ZEPHANIAH

Zephaniah's name means "the Lord has hidden." The time of his ministry is during the reign of the young King Josiah in about 630BC. Zephaniah's central theme is the coming of the "day of the Lord." Today many parts of his message are more applicable to America than to Israel. Much of the message of Zephaniah ("the Lord has hidden") has been hidden for our generation.

Zephaniah 1:2-3 I will utterly consume all [things] from off the land,

saith the LORD.

I will consume man and beast; I will consume the fowls of

the heaven, and the fishes of the sea, and the

stumblingblocks with the wicked; and I will cut off man

from off the land, saith the LORD.

HAS THIS EVER HAPPENED? NO. IT WILL INDEED HAPPEN BECAUSE GOD HAS SAID THAT IT WILL HAPPEN. DO YOU REALIZE THAT OUR GENERATION IS THE FIRST GENERATION IN HISTORY TO UNDERSTAND HOW SUCH DESTRUCTION COULD HAPPEN? ZEPHANIAH IS TALKING ABOUT STRATEGIC NUCLEAR WEAPONS.

Zephaniah 1:7-8 Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord GOD: for the

day of the LORD [is] at hand: for the LORD hath prepared a

sacrifice, he hath bid his guests.

And it shall come to pass in the day of the LORD'S

sacrifice, that I will punish the princes, and the king's

children, and all such as are clothed with strange

apparel.

THIS IS THE MESSAGE OF ZEPHANIAH - THE DAY OF THE LORD IS AT HAND. IT WAS A MESSAGE OF OBSCURITY UNTIL OUR GENERATION. ONLY THE JEWS ARE NOT CLOTHED WITH STRANGE APPAREL. GOD IS NOW ON THE SIDE OF ISRAEL. ALL OTHER NATIONS ARE SUBJECT TO DESTRUCTION EXCEPT ISRAEL. THE DESTRUCTION OF WHICH ZEPHANIAH SPEAKS CAN APPLY TO ANY NATION EXCEPT ISRAEL.

Zephaniah 1:14-18 The great day of the LORD [is] near, [it is] near, and

hasteth greatly, [even] the voice of the day of the LORD:

the mighty man shall cry there bitterly.

That day [is] a day of wrath, a day of trouble and

distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of

darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick

darkness,

A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities,

and against the high towers.

And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk

like blind men, because they have sinned against the LORD:

and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their

flesh as the dung.

Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to

deliver them in the day of the LORD'S wrath; but the whole

land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he

shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell

in the land.

WE MUST HEAR THIS. THE MESSAGE OF ZEPHANIAH IS FOR US. THE GREAT DAY OF THE LORD IS NEAR, IT IS NEAR, AND HASTENETH GREATLY. THE MESSAGE IS FOR US. WHEN STRATEGIC NUCLEAR WEAPONS ARE USED KINGS AND PRINCES ARE DESTROYED ALONG WITH EVERYTHING ELSE. NOTHING CAN PROTECT OR SAVE YOU EXCEPT THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. ONLY THE CHRISTIAN IN RIGHT STANDING WITH GOD CAN LOOK AT A NUCLEAR EXPLOSION AND SEE IT HAVING THE SAME EFFECT ON HIM AS THE RAPTURE.

ARE YOU READY? IF WE ARE NUKED TOMORROW - WHERE WILL YOU SPEND ETERNITY? WILL A NUCLEAR EXPLOSION HAVE THE SAME EFFECT FOR YOU AS THE RAPTURE?

Zephaniah 2:3 Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of the earth, which have

wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness:

it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD'S anger.

MEEKNESS IS NOT WEAKNESS. MEEKNESS IS STRENGTH AND POWER UNDER CONTROL. MEEK PEOPLE ARE STRONG PEOPLE. THE PROUD PEOPLE ARE THE WEAK PEOPLE. MEEK PEOPLE ARE MERCIFUL PEOPLE. MEEK PEOPLE ARE FORGIVING PEOPLE BECAUSE THEY KNOW HOW MUCH GOD HAS FORGIVEN THEM. MEEK PEOPLE CAN ENDURE INJURY WITH PATIENCE AND WITHOUT RESENTMENT. HOW DO WE SEEK MEEKNESS? WE SEEK MEEKNESS BY SEEKING TO FORGIVE THOSE WHO HAVE INJURED US.

Zephaniah 3:1-6 Woe to her that is filthy and polluted, to the oppressing

city!

She obeyed not the voice; she received not correction; she

trusted not in the LORD; she drew not near to her God.

Her princes within her [are] roaring lions; her judges

[are] evening wolves; they gnaw not the bones till the

morrow.

Her prophets [are] light [and] treacherous persons: her

priests have polluted the sanctuary, they have done

violence to the law.

The just LORD [is] in the midst thereof; he will not do

iniquity: every morning doth he bring his judgment to

light, he faileth not; but the unjust knoweth no shame.

I have cut off the nations: their towers are desolate; I

made their streets waste, that none passeth by: their

cities are destroyed, so that there is no man, that there

is none inhabitant.

WHO IS ZEPHANIAH TALKING ABOUT. IT IS MORE LIKELY THAT HE IS TALKING ABOUT AMERICA THAN ISRAEL. AMERICA, THE OTHER NATION FOUNDED FOR THE GLORY OF GOD, HAS TURNED TO ANTICHRIST.

NOTHING BUT TRUE FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST CAN PROTECT ANYONE IN THIS COUNTRY FROM RUSSIA'S STRATEGIC NUCLEAR ATTACK. The S.D.I. "star wars" strategic defence initiative, which President Reagan wanted to develope has not been deployed. The American progress on this moral and purely defensive weapon system had much to do with the mythical "break-up" of the soviet empire and the mythical end of the cold war. it IS A FARCE HOW AMERICA'S MONEY SAYS "IN GOD WE TRUST." THIS JUDGMENT IS COMING TO AMERICA, NOT ISRAEL. THE TOWERS OF ISRAEL CAN NOT FALL FOR IT IS GOD WHO STRENGTHENS THEM. ISRAEL CAN NEVER AGAIN BE DESTROYED BECAUSE IT IS GOD WHO IS REGATHERING AND PROTECTING ISRAEL. HE IS TALKING ABOUT THAT OTHER NATION, AMERICA, WHICH WAS ALSO FOUNDED FOR THE GLORY OF GOD.

Zephaniah 3:14-18 Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad and

rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem.

The LORD hath taken away thy judgments, he hath cast out

thine enemy: the king of Israel, [even] the LORD, [is] in

the midst of thee: thou shalt not see evil any more.

In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear thou not:

[and to] Zion, Let not thine hands be slack.

The LORD thy God in the midst of thee [is] mighty; he will

save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in

his love, he will joy over thee with singing.

NOW ZEPHANIAH IS TALKING ABOUT ISRAEL. THE LORD THY GOD IN THE MIDST OF THEE IS MIGHTY. THIS IS ISRAEL. ISRAEL'S KING YESHUA IS COMING SOON TO SET UP HIS EVERLASTING KINGDOM. ISRAEL WILL SOON RECOGNIZE THE LORD YESHUSA AS THEIR KING, AS HE COMES IN GREAT POWER AND GLORY TO GIVE THEM AND ALL THE SAINTS VICTORY OVER THE ARMIES OF ANTICHRIST.