“And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem” (Luke 24:46-47).

Long before Jesus gave His life for our salvation, there was a need for repentance, and even Gentile nations were offered a chance to repent. Nineveh was the capitol of Assyria. They were a vicious, brutal nation and feared far and wide. They were Gentiles who worshipped pagan gods, such as Nabu, Assur, Adad, and Dagon and practiced child sacrifice among other wickedness. In spite of their evil ways, God wanted them to repent and turn from their wickedness. Even though this nation had no love for Him, God called Jonah to deliver His message to Nineveh.

“Now the word of the Lord came unto Jonah, the son of Amittai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me” (Jonah 1:1-2).

God would forgive their wickedness, but only if they repented. Jonah only wanted that city destroyed, so he fled from God. “But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD” (Jonah 1:3).

Instead of obeying, Jonah hopped the first ship sailing in the opposite direction, but the truth is, nobody can hide from the omnipresent God of all creation. When you try to run from God, trouble follows.

Most of us know what happened next. The ship set sail, but a mighty wind came up. “Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god, and cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it of them. But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep” (Jonah 1:5).

It’s not surprising that he ran from God and ended up with pagans. The sailors had many pagan gods, and each of them prayed to his own god. Only God Almighty could save them, and a prayer of repentance from Jonah would have stopped the storm, but Jonah slept. The sailors cast lots to figure out who was the cause of this storm. The answer was Jonah. His disobedience to God not only put himself in danger, but everyone around him was also in peril.

“And he said unto them, I am an Hebrew; and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry land. Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him, Why hast thou done this? For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them” (Jonah 1:9-10). What a poor testimony he showed to the sailors.

When the sailors asked what they should do to him to calm the sea, Jonah should have said, I’ve sinned against God. I repent and ask forgiveness. Instead, he told them to throw him overboard. Apparently, he’d rather die than repent. Surprisingly, the pagan sailors called upon God Almighty.

“Wherefore they cried unto the LORD, and said, We beseech thee, O LORD, we beseech thee, let us not perish for this man’s life, and lay not upon us innocent blood: for thou, O LORD, hast done as it pleased thee” (Jonah 1:14).

They threw Jonah overboard, and the tempest stopped. They got rid of their trouble, but Jonah’s trouble continued. He came to the end of his endurance, and was sure his life was over. Then, God stepped in. “Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights” (Jonah 1:17).

People have tried to explain this miracle for years using human understanding, but this was a supernatural act of God. Scripture says that God “prepared a great fish,” so the fish didn’t just swim by and swallow Jonah. It wasn’t pleasant for Jonah, but the result of sin is never pleasant.

It was then that Jonah finally did what he should have done long before. “Then Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish’s belly, and said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice” (Jonah 2:1-2).

When there’s nowhere else to turn, that’s when even a non-believer will cry out to God. Jonah now turned to “his God.” He had three days to consider his plight and finally repented. He couldn’t save himself by his own efforts, so he cried out to God.

“When my soul fainted within me I remembered the LORD: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple. They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy, But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD. And the LORD spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land” (Jonah 2:7-10).

The Lord performed miracles for Jonah’s salvation, and Jonah promised obedience in gratitude.

Brothers and sisters, the Lord has done miracles for your salvation, but is your gratitude real? Do you only turn to him when the storms rage? Do you, like Jonah, promise God many things if He will only get you out of a predicament, but forget what He’s done for you once the trouble passes? There’s no possible way for humans to save themselves, so God made a way. Never take God’s gift of salvation for granted.

Jonah finally obeyed God and spoke His message in the streets of Nineveh. “And Jonah began to enter into the city a day’s journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown” (Jonah 3:4).

Jonah obeyed God, but he didn’t really want them to repent. Even a half-hearted witness can accomplish God’s will. “So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them. For word came unto the king of Nineveh and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water; but let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands” (Jonah 3:5-8).

As always, when there’s repentance, God is forgiving. The city was spared from God’s judgment for a number of years. Eventually, they turned back to their sin, and destruction came to them; but for the time being, they were spared.

“But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry” (Jonah 4:1). Jonah accepted God’s mercy for himself, but didn’t want it for wicked Nineveh. Does that sound familiar? Do you praise God for your own salvation but don’t care if your neighbor comes to salvation? Jonah wanted God’s mercy on his own terms.

“And he prayed unto the LORD, and said, I pray thee, O LORD, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of evil. Therefore now, O LORD, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live” (Jonah 4:2).

Jonah ran instead of doing God’s will because he knew that God’s mercy would be given to Nineveh if they repented. God had saved Jonah from death, but now Jonah wanted death and destruction on Nineveh.

This happened at a time when people saw signs that made them nervous. In 763 BC, there had been a solar eclipse. This is one of the strangest phenomena to be experienced. Did you see the solar eclipse in 2017? I live where it was total, and there are no words to describe what I saw. In 765 BC and in 759 BC, there were plagues, and many people died. It wasn’t COVID-19, but, like us today, they felt like something was about to happen.

Jonah lived at the same time as the prophets Hosea and Amos. Both of those men spoke to the Northern Kingdom of repentance, and Amos begins by mentioning a great earthquake that took place two years after the events he wrote about.

“The words of Amos, who was among the herdmen of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel, two years before the earthquake” (Amos 1:1).

An even greater prophet told of signs that would happen before the Great Tribulation. “For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places” (Matthew 24:7).

These events have always taken place, but as we draw near to the end of time, they’re increasing in strength and frequency. The world is aligning itself against God, and the Great Tribulation is fast approaching. That means that the Rapture is even closer. This should be a wake-up call for every Christian to witness to the unsaved people around us and urge repentance.

There’s a lesson here for Christians. We’ve been saved from eternal damnation because we’ve accepted the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ for salvation. We repented and were forgiven. We should be the most thankful people anywhere and desire to share the Gospel with everyone. As we study the failures of Jonah, we can see many similarities between him and our Christian walk. He had a calling from God, but he ran from it. Jesus gave the command to go into all the world and preach the Gospel. That means to go to foreign lands, but it also means to witness to the cashier at your local grocery store, your neighbor, and anyone who will listen.

Wickedness is all around us today. Do we not share the Gospel of Christ because we don’t want wicked people to find God’s mercy? There can be no salvation without repentance, and there can be no repentance unless God’s word is shared with the lost.

Brothers and sisters, the storms are raging around us because we’re running from God. Rather than honoring Him and witnessing to the non-believers around us, we keep silent. Instead of standing upon God’s word to guide us, we accept the ways of the world and push God away. Our silence has allowed prayer to be banned from schools while transexual cross-dressers are allowed to read stories to the children. No wonder the liberal lunatics are running around like rabid dogs trying to destroy America.

There’s a storm raging, and Christians are asleep. America needs to repent. Christians need to repent. Many people pray to demon gods, such as Allah, but Christians sleep as pagan ways infiltrate our daily life. We’ve been saved by the grace of God and been shown His mercy, but we forget that Jesus Christ is all powerful. It’s time we wake up and share the Gospel, and call for repentance.

Jonah is a lesson in what we shouldn’t do. We shouldn’t try to run from God, but we should be overjoyed when someone repents and comes to Christ.

Paul is an example of what Christians need to do… spread the Gospel. Paul was very bold in sharing God’s word. When he entered a city, the first thing he did was to preach Christ and repentance to the lost. He didn’t use gimmicks but only shared God’s truth. If he was among non-believers, he shared the Gospel, and if he was with believers, he made sure they weren’t being led astray. The Gospel he preached was the same Gospel that he had heard, and it’s the same one we’ve heard. We must share it.

“For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: and that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: after that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time” (1 Corinthians 15:3-8).

Paul reminded them that faith in Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection is necessary for salvation. It’s only through faith in His shed blood that we are eternally saved. Then, Paul told of eyewitnesses who saw Jesus after the resurrection. Paul had also seen Him. One day, everybody will see Him. If you’ve placed your faith in Him, you’ll see Him when you die or when you’re Raptured. If you’ve rejected Him, you’ll see Him at the judgment seat of condemnation or at the Second Coming, which will be in wrath. Repent now and accept Jesus Christ for your salvation.

No matter what you’ve done in your life, God’s grace is waiting for you, but it takes repentance to be forgiven and to find salvation. First, the lost must hear the Gospel. Don’t be like Jonah who had no desire for heathens to be saved. Share the Gospel and take joy in the repentance of a lost sinner.

God bless you all,

Nathele Graham

twotug@embarqmail.com

www.straitandnarrowministry.com

ron@straitandnarrowministry.com

Ron and Nathele Graham’s previous commentaries archived at https://www.raptureready.com/featured/graham/graham.html

All original scripture is “theopneustos,” God-breathed.

If you’d like to be on my mailing list to receive the commentaries, just drop me an email and let me know.

 

It’s that time of year again when people feel compelled to make some well-intentioned resolutions. Some people see this time of year as a time to give up a bad habit, such as smoking, while other’s want to be better stewards of their money. Making a resolution is easy, but keeping it takes commitment. A good resolution to keep is to study Scripture and apply it to your life. All Scripture is God-breathed and for our benefit.

“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

Many Christians read through their Bible each year, and that’s a good habit to get into. On the other hand, as you race to get all those scriptures read before next year, be sure you stop and study them. Memorize scriptures so you can bring them to mind in a time of need or if you’re witnessing to someone who wants to know more about your Christian faith. If you become familiar with passages that bring comfort, you’ll be able to bring peace to a friend who’s struggling, or help others in their walk with Jesus. As you study Scripture, look up the meaning of words in their original language. No matter what translation you use, our English Bible is merely a translation from the original languages. You’ll gain deeper understanding by knowing the definition of original words and phrases. A concordance is a good study tool.

Today, Christianity is being challenged, God is being mocked, and many laws are in place which legalize sin. Only Bible study will give you the knowledge to defend your faith and the courage to stand firm on God’s word. Only by studying Scripture will you have answers when your faith is challenged or if someone asks for answers to their quest for truth.

“But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear” (1 Peter 3:15).

The world, which is under the influence of Satan, accepts many things that contradict God’s word. If you sanctify the Lord God in your heart, then you’ll have Scriptural truth to answer someone who claims that God’s OK with the particular sin they embrace. You may be accused of judging, but by studying God’s word, you can explain that you aren’t judging because God defines sin. Then you can open their eyes to God’s love and forgiveness. If you’ve studied Scripture, you’ll be able to help them repent and accept salvation through Christ.

As you study God’s word, examine your own life. We all struggle with sin, but we must recognize that sin and ask God to help us overcome it. James helps us see how to draw closer to God.

“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded” (James 4:7-8).

It’s easy to recognize sin in others but justify our own sin. Anger, lust, and poor stewardship of our money are just a few things we justify. James says not to have double standards. Study Scripture and use it to draw closer to God. Remember, God hasn’t changed His mind about what is and isn’t sin. What was sin yesterday is sin today. He shed His blood to purchase your redemption from the wages of sin.

“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

Christ paid a huge price to save you. Don’t take that fact lightly.

When you study Scripture, you’ll probably learn things your pastor doesn’t teach. When God’s word differs from man’s interpretation, always believe Scripture.

“But refuse profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness” (1 Timothy 4:7). 

You may have to change your mind about the “profane and old wives’ fables” you’ve been taught. For instance, many preachers teach that the reason God destroyed all flesh in the Flood is that Seth’s sons married Cain’s daughters. Scripture doesn’t say that. Satan uses that fable in order to make God look angry and vindictive. An honest study of Genesis chapter 6 reveals that the “sons of God” are the fallen angels, and the “daughters of men” are human women. This ungodly union produced the Nephilim, which had to be destroyed or all of humanity would be corrupted beyond redemption.

If you believe that God destroyed all flesh because one human married another human, then you’ll be confused about other passages. Jesus said the end times would be like the days of Noah. Satan is once again trying to corrupt the human genome by leading “scientists” to cross human DNA with animal DNA to create hybrids and many evil things. When a person is not fully human because of tampering with DNA, they cannot be saved because of the corruption. Jesus died to save humans, not hybrids. With the GMO foods, hybrid creatures, and now a vaccine that’s paving the way for the mark of the beast, if you don’t study and understand Scripture, you will be led astray by lies.

When people see the inner peace you have in these troubled times, they may ask questions. There are many questions on people’s minds these days, and the answer to many of these questions can be found in prophecy. This past year has been very trying, and people are confused, scared, and nervous about the future. Bible prophecy will give you answers when someone voices fear over this virus that’s shutting down the world, or the results of the fraud and dishonest liberal politicians in the American presidential election. If you’ve studied Scripture, you can explain about the signs of the times and why it’s important for every person to give their life to Jesus because the end of time is approaching quickly.

We can see the one world government falling into place, as well as the technology for the mark of the beast. If you don’t study Scripture, you’ll believe the lies that are being told by liberal lunatics who follow Satan, but you’ll find peace and assurance from God’s word that Christians won’t go through the seven years of tribulation.

“For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5:9).

Things will continue to become more Satanic as we move towards the Tribulation period, but Christians won’t see the horrors described in Revelation beginning in chapter 6.

A very common comment I hear is “things are changing,” and people feel that something’s about to happen. That “something” is prophecy being fulfilled. God gave us prophecy for our benefit.

“We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: knowing this first that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation” (2 Peter 1:19-20).

Peter had witnessed amazing things as He walked with Jesus. In spite of what he saw, he placed prophecy above what he experienced, yet most preachers won’t teach on prophecy. In effect, that’s telling God that a large portion of His word doesn’t matter. The events happening around the world, especially in the Middle East, will make more sense when looked at through Bible prophecy.

Why is there such a fight over Israel’s right to exist? God gave that land to the Jewish people forever. Period. The UN, the USA, or any other political alliance you can name, has no right to take it away from them. Study Genesis chapter 13 to see that the land was given by God Almighty to Abraham’s seed forever. Abraham is the father of the nation of Israel. Prophecies in Ezekiel tell of the dry bones joining and coming to life. The dry bones represent Israel, and they began coming together when Israel was reestablished in their God-given land.

Ezekiel also tells of a war when all nations will come against Israel, and we see nations aligning today to fulfill that prophecy. Wars will continue, but Israel will be victorious; however, they must first recognize that Jesus Christ is their Messiah. We are living in the last days, and only Biblical prophecy will give you understanding of these crazy times.

Which brings us to the Rapture. Studying Scripture will reveal that not only is the pre-tribulation Rapture Scriptural but it’s on the very near horizon. This is first “pictured” in the book of Genesis. In your study of Genesis, you’ll come across a man named Enoch who was taken (Raptured) by God prior to the judgment of Noah’s flood (Genesis 5:24 and Hebrews 11:5). Enoch is a “picture” of the pre-tribulation Rapture. When you study Paul’s letters to the Thessalonians, you’ll see that Paul taught a pre-tribulation Rapture. Also, the letters that Jesus dictated to John, which are found in chapters 2 and 3 of Revelation, spell out the history of Christianity throughout the ages. After the final letter, John saw a door open in Heaven.

“After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter” (Revelation 4:1). 

This is the Rapture. The rest of Revelation is what John saw happening after Christians are Raptured. He describes marvelous things in Heaven where Christians have been taken, but on earth it’s horrifying. God’s wrath will be poured out on earth during those final seven years. All those who haven’t accepted Christ for salvation will face harrowing times. This should inspire you to witness to others about the good news of salvation through Jesus. Only Christians will escape God’s wrath.

The most comforting of all subjects to study is salvation. God made it simple for us, but people have complicated it.

“For by grace are ye saved through faith: and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

What a wonderful promise! There’s nothing you can do to save yourself. Only grace from God accepted by faith brings salvation. There’s no other way to spend eternity in Heaven than through faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Everyone is a sinner and falls short of God’s perfect standard, but Jesus shed His blood for the entire world. The question is, have you accepted His sacrifice?

“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; to declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus” (Romans 3:23-26).

Have you placed your faith in Christ alone for salvation? Many people place their faith in works, such as doing good deeds. Some even believe that baptism equals salvation. Each person must make the choice to accept God’s free gift for themselves. If you were baptized as a baby, you didn’t make your own profession of faith, so you need to do that now. It has to be your own choice. You should be baptized because of obedience, and you should do good deeds as a way to glorify Christ, but only faith brings salvation. As you study Scripture, you’ll become more and more thankful for the price He paid to redeem you.

Of all the resolutions you can make, the one with the greatest rewards is to truly study His word and walk close to Him.

God bless you all,

Nathele Graham

twotug@embarqmail.com

www.straitandnarrowministry.com

ron@straitandnarrowministry.com

Ron and Nathele Graham’s previous commentaries archived at https://www.raptureready.com/featured/graham/graham.html

All original scripture is “theopneustos,” God-breathed.

If you’d like to be on my mailing list to receive the commentaries, just drop me an email and let me know.