The Bible by David Alley

Nahum prophecies the fall of Nineveh, down to the colour of the attacking armies, who wore red battle attire. The Lord in his everlasting patience had given the Assyrians an extra one hundred years from the time of Jonah's warnings, but Nahum comes to declare that the end is near. That great city of 600,000 people was soon gone.

God has a complaint and takes Israel and Judah to court. In the process the question is asked... what does God actually want from his people. And the answer is to "Act Justly, Love Mercy and to Walk Humbly with your God." A famous passage.

This chapter is divided into two parts. The first is for the ungodly Israel and the second for the godly Israel. One the one hand they are both Israel, but on the other hand only the godly is true Israel.

This chapter of Micah continues with the Messianic and gospel prophecies and here the location of the birthplace of the Saviour is identified. This was quoted by Matthew in his gospel and was the reason why Herod the Great sent soldiers to try to kill infant Jesus at Bethlehem.

In this chapter, which is very similar to Isaiah 2, Micah prophecies a time coming which seems idyllic. It is gospel times - in the days after the Messiah has come. In this video David explains how in fact these days are here right now and tells a story from the Solomon Islands to illustrate.

In this Chapter Micah Prophecies that Zion will be a plowed field. That reference makes an appearance in the book of Jeremiah about 100 years later. It is there that we discover that Micah was listened too, and appears to have played a part in sparking a revival in Jerusalem, because this word was heard. But later generations failed to heed, and Micah's prophecy ultimately came true. How did this all happen?

Micah prophesies that the Lord is preparing a disaster for Judah. There was extortion and a lack of justice in the land, and God was not happy. He planned on teaching a lesson. More precisely the Lord decided he was going to take the land back from the people He had originally promised it to. And the reality is that from that point until today, the inheritance system of land ownership that was setup in the Mosaic law has not functioned.

Micah of Moresheth is an otherwise unknown prophet from a small town near the border of the land of the Philistines. But his message is not a small message. The Lord bears witness against Israel and Judah. In a regular Bible, the Lord had just spoken of his mercy to the ruthless foreigners at Ninevah in Jonah chapter 4, and now just words later in Micah 1, the Lord is tough on his own people. But why?

Jonah was a prophet and a gospel preacher, but why did he want those he preached to, to end up in Hell. This chapter delves into the very bad attitudes and values of Jonah the prophet.

After Jonah's miraculous deliverance he does in fact go to preach at Nineveh, and the weirdest thing happens. The people of Nineveh repent and receive the word of the Lord - there is a great old testament revival.

God wants Jonah to preach at Nineveh - the biggest city in the world at the time. Jonah struggles with prejudice against Ninevites and doesn't want to go, so he flees the opposite direction, by boarding a ship for Spain. But you can't really run away from God, can you?

Jonah was swallowed by a big fish and in that place prays a desperate prayer. In his prayer he "prays from hell." Is he in fact dead? Is Jonah a death and resurrection miracle.

After 8 chapters of judgement, the last chapter of Amos contains hope, and the Lord is going to restore the fallen tent of David. But what is that tent, and what does it mean? This is a messianic prophecy about Christ, and about the inclusion of the Gentiles into the plans of God.

Amos sees a vision of fruit - ripe and ready to be eaten. This fruit is a picture of Israel - ready to be consumed. The sins of Israel had gone before it and in some ways we are just the same.

In this chapter the priest at Bethel, Amaziah, commands him to leave. Bethel was the site of the golden calf worship and Amos took advantage of this location to declare the words of the true God. But now he must go. And meanwhile Amos has five visions from the Lord and we find out he is a farmer of sycamore figs.

Are you a "fat Christian" enjoying the goodness of God? Are you "secure in Zion" while not considering the needs of others? Or are you looking forward to the punishment and judgement of others becase "they deserve it." There were people going through all of these types of scenarios in Israel and Judah. But we must not fall into the same trap

Amos writes a lament for Israel - a very sad poem. "The virgin of Israel has fallen, she shall rise no more." We see in this chapter that while the Lord judges, he is also sad and sorrowful. God is emotional - he cares a great deal.

"Off you go to Bethel, and sin. Go to Gilgal, and sin more." (Amos 4:4) Since when does the Lord actually tell people to sin. In this chapter the Lord gets sarcastic against the people of Israel and in reality his message is a message of Judgement through the prophet Amos. What does it mean for us?

God chose Israel, but they received it like a spouse in marriage that wants all the benefits but none of the responsibility. Can two walk together unless they be agreed, says the Lord? And so Israel deserts the Lord, and there are implications of this, which the prophet Amos reveals.

In chapter 1 of Amos, there were judgement prophecies against Tyre, Edom, Syria and the Philistines. But now the prophecies circle in closer and closer to Israel, and she gets the toughest judgement of them all.

God had enough of Edom - that is the descendants of Esau - and he determined that there would be nothing left of them. Esau/Edom has featured prominently in the Bible, but the Lord decides to remove them. In this chapter we consider why, and thier marvellous city of Petra.

Amos is a prophet, a shepherd, and a man who grew figs, from the small town of Tekoa. He is quite unknown, but his declarations of Judgement from the Lord, are not just for Israel and Judah but for all the surrounding nations. The Lord has decided there will be wrath. What does it all mean? And, have you ever heard a sermon on Amos before?

When you hear that God is going to juge all nations you think He is going to wipe them out, but it turns out he rescues them. And When you hear that he is going to restore Israel - it means something different too.

The most famous quote from Joel, preached by Peter on the Day of Pentecost is in this chapter. It gives us context to unerstand what the Lord was really thinking when he said to "Blow the Trumpet in Zion." The chapters starts with an "air raid siren" warning the people to get to their spiritual bunkers and get right with God.

In Joel's day he witnesses a locust plague so severe that even the bark on trees was eat back. Joel tells the Lord's people to get themselves into church and start praying NOW. There is real urgency. This is a serious matter indeed.

Although coming at the end of the book of Hosea, we have a chapter that lists the horrible, nauseating, and depressing sins of Israel. The Lord had been so patient with them, and from the time Hosea spoke he would continue to be patient. Why did they not listen?

So much of the book of Hosea has been specifically about the northern nation of Israel and its specific sins and woes. But the book finishes with a Messianic gospel prophecy that Israel - but this time the Israel is a different Israel - will be saved. The true Israel - those of faith in Christ - would be restored. The book of Hosea finishes with hope.

Jacob wrestled with God once at Penuel in the book of Genesis, but as a nation and a people group, Jacob has never stopped wrestling with God and God wrestles with what to do about them.

This chapter starts with "Don't Rejoice Israel" and the things that God had to say to them through Hosea were not good news. They did not please God and it wasn't ok, and they were not to be happy about it. LIke a smirking teenager the Lord was going to remove that bad attitude.

This chapter contains the famous verse in Hosea quoted by Matthew in his gospel. It got us all thinking about how Jesus parallels what Israel did in his own life, except He did it properly. This chapter helps us understand that Jesus is the true Israel.

Hosea's prophecy of judgement and warnings continue. In this chapter he tells them to "break up their fallow ground," or in other words, to soften their hearts. Charles Finney the great revivalist preached from this chapter in his lectures on revivals of religion and brought many people back to heartfelt faith in Christ.

How can you forget your maker? Can you forget your parents? This is what Israel did in the days of Hosea. The Lord announces that he is going to send an Eagle - the nation of the Assyrians - to punish Israel. This is a prophecy of judgement.

There were things that Israel did, and they thought that nobody saw them, but God sees everything. "Be sure your sins will find you out" says the scriptures. King Jeroboam not only setup the false worship system at Dan and Bethel, but celebrated the wicked use of it. God had something to say about that as Hosea records.

The people of Israel had this idea that if things went wrong, they could "just say sorry" and everything would be find - after all God is so kind and gracious. In this chapter of Hosea, we find out that God isn't a meal ticket and knows the intent of the heart.

Hosea says "Listen you priests", but these are not hte priests of the temple in Jerusalem, these are the priests of the golden calves at Dan and Bethel. Another entire religious system is happening in Israel and in the mind of God, this is a type of prostitution.

Hosea lived in a day with many gods - a polytheistic culture. People were free to worship whatever they felt like. They had choice. Today's culture is relativistic and you can believe whatever you want. There is a remarkable similarity between polytheism and relativism. What does Hosea have to say about that?

Hosea's wife Gomer (a prostitute) gets to the bottom of the barrel and ends up on the slave auction block. The Lord commands Hosea to go take his wife back, so she is redeemed. This is a picture of the Lord's redemption of His Church.

Hosea married a prostitute (chapter 1) and has three children, some of which are not his children. The story of Israel's (and our) unfaithfulness continues, while the Lord's faithfulness also continues. In this chapter Hosea declares the Lord's displeasure with his wife, and Hosea must care for children that are not his.

Nobody wants to swap places with Hosea - the prophet that was told by the Lord to take for himself a "wife of unfaithfulness." His prostitute bride ended up having three children and it seems at least two of them were not his kids. This chapter introduces us to a living illustration of the Lord's faithfulness and his wife's unfaithfulness.

Daniel 12 is the last of three chapters describing his angelic appearnce and what the angel had to say. The angels words described a lengthy history of at least a few hundreds years of striving between the king of the north, the asian kings of Greece, and the king of the south, the ptolemies. Many people throw this chapter right into the end of the world and see antichrists and other things in it, rather than seeing it as about the time leading up to the arrival of Jesus the first time he appeared.

Daniel had remarkable visions about the future, and this chapter is no less remarkable. An angel reveals to Daniel political and spiritual details about the future for hundreds of years, which quite specifically came to pass. God knew what the future held and information like this was able to assist the HIgh Priest of Jerusalem in future years to not resist Alexander the Great, but to cooperate with him. But after Alexander came Antiochus IV - of who the books of Maccabees mention. He was a nasty Tyrant who tried to force the Jews into being Greeks rather than following the Lord. Daniel was shown it in advance of when it happened.

Daniel is in prayer and the Lord sends an angel with an answer, but the angel is held up by a demon and they battle in the spirit realm for three weeks. And so Daniel continues his fasting and prayer oblivious of what is transpiring. Finally the angel arrives with the vision, and a story of his experience. This chapter opens the door to the spirit realm, something we don't see very much of in overt terms in the Bible. We learn that sometimes 'princes' are people but sometimes they are spirits. There are implications for this. In this chapter we learn about prayer, spiritual warfare, and something about the spiritual realm.

There are many remarkable prophecies in scripture, but this must be the most amazing of them all. Sadly, a dispensational perspective tries to steal the thunder from Jesus and give it to the 'AntiChrist.' We are not even sure there will even be an AntiChrist. But once we get the perspective fixed properly, this is an incredible prophecy about Jesus and what he was going to do for the Jews and also for the Gentiles. We also consider the symbolism of the number 490 which is found int he Bible in a number of places from Genesis 4 and 5, right through to Matthew's gospel where Jesus talks to Peter about forgiveness. The seventy sevens of Daniel is a passage of scripture that should bring awe to the heart of every believer and show us a new perspective of God's wonder working grace.

In this marvellous vision of the future, Daniel sees a vision of a goat, which represented Alexander the Great, who conquered the Persian Empire, but then his horn snapped off and was replaced by four horns, which were the four empires that came from him. This vision is so accurate that it prompted some people to think Daniel could not possibly have seen this vision, and the book must be a made up book later after the events. Is that the case? The answer is stranger than you think.

We now get to the prophecy part of Daniel's book which is no less interesting than the story part was. We are thrown right in with the vision of the four beasts, the fourth of which is..... terrifying. And what is that little horn that Daniel sees?

As King Belshazzar has a wild party using cups from God's temple in mockery, a hand appears and there is mysterious writing on the wall. TEKE TEKE MENE PARSIN It was all over for the Babylonian empire and that night the Persians invaded the city via an elaborate trick that involved lowering the water level in the river and entering the city through the moat. Daniel explains the mysterious writing and becomes the third highest ruler in Babylon.... for a brief time.

Daniel survives an elaborate ruse to get rid of him, and the lions as well. But those who plotted the ruse had short-sighted thinking and end up as lion chow. This chapter is more than just a great sunday school story - it has meaning that applies to our lives today, and is also a picture of Jesus Christ, his death and resurrection and his intercession on our behalf.

In my opinion (David Alley's) this is one of the most remarkable chapters of the entire Bible, because it was written by the evil King Nebuchadnezzar and seems to show us that he became a believer in God, and then encouraged the entire Babylonian Empire to know Him. How is it that Israel for 500+ years have so little effect on the surrounding nations, to show them God's love, but one person (Daniel) has such a big effect in just a short amount of time on this King, resulting in this incredible chapter.

Inspired by his dream, but apparently not having learned the lesson, Nebuchadnezzar builds a giant statue and compels the people of Babylon to worship it. This presents an ethical dilemma to three of Daniel's friends. In this chapter we consider what faith is - do you obey God when it appears you are gong to die for it? What do we learn about how we should walk and trust the Lord?

Nebuchadnezzar has a terrifying dream, and calls his expert dream interpreters (the wise man, enchanters and the magi) to figure it out.... except he will not tell the the dream. They must tell him the dream AND the interpretation or he will kill them. Daniel seeks the Lord and has the same dream and the Lord gives him the meaning. It was a dream of a giant statue with a gold head, and a rock that flew in from outer space and destroyed it. What does it mean? How does this affect us today?