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“Our community has all too often separated doctrine from practice. We have not seen that doctrine is intended to bring forth living and love towards others. The doctrines of the one faith are not merely empty theological statements devised as a test of our understanding and obedience. They are what they are so as to inspire in each one of us a life worthy of the Gospel of Christ.

“We Christadelphians have analyzed some aspects of doctrine, especially relating to the atonement, to an extent that is inappropriate; and we have virtually — and sometimes actually — divided over these matters. And yet the pseudo-intellectual minutiae over which there has been such strife contain no power to enable the believer to live the new life. It is the basic Gospel itself which has the power to bring forth the new man after the image of Christ.

“It is crucial to true ‘theology’ that it not be separated from the call of doctrine to be the vital force for the transformation of human life. After 150 years of ‘holding the Truth’ and not really preaching it very much nor living it very deeply, western Christadelphia has developed a complex intellectual system that is very much in need of a focus for application and practice. That focus should be in the preaching of the Gospel to the poorer world, and within the more desperate parts of Western society. In such areas there is plenty of opportunity for practicing what we believe: especially in developing an adequate doctrinal underpinning. People do not know their Bibles, do not know doctrine, and yet they so want to be taught.

“Things are coming together, slowly, as western Christadelphia starts to see its need to reach out, and is encouraged by the successes the Lord has granted. We are starting to realize that the true theological cannot avoid the challenge of knowing personally life in its most traumatic forms. It has been truly observed: ‘theology cannot but have a mission.’ Unless ‘theology’ is put to the service of our mission, to save men and women and glorify the Lord, then there can only be an ever-increasing gap between the ‘theologians’ and the grass-roots ecclesia, especially in the mission field. The two halves must come together, or else the new converts will wander, and the ‘theologians’, shocked at the lack of perception in the converts, will likewise go their own way, into ever-increasing abstraction and theory.

“It is worth observing the very simple fact that the New Testament is essentially a missionary document — all the expressions and articulations of doctrine and theology found there are in the context of the preaching of the Gospel and the immediate problems of men and women who respond to it. That is why we are not given a cold statement of faith or catechism in the New Testament, but rather the history of the mission of Christ at its very beginning.” (DH)

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The context of the apostle’s sustained quotation (Psa 34:12-16a = 1Pe 3:10-12) matches that of the psalm excellently. Instead of David and his outlaws, all of them the quarry of pursuers, there was, at the time when Peter wrote, a violent reproach of the name of Christ (1Pe 4:14), and of those who gave him loyalty. (1Pe, esp chs 4 and 5, is full of allusions to the Neronian persecution; see also Jam 2:7.) Thus, just as David exhorted his men to self-discipline and the expression of high ideals in their behavior to friend and foe alike, so also now Peter eloquently exhorts later believers to display in all circumstances a character worthy of the Leader to whom they have pledged loyalty.

Note the impressively abrupt cut-off of the quotation in the middle of a verse — Peter’s neat device for steering special attention to the words that follow: “to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth”. This very thing, which Nero sought to achieve, they would bring upon their own selves if, to avoid the rigors of persecution, they turned away from Christ. It needed only a pinch of incense on a pagan altar, only a misleading word dissociating oneself from the persecuted Christ, and — humanly speaking — all would be well. But no! “Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile”, for there was “no guile found in his (Christ’s) mouth” (1Pe 2:22).

Was Psa 34:10b (“they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing”) the Lord’s warning to Peter, foreseeing his temptation in the court of the high priest’s palace? Yet the apostle did not keep his tongue from evil and from speaking guile.

An earlier allusion also makes attractive use of Psa 34:8 (= 1Pe 2:3): “If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious”; the LXX, used by Peter, has “the Lord is chrestos (a pun on christos!)”. And this follows immediately on another exhortation to avoid “all guile and hypocrisies” (1Pe 2:1).

And how is one to taste that the Lord is gracious? By “desiring the sincere milk of the word (of Scripture)” and of “the Word ” (Jesus) — a typical double meaning. Accordingly, the exhortation: “Come, ye children…” (Psa 34:11) is echoed in Peter’s address to his “babes”: “To whom coming…” (1Pe 2:2,4).

As David’s outlaw band came to include many Gentiles along with Jews, so Peter (the Lord’s outlaw) was instrumental in bringing Gentiles (Act 10) as well as Jews (Act 2 and 3) into the Lord’s band. See the allusions to Psa 34 in this light (WAc 151).

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        Pro 3:34 He mocks proud mockers but gives grace to the humble.         Pro 6:17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood,         Pro 8:13 To fear the LORD is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech.         Pro 11:2 When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.         Pro 13:10 Pride only breeds quarrels, but wisdom is found in those who take advice.         Pro 15:25 The LORD tears down the proud man’s house but he keeps the widow’s boundaries intact.         Pro 16:5 The LORD detests all the proud of heart. Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished.         Pro 16:18,19 Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. Better to be lowly in spirit and among the oppressed than to share plunder with the proud.         Pro 17:6,7 Children’s children are a crown to the aged, and parents are the pride of their children. Arrogant lips are unsuited to a fool — how much worse lying lips to a ruler!         Pro 18:12 Before his downfall a man’s heart is proud, but humility comes before honor.         Pro 21:4 Haughty eyes and a proud heart, the lamp of the wicked, are sin!         Pro 21:24 The proud and arrogant man — “Mocker” is his name; he behaves with overweening pride.         Pro 29:23 A man’s pride brings him low, but a man of lowly spirit gains honor.         Pro 30:13 those whose eyes are ever so haughty, whose glances are so disdainful.

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He looked at me. Right at me.

It was not a look of disgust or anger or even rebuke. It was a look that just said, “I know.”

The hours and days after that are so painful that even today they are hard to talk about. The shame, the fear, the utter sadness that overwhelmed me then comes flooding back in the memory today.

In the days following, I thought about how he had looked me in the face and said, “When you are converted, strengthen your brethren.” At the time, I thought: ” ‘WHEN I’m converted?’ What does he think I have been doing the last three and a half years? I gave up my family, my house and my business. Could anyone be ‘converted’ if it wasn’t me? What more could I possibly do?”

When he told me I would deny him, I was so brash and self-confident. Others may do that, I said, but I never would. So sure was I that this was true. So sure I was that I was the greatest disciple. So sure I was that mine was the place at his right hand. So sure I was that I would even die for him!

It was only a matter of hours really when he gave me the look. It wasn’t long, just a glance really. But how that look has changed my life.

A few weeks later by the lake, he asked me if I loved him. Not the kind of love that we might have for friends, but completely devoted love. A love that meant I would do anything for him. Remembering that look, all I could speak of was my affection for him. I could not go down that path again unless I was sure… completely sure of my love.

Now he is gone. It has only been a little over a month since that night, but what a month. I have begun to understand much of what he said that I did not understand before. Most of all, I have discovered that all of this is not about me, but him. It is not my glory that is important, but his.

I was so afraid that night, but not today. Today, I feel his strength rising up within me. They can mock me, beat me and even kill me. But they cannot take from me my faith and conviction. In the end, they cannot take my life but for a time.

So today I must speak. It is the feast day, so the temple will be filled. I must do what I did not do that night. I must proclaim him to be the Son of God. I must tell people that the Kingdom is coming. I must tell them that I am his servant. I must depend on his strength to get me through this because I have learned so well that this strength does not come from me.

I must remember the look.

(Refs: Luk 22:32,61,62; Mar 9:33,34; Joh 21:15-17; Acts 2)

(KT)

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Author: Paul.

Time: Prob AD 60 or 61.

Origin, place of writing: Since Paul was a prisoner at the time Philippians was written (Phi 1:7,13,16), identification of this imprisonment would make possible the fixing of the date and place of origin of the Epistle. Three possibilities must be considered:

1. Caesarea. Paul was a prisoner in Caesarea for two years (57-59) and his friends had access to him (Acts 24:23,27). The fugitive slave Onesimus could have fled there (this assumes that the Epistles to the Colossians and Philemon came out of the same imprisonment as Philippians). The “praetorium” (Phi 1:13; NIV, “palace guard”) could [possibly] be understood of Herod’s palace at Caesarea (Acts 23:35). Furthermore, the warning and argument against Jewish teachers (Phi 3:1-16) fits well the period of Jewish-Gentile controversy. This theory has not been widely adopted, because there is no positive evidence favoring it. Paul expected prompt release (Phi 2:24), but there was little reason for optimism while he was at Caesarea, and this prospect was no longer possible after he had appealed to Caesar. Lack of any mention of the prominent Philip, who lived at Caesarea and had been Paul’s host (Acts 21:8-10), also makes this view doubtful.

2. Rome. The traditional view places the writing of Philippians during Paul’s first imprisonment in Rome during 59-61 (Acts 28:30). This is the most natural understanding of “palace guard” (Phi 1:13) and “Caesar’s household” (Phi 4:22). Paul’s trial was evidently going on during the writing, and its outcome could bring either life or death. Apparently there could be no appeal from its verdict (Phi 1:19-24). This was not the situation at Caesarea, for there he could appeal to Caesar (Acts 25:10-12). His circumstances reflected in the letter fit the Roman imprisonment better than the one at Caesarea, since he had freedom to arrange travel plans for his associates and opportunity to carry on considerable correspondence. He hoped to visit Philippi soon (Phi 2:24); at Caesarea, however, his aim was to go to Rome, and his appeal to Caesar made a trip to Philippi out of the question. The Marcionite Prologue (c 170) states that Philippians was sent from Rome. This view is the one most widely held.

3. Ephesus. This view places the writing in 53-55 during Paul’s three-year stay in Ephesus (Acts 19). The problem that Acts mentions no imprisonment of Paul in Ephesus is met by explaining Rom 16:4,7; 1Co 15:32; 2Co 1:8-10; 11:23 as pointing to such an imprisonment. But this is by no means established, for it demands treating these passages in Corinthians with wooden literalness rather than as the dramatic figures they are. Furthermore, this view requires taking Rom 16 as written to Ephesus rather than to Rome, a conclusion not warranted by the documentary evidence.

Summary: Paul’s main purpose in writing this letter seems to have been to thank the Philippians for the gift they had sent him when they heard he had been imprisoned at Rome (Phi 1:5; 4:10-19). But Paul also discusses several other issues. He encourages the Philippians to stand firm in the face of persecution, and he exhorts them to humility and unity. He also commends Timothy and Epaphroditus to the church and warns the Philippians against people who encourage a return to the Jewish law. The letter is outstanding in its emphasis on joy; the word “joy” occurs 16 times.

Key verse: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Phi 4:6,7).

Overview

Phi 1: Christ the Christian’s life. Phi 2: Christ the Christian’s pattern. Phi 3: Christ the Christian’s object. Phi 4: Christ the Christian’s strength.

Outline

1.	Greetings and thanksgiving: Phi 1:1-11
2.	Paul’s personal circumstances: Phi 1:12-26
3.	Exhortations: Phi 1:27 – 2:18
	a)	Living a life worthy of the gospel: Phi 1:27-30
	b)	Following the servant attitude of Christ: Phi 2:1-18
4.	Timothy and Epaphroditus: Phi 2:19-30
5.	Warnings against false teachers: Phi 3:1 – 4:1
6.	Final exhortations, thanks and conclusion: Phi 4:2-23
	a)	Exhortations: Phi 4:2-9
	b)	Thanks: Phi 4:10-20
	c)	Greetings and benediction: Phi 4:21-23

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About one-third of the Bible is prophecy. Much of it has more than one fulfillment. Are there any principles which help us in seeing how a prophecy might be fulfilled more than once? Here are three ways in which Bible prophecies can be fulfilled more than once:

1. A typical fulfillment first: Some Bible prophecies have their complete fulfillment in the long term, but in the short term there is a partial fulfillment in events which are types of the complete fulfillment. Example: The promises to David are quoted with reference to Solomon; cp 1Ch 17:12,13 with 1Ch 22:9,10. This is because Solomon’s reign was a type of Christ’s Kingdom; cp 1Ki 4:25 with prophecies of the Kingdom in Jer 23:6 and Micah 4:4. However, their complete fulfillment comes with Christ; see Luke 1:32,33 and Acts 13:33. Other examples. Mic 4; 5 was initially fulfilled by Hezekiah in relation to the Assyrian invasion, but will be more completely fulfilled by Christ setting up the Kingdom. Some features of Psa 72 were fulfilled by Solomon’s kingdom, but the psalm will be completely fulfilled in the future reign of Christ.

2. A typical fulfillment later: Some Bible prophecies are fulfilled completely initially but this fulfillment is typical of something greater to come. Example: Isa 17 was fulfilled in the Assyrian invasion in Hezekiah’s time, culminating in the destruction of the Assyrian host (v 14). Yet this fulfillment is also typical of the host which invades the land at the time of Christ’s return, and is destroyed. Other examples: Jer 50; 51 are prophetic of the overthrow of the kingdom of Babylon, but the extensive use of the language of these chapters in Rev 17; 18 shows that this overthrow was typical of the overthrow of another Babylon at Christ’s return. Psa 41 (not strictly prophecy) is about David’s experiences in the revolt of Absalom, but his betrayal by Ahithophel is typical of Judas’s betrayal of Christ (v 9, quoted in John 13:18).

3. Prophecies fulfilled on a number of occasions: Some Bible prophecies are fulfilled on several occasions because of situations which keep occurring. Example: Deu 28:49 prophesies of “a nation… from far” which God would send against Israel if they forsook Him. Note how the terms of this verse were fulfilled by Assyria (Isa 5:26; 33:19; Hos 8:1) and Babylon (Jer 4:13; 5:15) as well as Rome (Mat 24:28). Other examples: Cannibalism, prophesied in Lev 26:29, is recorded in both 2Ki 6:26-31 and Lam 4:10, and according to Josephus occurred in AD 70. The opposition to Christ by rulers foretold in Psa 2:1-3 occurred at his birth (Mat 2) and his crucifixion (Acts 4:25-28), and will occur at his Second Coming (Rev 17:12-14) and at the end of the Millennium (Rev 20:7-10).

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Examples of Bible prophecy with more than one fulfillment:

Isa 2:10-22: (a) earthquake in Uzziah’s day (Amo 1:1,2; Zec 14:5); (b) Last Days (2Th 1:9,19; Rev 6:16,19).

Isa 7:14: (a) birth of Hezekiah, son of Ahaz; (b) Mat 1:23.

Isa 34: (a) Edom and other nations hostile to Israel in Isaiah’s day; (b) Final judgment on the wicked (Rev 14:10,11).

Jer 50; 51: (a) Destruction of Babylon, the great enemy of Jeremiah’s day; (b) Destruction of “Babylon” in the Last Days (Rev 18; cp mg refs).

Hos 10:8 (and context): (a) Judgment on faithless Israel in Hosea’s time; (b) Destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD (Luk 23:30).

Mic 3:12: (a) Threatened fulfillment about 700 BC (Jer 26:18); (b) literal fulfillment in first century AD.

Psa 2: (a) David beset by enemies early in his reign (2Sa 8); (b) Hostility to Christ, the Son of David (Act 4:25-27; Rev 19:15).

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The Philistines are first mentioned in Gen 10:14. Apparently they came from Caphtor, or Crete, very early in Bible times (Deu 2:23; Jer 47:4; Amo 9:7). The land of Canaan received its other name — Philistia, or Palestine — from them (Psa 60:8; 87:4; Isa 14:29).

The Philistines ousted other peoples and settled initially on the Maritime Plain north of Gaza — a very fertile and desirable area. They seem to have lived in the region around Gerar and Beersheba as early as the time of Abraham (Gen 21:32,34; 26:1).

After the Exodus, the tribes of Israel were directed by God to journey to Canaan by a route that bypassed the coast of the Philistines (Exo 13:17,18), presumably because they were too strong for Israel at that time. When the Israelites began to settle the Land, the tribe of Judah captured Gaza, Ashkelon, and Ekron (Jdg 1:18), three of the five main Philistine cities; the other two were Gath and Ashdod. But a bit later, because of its idolatries, Israel was handed over into the hands of the Philistines (Jdg 10:6,7). It was delivered from them (Jdg 10:11,12), but soon fell under their dominion again, and remained so, off and on, through the times of Samson (Jdg 14-16), Eli (1Sa 4-6), Samuel, and Saul (1Sa 10:5: 12:9; 13:19-21; 14:52). After Saul’s army was defeated, and he and his sons slain by the Philistines (1Sa 28:4; 29:11; 31:1-13), king David overcame and repelled them on several occasions (2Sa 3:18; 5:17-25; 8:1; 19:9; 21:15-22; 23:9-17).

After David’s reign, the Philistines are mentioned less frequently, although they come in for threats of judgment by various prophets at later times because they invariably aligned themselves with Israel’s enemies (Babylon and Assyria) against their old foe Israel.

The Philistines are joined with other Arab nations confederated against Israel in the latter days was pointed out (Psa 83). This prophetic psalm undoubtedly had a historic fulfillment (possibly 2Ch 20 or 2Ch 32), yet it also points forward to a time when the combined enemies of Israel “know that thou alone, whose name is the Lord, art the Most High over all the earth” (v 18). Today, the modern counterpart to the ancient Philistine territory is what is now called the Gaza Strip, with its exploding Palestinian Arab population — nearly all of which are inflamed with the most intense hatred of their Israeli “oppressors”.

Bible prophecies about Philistia seem to fall into two main categories, with some natural overlapping: (1) first, the Philistines’ hatred toward Israel takes shape in despicable actions; and (2) then, the Lord Himself takes vengeance upon these enemies of His people.

“The Syrians before [to the north and east], and the Philistines behind [to the south and west]… shall devour Israel with open mouth… Therefore the Lord will cut off from Israel head and tail, branch and rush, in one day” (Isa 9:12-14). The initial fulfillment of this prophecy was in the days of Hezekiah, when the Jews found themselves squeezed in a wedge between their old enemies Syria and Philistia, and also facing the furious onslaught of the Assyrian (Isa 10:5,6,11-15,24,25). The immediate result was the fall of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, but the final result was that Assyria and its allies, including the Philistines, were themselves punished severely at the hand of God: “In that day the Lord will extend his hand yet a second time to recover the remnant which is left of his people, from Assyria, from Egypt… and from the coastlands of the sea. They [Ephraim and Judah] will swoop down on the slopes of Philistia to the west; together they will plunder the people to the east [Edom, Moab, and Ammon]” (Isa 11:11,14; cp Isa 10:12,25-27; 14:29-31).

That this prophecy is to be fulfilled yet again in the Last Days is evident from its connection with Isa 9:6,7 and all of Isa 11. The special child descended from David — Jesus Christ (Luk 1:32) — will bring judgments upon these Arab haters of Israel, recover the faithful remnant of Israel from captivity in Egypt and Assyria, and establish God’s glorious Kingdom in Israel.

If the nations mentioned in Isa 9-11 sound very much like those listed in Psa 83, then it is because that psalm could have initially applied to the Assyrian invasion in the reign of Hezekiah, and because it also has a Last Days application. There is an interesting verbal connection. The psalmist’s prayer in Psa 83:11 (“Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb” — Midianite princes slain by Gideon) will be fulfilled by Isaiah’s Last Days prophecy: “My indignation will come to an end, and my anger will be directed to their destruction. And the Lord of hosts will wield against them a scourge, as when he smote Midian at the rock of Oreb” (Isa 10:25,26).

Joel: The evil deeds of the Philistines and the subsequent retribution by God is aptly described by Joel: “What are you to me, O Tyre and Sidon, and all the regions of Philistia? Are you paying me back for something? If you are paying me back, I will requite your deed upon your own head swiftly and speedily. For you have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried my rich treasures into your temples. You have sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks, removing them far from their own border. But now I will stir them up from the place to which you have sold them, and I will requite your deed upon your own head. I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the sons of Judah, and they will sell them to the Sabeans, to a nation far off; for the Lord has spoken” (Joel 3:4-8).

It is plain that Joel 3 is part of a Last Days prophecy (cp vv 14-17,20), when Judah shall be inhabited forever because the Lord dwells in Zion. Then “Jerusalem [shall] be holy, and no stranger shall pass through her any more”, for God says, “I will avenge their blood, and I will not clear the guilty.”

Amos: Philistia is listed among the oppressors of Israel in the prophecy of Amos, who wrote shortly before the time of the great Assyrian invasions of Israel: ” ‘For three transgressions of Gaza, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment; because they carried into exile a whole people to deliver them up to Edom. So I will send a fire upon the wall of Gaza, and it shall devour her strongholds. I will cut off the inhabitants from Ashdod, and him that holds the scepter from Ashkelon; I will turn my hand against Ekron, and the remnant of the Philistines shall perish,’ says the Lord GOD” (Amo 1:6-8; cp Amo 3:9).

This passage indicates assistance by the Philistines in taking the Jews into captivity (cp Joel 3 above). As a possible Last Days application, the phrase “for three transgressions and for four” could suggest several attempts to destroy Israel (1948, 1967, 1973?), only the last of which (it may be assumed) will be successful.

Obadiah: In his short vision, the prophet Obadiah sees a future time when “Edom” will be punished, for his violence against his “brother” Jacob, by being cut off forever (v 10). At a time called “the day of the Lord” (v 15), mount Zion — the Temple Mount in Jerusalem — will be the scene of deliverance and holiness (v 17), and the house of Jacob will possess their land. At that time (and not before), when “Saviours” will appear on mount Zion, and when the kingdom of Israel will truly belong to God (v 21), then “… they of the south shall possess the mount of Esau; and they of the plain the Philistines: and they shall possess the fields of Ephraim and… Samaria: and Benjamin shall possess Gilead” (v 19).

Some Bible students suggest that v 19 has already been fulfilled by the unbelieving nation of Israel, in winning the war of 1967 and occupying the West Bank and Gaza Strip. However, v 19 is “sandwiched” between verses 17 and 21, which clearly tell of Messiah’s kingdom. Only after Christ has returned will a redeemed and restored Israel truly possess her ancient land.

Ezekiel: During the ascendancy of Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon, the Philistines were still filling a similar hostile role, and thereby still threatened with a similar punishment from God: “Thus saith the Lord God; Because the Philistines have dealt by revenge, and have taken vengeance with a despiteful heart, to destroy it for the old hatred; Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will stretch out mine hand upon the Philistines, and I will cut off the Cherethim, and destroy the remnant of the sea coast. And I will execute great vengeance upon them with furious rebukes; and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall lay my vengeance upon them” (Eze 25:15-17).

Zephaniah: This prophet prophesied during Hezekiah’s reign, also pronouncing divine judgments upon the Philistines: “For Gaza shall be forsaken, and Ashkelon a desolation: they shall drive out Ashdod at the noon day, and Ekron shall be rooted up. Woe unto the inhabitants of the sea coast, the nation of the Cherethites! the word of the Lord is against you; O Canaan, the land of the Philistines, I will even destroy thee, that there shall be no inhabitant. And the sea coast shall be dwellings and cottages for shepherds, and folds for flocks” (Zep 2:4-6).

But the time of the Philistines’ (and the Assyrians’ — cp v 13) defeat will also be the time when Israel, redeemed from their last captivity, will finally dwell securely in their own land, under the benevolent hand of their Messiah (v 7; cp also Zep 3:14-20).

Jeremiah: In Jer 25, Jeremiah predicts vengeance upon the Philistines in the Last Days. He lists their cities (v 20) along with “all the mingled people” (vv 20,24 — the word is “ereb”, closely related to “Arab”) of Egypt, Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, Sidon, Dedan, Tema, Arabia, Elam, and Media — all Muslim territories — and finally Babylon. God will cause all of these to drink of “the wine cup of this fury” (v 15). This figure of a “cup” of judgment being filled up to the brim, and given by God to the wicked, is common in the Bible, and is often used in regard to the great judgments of the Last Days (Psa 11:6; 75:8; Isa 51:17,22,23; Oba 1:16; and esp Rev 14:8,10; 16:19; 18:6).

Jer 47 also contains a reference to God’s vengeance upon the Philistines.

Zechariah: Finally, Zechariah also lifts up a burden against the Philistines: “Ashkelon will see it [the power of God] and fear; Gaza will writhe in agony, and Ekron too, for her hope will wither. Gaza will lose her king and Ashkelon will be deserted. Foreigners will occupy Ashdod; and I will cut off the pride of the Philistines” (Zec 9:5,6).

That this is a Last Days prophecy may be seen from the context: “I [the Lord] will encamp about my house… and no oppressor shall pass through them any more” (v 8; cp Joel 3:17). The king who will come in the name of the Lord “will speak peace to the nations, and his dominion shall be from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth” (v 10); he will also set free the “prisoners” from the waterless pit (the resurrection of the dead!) (v 11).

Conclusion

The “Philistines”, or Palestinians, will be among Israel’s enemies in the Last Days. Along with the nations of Syria and Jordan (“Edom”, “Moab”, and “Ammon”), they will be helped by the “Assyrian”/”Babylonian” to defeat their old nemesis. (This aspect, of duality — and repetition of fulfillment — in Bible prophecy, is much more common than many Bible readers realize.)

The Palestinians’ enjoyment of victory will be brief, however. The prototypical Philistine/Palestinian, the giant Goliath, was rendered powerless by David’s little stone (1Sa 17). Likewise, the Oppressor of the Last Days will be destroyed by another little stone, which strikes it on its feet (Dan 2:34) — feet, incidentally, of iron mixed with clay (vv 41,43: the word “mixed” is arab; cp “mingled” in Jer 25). That “little stone” which destroys the image in Dan 2 — ie Christ (Psa 118:22; Isa 8:14,15; 28:16; Mat 21:42-44; 1Pe 2:6-8) — will then become a great mountain and fill the whole earth with the glory of God (Dan 2:35,44).

The power of the Philistine against Israel will soon be destroyed forever, but the faithful remnant of Israel will (through the preaching of “Elijah”: Mal 3:1,2; 4:5,6) be blessed with the coming of Christ in the Kingdom of God.

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“The prophet is a man who feels fiercely. God has thrust a burden upon his soul, and he is bowed and stunned at man’s fierce greed. Frightful is the agony of man; no human voice can convey its full terror. Prophecy is the voice that God has lent to the silent agony, a voice to the plundered poor, to the profaned rules of the world. It is a form of living, a crossing point of God and man. God is raging in the prophet’s words” (Abraham Heschel, “The Prophet”).

What manner of man is the prophet? The prophet is a man who feels deeply, very deeply, the sinfulness of sin. Sensing some fraction of the holiness and purity of the Almighty and the Eternal, the prophet is horrified — scandalized — at the petty and trifling shortcomings of his fellowmen.

The things that excite the indignation of the prophet are daily occurrences in every society in the world: “Hear this, you who trample the needy and do away with the poor of the land, saying, ‘When will the New Moon be over that we may sell grain, and the Sabbath be ended that we may market wheat?’ — skimping the measure, boosting the price and cheating with dishonest scales, buying the poor with silver and the needy for a pair of sandals, selling even the sweepings with the wheat” (Amo 8:4-6).

Allow for variations, from nation to nation and religion to religion, in the technicalities of worship (ie, substitute “Sunday church service” or “Ramadan” for “New Moon” and “Sabbath”) — the picture is the same; human nature is the same everywhere. Indeed, the sorts of “crimes” that fill the prophet with sadness and foreboding rarely go beyond what ordinary people regard as typical social interactions: people cheat in business, the rich exploit the poor, pleasure-seekers degrade themselves and others — it happens all the time. So what? But the prophet sees the grotesque shapes and dimensions of human pride and greed and lust in daily life, and he shudders. To his sensitive ears comes the rumble of distant thunder. The God of creation is not pleased, and the prophet warns of impending doom:

“Before them the earth shakes, the sky trembles, the sun and moon are darkened, and the stars no longer shine. The LORD thunders at the head of his army; his forces are beyond number, and mighty are those who obey his command. The day of the LORD is great; it is dreadful. Who can endure it?” (Joe 2:10,11)

The prophet makes us vaguely aware of the pettiness of our moral comprehension, of the depths of misery which we should feel (but don’t?) at our failures. Our eyes also witness the callousness and cruelty of man, but our hearts try to obliterate the memories and silence the whisper of conscience. The prophet does not let us off:

“Tremble, you complacent women; shudder, you daughters who feel secure! Strip off your clothes, put sackcloth around your waists!” (Isa 32:11).

“Will not all of them taunt him with ridicule and scorn, saying, ‘Woe to him who piles up stolen goods and makes himself wealthy by extortion! How long must this go on?’… Woe to him who builds his realm by unjust gain to set his nest on high, to escape the clutches of ruin!… The stones of the wall will cry out, and the beams of the woodwork will echo it. Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshed and establishes a town by crime!” (Hab 2:6,9,11,12).

“This is what the LORD says: ‘Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,’ declares the LORD” (Jer 9:23,24).

Those of us who claim to be believers in God can so easily “go with the flow”, praising and respecting those whom the world praises and respects: the builders of great cities, the hoarders of great fortunes, the accumulators of great power, the acquirers of great “wisdom”. But the prophet reminds us:

“Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are regarded as dust on the scales; he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust. Before him all the nations are as nothing; they are regarded by him as worthless and less than nothing” (Isa 40:15,17).

The world is intoxicated with the here and now. The prophet takes a sober look at the inevitable end of the world:

“I looked at the earth, and it was formless and empty; and at the heavens, and their light was gone. I looked at the mountains, and they were quaking; all the hills were swaying. I looked, and there were no people; every bird in the sky had flown away. I looked, and the fruitful land was a desert; all its towns lay in ruins before the LORD, before his fierce anger” (Jer 4:23-26).

Just as the prophet sees the hideous evil in a world without God, so he also sees the sanctimonious hypocrisy in a religious community that puts God in a box of its own making, and hides its wickedness under a cloak of piety and ceremony and pretense:

“What do I care about incense from Sheba or sweet calamus from a distant land? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable; your sacrifices do not please me” (Jer 6:20).

” ‘Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal and follow other gods you have not known, and then come and stand before me in this house, which bears my Name, and say, “We are safe” — safe to do all these detestable things? Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you? But I have been watching!’ declares the LORD. ‘Go now to the place in Shiloh where I first made a dwelling for my Name, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of my people Israel… what I did to Shiloh I will now do to the house that bears my Name, the temple you trust in, the place I gave to you and your fathers. I will thrust you from my presence, just as I did all your brothers, the people of Ephraim’ ” (Jer 7:9-15).

The prophet knows a God who will not shrink from punishing even His own people, calling their worst enemies down upon them to fulfill His own purpose:

“I send him [ie the Assyrian] against a godless nation, I dispatch him against a people who anger me, to seize loot and snatch plunder, and to trample them down like mud in the streets” (Isa 10:5,6).

” ‘I will summon all the peoples of the north and my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon,’ declares the LORD, ‘and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants and against all the surrounding nations. I will completely destroy them and make them an object of horror and scorn, and an everlasting ruin’ ” (Jer 25:9).

A God who would do such things is truly a God to be reckoned with!

The prophet is not entirely comfortable with the job which God has given him. His position is one of distinction, but also one of affliction. His mission can be distasteful, and can make him abhorrent to others:

” ‘You must speak my words to them, whether they listen or fail to listen, for they are rebellious. But you, son of man, listen to what I say to you. Do not rebel like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you.’ Then I looked, and I saw a hand stretched out to me. In it was a scroll, which he unrolled before me. On both sides of it were written words of lament and mourning and woe. And he said to me, ‘Son of man, eat what is before you, eat this scroll; then go and speak to the house of Israel’ ” (Eze 2:7-3:1).

But once he has been called, the prophet finds it almost impossible to escape from the hand of his God: “But if I say, ‘I will not mention him or speak any more in his name,’ his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot” (Jer 20:9).

The prophet is a lonely man. He alienates the “religious” as well as the agnostic, the “believer” as well as the skeptic. He must not expect acceptance, but rather hostility:

“And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them or their words. Do not be afraid, though briers and thorns are all around you and you live among scorpions. Do not be afraid of what they say or terrified by them, though they are a rebellious house… But I will make you as unyielding and hardened as they are. I will make your forehead like the hardest stone, harder than flint. Do not be afraid of them or terrified by them, though they are a rebellious house” (Eze 2:6; 3:8,9).

But the prophet is responsible to speak to the people, whether they hear or not:

“But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes the life of one of them, that man will be taken away because of his sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for his blood. Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me” (Eze 33:6,7).

The prophet cares deeply for the people and constantly prays for their welfare. He personally identifies with their plight and shares their affliction:

“O LORD, we and our kings, our princes and our fathers are covered with shame because we have sinned against you. The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him… therefore the curses and sworn judgments written in the Law of Moses, the servant of God, have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against you… Now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of your servant. For your sake, O Lord, look with favor on your desolate sanctuary” (Dan 9:8,9,11,17).

The prophet is unfailingly encouraging. His words of rebuke are never without words of exhortation. He makes the faithful strong:

“Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God… Say to him: ‘Forgive all our sins and receive us graciously… for in you the fatherless find compassion.’ [and God will say…] ‘I will heal their waywardness and love them freely, for my anger has turned away from them’ ” (Hos 14:1-4).

” ‘Even now,’ declares the LORD, ‘return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.’ Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity. Who knows? He may turn and have pity and leave behind a blessing… And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the LORD has said, among the survivors whom the LORD calls” (Joe 2:12-14,32).

The prophet is certain of the ultimate outcome: God will redeem His people, rebuild His temple, and glorify His Name in all the earth:

“This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. I will shake all nations, and the desired of all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,’ says the LORD Almighty. ‘The silver is mine and the gold is mine,’ declares the LORD Almighty. ‘The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,’ says the LORD Almighty. ‘And in this place I will grant peace,’ declares the LORD Almighty” (Hag 2:6-9).

“For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea” (Hab 2:14).

As he leaves behind the world through which he is passing, and tastes the air and feels the bracing breeze on the mountain top of God’s presence, the prophet is elated:

“I heard and my heart pounded, my lips quivered at the sound; decay crept into my bones, and my legs trembled. Yet I will wait patiently for the day of calamity to come on the nation invading us. Though the fig tree does not bud… though the olive crop fails… though there are no sheep in the pen… yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights” (Hab 3:16-19).

The prophet knows his own weakness and inadequacy, more so than the ordinary man or woman who never attempts to climb the “heights”. But he knows also, precisely because he has attempted to climb the heights, the awe-inspiring purity of the God of Israel. He has been touched with the divine fire, and he can never return, completely, to the man he was before:

” ‘Woe to me!’ I cried. ‘I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.’ Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, ‘See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.’ Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’ ” (Isa 6:5-8).

By Scripture, the prophet communicates to the rest of us — setting before us the eternally relevant choices: death and life, cursing and blessing, the “here and now” and the hereafter, that which is seen and that which cannot be seen… as yet. He leans closer to us… he whispers softly:

“Don’t be taken in. Don’t judge by outward appearance. Don’t fall for the glitter and the glamour, the pomp and the pride. It’s all the brightness of whitewashed sepulchers and the rattle of dry bones. Look through my eyes… hear with my ears… know it all for what it really is… the choice is yours.”