Here and Now

The prophet Hosea was sent by God to call out the sins of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, and declare the punishment that was coming for their sins: exile in Assyria. As Hosea calls out the list of sins and predicts the severe punishment using a host of colorful metaphors, he says this of Israel: "Nettles shall possess their precious things of silver; thorns shall be in their tents." (9:6, ESV) And again: "The high places of Aven, the sin of Israel, shall be destroyed. Thorn and thistle shall grow up on their altars." (10:8) Literal thorns would overgrow in Israel because of their exile.  But there is more here.  The metaphor of thorns is used here by the prophet, as it is throughout the Old Testament, as a representation of the curse of God for sin: "And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat

 King Solomon is known as the wisest man to ever live.  We read that: "The whole earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God had put into his mind." 1 Kings 10:24 (ESV)  But perhaps the most important lesson we can learn from him is one we learn from his foolishness.  Let me explain. The book of 1 Kings records the ascension of David's son Solomon to the throne of Israel.  He is chosen by God to build the Temple.  He is given supernatural wisdom from God.  He is rich beyond compare.  He expands the borders of Israel to their farthest reaches, and presides over the kingdom at it's peak.  Chapter 10 ends this way: "Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold, besides that which came from the explorers and from the business of the merchants, and from all the kings of the west and from the governors of the land. King Solomon made 200 large shields of beaten gold; 600 shekels of gold went into each shield. And

  Eschatology : beliefs or teaching about last things. The word derives from  eschatos , the Greek word for “last.” Biblical writings often distinguish between the present age or eon, the period of history in which life is being lived, and the future, coming age, or period of transformed existence that God will bring at the end of history. [1] Preterism :  The belief that all prophecy in the Bible is really history.  The preterist interpretation of Scripture regards the Olivet discourse, the book of Revelation, etc. as a picture of first century conflicts.  The term comes from the Latin  praeter , meaning "past."  Preterism is divided into two types: full preterism and partial preterism.   The Millennium : (Lat .   mille  “thousand” plus  annus  “year”). The “thousand years” of Christ’s eschatological reign (Rev. 20:2–7). Numerous interpretations have been offered. According to Rev. 20, the thousand-year period is inaugurated by the following events: Satan is chained