"tHE WORD OF YAHWEH ENDURETH FOR EVER"
My dear Brethren and Sisters in the service of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have often heard or read the phrase, “The Word of Yahweh endureth for ever”, a quotation from 1 Peter 1:25:
“But the word of Yahweh endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you”
That phrase must contain for us a huge amount of consolation and must be a bastion to our faith, especially when we appreciate the full impact of what it involves.
One of the more obvious points raised by this phrase is spoken of by David in Psalm 33:6:
“Yahweh made the heavens and everything in them by His word.”
And then repeated by John in his first chapter, especially at the start of the chapter – “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with Yahweh, and the Word was Yahweh.”
Paul also takes up the theme in Hebrews 1 verse 3 where he states of Christ:
“Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;”
We know that The Lord Jesus Christ fully manifested Yahweh in his life on this earth, does now on the right hand of his Father and will soon do so again on earth: therefore the phrase “upholding all things by the word of his power” reassures us of the immense stability of the universe we live in.
The world around us may have different opinions as to the physical future of the universe or just even the Earth as a planet, especially after recent world events, but we have a great assurance, taken from the Word of Yahweh Himself, and we can refer to no greater authority. There have been many theories over the years as to the future of the earth, many of which were being floated around the time of Bro Thomas and Bro Roberts. Let me quote from an exhort given by Bro Roberts at Birmingham around July 1877 to illustrate that things have not changed much in relation to scientific philosophy.
“Some may think there is no particular need for this. (The realization of the stability of the universe) They will think otherwise if they call to mind the many theories, held, some of them, by the most scientific of men, to the effect that the universe is in a constant transmutation, and that there is no guarantee that the earth may not be blown to perdition by internal explosives or slowly disappear by disintegration, or that the sun itself may not go out from exhaustion. We are helpless in reference to such depressing and demoralising thoughts if we rely merely upon our thoughts as natural men.”
We have all heard in the media, similar such philosophies from so called and oft self-proclaimed academics as Steven Hawking and his colleagues.
If we rely upon our natural thoughts, known science, and logic, as is man’s ability to expound, we would possibly accept that it may be that the materials of the universe may at some time, whether close or distant, “lose their cohesion and shape and relapse into chaos”, (to quote Bro Roberts) involving all then alive in a general annihilation, maybe to be swallowed up by a Black Hole.
BUT we, Brethren and Sisters, know the truth of the Scriptures, and therefore we are convinced the truth of that statement that the “Word of Yahweh endureth for ever.”
Does that give us a huge boost to our faith? It should!
What a great revelation it is to us, that all things exist due to the will of Yahweh, that all things are the concentration of His energy, and are organized according to His intention. That leaves no room for an accidental dissolution of the matter of the universe here, does it?
Nothing, and or nobody, can interfere with the foundation that things have in the Word of Yahweh, or with His plan and purpose. Yahweh is described as ‘a rock’; in fact, one of the titles of Yahweh is Tsur – a word that has been generally, and correctly, translated “Rock,” and is a metaphor expressing the immovable power of Yahweh. What better foundation upon which to build one’s faith than the “rock” or Yahweh Tsur.
There is rest for our feeble, overtaxed minds, in the fact that Yahweh has full control of all things – through the medium of the Holy Spirit, which is the formative or primary executor of His purpose and will.
There is rest for our feeble, overtaxed minds, in the fact that though the world passes away, and human life as we know it at present is as a fading flower, “the foundation (or purpose) of Yahweh standeth sure” (2 Tim 2:19). Nevertheless the foundation of Yahweh standeth sure, having this seal, Yahweh knoweth them that are his. And, let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.
Brethren and Sisters, because we have Yahweh’s guarantee that heaven and earth are sure for ever, we can therefore be totally unaffected by the theories and promulgations of the scientific community.
We rest in Yahweh and have the “comfort of hope and the quietness of assurance forever”, to quote Bro. Roberts.
In other words, we are re-assured and made glad by the knowledge that the Deity has a purpose that involves the perpetual stability of this glorious place we inhabit, albeit at present it has severe damage through the stupidity of those who wish not to know Yahweh.
We know that in the near future, Yahweh will shew us His kindness through His Son, The Lord Jesus Christ, in that time when Yahweh’s Name shall have attained that exultation among men which is It’s very due, as prophesied in Isa 11:9 & Hab. 2:14.
This subject, that of the endurance of the Word of Yahweh, has another aspect as well, Brethren and Sisters, an aspect which, to us, may be possibly more important than the stability of heaven and earth.
That other aspect is:
“What He has spoken by the holy men of Yahweh, who spake as they were moved by the Holy Spirit”.
This has a practical meaning on us as individuals, Brethren and Sisters, because it tells us that it is extremely important as to what we believe.
The stability of heaven and earth is of no special value to those who stand unfavourably related to the Word of Yahweh in its individual application, — that is, those who will not, or have not, done the commandments as contained therein.
An example; — those who are under sentence of death, in prison for some horrific crime, would gain no comfort in the fact that the earth as we know it, is secure for ever, the condemned person would probably wish that the society that condemned him would perish with him, if the truth were known.
Let us look at the durability of Yahweh in relation to our personal faith and our relationship with Him.
Peter quoted from one of those who “spake as they were moved with the Holy Spirit”, when he quotes Isaiah 40:8 in 1 Peter 1:24-25:
“For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: But the word of Yahweh endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.”
We all know, both from our own frailty and through life’s experiences, that this quotation is so very true, we know human power fails and we are feeble in so many ways, especially in those things that are “good”.
We know we are in our natural fleshly state, destitute of spiritual resources.
We are also all aware, that although the outward man perishes, the inward man can and will be renewed with daily feeding upon the Word, as is a newborn babe sustained by its mother’s milk.
The weakness of flesh and blood can be a beneficial experience to us, if and only if we let the realisation of such redirect our thoughts and intents towards those of the Deity. If we so do, we will be brought to the point of abandoning confidence in ourselves, and leaning more and more on the Rock of our salvation. We will push away the society that stands in the mire of fleshliness. We will recognise that in ourselves there is no good thing, as did our elder brother Paul which he records in Romans 7:18:
“For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not”
Brethren and Sisters, if Paul had no good thing in his flesh, who are we to think that there is good in our flesh?
There is nothing new (and needs not to be) in what we are discussing at the moment, but I believe it is a good thing to be able to be reminded of the magnificent hope in which we all share, and the sureness of those things that have been promised.
We must be content and faithful to hold on to the hope of the Gospel in Jesus Christ our Lord, and in so doing, we must rest in the Lord and wait patiently for the day of blessing.
While the curse of Eden prevails, we cannot be free.
Yahweh allows us free relationship with Him, through The Lord Jesus Christ, but we still await the adoption, that is the redemption of our body and reconciliation with Him.
We, as again we are all so painfully aware, carry the burden of a sin-cursed nature, and will so do, until we are, if Yahweh wills, released in the change to the incorruptible, and when that is attained, we shall know by experience the meaning of “there shall be no more curse”. Look in Revelation 22:3:
“And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of Yahweh and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him”
Those who have a very keen appreciation of the things of the Spirit are those who most feel the burden of their nature, and no doubt they are those who rejoice most at the prospect of deliverance at the appointed time to come.
The hope of this prospect is based, and stands upon, the same foundation as the stability of the heavens and the earth; – “The Word of Yahweh endureth forever.”
Isaiah 17 has a great example in it of the fact that the Word of Yahweh endureth forever.
Damascus, around 2800 years ago, at the time when the prophecy was written, was a flourishing state on the border of the kingdom of Israel, and this prophesy is that Damascus would be destroyed as a city and become a ruinous heap. In verse 3 we are also told that the fortress would cease from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus.
At the time of this prophecy being written there was nothing at all to indicate that these events would occur. If we were to return to the cities at that time, we would find a stable prosperous society – cities with thick high walls, tall towers, thronging streets, with evidence of busy men engrossed in the cares of their world – much as we are today, and again to quote a wonderful description as penned by Bro. Roberts, “accompanied by those pompous official men, swelling with the importance always associated with the sense of power and possession.”
In those surroundings the words of the prophet would not only seem improbable, but laughable, yet those words, which were written a great distance from Damascus, have prevailed, and are still with us today, whilst the pomp and glory of Damascus are a “ruinous heap” to quote verse 1.
The words of the prophet are the Words of Yahweh, which endureth forever.
They are a great practical lesson for us, as are those many other prophesies that have been fulfilled, and those many that are yet matters of hope.
The world around us does and would condemn the words of many of the prophesies in the Scriptures as fables, and scorn our faith in the Word.
A question we can ask is, where are those philosophers of, say, Bro. Thomas’s time who condemned his work to scorn?
Their words were powerful and loud in their day, in many public meetings, and were even reported in the press of the day, yet who can now name any, or even enunciate their views?
As in the days of the Pioneers, the opponents of Yahweh and His Word think they can quench the power of The Word, and ‘enlighten’ the world with their age of reason. Time has, and will, roll on and they will pass into the grave, and their ‘reason’ will be (and has been) forgotten, whilst the Word of Yahweh endureth forever, and His Kingdom will flood the earth as will the power of his Glory.
Those that question the authenticity and efficacy of the Word of Yahweh may argue that the believer has fared no better than the unbeliever, — some may say that they have fared worse, with the torture and death many have borne.
Such an argument is totally devoid of reason, because “The righteous hath hope in this death,” as it is written in Proverbs 14:32:
“The wicked is driven away in his wickedness: but the righteous hath hope in his death”
The hope is that we shall awake from our sleep in the dust, at the appointed time, to participate in the reality, in the interest, in the joy and the glory of that higher, renewed life than that of this, our probation. That is Brethren and Sisters, if it be Yahweh’s desire that death is our lot before the return of our Lord.
(To Be Continued)
Colin Tiley-Evans