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Searching for Israel (Part Six): Israel Is Fallen, Is Fallen
Article by Charles WhitakerJeroboam I, an Ephraimite, led a successful tax revolt against Rehoboam, Solomon's son, resulting in the division of Solomon's kingdom into two nations. The northern ten tribes formed the Kingdom of Israel under Jeroboam's rule. In an effort to strengthen his control, Jeroboam instituted religious changes that became a sin for Israel, creating a designer religion with its own traditions, shrines, and a priesthood loyal to the government. This act was the sin of the house of Jeroboam, leading to its extermination from the face of the earth. Due to his disobedience, Jeroboam failed to receive the conditional promise from God to build him an enduring house as He did for David. The consequences of Jeroboam's apostasy extended beyond his family, as the children of Israel continued in all the sins of Jeroboam and did not depart from them. Subsequent kings of the northern kingdom followed his path of apostasy, never seeking to correct his errors, which ultimately angered the Lord, leading to Israel's removal from His sight.
Deception, Idolatry, and the Feast of Tabernacles
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughJeroboam, pragmatic and fearful, established a more convenient idolatrous festival to prevent his people from keeping the real Feast of Tabernacles in Judah.
The Sin of Self-Deception
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughIn our relationship with God, we must emphasize principle over pragmatism. If we are led into deception, it is because our carnal nature wanted it that way.
Hebrews 2: God Is Present
Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh (1932-2023)God's people must immerse themselves daily in the Scriptures. While sinning Israelites consider God to be absent, He is nevertheless present with His saints.
Do You Have a Golden Calf?
Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by Mike FordAbijah had three good years but was suddenly cut off because he didn't remove the idols. One act of faith is only something to build on, not a cause to rest.
Hosea's Prophecy (Part Seven)
Sermon by Martin G. CollinsNations, like individual people, die first in spirit and then physically. They seldom die cataclysmically, but in gradual, incremental stages.
Amos (Part One)
Sermon/Bible Study by John W. RitenbaughAmos gives a series of dire warnings, beginning with Israel's enemies, but concluding with a blistering indictment on Israel herself for her hypocrisy.
Passover (Part Seven)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughMajor reinterpretations have significantly distorted the meaning of Passover and Unleavened Bread, blurring the distinction between the two events.
Prepare to Meet Your God! (Part Seven): The Prophesied Blow Falls
Article by John W. Ritenbaugh and Richard T. RitenbaughJeroboam I, through his disobedience, set a destructive course for Israel by turning away from the law of God and causing the people to sin. God had selected Jeroboam I to become king of the northern ten tribes after Solomon, with the promise of a lasting dynasty contingent upon his obedience. Yet, lacking trust in God, he feared that the religious festivals and sacrifices would draw Israel back to David's line in Judah. To prevent this, he established counterfeit shrines in Bethel and Dan and altered the timing of the Feast of Tabernacles from the seventh to the eighth month. This sin of Jeroboam, using religion for political ends, became a root of Israel's spiritual decline. God ensured that the religious and political leadership, as major motivators of this decline, would be the first to feel His wrath. In a vision, the Lord stands beside the altar, not to officiate as Jeroboam did, but to destroy everything in sight, fulfilling His promise of judgment against a people who ignored numerous warnings to repent.
Amos (Part Thirteen)
Sermon/Bible Study by John W. RitenbaughThe people to whom Amos writes have the mistaken assumption that because they have made the covenant with God, they can bask in a kind of divine favoritism.
Hosea's Prophecy (Part Three)
Sermon by Martin G. CollinsModern Israel has a form of religion, but it is empty and unsatisfying because it refuses to obey God and substitutes the traditions of man in its place.
Living Among the Ruins
Sermon by Charles Whitaker (1944-2021)To tear down cherished institutions is to leave a nation culturally ruined. God's people, in choosing the old pathways, tread the roadway to eternal life.
Jehu: A Type for Today
Sermon/Bible Study by Richard T. RitenbaughJehu may have been called to save Israel, but he was impulsive and bloodthirsty. Though he destroyed Baalism, he did not restore true worship of God.
A Subtle Yet Devastating Curse
'Prophecy Watch' by David C. GrabbeAmos 8:11 speaks of 'a famine...of hearing the words of the LORD.' Such a famine is occurring today: The words of God are available, but few can hear.
Prepare to Meet Your God! (The Book of Amos) (Part Two)
Booklet by John W. RitenbaughIsrael had every opportunity that the Gentiles did not have. God gave the Israelites gifts to live a better way, but they completely failed to reflect Him.
Amos (Part Twelve)
Sermon/Bible Study by John W. RitenbaughGod will do what He must to bring Abraham's seed to repentance and salvation, including allowing crisis, hardship, humiliation, and calamity.
Healing the Breach
Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughWe have been called as an elite unit to work with Christ to help repair the breach caused by ruptured covenants between God and man for all mankind forever.
God Hates?
Sermonette by Ronny H. GrahamGod hates hypocritical religious convocations when people pay lip service but no heart service to Him. Mankind does not know how to stop hate, but God will.