Amos (775-750 B.C.)

5

 

     We begin our journey through the Old Testament prophets with Moses leading the tribes up to the very entrance of Canaan, the Promised Land.  Moses dies just before the entrance point, and the tribes, now under the direction of Joshua, enter into Canaan as promised by Melchizedek 400 years prior. Let’s see what happens now:

 

The People (the majority)

 

Amos 2:4         Thus said the Lord:
760 BC            They (Northern Israelites) have spurned the Teaching of the Lord
                        And have not observed His laws;
                        They are beguiled by delusions
                        After which their fathers walked.

Amos 2:6        They have sold for silver
                        Those whose cause was just
                        And the needy for a pair of sandals.
                        Ah, you who trample the heads of the poor…
                        And make the humble walk a twisted course!

                        You alone have I singled out
                        Of all the families of the earth—
                        That is why I call you to account
                        For all your iniquities.

 

Amos 3:9        Gather on the hill of Samaria
                        And witness the great outrages within her
                        And the oppression in her midst
                        They are incapable of doing right-declares the Lord.
                        They store up lawlessness and rapine
                        In their fortresses.

 

     The Lord tells us through Amos that since he has singled out the people of Israel, teaching them about his laws and ways, he will, therefore, hold them more accountable for their iniquities — even though the other "families of the earth" do the same or worse. "To those whom much has been given, much will also be expected."

     Drought, famine, pestilence and military losses accumulate against the Northern Tribes (Israel) because they (the "people" here) have turned their back on God, and the Lord says:

 

Amos 4:11      Yet you have not turned back to Me.

 

Amos 5:1        Hear this word which I intone
                        As a dirge over you, O House of Israel:
                        Fallen, not to rise again,
                        Is maiden Israel;
                        Abandoned on her soil
                        With none to lift her up…
                        For thus said my Lord God:
                        The town that marches out a thousand strong
                        Shall have a hundred left
                        And the town that marches out a hundred strong
                        Shall have but ten left.

 

     The Lord now tells the people in advance that disaster approaches them (the Assyrian invasion) because God has "abandoned" them to their own devices by taking away his special protection of them.

 

Amos 3:7         Indeed, the Lord God does nothing
                        Without having revealed His purpose
                        To His servants the prophets.
                        A lion has roared,
                        Who can but fear?
                        The Lord God has spoken,
                        Who can but prophesy?

 

     Melchizedek tells us through Amos that God "does nothing without having revealed His purposes" through His servants, the prophets. In this regard, today is no different from yesterday. God will again reveal His plans to those who will listen.

     The calamities that befall a nation are the direct result of the spiritual and moral degeneracy that exists. When a people and their leaders separate themselves from God to pursue their own gain, they also separate themselves from the source of all wisdom and prudence. Our selfish acts carry the seed of their own destruction just as night follows day. The warp and woof of reality is justice and mercy. One can go against this grain, but the friction generated burns up the result.

     Now, watch what happens to these writings, which previously pertained to the conditions in Israel around 720 B.C.:

 

Amos 9:9         I (the Lord) will give the order
                        And shake the House of Israel—
                        Through all the nations—
                        As one shakes sand in a sieve,
                        And not a pebble falls to the ground…

 

Amos 9:13      A time is coming
                                                   -declares the Lord

                      When the plowman shall meet the reaper,
                        And the treader of grapes (will meet)
                        Him who holds the seed;
                        When the mountains will drip wine
                        And all the hills shall wave [with grain].
                        I will restore My people Israel.
                        They shall rebuild ruined cities and inhabit them;
                        They shall plan vineyards and drink their wine;
                        They shall till the gardens and eat their fruits.
                        And I will plant them on their soil,
                        Nevermore to be uprooted
                        From the soil I have given them.

 

     The first stanza describes the dispersion (shaking of sand) of the Northern Tribes (Israel) throughout the nations. The last two stanzas of Amos slip into a future description of a time when Israel is restored to its native lands, after which Israel shall nevermore be uprooted again. Nothing except divine intervention could establish Israel "nevermore" to be uprooted. Therefore this last stanza is about the Messianic End of The Age time period when the Lord/Messiah /Melchizedek comes. "Mountains dripping with wine" are also Messianic references. Future, past, and present are often described within a single unit of text, almost as if the events are fused together with the element of time removed. Indeed, God sees history from outside time, where ultimate causes yield ultimate effects, despite their "apparent" unrelatedness to the human eye of sequential time.

     Similar references, such as "forever," "nevermore," and "everlasting" occur in conjunction with a consistently repeated list of End of The Age events, such as restoration of Israel in the example before us. These events and references are densely distributed throughout all of the Old Testament prophets. If these End of the Age events are erroneous, then a large percentage of Old Testament prophecy is worthless and completely unreliable. Judging though from the prior high accuracy of Old Testament prophecy, we must by force of logic consider these yet unfulfilled prophecies to be highly probable future events. Melchizedek already knew the future history of Israel when he "collaborated" with the prophets. He obtained this foreknowledge from God Himself, in whose presence he formulated his plans for the rehabilitation of Urantia (Earth). This partnership with God is part of Melchizedek’s private journey with the Father, just as we all have our private journeys with Him. And, for those who know the Father, it is easy to believe that he would provide instruction for his children during dangerous periods of time. This is precisely what He has done through the medium of sacred scripture.