The prophet Micah, a contemporary of Isaiah, prophesied the coming judgment of God on the kingdoms of Israel and Judah at the hand of the Assyrians.

Our chronological reading order brings the book of Micah into the middle of our study of Isaiah. While Isaiah prophesied a day when the kingdom of Judah would declare, "God is my salvation," Micah's prophecy is a warning of God's imminent judgment for the sins of Judah and Samaria.

We see both prophecies as being of the "already but not yet" type, fulfilled in the eighth century BC, but with a future fulfillment still to come. Bear in mind when reading Isaiah 12 that the the Hebrew word translated "salvation" is Yeshua—Jesus.

A VISION of Noah's was inserted into the Book of 1 Enoch, with interesting references to Leviathan and Behemoth.

These are chaos monsters. Leviathan, described as female and from the sea, and Behemoth, male and occupying the wilderness—possibly the same one into which the Watcher Azazel was thrown as punishment for his role in corrupting humanity.

We discussed the "already but not yet" prophecies of 1 Enoch 57–59 and the end times fulfillment of the vision ascribed to Noah in chapter 60.

As a reminder, this month's study comes from the Book of Parables, the prophetic section of 1 Enoch written just before the birth of Jesus. The importance of this section of the book is in its prophecies of a coming messianic figure called the Chosen One, the Anointed One, and, most frequently, the Son of Man, a title not found in any prior Jewish writing. Jesus referred to himself as the Son of Man 78 times in the New Testament.

The high regard for 1 Enoch held by Jesus, the apostles, and the early church suggests that it's worth our while to study this book for ourselves. It's not in the Bible, nor should it be, but there are teachings in the New Testament that come straight from the book of 1 Enoch.

Today Is Pentecost, fifty days after Passover. It’s the day the Holy Spirit descended on the followers of Jesus and the day Moses descended Mount Sinai with the Law. 

We discussed the similarities and differences between those two events. For example, the fire on Mount Sinai and the tongues of fire over the heads of the followers of Jesus; and the 3,000 saved on Pentecost in Acts chapter 2 contrasted with the 3000 who were put to death when Moses returned from Sinai to find the Israelites engaged in debauchery around the golden calf. 

We also discuss the change between the law on tablets of stone and the law written on our hearts. We bring in passages from Ezekiel 36 in which God promised to restore Israel to the land—not because the Israelites earned it, but for the sake of His Holy Name so that the world would know He is Yahweh. This was fulfilled in 1948. 

Here’s the link to “The Comforter Has Come,” featuring Sharon with Sandi Patty, Steve Green, and Warren Hoffman: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgOrW8DAFJ0

And here’s the video “Mount Hermon’s Upsettingly Dark Occult Connections”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQvfrTtE9XM

The arrival of the Ark of the Covenant in Jerusalem in the time of David is a foreshadowing of the prophesied return of our King to his earthly throne. 

This week, we flash back about 250 years to study four psalms we overlooked during the life of David. These Psalms of praise would have been written just after the arrival of the Ark of the Covenant in Jerusalem, as described in 1 Chronicles 13–16.  

We also discuss the covenants between God and Abraham, Moses, and David, and the difference between the unconditional covenants made with Abraham and David and the Sinaitic covenant with Moses. Though the Israelites, and later Jews, broke faith with God, there are promises. He made that were not dependent on the faithfulness of the people of Israel. 

Zechariah 12 and 14 tells us of a day when Messiah arrives in Jerusalem at the hour of Israel's greatest need. He will establish His eternal throne there: 

For the LORD has chosen Zion; he has desired it for his dwelling place: “This is my resting place forever; here I will dwell, for I have desired it. (Psalm 132:13–14, ESV) 

Here are links to the books we mentioned during the study:

• Rebooting the Bible Part One by Doug Woodward

• Rebooting the Bible Part Two by Doug Woodward

• The Battle for the Bible’s Truth by Doug Van Dorn

The messianic prophecy of the one called "the Branch" is the focus of this week’s study. 

We explore the “already but not yet” fulfillment of the promises of the restoration of Israel and judgment against Israel's neighbors—which May have already found partial fulfillment in the wars fought by Israel since 1948. We discuss the seven Spirits of Isaiah 11:2 and the references to those Spirits in the book of Revelation and their relationship to Jesus. 

We also discussed these so-called Mandela verse, Isaiah 11:6. This is a reference to the Mandela effect, an Internet meme from a few years ago that claimed time travelers had somehow gone back into history and changed the verse to read, “the wolf shall dwell with the lamb," from, "the lion shall lie down with the lamb." 

Let's be clear: Isaiah 11:6 never said the lion would lie down with the lamb. First of all, time travel is not a thing. Second, even if it was, God would never allow His Word to be changed. Anyone who suggests that this is possible is a false teacher who can safely be ignored.

Are we really afraid God is that weak?

ASSUR WAS a name that referred to Assyria, the capital city of Assyria, and the chief deity of Assyria. Knowing which was which means relying on the context in which it's used. 

In Derek's book The Second Coming of Saturn, he shared research, showing that the word used by the prophet Isaiah for idols, ellilim, derives from the Akkadian name for Assur, Elllil (also known as Enlil, El, Dagon, Molech, Kronos, and Saturn, among others). These idols, then, were spirit beings—underworld spirits equivalent to the Rephaim, or malakim, as they were known at the ancient Amorite kingdoms of Ebla and Mari. 

In short, we believe chapter 10 of Isaiah is a polemic against the entity called Assur, whom we believe is Shemihazah, the leader of the rebellious sons of God in chapter 6 of the book of Genesis. We will see him again in Isaiah 14 as "Lucifer." 

JUDGMENT ON evil kings and fallen angels is a major theme of the section of 1 Enoch called the Book of Parables. 

This week, we discuss the vision of a deep valley where “angels of punishment” prepare “instruments of Satan” for kings and mighty men who’ve rebelled against God—and a second valley where “iron chains of immeasurable weight” are “prepared for the hosts of Azazel.” 

Our reading today ends with the prophecy of the final war against heathen powers. We discussed the historical background of the reference to the Parthians and Mead, and note comparisons to the prophecies of Ezekiel 39 (especially 39:11 and the reference to the Valley of the Travelers), and Zechariah 12 and 14.  

THE DESTRUCTION of Israel is a theme throughout the book of Amos, but it ends with a prophecy of restoration.  

The northern kingdom of Israel had engaged in idolatry since the time of Jeroboam, who split the kingdom of Solomon about 200 years before the time of Amos. For this, and for the treatment of the poor by Israel's elites, God decreed the destruction of the kingdom. This was to be fulfilled more than once – first, when Assyria destroyed the northern kingdom in 722 BC; and second, when the Romans scattered the Jews after the rebellion of Simon bar Kokhba in 136 AD. 

And yet, God told Amos a day would come when the Lord would restore Israel to the land. The reference to "the booth of David" must include the southern kingdom of Judah, since that was where the descendants of David ruled. This was fulfilled in 1948.

We believe the prophet Ezekiel also saw this (Ezekiel 36:22–24). And God made it clear to Ezekiel that the restoration of Israel was not due to the righteousness of the people, but for His Name’s sake—so that the world would know that He is Yahweh. 

PROPHESYING DOOM and destruction during a time of peace and prosperity does not make one popular with the ruling elites.  

Amos discovered this while declaring God’s judgment on the northern kingdom of Israel during the reign of Jeroboam II (reigned 793–753 BC), the time of Israel’s greatest power. The prophet was confronted by Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, and told to flee to the southern kingdom of Judah, which prompted the Lord to tell the priest that his wife would be forced into prostitution, his children would fall by the sword, Amaziah would die in a foreign land, and Israel would be taken away into exile.

These things did come to pass in 732 BC, when Assyria conquered Israel and captured the capital city of Samaria.

We also discuss the strange reference in the Septuagint to “King Gog” or “Agag, the king” in Amos 7:1, which is quite different from the ESV rendering, “the king’s mowings” (or the NET translation, “the royal harvest”). Apparently the LXX translators didn’t know what to make of the literal Hebrew (“the mowings of the king”) but recognized the context as a prophecy of destruction. 

Agag was the Amalekite king spared by Saul (and then executed by Samuel). In the book of Esther, Haman, the Persian official who plotted the genocide of the Jews (and thus a symbol of hatred toward Jews), was called “the Agagite.” Gog, a reference to Ezekiel 38–39, is the great end times enemy of God—essentially the Old Testament conception of the Antichrist. 

Thus, the Septuagint translators who struggled to interpret an archaic reference simply plugged in a similar-sounding word (Gog or Agag) that preserved the context of a prophesied supernatural enemy of God and Israel.  

JOHN THE BAPTIST taught a radical new idea: Forgiveness of sins came through repentance, not ritual—even for Gentiles. And this new doctrine was first introduced in the Book of 1 Enoch.  

John’s teaching came from 1 Enoch 50:2–3: 

He heaped evil upon the sinners; but the righteous ones shall be victorious in the name of the Lord of the Spirits. He will cause the others to see this so that they may repent and forsake the deeds of their hands. There shall not be honor unto them in the name of the Lord of the Spirits. But through his name they shall be saved, and the Lord of the Spirits shall have mercy upon them, for his mercy is considerable. (James H. Charlesworth translation) 

The “righteous ones” were the Essenes. Scholars generally agree now that this section of 1 Enoch, the Book of Parables (chapters 37–71 of 1 Enoch), was written by one or more Essenes living in a community near the city of Magdala on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee in the last quarter of the 1st century BC—in other words, just before the birth of Jesus. 

“The others” referred to Gentiles (and Jews who didn’t follow the Law). The idea that Gentiles could be saved was a radical departure from traditional Jewish (and Essene!) teachings, which is why priests and Levites from Jerusalem came to interrogate John.  

We also find a prophecy of resurrection—including the resurrection of “the Elect (or Chosen) One.”