Amos, Part 1

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Amos, Part 1

• Get ready to face my judgment (412)

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Tuesday February 8, noon, 2011

• Richard Bauckham, PhD
• Professor Emeritus University of Andrews
• Senior scholar at Cambridge
• Jesus and the Eyewitnesses
• The Theology of Revelation

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Chronology
Judah Prophets Israel
931 BC Rehoboam Jeroboam
Abijah Nadab
900 BC Asa Baasha
850 BC Jehoshaphat Elijah Zimri, Omri, Ahab, Ahaziah, Joram
800 BC Jehoram, Ahaziah, Queen Athaliah, Joash Elisha Jonah Amos Jehoahaz, Jehoash, Jeroboam II
750 BC Amaziah, Uzziah, Ahaz Hosea Micah Isaiah Zechariah, Shallum, Menahem, Pekahiah
722 BC Hezekiah Isaiah Pekah, Hoshea
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Amos

• These are the words of Amos, a shepherd from the
  town of Tekoa. Two years before the earthquake,
  when Uzziah was king of Judah and Jeroboam son of
  Jehoash was king of Israel, God revealed to Amos
  all these things about Israel. (Amos 11)
• 750 BC

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• You will flee as your ancestors did when the
  earthquake struck in the time of King Uzziah of
  Judah. (Zechariah 145)

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Amos

• Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, then sent a
  report to King Jeroboam of Israel Amos is
  plotting against you among the people. His
  speeches will destroy the country. This is what
  he says Jeroboam will die in battle, and the
  people of Israel will be taken away from their
  land into exile. Amaziah then said to Amos,
  Thats enough, prophet! Go on back to Judah and
  do your preaching there. Let them pay you for it.
  Dont prophesy here at Bethel any more. This is
  the kings place of worship, the national
  temple.

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• Amos answered, I am not the kind of prophet who
  prophesies for pay. I am a herdsman, and I take
  care of fig trees. But the LORD took me from my
  work as a shepherd and ordered me to come and
  prophesy to his people Israel. So now listen to
  what the LORD says. You tell me to stop
  prophesying, to stop raving against the people of
  Israel. And so, Amaziah, the LORD says to you,
  Your wife will become a prostitute in the city,
  and your children will be killed in war. Your
  land will be divided up and given to others, and
  you yourself will die in a heathen country. And
  the people of Israel will certainly be taken away
  from their own land into exile. (Amos 710-17)

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• a series of judgment speechesa long oracle of
  judgment (The Hebrew Prophets, pg. 24)

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Gods Judgment on Israels Neighbors

• The LORD says, The people of Damascus have
  sinned again and again, and for this I will
  certainly punish them. They treated the people of
  Gilead with savage cruelty. So I will send fire
  upon the palace built by King Hazael and I will
  burn down the fortresses of King Benhadad. I will
  smash the city gates of Damascus and remove the
  inhabitants of Aven Valley and the ruler of
  Betheden. The people of Syria will be taken away
  as prisoners to the land of Kir. (Amos 13-5
  GNB)

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• King Rezin of Syria and King Pekah of Israel
  attacked Jerusalem and besieged it, but could not
  defeat Ahaz. (2 Kings 165)
• Ahaz sent men to Tiglath Pileser, the emperor of
  Assyria, with this message I am your devoted
  servant. Come and rescue me from the kings of
  Syria and of Israel, who are attacking meTiglath
  Pileser, in answer to Ahaz' plea, marched out
  with his army against Damascus, captured it,
  killed King Rezin, and took the people to Kir as
  prisoners. (2 Kings 169)
• 732 BC

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Gods Judgment on Israels Neighbors

• The LORD says, The people of Damascus have
  sinned again and again, and for this I will
  certainly punish them. They treated the people of
  Gilead with savage cruelty. So I will send fire
  upon the palace built by King Hazael and I will
  burn down the fortresses of King Benhadad. I will
  smash the city gates of Damascus and remove the
  inhabitants of Aven Valley and the ruler of
  Betheden. The people of Syria will be taken away
  as prisoners to the land of Kir. (Amos 13-5
  GNB)

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Tyre

• The LORD says, "The people of Tyre have sinned
  again and again, and for this I will certainly
  punish them. They carried off a whole nation into
  exile in the land of Edom, and did not keep the
  treaty of friendship they had made. So I will
  send fire upon the city walls of Tyre and burn
  down its fortresses." (Amos 19-10)

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Edom

• The LORD says, "The people of Edom have sinned
  again and again, and for this I will certainly
  punish them. They hunted down their relatives,
  the Israelites, and showed them no mercy. Their
  anger had no limits, and they never let it die.
  So I will send fire upon the city of Teman and
  burn down the fortresses of Bozrah." (Amos
  111-12)

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• will themselves drink God's wine, the wine of
  his fury, which he has poured at full strength
  into the cup of his anger! All who do this will
  be tormented in fire and sulfur before the holy
  angels and the Lamb. The smoke of the fire that
  torments them goes up forever and ever. There is
  no relief day or night for those who worship the
  beast and its image, for anyone who has the mark
  of its name. (Revelation 1410-11)

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• In Revelation, Jesus is a prize-fighter with a
  tattoo down His leg, a sword in His hand and the
  commitment to make someone bleed. That is the guy
  I can worship. I cannot worship the hippie,
  diaper, halo Christ because I cannot worship a
  guy that I can beat up.
• Evangelist

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• The rivers of Edom will turn into tar, and the
  soil will turn into sulfur. The whole country
  will burn like tar. It will burn day and night,
  and smoke will rise from it forever. The land
  will lie waste age after age, and no one will
  ever travel through it again. (Isaiah 349-10)

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Ammon

• The LORD says, "The people of Ammon have sinned
  again and again, and for this I will certainly
  punish them. In their wars for more territory
  they even ripped open pregnant women in Gilead.
  So I will send fire upon the city walls of Rabbah
  and burn down its fortresses. Then there will be
  shouts on the day of battle, and the fighting
  will rage like a storm. Their king and his
  officers will go into exile." (Amos 113-15)

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Moab

• The LORD says, "The people of Moab have sinned
  again and again, and for this I will certainly
  punish them. They dishonored the bones of the
  king of Edom by burning them to ashes. I will
  send fire upon the land of Moab and burn down the
  fortresses of Kerioth. The people of Moab will
  die in the noise of battle while soldiers are
  shouting and trumpets are sounding. I will kill
  the ruler of Moab and all the leaders of the
  land." (Amos 21-3)

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Judah

• The LORD says, "The people of Judah have sinned
  again and again, and for this I will certainly
  punish them. They have despised my teachings and
  have not kept my commands. They have been led
  astray by the same false gods that their
  ancestors served. So I will send fire upon Judah
  and burn down the fortresses of Jerusalem." (Amos
  24-5)

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Chronology
Judah Prophets Israel
931 BC Rehoboam Jeroboam
Abijah Nadab
900 BC Asa Baasha
850 BC Jehoshaphat Elijah Zimri, Omri, Ahab, Ahaziah, Joram
800 BC Jehoram, Ahaziah, Queen Athaliah, Joash Elisha Jonah Amos Jehoahaz, Jehoash, Jeroboam II
750 BC Amaziah, Uzziah, Ahaz Hosea Micah Isaiah Zechariah, Shallum, Menahem, Pekahiah
722 BC Hezekiah Isaiah Pekah, Hoshea
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Chronology
King Prophet
650 Manasseh
Amon Nahum
Josiah Jeremiah, Zephaniah, Habakkuk, Ezekiel
Joahaz
600 Jehoiakim 605 1st invasion (Daniel)
Jehoiachin 597 2nd invasion (Ezekiel)
586 Zedekiah 586 3rd invasion (Jeremiah)


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Judah

• I will fight against you with all my might, my
  anger, my wrath, and my fury. I will kill
  everyone living in this city people and animals
  alike will die of a terrible disease. Anyone who
  stays in the city will be killed in war or by
  starvation or disease. But those who go out and
  surrender to the Babylonians, who are now
  attacking the city, will not be killed they will
  at least escape with their life. I have made up
  my mind not to spare this city, but to destroy
  it. It will be given over to the king of
  Babylonia, and he will burn it to the ground. I,
  the LORD, have spoken. (Jeremiah 215,6,9-10)

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Judah

• Listen to what I, the LORD, am saying. See that
  justice is done every day. Protect the person who
  is being cheated from the one who is cheating
  him. If you dont, the evil you are doing will
  make my anger burn like a fire that cannot be put
  out. You, Jerusalem, are sitting high above the
  valleys, like a rock rising above the plain. But
  I will fight against you. You say that no one can
  attack you or break through your defenses. But I
  will punish you for what you have done. I will
  set your palace on fire, and the fire will burn
  down everything around it. I, the LORD, have
  spoken. (Jeremiah 2111-14 GN)

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Judah

• The LORD, the God of Israel, told me to go and
  say to King Zedekiah of Judah, I, the LORD, will
  hand this city over to the king of Babylonia, and
  he will burn it down. (Jeremiah 342)
• The king of Babylonia looted the Temple, the
  Temple treasury, and the wealth of the king and
  his officials, and took everything back to
  Babylon. He burned down the Temple and the city,
  with all its palaces and its wealth, and broke
  down the city wall. (2 Chronicles 3618-19)

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Israel

• People of Israel, listen to this message which
  the LORD has spoken about you, the entire nation
  that he brought out of Egypt "Of all the nations
  on earth, you are the only one I have known and
  cared for. That is what makes your sins so
  terrible, and that is why I must punish you for
  them." (Amos 31-2)

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• "So then, people of Israel, I am going to punish
  you. And because I am going to do this, get ready
  to face my judgment!" God is the one who made the
  mountains and created the winds. He makes his
  thoughts known to people he changes day into
  night. He walks on the heights of the earth. This
  is his name the LORD God Almighty! (Amos
  412-13)

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• Go to the LORD, and you will live. If you do not
  go, he will sweep down like fire on the people of
  Israel. The fire will burn up the people of
  Bethel, and no one will be able to put it out.
  You are doomed, you that twist justice and cheat
  people out of their rights! The LORD made the
  stars, the Pleiades and Orion. He turns darkness
  into daylight and day into night. He calls for
  the waters of the sea and pours them out on the
  earth. His name is the LORD. He brings
  destruction on the mighty and their strongholds.
  (Amos 56-9)

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• I had another vision from the LORD. In it I saw
  him standing beside a wall that had been built
  with the use of a plumb line, and there was a
  plumb line in his hand. He asked me, "Amos, what
  do you see?" "A plumb line," I answered. Then he
  said, "I am using it to show that my people are
  like a wall that is out of line. I will not
  change my mind again about punishing them. The
  places where Isaac's descendants worship will be
  destroyed. The holy places of Israel will be left
  in ruins. I will bring the dynasty of King
  Jeroboam to an end." (Amos 77-9)

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• I saw the Lord standing by the altar. He gave the
  command "Strike the tops of the Temple columns
  so hard that the foundation will shake. Break
  them off and let them fall on the heads of the
  people. I will kill the rest of the people in
  war. No one will get away not one will escape.
  Even if they dig their way down to the world of
  the dead, I will catch them. Even if they climb
  up to heaven, I will bring them down. If they
  hide on the top of Mount Carmel, I will search
  for them and catch them. If they hide from me at
  the bottom of the sea, I will command the sea
  monster to bite them.

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• If they are taken away into captivity by their
  enemies, I will order them to be put to death. I
  am determined to destroy them, not to help them."
  The Sovereign LORD Almighty touches the earth,
  and it quakes all who live there mourn. The
  whole world rises and falls like the Nile River.
  The LORD builds his home in the heavens, and over
  the earth he puts the dome of the sky. He calls
  for the waters of the sea and pours them out on
  the earth. His name is the LORD! (Amos 91-6)

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Review

• In the Bible, God is frequently described as
  doing what he instead allows to happen
• God will speak a
  language that we can understand

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• The LORD's spirit left Saul, and an evil spirit
  sent by the LORD tormented him. (1 Samuel 1614
  GNB)
• The next day an evil spirit from God suddenly
  took control of Saul, and he raved in his house
  like a madman. (1 Samuel 1810-12 GNB)

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• One day an evil spirit from the LORD took
  control of Saul. He was sitting in his house with
  his spear in his hand, and David was there,
  playing his harp. (1 Samuel 199 GNB)

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• Abigail went back to Nabal, who was at home
  having a feast fit for a king. He was drunk and
  in a good mood, so she did not tell him anything
  until the next morning. Then, after he had
  sobered up, she told him everything. He suffered
  a stroke and was completely paralyzed. Some ten
  days later the LORD struck Nabal and he died. (1
  Samuel 2536-38 GNB)

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• By the living LORD, David continued, I know
  that the LORD himself will kill Saul, either when
  his time comes to die a natural death or when he
  dies in battle. (1 Samuel 2610 GNB)
• So the LORD killed him (1 Chronicles 1014)

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• The LORD was angry at Israel again, and he made
  David think it would be a good idea to count the
  people in Israel and Judah. (2 Samuel 241)
• Satan wanted to bring trouble on the people of
  Israel, so he made David decide to take a
  census. (1 Chronicles 211)

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• I create both light and darkness I bring both
  blessing and disaster. I, the LORD, do all these
  things. (Isaiah 457 GNB)

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Satan in the OT?
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The New Testament

• You have heard it said.but now I tell you
• I do not call you servants any longer, because
  servants do not know what their master is doing.
  Instead, I call you friends. (John 1515)
• I have much more to tell you, but now it would
  be too much for you to bear. (John 1612)

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• I have used figures of speech to tell you these
  things. But the time will come when I will not
  use figures of speech, but will speak to you
  plainly about the Father. (John 1625)

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Judgment in the Gospel of John
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(No Transcript)
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• NRS John 317 "Indeed, God did not send the Son
  into the world to condemn the world, but in order
  that the world might be saved through him. 18
  Those who believe in him are not condemned but
  those who do not believe are condemned already,
  because they have not believed in the name of the
  only Son of God. 19 And this is the judgment,
  that the light has come into the world, and
  people loved darkness rather than light because
  their deeds were evil. 20 For all who do evil
  hate the light and do not come to the light, so
  that their deeds may not be exposed. 21 But those
  who do what is true come to the light, so that it
  may be clearly seen that their deeds have been
  done in God."1

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• Unbelief, by shutting the door on Gods love,
  turns his love into judgment. For this is the
  meaning of judgment, that man shuts himself off
  from Gods love. There would be no judgment at
  all were it not for the event of Gods love. And
  with the mission of the Son this judgment has
  become a present reality. (The Gospel of John,
  Bultmann, pg 154)

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Who is the Judge?

• NRS John 522 The Father judges no one but has
  given all judgment to the Son, 23 so that all may
  honor the Son just as they honor the Father.
  Anyone who does not honor the Son does not honor
  the Father who sent him. 24 Very truly, I tell
  you, anyone who hears my word and believes him
  who sent me has eternal life, and does not come
  under judgment, but has passed from death to
  life.

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• NRS John 939 Jesus said, "I came into this world
  for judgment so that those who do not see may
  see, and those who do see may become blind." 40
  Some of the Pharisees near him heard this and
  said to him, "Surely we are not blind, are we?"
  41 Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you
  would not have sin. But now that you say, 'We
  see,' your sin remains.

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• Once again the coming of the Revealer into this
  world is described as judgment. And according to
  this saying the judgment consists in a radical
  reversal of the human condition the blind will
  receive sight and the seeing will become blind.
  (Bultmann, 340)

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• NRS John 1244 Then Jesus cried aloud "Whoever
  believes in me believes not in me but in him who
  sent me. 45 And whoever sees me sees him who sent
  me. 46 I have come as light into the world, so
  that everyone who believes in me should not
  remain in the darkness. 47 I do not judge anyone
  who hears my words and does not keep them, for I
  came not to judge the world, but to save the
  world. 48 The one who rejects me and does not
  receive my word has a judge on the last day the
  word that I have spoken will serve as judge, 49
  for I have not spoken on my own, but the Father
  who sent me has himself given me a commandment
  about what to say and what to speak.

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• What is the word that will be the judge on the
  last day?
• In context
• Believing Jesus revelation of the Father

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The Word in John

• In the beginning the Word already existed the
  Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John
  11)
• So the Word became human and made His home among
  us. He was full of unfailing love and
  faithfulness. And we have seen His glory, the
  glory of the Father's one and only Son. (John
  114)
• No one has ever seen God. But the unique One,
  who is Himself God, is near to the Father's
  heart. He has revealed God to us. (John 118)

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• This is eternal life to know you, the only true
  God, and Jesus Christ, whom you sent. On earth I
  have given you glory by finishing the work you
  gave me to doI made your name known to the
  people you gave me. (John 173-6)

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What actually happened to Israel?

• The LORD says, "When Israel was a child, I loved
  him and called him out of Egypt as my son. But
  the more I called to him, the more he turned away
  from me. My people sacrificed to Baal they
  burned incense to idols. Yet I was the one who
  taught Israel to walk. I took my people up in my
  arms, but they did not acknowledge that I took
  care of them. I drew them to me with affection
  and love. I picked them up and held them to my
  cheek I bent down to them and fed them.

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• "They refuse to return to me, and so they must
  return to Egypt, and Assyria will rule them. War
  will sweep through their cities and break down
  the city gates. It will destroy my people because
  they do what they themselves think best. They
  insist on turning away from me. They will cry out
  because of the yoke that is on them, but no one
  will lift it from them. "How can I give you up,
  Israel? How can I abandon you? Could I ever
  destroy (give you up) you as I did Admah, or
  treat you as I did Zeboiim? My heart will not let
  me do it! My love for you is too strong. I will
  not punish you in my anger I will not destroy
  Israel again. For I am God and not a mere human
  being. I, the Holy One, am with you. I will not
  come to you in anger. (Hosea 111-9)