Amos "The
Wrath on Moab" This Bible Study is written by Roger Christopherson, and made available with written permission by http://www.theseason.org Amos was a shepherd boy
who God raised to write this letter to you (us). It's
time to straighten up and get ready, for the time is
short. Very few like to read Amos because Amos tells it
like it is. Amos 2:1 "Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Moab, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he burned the bones of the king of E'-dom into lime:"" This is history, for it happened in this century, in 1918 A.D. The Czar of Russia and his family were eliminated, even their bones were packed in lime and disposed of; so even the thought of glorifying them was eliminated. Within Russia, the orthodox church revered God, and gave worship and honor to Him. The Czar, like the king or queen of any nation, has a first duty as the "defender of the faith" of that nation. The sole reason you have a Bible in your home today is the fact that King James I of England saw that the only way the English speaking world could survive was with the Word of God in each home. He was the defender of the faith of England, and Czar Romanoff was the defender of the faith in Russia (Russian Orthodox Church). The wrath on Moab (the communists) will come, and God's words are true. God told Amos to write it down 2,300 years before it happened. And it came to pass. Today, we view it as history passively, just as most Christians today view God's other warnings passively. Amos 2:2 "But I will send a fire upon Moab, and it shall devour the palaces of Kir'-i-oth: and Moab shall die with tumult, with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet:" Just as Moab [the sons of Lot in the East] consumed God's king and church in Russia, it will in turn be given back upon them. The "Palaces of Kiroith", which is to say, her cities (Strong's # 7151.) will be eliminated. By American bombs? No, but by our Lord Jesus Christ at His return. This is the time Esau (Russia) moves against Jacob (The United States and Christian Nations) and with a fierce shout, their weapons move into the valley of Hamon-gog (see Ezekiel 39), and God buries them with a mirage of hail stones, lightening, and only God knows what else. There the armor will rust and the Russian (with their allies) army will rot at God's hands. When will this happen? At the last trumpet. God's trumpet will sound after the two witnesses are slain in the streets of Jerusalem and a three-day wait, and that world-wide celebration takes place. Read Revelation 11 and see how God's wrath rises, and then after 84 hours life comes into the witnesses bodies and this seventh trumpet sounds. You're living in that generation. This also marks the end of Satan's (Antichrist's) reign on earth. Amos 2:3 "And I will cut off the judge from the midst thereof, and will slay all the princes thereof with him, saith the Lord." From this time (seventh trump) forward, God says there will be no more Satan or corrupt leader or judge for Jesus Christ will be the only king. Christ's kingdom will be eternal, through the Millennium and beyond. If you're part of Christ's kingdom, your rewards are eternal. Should your choice be against Jesus, the judgment of God brings your soul to ashes, and even the memory of your existence is blotted out. Just like pushing the delete key on a computer, the memory vanishes - - all traces that you ever existed are gone. It's your choice. Amos 2:4 "Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have despised the law of the Lord, and have not kept his commandments, and their lies caused them to err, after the which their fathers have walked:" Judah was the southern kingdom that was made of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, and it included the Kenites and other peoples who occupied the land of Judah. The nation Judah centered it's life around Jerusalem and God's temple. The priests and sacrifices to God were to be kept there. The people knew the laws and ordinances of God given to Moses centuries prior; however, they chose to whore after false gods and idols. This was an abomination unto God. Even today, when a material item or another person comes between you and God, that is an idol. It could be money, a car, your business, even a friend who causes you to go astray. For your decision to have or not have; to go or not go, is yours. Even a home or a preacher who you give higher position to than to God's Word and the Lord Jesus Christ, can be an idol. Amos 2:5 "But I will send a fire upon Judah, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem." When Jesus was on earth, and warning His disciples in Mark 13:2, he foretold of His coming again and the destruction in Jerusalem. "And Jesus answering said unto him, Seest thou these great buildings? there shall not be left one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down." When Jesus Christ returns to the Mount of Olives, Zechariah 14:1-4 tells us exactly what will happen on that day the Lord will return. Is this something you should worry about? No. God loves you, and His wrath is not against His children, but His enemies. Amos 2:6 "Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they sold the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of shoes;" Israel is God's own children, and God is upset also with their actions. God, however, is never upset with His elect or children that have repented and are in right standing with the Lord. Though you may stray on a daily basis, repentance makes it right real quick. Even on this "Great Day of the Lord", God will never cause one to suffer more than He has given you strength to bear. When Our Lord Jesus Christ returns on that "Day of the Lord", it's payday for those who stood their ground and did not yield to Satan. They knew Antichrist (the fake) for what he is. They knew the mystery Paul revealed to us in I Corinthians 15:50-54. That mystery is that all will be changed in the twinkling of an eye; and if my pain still exists - - my ankles still hurt, and my eyes still need glasses -- I'm still in this old physical body. So the one claiming to be "Christ" is a fake. I know the "fake" Christ must come first, and with his army of fallen angels. That army of locust (deception) will look human, act human, and be the kindest, gentlest people you know. But from their mouths will be the most deceiving, damnable lies you will ever hear. So much so that if you do not have God's Word, not just placed but sealed (unmovable) in your mind, you will worship Antichrist as the messiah. How are you doing? Do you know the simple things Jesus said to know? Or do you stand ignorant. These writings are to act only as study tools. The real source is the Word of God. We must study! Jesus Christ is coming here to correct, to love, to reward, and to set things right. So, in verse six God is referring to people selling their own kind into slavery, into poverty, into whoredom, into usury (the bondage of debt). God says he doesn't like it one bit. Amos 2:7 ."That pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, and turn aside the way of the meek: and a man and his father will go in unto the same maid, to profane my holy name:" They crush the head of the poor into the earth, as they set out to get ahead. Those that are really humble will get rejected and turned down. The use of a "maid" refers to a religious order or form. The "man and his father", then follow after that same religious form, what people will do they do because their parents did it by traditions. This entails the whole seed line of Jacob. Both Joel and Amos are books detailing the "end of the times", that last generation which is the one we are in now. The "maid" of Amos 2:7 is the same woman of Revelation 17:4-7; the mother of harlots (religions) of Babylon (confusion and deception). It is that maid ( the harlot/church) that will lead the entire world whoring after Antichrist. You say, "But my church is different". Or is it? Do they teach you to know the "parable of the fig tree", or what really happened in the Garden of Eden, or is it a fairy tale about eating apples? Are you learning to fly away (rapture), or are they preparing you to seal your mind - - to stand against Antichrist in the tribulation. Are you going in with this man and his father (family) to the maid (church) of today? We will see the churches throughout the world in preparation for their compromise with religious forms. They will shun their holiness, and profane God's holy name with the sodomites, foreign religions, and self-will worship. There won't be time for God and His Holy Word. When Antichrist (Satan) shows up on the scene, he will fit in just perfectly with their forms of worship. Satan can be accepted as the messiah, for they will not know a difference. Amos is addressing Israel (the United States and Christian Nations) in this warning of punishment. God is addressing our nation, our people, our churches and pastors, you and me. God is telling you, " I will not turn away my punishment". If you think this is a joke or a game, this warning is upon you. When you stand before Jesus Christ at His return, you have no excuse. He gave you His word, which is a detailed plan. Beginning to end, we have every minute fabric of what God likes and dislikes; what we should and shouldn't do; then, what He will do in response to what we do. He has given our generation detailed instructions so everything which happens can be understood in light of God's own plan. There is no excuse you, as a Christian, can use as you stand before our Lord and Savior. Amos 2:8 "And they lay themselves down upon clothes laid to pledge by every altar, and they drink the wine of the condemned in the house of their god." The "clothes pledged" are tithes given and in giving, many laws are broken here in this statement. The tithe of God is to be given for His work only. When you give to a church or purpose which does not honor our Lord, it is given to "every altar". The tithes are not to be filtered off for social or an assortment of other uses, but to be directed at the worship of Him. However God's portions are used for false religious practices. When you give to someone who teaches you to follow the false Christ, and teaches other than the Word of God, you do the same thing. Amos 2:9 "Yet destroyed I the Am'-or-ite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was strong as the oaks; yet I destroyed the fruit from above, and his roots from beneath." This is going back to the time in Numbers 21:24 when God went before Israel in the wilderness and smote the Amorites. This was a time when the Amorites were viewed as insurmountable. The "height of the cedars" meant they looked like giants, and "strong as the oaks" was an expression for a strength that was totally insurmountable. God said here in Amos 2:9 that when you were thinking this, it was I that took "his roots from beneath". For God knocked the foundation of that nation, and laid them helpless, as Israel (God's people) passed through. God is saying, can't you see that I love you; I cared for you, and what do you do to repay me? Over and over, you ignore me and go whoring after idols and other gods. Amos 2:10 "Also I brought you up from the land of Egypt, and led you forty years through the wilderness, to possess the land of the Am'-or-ite." What did he do in the wilderness? He parted the Red Sea, fed the manna and quill, poured water from the rock, protected them from serpents, and on and on. Yet you continue being stubborn. Just as Israel fell away then, look around you and see the damnable things done today in the name of God. Do you think it pleases Our Lord? Amos 2:11 "And I raised up of your sons for prophets, and of your young men for Nazarites. Is it not even thus, O ye children of Israel? saith the Lord." When it says "sons", it also mean daughters (see Numbers 6:2) who take the Nazarite vow (see entire chapter for the vow). God said I also raised up prophets that I could warn you, yet you did not listen. Since Amos is talking directly to us in this final generation, he is reminding you and I that the foolishness being carried out in His houses of prayer - - the mixing of heathen rituals, compromising with sodomites, promotion of false doctrine, and all other warnings the prophets and disciples and Jesus have given us, are going to be judged. I would be ashamed to be a pastor in a church in these end times and lead my sheep of Christ into the traps that are coming upon us, and to fail to warn them of this false Christ coming first. When you stand before the Almighty, you have no defense. God has sent his prophets; He has written His letter to you, and every word and action as pastor (feeder of the flock) is accountable. Amos was a shepherd boy who God raised to write this letter to you (us). It's time to straighten up and get ready, for the time is short. Very few like to read Amos because Amos tells it like it is. Amos 2:12 "But ye gave the Nazarites wine to drink; and commanded the prophets, saying, Prophesy not." Just as in Amos' day, the religious world is saying the same thing all over today. The nation is telling the prophets to shut up. Have you ever tried to plant a seed of the Word, only to be met with a harsh response, or total denial? It's not new. From the time in the wilderness, right up to the arrival of Antichrist, this wicked and perverse attitude will continue. Don't worry. Continue spreading the seed of the Word, for some will take hold and the Holy Spirit will have His harvest. We are to be as the Nazarite was, the separate ones who are in this world, but not of this world. Amos 2:13 "Behold, I am pressed under you, as a cart is pressed that is full of sheaves." God is saying, because you refuse to listen to my prophets and you treat my prophets bearing my Word with hatred and disrespect, I am going to burden your carts to the hub. I'm going to make your loads so heavy, you simply cannot stand them. When you think life is unbearable, stop and analyze yourself, your attitude, and work your doing for the Lord. Have you repented to God in Jesus' name lately? Have you given a Word of praise to Him? Have you told our Lord you love him? What have you done for Him? Now, ask yourself, why should God do anything for me? Get the hint, Amos is asking it of you. Amos 2:14 "Therefore the flight shall perish from the swift, and the strong shall not strengthen his force, neither shall the mighty deliver himself:" God is saying, "if you continue in this direction against me, there is no way you can protect yourself." You cannot run fast enough, and you simply are not strong enough to stand against what I am going to load upon you. You're going to have troubles in and out of your family, on the job, in the streets and in churches. Your problems are going to be with sickness, money, and so on. (Read the "Song of Moses" in Deuteronomy.) God is saying, I'm going to break you. Amos 2:15 "Neither shall he stand that handleth the bow; and he that is swift of foot shall not deliver himself: neither shall he that rideth the horse deliver himself," There is no escaping Our Father, who is in control. If you're one of God's set aside ones, and you know it, you had better listen. If you think you can fight him, you're wrong. God will break you, like He did the apostle Paul; then, from your helpless state He will mold you. Is there an answer? Yes. Give it over to Our Lord. Repent of all sin in your life, then give God the praise and worship He deserves. Study and prayer are the keys to a healthy spiritual life. Amos 2:16 "And he that is courageous among the mighty shall flee away naked in that day, saith the Lord." We are considering the time we are living in today when we read the Book of Amos. The Lord is not talking to your great grandfather, or the people 1,000 years ago, or even those in Jesus' day. This book is an extension of the Book of Joel, as was stated earlier. God is talking through Amos, the farmer, directly to you and to me in these end times. We are living in the final days, and in the last generation we will see Antichrist and his many fallen angels walking amongst us. Booted out of the heavenlies, on to the earth. [Revelation 9:7-9] God is giving us a last warning before the time comes when He will just turn you over to Antichrist, and allow you to be stung as a scorpion stings (see Revelation 13) with his deception. Then it's too late. This sixteenth verse is telling you that, should you continue defying Him in church play and whoring with heathen customs and doctrines, at Christ's return you will stand "naked" and ashamed before Jesus. That shame will have a heavy price, and if you're reading these pages of Amos, you have no excuse. At Christ's return, your robe to be worn eternally is made up of your righteous acts. (See Revelation 19.) If you have been in this little church and promoted the false doctrine of Antichrist, tithed to them, told others of those false teachings; God's not happy with you. There simply will not be a robe to be worn by you. You will wear the garment of your works throughout eternity, should repentance come prior to judgment. Now is the time and the hour; each day that passes gets closer. It's just not worth fighting against Our Lord. Our Heavenly Father will win!
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