Famous Last Words

 

 

 

“Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth: for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.”

I Samuel 2:3

 

“The LORD is known by the judgment which he executeth: the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. Higgaion. Selah.”

Psalm 9:16

 

“Thou lovest all devouring words, O thou deceitful tongue. God shall likewise destroy thee for ever, he shall take thee away, and pluck thee out of thy dwelling place, and root thee out of the land of the living. Selah. The righteous also shall see, and fear, and shall laugh at him.”

Psalm 52:4-6 (David’s inspired blast and curse against Doeg the Edomite)

 

GOD IS JEALOUS of His Glory and Will Not Allow Men to Arrogantly Blaspheme Him for Long.

  1. The Lord God is beautiful in His omnipotent power as King against all enemies (Prov 20:2; 30:31).
    1. Nebuchadnezzar acknowledged God’s ability to abase those that walk in pride (Daniel 4:37).
    2. God glories in His ability to behold all the proud among men and to abase them (Job 40:9-14).
    3. God’s furious vengeance against His adversaries should give us great joy (Deut 32:41-43).
  2. God will not share His infinite glory with any other creature or god, real or imagined (Isaiah 42:8).
    1. When men think their gods can save them, God is above them (Ex 15:11; 18:11; I Chr 16:25).
    2. God does not long overlook wicked men that try to set themselves up on high (Job 21:15-33).
    3. It is important for us to glory in our knowledge of God and His ways (Jeremiah 9:23-24).
  3. The lesson we must learn is the sheer folly of thinking or speaking against the Most High God.

    1. God will surely judge the vain rebellion and blasphemy of wicked men’s words (Psalm 94:1-11).

    2. The terror of the Lord is an appropriate motive for N.T. preaching (II Cor 5:11; Heb 12:28-29).

    3. The New Testament also teaches God is terrible (Heb 10:26-31; 12:28-29; Romans 11:19-22).

    4. While the wicked speak loftily (Psalm 73:8-9), the just can also be guilty of it (Job 34:35-37).

    5. We must acknowledge any benefit we enjoy is a gift from Almighty God (I Corinthians 4:7).

    6. God calls on wicked men to consider Him before He tears them in pieces (Psalm 50:21-22).

    7. We should have an attitude of perfect hatred toward such of God’s enemies (Psalm 139:19-22).

    8. Any statement using superlatives had better refer to God’s power and wisdom only, not yours.

    9. We must rejoice only in God above all others; we must stop our mouths from foolish words.

    10. We must hate the froward mouth, and we must not have stout words (Prov 8:13; Mal 3:13).

  4. Famous last words may mean the very last words spoken by famous persons just before dying.
    1. Moses’ last words are glorious of God’s great ability to bless and prosper Israel (Deut 33:26-29).
    2. Eli asked a courier, “What is there done, my son,” then fell and broke his neck (I Sam 4:12-18).
    3. Phinehas’ wife, giving birth when hearing the news about the ark, her husband, and her father-in-law, ignored the midwives and said, “Ichabod, the glory is departed from Israel” (I Sam 4:19-22)
    4. David’s last words, which the Bible records, are glorious indeed of Christ (II Samuel 23:1-7).
    5. Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada who saved Joash, the last martyr of the O.T., when being stoned by the order of Joash, said, “The LORD look upon it, and require it” (II Chronicles 24:20-27).
    6. The saved thief said, “Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom” (Luke 23:42).
    7. Jesus’ last words were full of faith, “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit” (Luke 23:46).
    8. Deacon Stephen’s last words were full of faith and charity, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit,” and, “Lord, lay not this sin to their charge” (Acts 7:59-60).
    9. Roman emperor Julian (361-363), who tried to end Christianity, “You have won, O Galilean.”
    10. William Tyndale (1494-1536) said, “Oh Lord, open the King of England’s eyes.”
    11. Voltaire (1694-1778), an atheist, said, “I am abandoned by God and man! I shall go to hell! O’ Jesus Christ!”
    12. David Hume (1711-1776), an atheist, said while dying in utter despair, “I am in the flames!”
    13. Thomas Payne (1718-1799), an atheist, said, “I would give worlds, if I had them, if the Age of Reason had never been published. O Lord, help me! Christ, help me! Stay with me! It is hell to be left alone!”
    14. Thomas Scott (1808-1878), an atheist, said, “Until this moment I thought there was neither a God nor a hell. Now I know and feel that there are both, and I am doomed to perdition by the just judgment of the Almighty.”
    15. General John Sedgwick, died 1864, while saying, “They couldn’t hit an elephant at this dist. . . .”
    16. Aleister Crowley (1875-1947), England’s most wicked man, “I am perplexed. Satan get out.”
    17. Joan Crawford (1904-1977), “Dammit … Don’t you ask God to help me,” to a praying servant.
    18. Websites with more.
    19. Website with many more.
  5. Famous last words as we use the phrase are arrogant words against God that He quickly judges.
    1. When the Titanic took its maiden voyage (4/10/1912), it was the largest and most luxurious ship in the world and had 16 watertight compartments. It was advertised by the White Star Line as “designed to be unsinkable.” When asked by a passenger if it was unsinkable, a crew member said, “Even God could not sink this ship.” When the New York office was informed early on April 15 that Titanic had hit an iceberg, White Star Line V.P. Franklin said, “We place absolute confidence in the Titanic. We believe the boat is unsinkable.” By the time his words were spoken, the ship was already at the bottom of the North Atlantic with 1,502 lives lost! The only way 70,000 tonnes of steel are guaranteed to float is if a prophet of God is present (II Kgs 6:1-7)!
    2. Adolph Hitler said in 1934, documented in Triumph of the Will, “It is our will that this state shall endure for a thousand years. We are happy to know that the future is ours entirely!” In 1943, after losing the Sixth Army under Friedrich von Paulus, about a million men and a proportionate amount of equipment, he said, “The god of war has gone over to the other side.” Amen!
    3. Captain Christian Huck of British forces during the American Revolution provoked South Carolina citizens by saying publicly, “If the rebels were as thick as trees and Jesus Christ Himself were to command them, I will defeat them.” On July 12, 1780 the enraged militia, including offended Christian patriots, routed his forces with heavy losses while hardly sustaining any losses themselves. He was shot in the head and fell dead from his horse. This dramatic victory encouraged the militia was an early turning point in the war in South Carolina.

SCRIPTURE GIVES EXAMPLES of Arrogant Speech that Brought Direct and Immediate Judgment.

  1. SATAN: This highest of created beings though that he could and should be equal with Jehovah.
    1. His pride destroyed contentment with his glorious role as servant of the Most High (I Tim 3:6).
    2. The lake of fire is prepared for perpetual torment of the devil and his angels (Matt 8:29; 25:41).
    3. Restrained in symbolic chains, he must beg to enter swine (II Pet 2:4; Rev 20:1-3; Matt 8:30-32)!
  2. PHARAOH: The powerful king of Egypt who thought he did not need to acknowledge the LORD.
    1. When Moses and Aaron spake to him, he said, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the LORD, neither will I let Israel go” (Exodus 5:1-2).
    2. God then sent blood, frogs, lice, flies, murrain, boils, hail, locusts, darkness, and death of sons.
    3. God then destroyed Pharaoh and his army slowly with great fear in the Red Sea (Ex 14:23-31).
    4. Keep in mind that God created and promoted Pharaoh for this judgment (Ex 9:16; Rom 9:17)!
    5. Keep in mind that holy saints celebrate, dance, and sing about such events (Exodus 15:1-21)!
  3. ISRAEL: An ungrateful nation thought they could reject free manna and demand meat from God.
    1. God fed Israel with manna from heaven as they made their way through wilderness to Canaan.
    2. But they soon tired of God’s food, and they complained against the LORD by saying, “Who shall give us flesh to eat? … there is nothing at all, beside this manna, before our eyes” (Num 11:4-6).
    3. God sent them quail 3 feet deep for 20 miles in all directions, and each man stood for 36 hours making his own pile, in which the least gathered was about 100 bushels (Numbers 11:31-32)!
    4. This offended God, so He killed many before they ate it (Nu 11:33-34; Ps 78:17-31; I Cor 10:6).
    5. Furthermore, He sent leanness into their souls in punishment for lusting for meat (Ps 106:13-15).
    6. Make sure your family does not complain or murmur, an evidence of reprobation (Jude 1:12-16).
  4. MOSES: Joined Israel’s unbelief about God supplying sufficient flesh for them in the wilderness.
    1. He responded to God’s promise of flesh to eat for a whole month with his own famous last words, “The people, among whom I am, are six hundred thousand footmen … Shall the flocks and the herds be slain for them, to suffice them? or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, to suffice them?” (Numbers 11:21-22).
    2. The great God of Jacob did not need to touch their flocks or herds or bother a fish in the sea!
    3. In this particular case of unbelief, God had mercy on Moses for duress (Num 11:10-17,24-30).
    4. It does not matter that you cannot see a solution or way out of a dilemma; God can do anything!
  5. MIRIAM: This jealous sister, along with brother Aaron, criticized Moses for his Ethiopian wife.
    1. By Bible definitions, Zipporah must have been a Midianite and Ethiopian (Ex 2:16-21; 18:1-6).
    2. Miriam and Aaron said (Miriam listed first for her greater complicity and guilt), “Hath the LORD indeed spoken only by Moses? Hath he not spoken also by us?” (Num 12:1-2).
    3. God made a dramatic comparison between their little roles and Moses’ great role (Num 12:6-8).
    4. The LORD struck this haughty woman with leprosy, and though Moses prayed for God’s mercy toward her, she had to bear it seven days and remain outside the camp (Num 12:10-15)! Glory!
    5. For more about this appropriate judgment.
  6. ISRAEL: A faithless generation refused to enter God’s promised rest for their families due to fear.
    1. Ten of Israel’s twelve spies gave an evil report of the promised land of Canaan (Num 13:26-33).
    2. When crying and murmuring in their fear, they said, “Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would God we had died in this wilderness!” (Num 14:1-2).
    3. God gave them their request to die in the wilderness, and those over twenty died in the wilderness and never saw the wonderful land of Canaan (Num 14:20-38).
    4. They feared for their children and said, “Wherefore hath the LORD bought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey?” (Num 14:3).
    5. God heard their foolish speech and took Canaan by the children they fussed about (Nu 14:29-31).
    6. Be very careful what you say about your children, as frustration or anger could cause your folly.
    7. Be very careful about worrying too much about children, because He is a better parent than you.
    8. For more about the ten spies and the two spies.
  7. KORAH & COMPANY: These arrogant Levites and princes committed sedition against Moses.
    1. They said to Moses and Aaron, “Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the LORD” (Num 16:1-3).
    2. When Moses called Dathan and Abiram to front and center, they said, “We will not come up … wilt thou put out the eyes of these men? We will not come up” (Num 16:12-14).
    3. God showed He had chosen Moses and not any of them by having the earth swallow the three leaders alive and two families (Num 16:23-34; 26:9-11; Deut 11:6; Psalm 106:16-18; Jude 1:11).
    4. God sent fire from the LORD and consumed the 250 princes that had joined them (Num 16:35).
    5. For more about this appropriate judgment.
  8. PHILISTINES: The enemies of Israel who foolishly praised their god Dagon for Samson’s defeat.
    1. After Delilah seduced and ruined Samson, the Philistines rejoiced in their god (Judges 16:23-24).
    2. While viewing Samson, they foolishly praised their god Dagon, “Our god hath delivered into our hands our enemy, and the destroyer of our country, which slew man of us” (Judges 16:24).
    3. While boasting merrily, they said, “Call for Samson, that he may make us sport” (Judges 16:25).
    4. God gave Samson the last laugh as he destroyed more in death than in his life (Judges 16:26-30).
    5. It is sport to the most High God, the LORD Jehovah, to mock and destroy His enemies in unique and mocking ways for their insane and presumptive declarations against Him and His people.
  9. ISRAEL: Rather than repent and seek God, they thought the Ark of the Covenant could save them.
    1. Israel, without seeking the LORD, lost 4,000 men in a battle against the Philistines (I Sam 4:1-2).
    2. Their foolish elders then said, “Wherefore hath the LORD smitten us to day before the Philistines? Let us fetch the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of Shiloh unto us, that, when it cometh among us, it may save us out of the hand of our enemies” (I Sam 4:3).
    3. In the next battle with the ark among the army, Israel lost 30,000 men, the ark was stolen by the Philistines, the two sons of Eli accompanying the ark were killed, and Eli died (I Sam 4:10-18)!
    4. This was contributed by a ten-year-old young man named Jonah Unger of St. Louis, Missouri.
    5. For God’s ridicule of false trust in ordinances.
  10. PHILISTINES: They said they could man up and defeat the God of the ark and steal it from Israel.
    1. When Israel took the Ark of the Covenant into battle, the Philistines were fearful, knowing the 500-year-old history of God’s destruction of Egypt (I Sam 4:4-8). They should have gone home!
    2. Rather than go home in wisdom, they encouraged themselves as uncircumcised pagans with these words: “Be strong, and quit yourselves like men, O ye Philistines, that ye be not servants unto the Hebrews, as they have been to you: quit yourselves like men, and fight” (I Sam 4:9).
    3. What else did this foolish nation say, after God mocked and destroyed Dagan and punished the city of Ashdod severely, where the ark was first taken (I Sam 5:1-6)? They said, “Let the ark of the God of Israel be carried about unto Gath” (I Sam 5:7-8).
    4. What did God do to these pagans? He killed them with a deadly pestilence, and those unfortunate enough to survive the plague had terrible hemorrhoids in their secret parts (I Sam 5:9-12)!
    5. What else did He do to them? He inspired their priests that the trespass offering they should send to Israel was five golden hemorrhoids and five golden mice (I Sam 6:1-18). All glory to God!
    6. If you think God did not mock them this way, read Psalm 78:59-66, where He plainly states He struck them in their hinder parts and put them to a perpetual reproach! Laugh loud with God!
    7. For Philistine hemorrhoids .
  11. GOLIATH: A gigantic champion of the Philistines who thought he could mock David and his God.
    1. Israel and the Philistines were at war when their champion and giant appeared (I Samuel 17:1-7).
    2. Having already challenged Israel, the giant despised young David by saying, “Am I a dog that thou comest to me with staves? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods…. Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field” (I Samuel 17:43-44).
    3. God used David for a great victory that day over the dog to manifest Himself (I Sam 17:45-51).
    4. For more about David and Goliath … www.letgodbetrue.com/pdf/is-there-not-a-cause.pdf.
  12. NABAL: A rich man of the house of Caleb who thought he could easily and evilly despise David.
    1. David asked modest help of Nabal, who was wealthy and prospering at harvest (I Sam 25:1-9).
    2. When Nabal heard David’s request, he said, “Who is David? and who is the son of Jesse? there be many servants now a days that break a way every man from his master” (I Samuel 25:10-11).
    3. Though David spared his life (I Samuel 25:12-35), God gave Nabal ten days of stone cold grief to think about things, killed him, and gave his beautiful wife to David (I Samuel 25:36-42).
  13. AN AMALEKITE: A foolish man thought he could win points with David for killing King Saul.
    1. David sought to know what happened to Saul in battle against the Philistines (II Samuel 1:1-4).
    2. The foolish man thought he could win David by claiming to have killed Saul (II Sam 1:5-12).
    3. The fool said, “So I stood upon him, and slew him, because I was sure that he could not live after that he was fallen: and I took the crown that was upon his head, and the bracelet that was on his arm, and have brought them hither unto my lord” (II Samuel 1:10).
    4. David let the Amalekite’s foolish own mouth judge him, and he had him killed (II Sam 1:13-16).
  14. JEBUSITES: The inhabitants of Jerusalem who foolishly mocked and ridiculed David and God.
    1. When David was king of all Israel, he moved from Hebron to Jerusalem (II Samuel 5:1-5).
    2. Thinking their city-fortress impregnable, even to David, the Jebusites said, “Except thou take away the blind and the lame, thou shalt not come in hither” (II Samuel 5:6).
    3. Their intent by this statement was to indicate that their fortress stronghold was so impregnable that even blind and lame on the walls would be sufficient to resist any efforts by David.
    4. God gave David the city easily by the genius and courage of Joab his nephew (II Samuel 5:7-10).
  15. SYRIANS: The northern enemies of Israel who thought Israel’s gods were only gods of the hills.
    1. God gave Ahab a great victory over Benhadad and thirty-two united kings (I Kings 20:1-21).
    2. The Syrians returned a year later, carefully but vainly strategizing a battle with Israel in a plain, saying by Benhadad’s advisors, “Their gods are gods of the hills” (I Kings 20:22-27).
    3. God gave Israel’s “two little flocks” a great victory over the Syrians in a plain (I Kgs 20:24-30).
  16. AHAB: He hated the one prophet of Jehovah he had left for never prophesying any good for him.
    1. He accused Micaiah to Jehoshaphat of never prophesying any good, but only evil with these words: “But I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil” (I Kgs 22:7-9).
    2. So Micaiah gave Ahab what he wanted by saying God would give him the Syrians (I Kgs 22:15).
    3. The lie was sufficiently blatant and obvious that Ahab recognized it and rejected the good news!
  17. ZEDEKIAH: Ahab’s false prophet who thought he could blaspheme Jehovah’s prophet, Micaiah.
    1. Zedekiah had loudly prophesied falsely of Ahab’s victory over the Syrians (I Kings 22:10-12).
    2. Micaiah denied all the prophets and their prophecy, so Zedekiah smote him and said, “Which way went the Spirit of the Lord from me to speak unto thee?” (I Kings 22:15-24).
    3. God fulfilled Micaiah’s inspired word and left Zedekiah shamed in his house (I Kings 22:25).
  18. AHAB: The idolatrous king of Israel who thought he could hide himself from the judgment of God.
    1. King Ahab of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah joined forces against Syria (I Kings 22:1-4).
    2. When Micaiah prophesied of his death and defeat, Ahab said, “I will disguise myself, and enter into the battle; but put thou on thy robes” (II Kings 22:28-30).
    3. While the Syrians did not identify him, God used an arrow shot at a venture (I Kings 22:31-35)!
  19. TWO CAPTAINS: The wicked king Ahaziah of Israel hated Elijah and tried to apprehend him.
    1. He hated Elijah for prophesying of his imminent death for falling through a lattice (II Kgs 1:1-8).
    2. He sent a captain, who said, “Thou man of God, the king hath said, Come down” (II Kings 1:9).
    3. Elijah responded by calling fire down from heaven to prove he was a man of God (II Kgs 1:10).
    4. The second said, “O man of God, thus hath the king said, Come down quickly” (II Kings 1:11).
    5. Elijah burned him up also, so the third captain successfully begged for his life (II Kgs 1:12-15).
    6. If you think this fiery God to be too harsh, remember that He rules N.T. worship (Heb 12:28-29).
  20. CHILDREN: Forty-two foolish children thought they could mock Elisha the prophet of Jehovah.
    1. Elisha was innocently traveling from Jericho to Bethel when mocked by children (II Kings 2:23).
    2. The little children, young in age, impudently mocked him about his bald head and his master and God about Elijah’s assumption, “Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head” (II Kings 2:23).
    3. God blessed the curse of Elisha for their blasphemy so that two she bears tare them (II Kgs 2:24).
    4. These wicked children were of a calf-worshipping city and mocked Elijah’s ascension and Elisha the prophet. Instead of feeling for them, where are your feelings for God, Elisha, and truth?
    5. God does not think about children like this effeminate generation. Think Flood, Sodom and Gomorrah, Canaan’s sucklings, David and Bathsheba’s love child, Jerusalem’s destruction, etc.
  21. A MAN: A lord of the king of Israel thought God unable to fabulously end a long and terrible siege.
    1. The Syrians had besieged Samaria until a very great famine occurred (II Kings 6:25-33).
    2. When Elisha promised fabulous relief, a lord of the king said, “Behold, if the Lord would make windows in heaven, might this thing be?” (II Kings 7:1-2).
    3. Elisha responded immediately with the man’s judgment to be fulfilled with twenty-four hours, “Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof” (II Kings 7:2).
    4. Exactly as Elisha spake, the lord saw the great relief but did not get to eat of it (II Kgs 7:16-20).
    5. For more about this God-glorifying event.
  22. SENNACHERIB: The great king of Assyria who proudly thought he could easily destroy Judah.
    1. The Assyrians defeated Israel easily enough and thought they could take Judah (II Kgs 18:9-13).
    2. When Hezekiah comforted Judah with faith in God, Sennacherib went to great pains to ridicule the God of Judah (II Kings 18:17-35; II Chron 32:9-19; Isaiah 10:5-14; 36:1 – 37:14).
    3. He had several last words: “How much less shall your God deliver you out of my hand?” (II Chron 32:15), and, “By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom; for I am prudent …” (Isaiah 10:13-14).
    4. God miserably destroyed this proud man (Isaiah 10:12,15-19; 37:15-38; II Kings 19:20-37).
    5. 5. For more about Hezekiah and Sennacherib.
    6. 6. For more of Assyria and Nineveh.
  23. JUDAH: Not learning from Israel’s destruction and dispersion, they put their trust in their temple.
    1. They should have listened to Jeremiah in light of the Assyrian’s destruction of the ten tribes.
    2. They should have recalled the vain hope of Israel in the Ark of the Covenant (I Sam 4:1-11).
    3. Instead, they trusted in Jerusalem’s temple, as if it could save them from Babylon (Jer 7:1-16).
    4. What were their foolish and famous last words? They ridiculously repeated, “The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, are these” (Jer 7:4).
    5. They presumed they could sin any way they wished as long as they had the temple, for they also made this ridiculous and lying boast, “We are delivered to do all these abominations” (Jer 7:10).
    6. God by Jeremiah promised its destruction in this chapter, and Nebuchadnezzar soon fulfilled it.
    7. For God’s ridicule of such false trust in things.
  24. NEBUCHADNEZZAR: The great king of Babylon created a religion against the God of Israel.
    1. He created his own deity and expected all officers in his kingdom to worship it (Daniel 3:1-7).
    2. When three Hebrew men refused, he was furious (Daniel 3:13-21), and said, “Who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?” (Daniel 3:15).
    3. Note the glorious response of the three men to the King Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 3:16-18).
    4. After seeing the most mighty men in his army incinerated, Nebuchadnezzar was reduced to astonished incredulity at the salvation of God (Daniel 3:22-30).
    5. Note that the “Son of God” the pagan king thought he saw was only an angel (Daniel 3:25,28).
    6. For more about this event.
  25. NEBUCHADNEZZAR: The king of Babylon would not humble himself to a dream from God.
    1. He saw a vision that warned of great personal judgment unless he repented (Daniel 4:24-27).
    2. Rejecting the vision’s warning, he said, “Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty?” (Dan 4:28-32).
    3. So God reduced him to a beast until he acknowledged God’s supremacy over him (Dan 4:33-37).
    4. For more about Nebuchadnezzar out to pasture … Daniel Chapter 4.
  26. BABYLON: The most glorious and defendable city in history did not last long by pride and cruelty.
    1. Babylon was a glorious city and kingdom in history (Is 14:4; 13:19; 45:2-3; Dan 2:37-38; 4:22).
    2. In her prime, God accused her of saying, “I shall be a lady for ever,” and “I am, and none else beside me; I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know the loss of children” (Isaiah 47:7-8).
    3. God answered, “But these two things shall come to thee in a moment in one day, the loss of children, and widowhood” (Isaiah 47:9).
    4. God gave the city to Cyrus (Isaiah 45:1-4) and later utterly destroyed it (Isaiah 13:19-22; 14:23; Jeremiah 50:1-3,9-13, 21-45; 51), with a prophecy it would never be rebuilt (Jeremiah 51:36-64).
    5. For Babylon and its destruction … see the sermon from 1990 not in e-format at this time.
  27. A RICH MAN: A certain rich man took no regard for either the Lord or his own future judgment.
    1. God blessed a rich man with so much that he could not properly receive it all (Luke 12:16-18).
    2. In his prosperity he said, “Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry” (Luke 12:19).
    3. God considered him quite foolish, confronting him that night with death, and saying, “Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?” (Luke 12:20).
    4. Do not presume on your business plans or your life necessary for business plans (Jas 4:13-15)!
  28. JEWISH LEADERSHIP: They reasoned that killing Jesus would save their nation and temple.
    1. After Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, the Jewish leadership met to respond (John 11:45-53).
    2. Chief priests and Pharisees said, “What do we? For this man doeth many miracles. If we let him thus alone … the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation” (John 11:47-48).
    3. Caiaphas gave an inspired answer amounting to the same thing but including a prophecy of Jesus dying for others: “It is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not” (John 11:50).
    4. Just forty years later Jesus brought the Romans armies and utterly destroyed the city of Jerusalem, the temple, and the nation (Matt 24:1-2,21; Luke 19:41-44; I Thess 2:14-16).
    5. 5. For more about Caiaphas … www.letgodbetrue.com/pdf/prophecy-of-caiaphas.pdf.
  29. SAPPHIRA: The wife of Ananias lied to Peter and the apostles about the sale price of some land.
    1. Ananias and Sapphira, watching givers like Barnabas, lied to the apostles (Acts 4:34-37; 5:1-2).
    2. Ananias first lied, and after Peter’s condemnation, he fell down dead and was buried (Act 5:3-6).
    3. An hour later, Peter asked Sapphira about the price, who said, “Yea, for so much” (Acts 5:7-8).
    4. After Peter’s condemnation of Sapphira, she also fell down dead and was buried (Acts 5:9-10).
    5. Great fear came on the whole church and on anyone who heard about these events (Acts 5:11).
  30. HEROD: The Roman king Agrippa I of Judea presumptuously assumed honor belonging to God.
    1. King Herod, dressed in royal apparel, made an eloquent speech to a crowd (Acts 12:20-21).
    2. They responded foolishly by crying, “It is the voice of a god, and not of a man” (Acts 12:22).
    3. God immediately smote King Herod Agrippa I dead for not giving Him the glory (Acts 12:24).
    4. This is one of those historical events in the Bible that Josephus confirms the Biblical account.
  31. ISRAEL: The beloved nation of God’s choosing that flagrantly rejected God’s only begotten Son.
    1. God sent His only begotten Son to the nation of Israel to call them to repentance (John 1:11).
    2. They rejected Him, and said, “We will not have this man to reign over us” (Luke 19:14), and, “His blood be on us, and on our children” (Matthew 25:25).
    3. Though they squealed later about guilt for His blood (Acts 5:28), God judged them for all righteous blood back to Abel (Matthew 23:34-36; 24:21; Luke 19:27; I Thess 2:16).

Conclusion:

  1. We never need to fear arrogant or blasphemous words of men, for God will have the last laugh over their ruin.
  2. We had better make sure that we do not open our mouths with any proud or rebellious words against Jehovah.
  3. Let us hate idle, foolish, and jesting words for many reasons, including this list (Matthew 12:36; Eph 5:3-5).
  4. The LORD is coming from heaven soon with the final blast against all ungodly speakers (Jude 1:15-16)!

For Further Study:

  1. Sermon Outline: Humor of God. 
  2. Sermon Outline: Dominion of God.