Remember
that
Psalm 41 prophesied that Judas would NOT ultimately
triumph over Jesus where triumph meant to play the loud
instruments and "make a joyful noise before the Lord."
This was not "worship music" but the warrior's chant:
But whereunto shall
I liken this generation? It is like unto children
sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows, Matt
11:16
And saying, We
have piped unto you, and ye have
not danced; we have mourned unto
you, and ye have not lamented. Matt 11:17
The word 'piped' in
Hebrew is:
Chalal (h2490) khaw-lal'; a
prim. root [comp. 2470]; prop. to bore, i. e. (by
impl.) to wound, to dissolve; fig. to profane (a person, place or
thing), to break (one's word), to begin (as if by an
"opening wedge"); denom. (from 2485) to play (the flute): - begin (* men began),
defile, * break, defile, * eat (as common things), *
first, * gather
the grape thereof, * take inheritance, pipe, player on
instruments, pollute, (cast as) profane (self), prostitute, slay (slain), sorrow,
stain, wound.
With Jesus it is the
Greek auleo which Paul (1 Cor 14:7) identifies as a lifeless instrument.
Jonathan's further
commentary:
As far as Micah 3:11,12 and Revelation
18:4, I believe they are pointing to the last days church.
(I believe Nahum 3 and Isaiah 47 also do and I've enclosed
some related references below because I noticed you don't
have as much on this as the many, many other OT references
you address). Likewise, I also hold the position that the
two witnesses in Revelation 11 are the NT church (compare
Rev.11:3,4 with Revelation 1:20).
But you see, many in the corporate church
are blinded (2 Thess.2:11) to the fact that the OT offers
many spiritual types or portraits of our day. The Bible was
written for us today (2 Tim. 3:16,17), but they'll tell you
"that was then, this is now" but that's not the case, and if
it were I'm sure many would be like in Amos' day, loving and
looking for that platform on which Apis could land. Reading
Isaiah thru Malachi the similarites are countless. Yet, they
expect you to pay them to "teach" because they refuse to work
(couldn't run a 2 car cab company anyway). I have visited
many sites and have yet to find one where a preachers salary
is disclosed. You would think they would at least attempt so
show some accountability to the poor suckers they are
milking. All that scratch and virtually no accountability.
Now I don't want to seem bitter, because I'm not. But you
understand that musical instruments will always draw the
carnival like money, crowds and especially clowns. Coupled with the instruments almost every
church is women leading in prayer, (at least in this neck of
the woods).
You know, just like "the OT was
written for the Jews", they will tell you 1 Cor. 14 refers
only to the Corinthian church,
so next week when 'ol preach goes to 2 Cor. 9 and asks you
to be a cheerful giver, it's best to say I'm not giving you a nickle
because that was written only
for the Corinthians.
The Indians called folks like ol' preach "forked tounge"
Jesus just called them hypocrites, Paul said the epistles
were written for Christians everywhere (1 Cor. 1:2).
Notes on Nahum 3 & Isaiah 47
"Woe to the bloody city! it is all full
of lies and robbery; the prey departeth not;" (Nahum 3:1).
Extortion [GROTIUS].
"The noise of a whip, and the noise of
the rattling of the wheels, and of the pransing horses,
and of the jumping chariots." (Nahum 3:2).
"The horseman lifteth up both the bright
sword and the glittering spear: and there is a multitude
of slain, and a great number of carcases; and there is
none end of their corpses; they stumble upon their
corpses:" (Nahum 3:3).
[It is all full of lies; truth
is banished from among them; there is no such thing as
honesty; one knows not whom to believe nor whom to trust.
3. It is all full of robbery and rapine; no man cares what mischief he does, nor to
whom he does it:
The prey departs not, that is, they
never know when they have
got enough by spoil and oppression.
They shed blood, and told lies, in
pursuit of the prey, that they might enrich
themselves. 4. There is a multitude of whoredoms in it,
that is, idolatries, spiritual
whoredoms, by which she
defiled herself, and to which she seduced the neighbouring
nations, as a well-favoured
harlot, and sold and
ruined nations through her whoredoms. 5. She is a mistress
of witchcrafts, and by them she sells families... These
were her whoredoms, like those of Tyre, Isa.
23:15, 17. These were her witchcrafts, with which she
unaccountably gained dominion.] - Matthew Henry.
Remember, Jonathan, as
you note below, that the king/queen of Tyre as a type of
Lucifer who was in the garden of Eden equipped with
musical instruments as an already-fallen enemy of God
seeking the worship for himself, is called the
harp-playing prostitute. Tyre used music as a
Revelation-like device to seduce the people out of their
wealth and even to sell Jews into captivity. The story
of Wen-Amon, a cedar merchant from Egypt, is a real
historical record of how they used musical women to
steal that which they had already sold to the Egyptian. Click for the story.
"Because of the multitude of the
whoredoms of the wellfavoured harlot, the mistress of witchcrafts,
that selleth nations through her whoredoms, and families
through her witchcrafts." (Nahum 3:4).
"And there came one of the seven
angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me,
saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the
judgment of the great
whore that sitteth upon
many waters: With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication,
and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk
with the wine of her fornication." (Revelation 17:1,2).
"Come down, and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon, sit on the
ground: there is no throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans:
for thou shalt no more be called tender and delicate. But
these two things shall come to thee in a moment in one
day, the loss of children, and widowhood: they shall come
upon thee in their perfection for the multitude of thy
sorceries, and for the great abundance of thine
enchantments. For thou hast trusted in thy wickedness:
thou hast said, None seeth me. Thy wisdom and thy
knowledge, it hath perverted thee; and thou hast said in
thine heart, I am, and none else beside me. Therefore
shall evil come upon thee; thou shalt not know from whence
it riseth: and mischief shall fall upon thee; thou shalt
not be able to put it off: and desolation shall come upon
thee suddenly, which thou shalt not know. Stand now with
thine enchantments, and with the multitude of thy
sorceries, wherein thou hast laboured from thy youth; if
so be thou shalt be able to profit, if so be thou mayest
prevail. Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy
counsels. Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, the
monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save thee from
these things that shall come upon thee." (Isaiah
47:1,9-13).
"For all nations have drunk of the
wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of
the earth have committed fornication with her, and the
merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the
abundance of her delicacies. And I heard another voice
from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye
be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of
her plagues." (Revelation 18:3,4).
"Behold, I am against thee, saith the
LORD of hosts; and I will discover thy skirts upon thy
face, and I will shew the nations thy nakedness, and the
kingdoms thy shame." (Nahum 3:5).
"And I will cast abominable filth upon
thee, and make thee vile, and will set thee as a
gazingstock." (Nahum 3:6).
"Thy pomp is brought down to the grave,
and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee,
and the worms cover thee. How art thou fallen from heaven,
O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to
the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast
said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will
exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also
upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the
north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I
will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down
to hell, to the sides of the pit. They that see thee shall
narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is
this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did
shake kingdoms;" (Isaiah 14:11-16).
"And it shall come to pass, that all
they that look upon thee shall flee from thee, and say,
Nineveh is laid waste: who will bemoan her? whence shall I
seek comforters for thee?" (Nahum 3:7).
"Art thou better than populous No, that
was situate among the rivers, that had the waters round
about it, whose rampart was the sea, and her wall was from
the sea?" (Nahum 3:8).
"Ethiopia and Egypt were her strength,
and it was infinite; Put and Lubim were thy helpers."
(Nahum 3:9).
"Yet was she carried away, she went into
captivity: her young children also were dashed in pieces
at the top of all the streets: and they cast lots for her
honourable men, and all her great men were bound in
chains." (Nahum 3:10).
"Thou also shalt be drunken: thou shalt
be hid, thou also shalt seek strength because of the
enemy." (Nahum 3:11).
"All thy strong holds shall be like fig
trees with the firstripe figs: if they be shaken, they
shall even fall into the mouth of the eater." (Nahum
3:12).
"And the stars of heaven fell unto the
earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when
she is shaken of a mighty wind." (Revelation 6:13).
"Behold, thy
people in the midst of
thee are women: the gates of thy land shall be set wide open unto thine enemies: the fire shall devour thy bars." (Nahum
3:13).
"The mighty men of Babylon have forborn
to fight, they have remained in their holds: their might
hath failed; they became as
women: they have burned
her dwellingplaces; her bars are broken." (Jeremiah
51:30).
Heredotus shows how to "break down
the walls" and how to turn males into women:
Grant, then,
forgiveness to the Lydians, and to make sure of their
never rebelling against thee, or alarming thee more,
send and forbid them to keep
any weapons of war, command them to wear tunics under their cloaks,
and to put buskins upon their legs,
and make them bring up their sons to cithern-playing (Kitharizein), singing (psallein), and shop-keeping (Hucksterism). (Or translated lyre playing and harping which is redundant)
So wilt thou soon see
them become
women instead of men,
and there will be no more fear of their revolting from
thee."
"Draw thee waters for the siege, fortify
thy strong holds: go into clay, and tread the morter, make
strong the brickkiln." (Nahum 3:14).
"There shall the fire devour thee; the
sword shall cut thee off, it shall eat thee up like the
cankerworm: make thyself many as the cankerworm, make
thyself many as the locusts." (Nahum 3:15).
"Thou hast multiplied thy merchants
above the stars of heaven: the cankerworm spoileth, and
fleeth away." (Nahum 3:16).
"Who hath taken this counsel against Tyre, the
crowning city, whose merchants are princes, whose
traffickers are the honourable of the earth? The LORD of
hosts hath purposed it, to stain the pride of all glory,
and to bring into contempt all the honourable of the
earth. Pass through thy land as a river, O daughter of
Tarshish: there is no more strength. He stretched out
his hand over the sea, he shook the kingdoms: the LORD
hath given a commandment against the merchant city, to
destroy the strong holds thereof. And he said, Thou
shalt no more rejoice, O thou oppressed virgin, daughter
of Zidon: arise, pass over to Chittim; there also shalt
thou have no rest. Behold the land of the Chaldeans;
this people was not, till the Assyrian founded it for
them that dwell in the wilderness: they set up the
towers thereof, they raised up the palaces thereof; and
he brought it to ruin. Howl, ye ships of Tarshish: for
your strength is laid waste. And it shall come to pass
in that day, that Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years,
according to the days of one king: after the end of
seventy years shall Tyre sing
as an harlot. Take an harp, go
about the city, thou harlot that hast been forgotten;
make sweet melody, sing many songs, that thou mayest be
remembered." (Isaiah 23:8-16).
"Thy crowned are as the locusts,
and thy captains as the great grasshoppers,
which camp in the hedges in the cold day, but when the sun
ariseth they flee away, and their place is not known where
they are." (Nahum 3:17).
"And the shapes of the locusts were
like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads
were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as
the faces of men." (Revelation 9:7).
"Thy shepherds slumber, O king of
Assyria: thy nobles shall dwell in the dust: thy people is
scattered upon the mountains, and no man gathereth them."
(Nahum 3:18).
"His watchmen
are
blind: they are all
ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark;
sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber. Yea, they are
greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are
shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their
own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter. Come
ye, say they, I will fetch wine, and we will fill
ourselves with strong drink; and to morrow shall be as
this day, and much more abundant." (Isaiah 56:10-12).
"Because the LORD hath spoiled
Babylon, and destroyed out of her the great voice;
when her waves do roar like great waters, a noise of their
voice is uttered: Because the spoiler is come upon her,
even upon Babylon, and her mighty men are taken, every one
of their bows is broken: for the LORD God of recompences
shall surely requite. And I will make drunk her princes,
and her wise men, her captains, and her rulers, and her
mighty men: and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, and
not wake, saith the King, whose name is the LORD of hosts.
Thus saith the LORD of hosts; The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly broken, and her high gates shall be burned with
fire; and the people shall labour in vain, and the folk in
the fire, and they shall be weary." (Jeremiah 51:55-58).
You remember that
churches of Christ "in bed' with Promise Keepers were put into dissociation
or schizophrenia in Atlanta in 1996. They
all came back screaming: "Break down the walls" meaning to the
denominational world. Music has always been a majority
way to abrade the enemy and break down
their walls. Unfortunately, there are stories in
Heredotus of the king's "daughter" opening the gate to
the enemy because she watched from the walls and fell in
love with the enemy. Of course, when the enemy slips in
through the gates opened by the traitor, she is put to
death because no one honors traitors.
"There is no healing of thy bruise; thy
wound is grievous: all that hear the bruit of thee shall
clap the hands over thee: for upon whom hath not thy
wickedness passed continually?" (Nahum 3:19).
To deny that the Old Testament offers
types or portaits of judgement on the religious leaders of
this generation is in essence calling Jesus a liar:
"For as Jonas
was
a sign unto the Ninevites,
so shall also the Son of man be to this generation. The
queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with the
men of this generation, and condemn them: for she came
from the utmost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of
Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here. The
men of Nineve shall rise up in the judgment with this
generation, and shall condemn it: for they repented at the
preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is
here." (Luke 11:30-32).
[That ruin is here, in this chapter,
largely foretold, not to gratify a spirit of revenge in
the people of God, who had been used barbarously by them,
but to encourage their faith and hope concerning their own
deliverance, and to be a type of the downfall of that
great enemy of the New-Testament church which, in the
Revelation, goes under the name of "Babylon.''] - Matthew
Henry
Adam Clarke, the Methodist theologian
noted:
[almost all the imagery of this chapter
is applied in the Book of Revelation, (in nearly the same
words)] - Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Holy Bible,
Baker, p.599.
"Come down, and sit in the dust, O
virgin daughter of Babylon, sit on the ground: there is no
throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no
more be called tender and delicate." (Isaiah 47:1).
[Woe to those on whom God comes to
take vengeance; for who knows the power of his anger and
what a fearful thing it is to fall into his hands?] -
Matthew Henry
"Take the millstones,
and grind meal: uncover thy locks, make bare the leg,
uncover the thigh, pass over the rivers." (Isaiah 47:2).
In the day when the
keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men
shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are
few, and those that look out of the windows be
darkened, Ec.12:3
Tachan (h2912) taw-khan'; a
prim. root; to grind meal; hence to be a concubine (that being their
employment): - grind (-er).
"Thy nakedness shall be uncovered,
yea, thy shame shall be seen: I will take vengeance, and
I will not meet thee as a man." (Isaiah 47:3).
"As for our redeemer, the LORD
of hosts is his name, the Holy One of Israel." (Isaiah
47:4).
"Sit thou silent, and get thee into
darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no
more be called, The lady of kingdoms." (Isaiah 47:5).
"I was wroth with my people, I have
polluted mine inheritance, and given them into thine
hand: thou didst shew them no mercy; upon the ancient
hast thou very heavily laid thy yoke." (Isaiah 47:6).
[while he "profanes" his Church,
that is, abandons her, and gives her up as a prey to
her enemies, still the elect do not perish, and his
eternal covenant is not broken. And yet, in the midst
of anger, the Lord remembers his mercy, and mitigates
the strokes by which he punishes his people, and at
length even inflicts punishment on those by whom his
people have been cruelly treated. Consequently, if for
a time the Lord "profanes" his Church, if she is
cruelly oppressed by tyrants, let us not lose courage,
but betake ourselves to this promise, "He who avenged
this barbarous cruelty of the Babylonians will not
less avenge the savageness of those tyrants."] - John
Calvin.
"And thou saidst, I shall be a lady
for ever: so that thou didst not lay these things to thy
heart, neither didst remember the latter end of it."
(Isaiah 47:7).
[I have no doubt that he speaks of
the "end" of Jerusalem, which is the opinion most
commonly received. The Lord often speaks of the
Church, by way of eminence, katj ejxoch n without
mentioning the name, as we do when our feelings are
powerfully affected towards any person. Now, wicked
men do not know the "end" of the Church, and the
reason why the Lord chastises her. They mock at the
calamities of good men, because they would wish them
to be utterly destroyed and ruined, and do not
consider that God takes care of them.] - John Calvin
"Therefore hear now this, thou that
art given to pleasures, that dwellest carelessly, that
sayest in thine heart, I am, and none else beside me; I
shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know the loss
of children:" (Isaiah 47:8).
"How much she hath glorified
herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and
sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a
queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.
Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death,
and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly
burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who
judgeth her." (Revelation 18:7,8).
"And the kings of the earth, who
have committed fornication and lived deliciously with
her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they
shall see the smoke of her burning, Standing afar off
for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that
great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour
is thy judgment come." (Revelation 18:9,10).
[A state, represented as a female,
when it has fallen is called a widow,
because its king is no more; and childless, because
it has no inhabitants; they having been carried off
as captives (Isaiah 23:4, 54:1,4,5, Revelation
18:7,8).] JAMIESON, FAUSSET & BROWN
"But these two things shall come to
thee in a moment in one day, the loss of children, and
widowhood: they shall come upon thee in their perfection
for the multitude of thy sorceries, and for the
great abundance of thine enchantments." (Isaiah
47:9).
The loss of children and widowhood point
to the fact that the true children of God have fled and
Christ has put the candlestick out on the corporate aspect
(hypocritical phonies) of His bride.
"Because of the multitude of the
whoredoms of the wellfavoured
harlot, the mistress of witchcrafts,
that selleth nations through her whoredoms, and families through her witchcrafts."
(Nahum 3:4).
"Behold, I am against thee, saith the
LORD of hosts; and I will discover thy skirts upon thy
face, and I will shew the nations thy nakedness, and the
kingdoms thy shame." (Nahum 3:5).
"Behold, I am against you," declares
the LORD of hosts; "And I will lift up your skirts over
your face, And show to the nations your nakedness And to
the kingdoms your disgrace." (Nahum 3:5) nasb.
"And I will cast abominable filth upon thee, and make thee vile, and
will set thee as a gazingstock." (Nahum 3:6).
"I will throw filth on
you And make you vile, And set you up as a spectacle."
(Nahum 3:6) nasb.
Vile: Nabel (h5034) naw-bale'; a
prim. root; to wilt; gen. to fall away, fail, faint;
fig. to be foolish or (mor.) wicked; causat. to
despise, disgrace: - disgrace, dishonour, lightly
esteem, fade (away, - ing), fall (down, -ling, off),
do foolishly, come to nought, * surely, make vile,
wither..
Nebel (h5035) neh'-bel; or
nbel nay'-bel; from 5034; a skin- bag for liquids
(from collapsing when empty); hence a vase (as
similar in shape when full); also a lyre (as having
a body of like form): - bottle, pitcher, psaltery,
vessel, viol
The nebel has the
same basic meaning as the "familiar spirit" of the
witch of Endor as her INSTRUMENT for contacting the
dead. It is also the same meaning as the "sounding
brass" of 1 Cor. 13
"And the light of a candle shall shine
no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom
and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee:
for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy
sorceries were all nations deceived." (Revelation 18:23).
"For thou hast trusted in thy
wickedness: thou hast said, None seeth me. Thy wisdom
and thy knowledge, it hath perverted thee; and thou hast said in thine heart, I
am, and none else beside me." (Isaiah 47:10).
The wisdom and knowledge is a pre-tense
for those who suddenly become qualified to speak on
scripture. This happens in the corporate church like
wildfire because emotional people will always be impressed
by someone's "educational level" regardless of if they are
blindly leading them with antichrist doctrine!
"Therefore shall evil come upon thee;
thou shalt not know from whence it riseth: and mischief
shall fall upon thee; thou shalt not be able to put it
off: and desolation shall come upon thee suddenly, which
thou shalt not know." (Isaiah 47:11).
""But evil will come on you Which you
will not know how to charm away; And disaster will fall on you For which you
cannot atone; And destruction about which you do not know
Will come on you suddenly." (Isaiah 47:11) nasb.
The "charming" is done through
hypocritical paid preachers who tickle the ears of the
paying audience.
"For yourselves know perfectly that
the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden
destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman
with child; and they shall not escape." (1
Thessalonians 5:1,2).
[Witchcraft is a sin in its own
nature exceedingly heinous; it is giving that honour
to the devil which is due to God only, making God's
enemy our guide and the father of lies our oracle. In
Babylon it was a national sin, and had the protection
and countenance of the government; conjurors,
for aught that appears, were their privy counsellors
and prime ministers of state. And shall not God visit
for these things? Observe what a multitude, what a
great abundance, of sorceries and enchantments there were among them. Such a bewitching
sin this was that when it was once admitted it spread
like wildfire, and they never knew any end of it; the
deceived and the deceivers both increased strangely.]
- Matthew Henry.
Strabo Geography [10.3.9] "But I must now
investigate how it comes about that so many names have
been used of one and the same thing, and the
theological element contained in their history.
Now this is common both to the Greeks and to the barbarians,
to
perform their sacred rites in connection with the relaxation of a festival,
these rites being performed sometimes with religious frenzy, sometimes without it;sometimes with music, sometimes not; and
sometimes in secret, sometimes openly.
And it is in
accordance with the dictates of nature that this
should be so, for, in the
first place, the relaxation
draws the
mind away from human occupations and turns the real
mind towards that which is divine; and,
secondly, the religious frenzy seems to afford a kind
of divine
inspiration and to be very like that of the soothsayer; and,
thirdly, the secrecy with which the sacred
rites are concealed induces reverence for the
divine, since it imitates the nature of the divine,
which is
to avoid being perceived by our human
senses; and,
fourthly, music, which includes
dancing as well as rhythm and melody,
at the same time, by
the delight it affords and by its artistic beauty,
brings us in
touch with the divine, and this for the following reason;
for although it
has been well said that human beings then act most like the
gods when they are doing good to
others,
yet one might better say, when they are
happy; and such happiness consists of rejoicing, celebrating
festivals, pursuing philosophy, and engaging in music;
"Stand now with thine enchantments,
and with the multitude of thy sorceries,
wherein thou hast laboured from thy youth; if so be thou
shalt be able to profit, if so be thou mayest prevail."
(Isaiah 47:12).
Kashaph (h3784)
kaw-shaf'; a prim. root; prop. to whisper a spell, i. e. to inchant or practise magic: -
sorcerer, (use) witch (-craft).
The "serpent" in the
garden is a NACHASH. He is not a snake but a musical enchanter. The king of Tyre as a
type of Lucifer was in the garden of Eden and came
equipped with musical instruments as the natural
opponent of God to test mankind.
The profit comes from the selling of CD's,
books, paid speaking engagements in the guise of "free will
offerings". Salem Communications is still worried their
value is only $564,000,000 on the NASDAQ from selling
"christian music".
"Thou art wearied in the multitude of
thy counsels. Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, the
monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save thee from
these things that shall come upon thee." (Isaiah 47:13).
"Behold, they shall be as stubble; the
fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves
from the power of the flame: there shall not be a coal
to warm at, nor fire to sit before it." (Isaiah 47:14).
"Thus shall they be unto thee with
whom thou hast laboured, even thy merchants,
from thy youth: they shall wander every one to his quarter; none shall save thee." (Isaiah 47:15).
["That is, wherever each person can
depart, they disperse and wander, so that every person
pursues his own road, for rescuing himself from danger,
by fleeing to the farthest boundaries of the kingdom
of Babylon. -- Rosenmuller.]
The merchants are the same merchants of
Revelation 18, Babylon is a spiritual portrait of the
church. Note FOUR times in Revelation 18 merchandising the
gospel is condemned - vv. 3, 11-12, 15, 23; see also 2 Peter
2:3ff. Again, deny that the Old Testament offers types or
portaits of judgement on the religious leaders of this
generation is in essence calling Jesus a liar:
"And the merchants of the earth shall
weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their
merchandise any more: The merchandise of gold, and
silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine
linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine
wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner
vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and
marble, And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and
frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and
wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots,
and slaves, and souls of men. And the fruits that thy soul
lusted after are departed from thee, and all things which
were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou
shalt find them no more at all. The merchants of these
things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off
for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing, And
saying, Alas, alas, that great city, that was clothed in
fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold,
and precious stones, and pearls! For in one hour so great
riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all
the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by
sea, stood afar off, And cried when they saw the smoke of
her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great
city! And they cast dust on their heads, and cried,
weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city,
wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by
reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made
desolate. Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy
apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her.
And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone,
and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall
that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found
no more at all. And the
voice of harpers,
and musicians,
and of pipers,
and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee;
and no craftsman,
of whatsoever craft he be, shall be
found any more in thee; and the sound of a millstone
shall be heard no more at all in thee; And the light of
a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the
voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard
no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great
men of the earth; for by thy sorceries
were all nations deceived. And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the
earth." (Revelation 18:11-24).
[They wandered every one to his own
quarter; each man shifted for his own safety, but none
would offer to lend a helping hand, no, not to a city
by which they had got so much money. Every one was for
himself, but few for his friends. The New-Testament
Babylon is lamented by the merchants that were
made rich by her, but they very prudently stand afar
off to lament her (Rev. 18:15), not willing to
attempt any thing for her succour. Happy are
those who by faith and prayer deal with one that will
be a very present help in time of trouble!] - Matthew
Henry
Albert Barnes wrote:
[that is, with whom thou hast trafficked
from thy earliest history, the foreigners sojourning in
Babylon for the sake of commerce (Isaiah 13:14, Jeremiah
51:6,9, Nahum 3:16,17) [BARNES].
That's the corporate church; they will
try to sell your soul (Revelation 18:13) and always do it
for a price.
Ephraim Syrus notes of the musical
idolatry at Mount Sinai:
19. But when Moses came
down, he saw their heathenism revelling in the wide plain with drums and cymbals.
Speedily, he put their
madness to shame by means of the Levites and drawn swords.
So likewise here, our Lord concealed His
knowledge for a little when the sinful woman approached Him,
that the Pharisee
might form into shape his thought,
as his fathers
had shaped the pernicious calf.
This musical idolatry
MARKED the people so that the avenging Levites knew whom
to slay:
For the sons of Levi ran
upon them, those who ran to [help] Moses and girded on their swords. [Exod. xxxii. 26, 27, 28.]
For the sons of Levi
did not know whom they should slay, because those that worshipped were mingled
with those that worshipped not.
But He, for Whom it was easy to distinguish, distinguished (MARKED) those who were defiled from those who were not
defiled;
so that the innocent might give
thanks
that their innocence had not passed [unseen by] the
Just One; and the guilty might be convicted that their
offence had not escaped [the eye of] the Judge.
But the sons of Levi were the
open avengers. Accordingly Moses set a mark upon the offenders, that
it might be easy for the avengers to avenge.
For the draught of the calf entered those in whom the love of the calf was dwelling, and displayed in them a
manifest sign, that the drawn sword might rush upon
them. The congregation therefore which had committed fornication in [the worship of] the
calf, he caused to drink of the water of ordeal, that
the mark of adulteresses might appear in it.
I don't know, Jonathan.
Perhaps the totality of organized religionists will be
engaged in a grand, ecumenical TRUMPET QUARTET when the
trumpet-voice of Jesus sounds and they will just play on
as Isaiah 30 shows how Egypt, Israel and especially the Assyrians went into captivity to the
beat of musical instruments which were really stripes
laid on.
Responses to an e-mail
from "Jonathan Clark"
<quiet@earthling.net>
Jonathan, I will be
happy to add any further commentary you have on the music
as idolatry and MARK of the end time.
Musical
Worship Index
Home Page
Counter added 7.21.05 1p 2600/ 1118
11.03.06 Rev 3.17.07. 1146 1474 2.12.07 1969
5.24.09 6500 5.08.15 9088. 2.24.20 11268 7.20.20
11454
<img
src="/cgi-bin/Count.cgi?df=piney/counter_MuJudgmentJonClark.html.dat">