Author Archives: pastorjeremyhelmuth

Who will be president in 2164?

who will be president

If you are a Christian, you have probably heard that Jesus fulfilled dozens of prophecies predicted long before He came to this earth. I personally believe that these prophecies prove that He is the Savior of the world. But there have been a few times in my life when those Messianic prophecies were just not enough for the skeptics I was trying to convince. That is why over the years, through research, I have discovered two significant prophecies in the Old Testament which help prove the supernatural aspect of the Bible. These two prophecies help my mind and heart believe that the word of the Bible are truly God-breathed.

Fulfilled prophecy is the greatest reason to believe that the Bible is trustworthy. The Bible contains precise fulfilled prophecies. The Bible has to be reliable about the things of this earth if we are to believe it about the things of heaven. Some biblical prophecies are so specific, so unambiguous, and so accurate that we must conclude that the writers were inspired by God. Biblical prophecy names places, events, and even people in great detail. We might wonder the when and why, but when we read it, it is in plain language. I would like to present two significant prophecies that can be used to help convince any skeptic that the Bible might just be a supernatural book.

Prediction #1: King Cyrus of Persia. How would you like to predict who will be the president of the United States 150 years from now? And at the same time, describe what will be his most important foreign policy decision? Isaiah does so in Isaiah 44. Read the words of Isaiah with me.

It is I who says of Jerusalem, “She shall be inhabited!” And of the cities of Judah, “They shall be built.” And I will raise up her ruins again…It is I who says of Cyrus, “He is My shepherd! And he will perform all My desire.” (Isaiah 44:26-28)

Cyrus is mentioned as the man who will let the Jews return to their land and rebuild Jerusalem. Isaiah has more to say:

Thus says the Lord to Cyrus His anointed, whom I have taken by the right hand…so that you may know that it is I, the Lord, the God of Israel, who calls you by your name. (Isaiah 45:1-3)

Ezra records the fulfillment of the prediction:

Now in the 1st year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so he sent a proclamation throughout all his kingdom. (Ezra 1:1)

Understanding the timeline is important here in this passage. Isaiah was written approximately 700 B.C., while Cyrus began his reign in 559 B.C. Also, King Cyrus sent the Jews back to Jerusalem in 538 B.C. Isaiah named Cyrus and predicted that he would send the Jews back to Jerusalem 141 years before he became king! God put His own reputation on the line by naming Cyrus!

This is a big deal. Now, if you don’t believe that the Bible is true, then you can’t really get too much out of this prophecy. But I think that this is one of the greatest prophecies in the entire Bible because God (through Isaiah) names a man/king before he is even born. For me, this deepens my faith.

This would be like predicting that Barack Obama was going to be president, but you predicted it in the 1860s. Just think about how hard it would be to predict who will be the next president in 2016. Maybe it will be a Democrat, but it could be a Republican. Or maybe an independent. And this is only two years away. Or, how would you like to predict who will be the president of the United States 150 years from now? In 2164, you are able to state the name of the next president, and at the same time, describe what will be his most important foreign policy decision.   Very impressive, you might be thinking.

Prediction #2: The four kingdoms. Daniel predicted the rise and fall of the Babylonian, Medo-Persian, Greek, and Roman Empires in such detail that even honest skeptics must admit that he received his visions from God. Nebuchadnezzar had a dream, and Daniel was the only man who knew what it was about. God gave Daniel a vision of the dream. In his first vision, he saw a statue of a man:

The gold head represented Babylon.

The silver breast/arms represented Medo-Persia.

The bronze belly/thighs represented Greece.

The iron legs represented Rome.

After telling the king what he had dreamed, Daniel interpreted it for him:

You, O king, are the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, the strength, and the glory…You are the head of gold. And after you there will arise another kingdom inferior to you, then another third kingdom of bronze, which will rule over all the earth. Then there will be a fourth kingdom as strong as iron. (Daniel 2:37-40)

If you have any doubt about the kingdoms predicted, they are actually identified in Daniel 8 by name:

The two-horned ram that you saw represents the kings of Media and Persia (8:20).

The shaggy goat is the king of Greece, and the large horn between its eyes is the first king (8:21).

Before these kingdoms even existed, they were named by God! What is most startling is that Daniel gave vivid details of the rise of Alexander the Great and that after his death his kingdom would be divided among 4 rulers:

A mighty king will arise, and he will rule with great authority and do as he pleases. But as soon as he has arisen, his kingdom will be broken up and parceled out toward the four points of the compass, though not to his own descendants, nor according to his authority which he exercises, for his sovereignty will be uprooted and given to others beside them. (Dan. 11:3-4).

Well over 200 years after Daniel wrote, Alexander, who had no heirs, arose. After his death, Alexander’s kingdom was divided among his four generals.

Next time you are talking with someone who doubts that this ancient book is trustworthy, ask him or her about these two prophecies. A few years back, I sat down with a self-proclaimed skeptic who did not believe that the Bible was worth reading. So I took him through these passages. His eyes lit up when he saw the name Cyrus on the page in the Bible decades before he breathed his first breath and he just shook his head when he saw the Medo-Persian and Greek Empires listed in the Bible before they even existed. But even with that evidence, he still would not believe. It is because head knowledge must become heart knowledge. It is when we believe in our hearts that God raised Jesus Christ from the grave that we are saved. So, while it is great to prove that the Bible is true, we must remember that a skeptic’s mind is blinded to truth and he or she will not experience that “light bulb” moment until he or she surrenders their heart to God. But remember, sharing these two prophecies with them might bring them a step closer to believing someday, and that is exactly what God asks us to do.

I Hate Pulling Weeds

weed

A few days ago, I spent about two hours pulling weeds in a shrub bed. I had been putting it off for a few weeks because it wasn’t a priority in my life. It wasn’t a priority in my life because I genuinely dislike “weeding.” It was the fourth time this year that I was “weeding” this particular shrub bed. As I dug into the dirt and tried to pull out the roots of every weed, I found myself enjoying it for the first time. Why is that? I thought to myself. I think it is because my mind was making the connection of weeds and the spiritual life. As I was pulling up weed after weed, I spent that time thinking about how pulling weeds can really relate to our everyday lives.

As far as I know, weeds are bad. I think most of us would agree with that. Weeds are an unwelcome sight in our shrub beds for at least two main reasons:

Weeds clutter up the area intended to be attractive and creates an eyesore instead.

Weeds steal the nutrients from the good plants like flowers and vegetables.

In the same way, when we allow the “weeds of life” to take over our bodies, minds and hearts, the weeds deplete us of the spiritual energy we need and can eventually make our lives an ugly mess. So, what are the weeds in our human lives? Here are a few of them. They should come as no surprise, and yet these kinds of weeds have a way of sneaking into the most sacred parts of our lives (i.e. heart), and before we know it, the weeds have overtaken that which was once well-kept and pure looking.

Weed #1: The bad relationship. Certain people can suck the life out of you. If you have someone in your life right now that does that, you know exactly what I am talking about. Whenever you walk away from them, you feel like taking a nap. You are emotionally depleted. Life is too short to seek community with someone who selfishly makes you feel belittled whenever you have a conversation with them. There are times when you need to say goodbye to certain people this side of heaven and move on with your life. That sounds extreme, but bad relationships can destroy your life. Maybe they will change. Maybe they will become a wonderful person in a few years, but that doesn’t mean that you should be their emotional punching bag until they have everything figured out. In fact, maybe people like this need to lose a few friendships before they will take their actions seriously.

Weed #2: The sin that keeps coming back. You know that the sin you are engaging in is wrong. You get rid of it for a time and you feel good about how you are now pure before God, but then you give into the temptation again and you find yourself immersed in the sin once again. The vicious cycle continues on. One of the main reasons why many Christians return to a past sin is because they have not taken out the root system of the sin. The only way to truly rid yourself of a nagging sin is to tear out the roots. This might mean eliminating from your weekly routine a place you frequent. It might mean breaking off a relationship. Grab that weed and dig deep into that dirt and pull out every little bit of the roots. If not, it will continue to come back.

Weed #3: Busyness without purpose. Personally, I believe that this is one of Satan’s main strategies to distance us from God in our culture. I believe that the Devil trains his demons to convince humans that life is only enjoyed in the hectic pace in which we find ourselves. Always doing something, but never quite focused on accomplishing that which is truly important. You might be covered in so many weeds that you can’t even see what direction you are supposed to be going. One of the best ways to correct this is to say “No” to things that you thought were necessary. You will be surprised at how rewarding a night with your family for several hours can be compared to just filling it with some school, sport, musical, or church activity. When is the last time you have said, “Wow, this is a beautiful day,” and you proceed to cancel a formal evening activity and instead spent that time with loved ones outside doing something that was memorable?

Weed #4: Complaining spirit. Sure, this could be categorized under weed #2 as sin, but I have noticed that irritable and grouchy people suck so much life out of themselves and others that it deserves its own weed. In many ways, it is the most poisonous weed. How can you correct yourself from falling into the habit of grumbling? Replace the weeds with flowers of gratitude. Be thankful. Focus on that which is good, instead of concentrating on that which is bad. Bad stuff happens, and there are times when complaining enters a conversation, but before it overwhelms your life, fill your heart and mouth with words of grace. A complaining spirit will ruin your garden. You might work really hard at producing the right vegetables, but as long as you allow that prickly spirit into your garden (i.e. heart), you will never produce an award winning garden that you can proudly show the neighbors.

I am sure there are more weeds than these four. But they are the four which came to mind as I was “weeding” the shrub bed. When I was finished after two hours of digging in the dirt, the shrub bed was beautiful. It looked so clean. You could now focus on the shrubs instead of the weeds. It was worth it to see how nice it now looked. In the same way, when you work hard to eliminate certain weeds from your personal life, you will find that it is worth it. You will be able to look at your heart and it will bring joy back into your life. Do you need to do some weeding today?

weeds