In today’s episode, we explore the prophetic book of Amos. As we navigate through its insights, Dr. J. Vernon McGee provides a powerful analysis of America’s current spiritual state and the responsibilities tied to our privileged knowledge of the Gospel. From examining the judgments on ancient nations to reflecting on contemporary global evangelism efforts, this discussion invites listeners to consider the weight of divine responsibility.
The foundation, ye saints of the Lord, is laid for your faith.
SPEAKER 02 :
What does the Bible say about the end times? Well, in this study of Through the Bible, we’re diving into the book of Amos. It’s a small and really a bit obscure book in the Old Testament, but don’t let its size fool you. It holds surprising and profound truths about the end times. I’m Steve Schwetz, your host, and as you find your seat on the Bible bus, we’re going to begin with an introduction by our teacher, Dr. J. Vernon McGee, as he shares some thoughts on a magazine article from years ago. But I think that we’ll find its insights are just as relevant now as they were back then.
SPEAKER 01 :
The lead article in a magazine called The Christian Verdict had this title in a recent issue. The Downfall of Western Christianity, and the article had this opening paragraph, and I’m reading it. We are living in an era of change, rapid, cataclysmic change. As one author declares, all the certainties of the industrial society in which we live are disintegrating. We are witnessing an erosion of ideologies, economic theories, and traditional culture. Indeed, we are witnessing the decay and disintegration of Western civilization. That’s the end of the quotation. As we look into the future, there’s not much that sounds an optimistic note. It’s all gloom and doom. We have been in the prophets of the Old Testament a great deal recently in our going through the Bible, and there are certain great principles by which God judges mankind for his injustice, his cruelty, his brutality, his violence, and his sin against mankind. These principles emerge in all the prophets. There’s such great interest right now in prophecy, and there’s so many wild theories that are being put forth. that certainly the book of Revelation would not countenance at all. Now the same principles we’re going to find prevail in the book of Revelation that has prevailed in all of these prophecies. God judged his people and even the surrounding nations for their gross sins. He judged his own people more severely than the surrounding nations. Now that may seem strange and unfair, but the great principle by which God moved, he clearly defined. That is, light creates responsibility. The more knowledge and light a people have, creates a greater responsibility. And you can apply that principle today. Many people today say, why doesn’t God judge Russia? Because they’re such a godless nation. Well, we’re the nation with the light. There’s a Bible in every hotel and motel room in this country. There’s more Christian programs on the air than any nation has ever had or has today. And there are more Bible churches today in this country than anywhere else in the world. We have forgotten that the nation was founded on the Bible. George Washington once said that the world cannot be governed without the Bible. And we have seen in our own country, the Bible has been repudiated by word and by action. Which nation will God judge more severely? We are the nation that has rejected God. We are the nation that’s rejected the Bible. The church in America today is trying to build a kingdom on the sands of the present world. Many churches are interested only in material growth. Each one is building his own little kingdom, trying to improve the saints with the cosmetics of psychology rather than the Word of God. They’re totally unaware that judgment is coming upon this nation of ours. When and where, I do not know. But God follows a certain principle in ruling this world today. So that it’s not now, God bless America, but God help America before it’s too late.
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Let’s pray and then get to our study. Heavenly Father, we ask for your mercy on our nation, that you would turn our hearts to you while there’s still time. Strengthen us to share your word faithfully with the world until the day Jesus returns. In his precious name we pray. Amen. Now let’s turn to Amos 1 as we journey through the Bible with Dr. J. Vernon McGee.
SPEAKER 01 :
Back at the book of Amos now, first chapter, and we’re at verse 4 today. We just got started last time with the judgments of God upon the nations that were contiguous to the nation Israel, that is, those that surrounded the nation Israel. And this man, Amos, gives us a worldview, which is something that most religions do not do. They are limited to a certain race or certain people. But the Word of God, even the Old Testament, He’s not just the God of the nation Israel. He’s also the God of the Gentiles. Paul makes that abundantly clear. And He also judges nations. And I believe today that God has one great purpose of calling out a people to His name. But that doesn’t mean that he’s taken his hand off of the affairs of this world. He has not. And he still moves in judgment upon the nations of the world. And this book here has a tremendous message along that line. Now he’s judging this nation for their cruelty. That is, Syria was the first one, and Damascus was the capital. And I read verse 4 now. But I will send a fire into the house… of Hazael, which shall devour the palaces of Ben-Hadad. I will break also the bar of Damascus, cut off the inhabitant from the plain of Avon, and him that holdeth the scepter from the house of Eden and the people of Syria shall go into captivity unto Ker, saith the Lord.” Now, what we have here is God’s judgment upon the nation Syria in that day. Damascus was the capital of it. And this was actually all literally fulfilled, and I didn’t really intend to do that today, but I think that I’ll turn back to 2 Kings, the 10th chapter, verses 32 and 33. And I think we’ll see there the judgment of God upon this nation. I’m reading now 2 Kings 10, verse 32 and 33. In those days, the Lord began to cut Israel short. And Hazel smote them in all the coasts of Israel, from Jordan eastward, all the land of Gilead, the Gadites, and the Reubenites, and the Manassites from Aureor, which is by the river Arnon, from Gilead and Bashan. Now, as we said last time, the land of Gilead was the place where the tribe of Gad And Reuben and the half-tribe of Manasseh were located on the east side of the Jordan River. And Syria came down against them first and actually destroyed them. But now a fire is coming upon Hazael, the king, and the palaces of Ben-Hadad. Now, if you’ve ever been to Damascus… You actually don’t see there today the original city or the original location. They claim it’s the oldest city in the world. Actually, it has shifted around in that section in many different places. It’s been burnt to the very ground. And this was one of the occasions when this took place. Now, he speaks here that he had even cut off the inhabitant from the plain of Avon. Well, now, where is the plain of Avon? If you travel from Beirut to Damascus, you go by a place that’s known as Baalbek. Well, Baalbek is actually in the plain of Avon, and the ruins there are spectacular. Later on, the Romans, because it’s such a lovely area, they attempted to put in a great population there, and those temples there certainly testified to it. But actually, that place, Baalbek, has been destroyed, and the great population is no longer in that area. Now they were to be taken captive by the Assyrians. That means their captivity under Kerr. That was a province in the Assyrian Empire. It’s well to have a geography before us that makes all of this understand And you must remember when you’re reading the Bible, you’re not reading about the never, never land. And you are not reading about some place that’s in outer space. We’re talking about reality. Even when you talk about heaven in the Bible, you’re talking about reality. Now, will you notice verse 6? Thus saith the Lord… for three transgressions of Gaza and for four. As we said before, that is an enigmatic expression that means that there could be listed here quite a few of them. In other words, again, may I say it, the cup of iniquity must be filled up. Now, Gaza was in Philistia or the Philistine Empire. And he says, I will turn away its punishments because they carried away captive the whole captivity to deliver them up to Edom. And I will send a fire on the wall of Gaza, which shall devour its palaces. And I will cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod, and him that holdeth the scepter from Ashkelon. And I will turn mine hand against Ekron, and the remnant of the Philistines shall perish, saith the Lord God.” Now, here is a judgment against the Philistines. For what? For making slaves. They took a certain number of Israelites and they sold them into slavery to Edom and actually to Phoenicia. That’s where they ultimately ended up. The Phoenicians were great traders and they, in turn, would sell them as prisoners of war into slavery. all over, actually, the Mediterranean world. And because of that, why God says he intends to judge this place. It’s quite interesting that what we know today as the Gaza Strip, is still an unknown quantity. It’s an Arab area that’s now under the control of Israel, but they’re having a real problem with it, of course. But Ashdod and Ashkelon are still in Israel. And today, you will find that in Ashdod, There is a great refinery that has been put there, and a new harbor has been made there. That will become probably a more important shipping place than even Haifa has become. It is, I think, probably better located. And Ashkelon is right south of it. There you still can see the remains of the temple of Dagon where Samson was. All of these are quite real places. And again, the judgment of God came upon these places just as God said that it would. He says, “…I’ll send a fire on the wall of Gaza, which shall devour its palaces.” And if we turn back to 2 Kings again, this time to the 18th chapter at verse 8. Now, this is the historical record of Hezekiah. He smote the Philistines, even unto Gaza and the borders thereof, from the tower of the watchman to the fenced city. And it goes on to say how he destroyed that particular area. All of this was, you see, literally fulfilled. Here you have really an example also of fulfilled prophecy. That makes this section here particularly interesting. And it puts down a pattern for the way God will fulfill prophecy in the future. Come in verse 9 here to another, that is, the judgment against Phoenicia. And the judgment against them is not only for selling slaves, because you see, the Philistines sold them to Phoenicia, and Phoenicia in turn sold them out in the world. They were great tradesmen. of the world of that day. But the important thing for breaking their treaty. You see, they had a treaty with Israel. Hiram, king of Tyre, had been a personal friend of David. And they had enjoyed a great deal of friendship. Not only worked together, they stood together. But now they’ve broken the treaty. Now let me begin reading here. And I’ll begin reading chapter 1 now, verse 9. Thus saith the Lord, for three transgressions of Tyre, and for four. Now, that again, I must repeat, is an enigmatic expression, meaning not just giving them ad seriatum. He says, I’m not going to give 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 reasons, but three for four. And he said, I could just list probably a hundred, but the main ones he will mention. I will not turn away its punishment, because they delivered up the whole captivity to Edom, and remembered not the brotherly covenant. In other words, they broke a covenant that they had with Israel. But I will send a fire on the wall of Tyre, which will devour its palaces. Now, I’m not going into detail here because we did that before of how God judged Tyre. First, the Assyrian came against Tyre. He was not able to take the city. There’s been a question whether Nebuchadnezzar did or not, but I think it’s conceded that what Nebuchadnezzar did, he forced the Tyrians, and this was the great city of the Phoenicians, to retire to an island that was out some distance, probably a mile or maybe not over a half a mile. I’ve walked that distance through there several times, and I don’t think it could be a mile. But anyway, they were retired out to that island, and they built their city there, and Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the old city that was on the mainland. And then about 250 years later, Alexander the Great came along. He saw that city, very prosperous, very wealthy out on the island. So he built a causeway and he fulfilled Ezekiel’s prophecy because God says they’ll absolutely scrape the ground of old Tyre and they’ll throw it in the ocean. Well, he took all of that and he made a causeway. out to the island. And he took it and destroyed it. That brought Tyre to an end. This was literally fulfilled concerning Tyre. And I think it’s quite interesting that he only mentions Tyre here. He goes on to say here in connection with Tyre and Edom. Will you listen? Verse 9. Thus saith the Lord, for three transgressions of Tyre, for four, I will not turn away its punishments, because they delivered up the whole captivity to Edom. And remember, Remember not the brotherly covenant, but I will send a fire on the wall of Tyre, which shall devour its palaces. And that’s a very interesting expression, you see, that the very walls would be torn down. Then he moves immediately now to Edom. And the judgment against Edom is because of a revengeful spirit. And back of revenge is ordinarily jealousy. and they were jealous of their brother. You see, Edom was Esau, and Israel is Jacob, and they were twin brothers. Verse 11, “‘Thus saith the Lord, for three transgressions of Edom, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, because he did pursue his brother with the sowed, and did cast off all pity, and his anger did tear perpetually, and he kept his wrath forever.'” but I will send a fire upon Teman, which shall devour the palaces of Basra.” Now, the thing is that Teman In the rock-hewn city of Petra there, everything has been destroyed that would burn. But actually, the city was hewn out of the rock. But the palaces of Basra, they’ve been devoured. They have disappeared. In other words, this prophecy against Edom has been literally fulfilled. And it was because of their revengeful spirit, jealous of their brother, that is, of Israel. Now we come again to another nation, Ammon, the Ammonites. And if you’ll notice that we’re actually moving around almost in a circle. We began with Syria, came over to Phoenicia, went down to the Philistines, and we now move over to Edom on the south. And then the Ammonites were in that area also. And now here’s the judgment against the Ammonites. And what is God’s judgment against them? Well, theirs was a violent crime. We are going to see that. Let me read. Thus saith the Lord, three transgressions of the children of Ammon, and for four I will not turn away their punishment, because they have ripped up the women with child in Gilead. Now, the Ammonites were… over on the east bank. And they, in turn, joined with the Syrians in fighting against the two and a half tribes over there that were in the land of Gilead. And they did that, that they might enlarge their border. But I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah. And it shall devour its palaces with shouting in the day of battle, with a tempest in the day of the whirlwind. And their king shall go into captivity, he and his princes together, saith the Lord.” Now, this is God’s judgment against the Ammonites. And I think probably we ought to turn back and see how this was literally fulfilled. I go back now to 2 Kings again, but to the 8th chapter of 2 Kings, verses 12 and 13. Now, let me read these. And Hazael said, Why weepeth my Lord? And he answered, Because I know the evil that thou wilt do unto the children of Israel. Their strongholds wilt thou set on fire, and their young men wilt thou slay with the soweth, and wilt dash their children, rip up their women with child. And Hazael said, But what, is thy servant a dog, that he should do this great thing? And Elisha answered, The Lord hath showed me that thou shalt be king over Syria.” In other words, the prophet said to him, you say that only a dog would do that thing. Well, you’re going to do it. And whether this man was a dog or not, he did the very thing he said only a dog would do. And as we read here, that he would do to the children of Israel and dash their children, rip up their women with child. That was an awful, horrible thing, and that was the crime of the Ammonites, by the way. Now, that brings us down to chapter 2. But I want to, in the few moments that remain here to us today, because we move next time and we see the Moabites and God’s judgment of the Moabites in the first three verses. Then we turn to the nation Israel, and that will reverse the method that the other prophets used later on. They always would mention God’s judgment of Israel, and then they would mention the other nations that were surrounding them. But Amos takes up these other nations first. And then he’ll mention the nation Israel. And the judgment against them will be greater. And the reason for that is quite obvious. That is that privilege always creates responsibility. Privilege creates always responsibility. That is, the more light that you have, the more responsible that you are to God. I believe that, very frankly, you and I today are more responsible to God than the people in Russia are. Denied Bibles that are not hearing the Word of God at all. We are more responsible than they are. We today like to sit in judgment of these other nations that are around about us. But have you ever stopped to think the tremendous responsibility that you and I have today? The privilege, we say, of having the Word of God. And we thank God for that. And we boast of the fact that we have the Bible and all of that. Yes, but my friend, what are you doing about it? That’s the important thing today. Are you doing anything about helping get out the Word of God today? We have a greater responsibility than any world ruler that’s ever been that never heard the gospel. So until next time, may God richly bless you, my beloved.
SPEAKER 02 :
We do have a responsibility. Never before has it been possible to reach so many people so quickly at the lowest cost per person. We really live in a time when we can proclaim the name of Jesus through the teaching of God’s word to nearly every nation in over 250 languages. And yet our work isn’t finished. Millions still don’t have access to the gospel because they have no church, no missionary, and no Christians among them. You know, but so many of those people have smartphones and through the Bible’s program is being broadcast on terrestrial radio as well as through an app in so many different languages and we’re growing in that area as well. All this is possible because of God’s desire to proclaim His truth to the nations and your willingness to partner with us. As we’ve said before, the most important way to invest in Through the Bible, and we do mean this, is your prayer partnership. So we ask that would you pray for the Bible teaching that’s going out every day online, through our individual language apps, on the radio, and in so many other ways, including satellite TV? Would you pray that God’s Word would fill the hearts of those ready to receive the truth and rest in Jesus? Your prayers are incredibly valuable to this mission. And of course, as the Bible bus rolls along in our five-year journey, we need your help in keeping gas in the tank and wheels on the ground. So if God’s given you a desire to financially support this fruitful ministry, you can give through our app. You can give online at ttb.org. You can always call us, 1-800-65-BIBLE is the number, or write to Box 7100, Pasadena, California, 91109. in Canada Box 25325, London, Ontario, N6C 6B1. I’m Steve Schwetz, praying that God roots His Word in your heart as you set your mind on Him.
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Jesus made it all. All to Him I owe. Sin hath left a crimson stain. He washed it white as snow.
SPEAKER 02 :
Our journey on the Bible Bus today is supported by the prayers and gifts of fellow passengers as we travel through the Bible.
