosed the evil lurking within his own heart (Num. 16:3). False teachers speak in their own name and presume to be something when they are nothing (Gal. 6:3). “The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not… they are prophesying to you a lying vision, the deceit of their own minds” (Jer. 14:14). They secretly deny that Yeshua is LORD (יהוה), though they may offer “lip service” about his importance (2 Pet. 2:1). Instead of focusing on the message of the gospel and the greatness of salvation found in Messiah, they “major in minors,” passing over the weightier matters for the sake of various divisive doctrines (Matt. 23:23). They desire to be teachers of the law, but they have no idea what they are talking about (1 Tim. 1:7). Often such deceivers have natural charisma, charm, “good hair,” and an ability to bewitch people through buttery oratory or clever presentation (Col. 2:4,8). Often they focus on the truth of the head rather than the truth of the heart; they are more concerned with being vindicated than healing broken hearts. Finally, they tend to exploit people to promote their own self-serving agenda (1 Pet. 2:1-3). They make “merchandise” out of the gullible, regarding them as the means to support their “ministry” rather than as precious souls in need of God’s love and care…
Yeshua taught that we discover the truth about spiritual reality by way of revelation from heaven, not by way of human reasoning. He said that we can come to know God only through Him: “No one has ever seen God; the only God (μονογενὴς θεὸς), who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known” (John 1:18). He presents himself as “the way, the truth, and the life – the true Bridge to divine life and eternal reality….
The various moral rules of Torah (i.e., mishpatim: משׁפטים) may be likened to guideposts along the way, warning us about dangers up ahead. And just as a physical law like gravity describes material reality, so moral law describes spiritual reality. We can no more deny moral reality than we can deny physical reality, though the effect of violating moral truth is often not physical but spiritual – affecting our inner life, our conscience, our sense of value, our relationships, and so on. In either case, however, reality is self-correcting, and we shall deny its substance at our own peril…
Yeshua taught us: “If anyone does not live in Me, he is cast off as a branch, and withers…” (John 15:6). We find life only as we remain connected to the Source and Conduit of life, who is the Messiah, the Savior and LORD. True life grows out a heart connection with Yeshua, and without that connection our lives become vain and yield no eternal significance (John 15:5). Be forewarned: it is the sacred truth of the Messiah that if you do not live in the Vine you will be suffer eternal loss, since life is found in no other Source (John 14:6; Luke 3:9). Be encouraged, however: The yoke of Messiah is easy, and His burden is light: we cannot create new life by our own best efforts nor effect regeneration by means of our own “good works” (John 1:3; Titus 3:5; 2 Tim. 1:9). No, the work of salvation is God’s alone, and we partake of that work as we abandon our self-efforts and religious conceits (see Isa. 32:17). There remains, therefore, a Sabbath for the people of God, “for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his” (Heb. 4:9-10). This “deep Sabbath” of rest is a matter of trusting that the finished work of salvation has been provided on your behalf. Therefore relax, for the LORD always effects what is best for you, and not much is under your control anyway. The path of peace is to surrender to God’s care for your life and let the evils and drama of this world flow past you. Look to heavenly reality and not to the shadows and deceits of this world (Col. 3:1-4). Live in Yeshua’s Presence, drawing strength and vitality from your relationship with Him. The fruit of the Holy Spirit is produced as we yield ourselves to the love and presence of God.
Our actions invariably reveal what we are believing about the nature of reality. We will live what we believe… Put the other way around, what we believe will determine what we do. Nearly all of our conscious intentions are future-directed. We assume that the future will resemble the past, and therefore we make our plans and set our agendas. And yet to what end? What is the purpose of our lives? Where are your actions taking you? Where are you going?
The Book of Lamentations is an acrostic (i.e., alphabetical) poem that begins with the Hebrew letter Aleph (א) in the word “eichah” (אֵיכָה), which also marks the Hebrew name of the book (מגילת איכה). “How (eichah) lonely sits the city that once was full of people!” (Lam. 1:1). The sages note that this word “how” (i.e., eichah) could also be read as “where are you?” (i.e., ayeka: אַיֶּכָּה), God’s first word spoken to Adam after he broke covenant in the Garden (Gen. 3:9). Note that God’s question is often our own: “Where are you God? Are you here, in the midst of this tedious moment? Do you know my loneliness, my ache for love? Do you understand the troubles of my heart? Do you know my pain?” And yet how many people have faith that God’s call is one of comfort and restoration? God uses our loneliness (“how lonely…”) to search our hearts, asking each of us, ayeka – “Where are you?” “Why have you turned away from me and chosen a state of exile?” Our haunting sense of God’s absence impels us to seek for him… God awaits our only possible response, “Hashivenu!” — an imperative (urgent appeal) for the grace to repent: “Turn us back to yourself, O LORD, and we shall be turned; renew our days as of old” (Lam. 5:21).
Sometimes we seem to forget that we are not home yet… The ancient thinker Socrates argued that philosophy, when done correctly, was “practice for death,” since the passing shadows of this world pointed to an unchanging good, our true end. Likewise Yeshua our Messiah taught us to take up the cross and die daily (Luke 9:23). We are to “set our affections on things above, not on things on the earth,” for we have died and our life is hidden with Messiah in God (Col. 3:2-3).