Jeremiah 30 FSI - HEAR, O EARTH

> [!title|noicon] **Jeremiah 30 Notes** > [[Jeremiah 29 FSI|<Prev]]   [[Jeremiah 31 FSI|Next>]] > [[Jeremiah 30|Verse list view]] > [Jeremiah 30:1](Jeremiah%2030.md#^1), [2](Jeremiah%2030.md#^2) note > > In verse 2, God gives us a statement of how He wrote the Bible. It wasn't Jeremiah, or Luke (for example), or Matthew, or any of the other scribes who actually wrote the Bible. *God* wrote the Bible *through* His messengers such as Jeremiah, Luke, Matthew and the others. God gave them the words so that they could write exactly as they did. We can really see this, for example, in the book of Genesis, which was penned through Moses who lived thousands and thousands of years after creation and after the flood. And yet he detailed conversations between God and Adam or God and Noah, and there's no way Moses could have gotten that information from anyone except God Himself. And when we look at the book of Jude, he quotes what Enoch the seventh from Adam said way back when he was living, thousands of years before ([Jude 14](Jude.md#^14), [15](Jude.md#^15)). So this is how God is coming to Jeremiah now, telling him to write these words He has spoken in a book. And God will develop this idea further when we get to [Jeremiah 36:2](Jeremiah%2036.md#^2). > > This is why the Bible is so wonderful -- it comes from the very Mouth of God Himself and it is *absolutely trustworthy*. When we have the Bible in our hand, we have the most precious, most wonderful information that can ever be imagined. > > Now, in 2 places in the book of Revelation we read about a book. In [Revelation 5:1](Revelation%205.md#^1), [2](Revelation%205.md#^2), [3](Revelation%205.md#^3), [4](Revelation%205.md#^4), [5](Revelation%205.md#^5) and [6:1](Revelation%206.md#^1) and following, we read about a book that is sealed with 7 seals, and only the Lamb (Christ) was worthy to open them. And as Christ opens the seals of the book, He is discussing aspects of His salvation plan throughout the church age: Christ going to the cross and God's plan to send the Gospel into the world. Only Christ Himself could open the seals of this book. This represents how the Gospel was written throughout the Old Testament, but it was never very well articulated until Christ came to open the book. Once He came, then the seals were taken off and these truths became apparent to benefit the church during the church age. > > Then we read of Christ with an open book in [Revelation 10:1](Revelation%2010.md#^1), [2](Revelation%2010.md#^2), [3](Revelation%2010.md#^3), [4](Revelation%2010.md#^4). So again, we read about a book, but in this case it's going to be sealed. But then in [verses 7](Revelation%2010.md#^7), [8](Revelation%2010.md#^8), [9](Revelation%2010.md#^9), [10](Revelation%2010.md#^10), [11](Revelation%2010.md#^11), we read where God instructs John to eat the book and to prophecy *again* before many peoples, nations, tongues and kings. And this time God specifies that this was in the *days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound and the mystery of God shall be finished*. And we read about when the seventh angel sounds in [Revelation 11:15](Revelation%2011.md#^15) ... [18](Revelation%2011.md#^18) -- where it is dealing with the very time of the end. So God has specifically sealed the information concerning the time of the end until that time (which has now come), as we read also in [Daniel 12:9](Daniel%2012.md#^9). So we are now living in that time when these mysteries are being revealed. So this book relates to the content of the book that we read about here in Jeremiah 30 which relates to the very end of time. So this is what we can expect to understand from the remainder of this chapter, as well as what we have been reading throughout the book of Jeremiah. ^jer30-1-2 > [Jeremiah 30:3](Jeremiah%2030.md#^3) note > > Verse 3 begins to show a bit of sunshine in the book of Jeremiah, which focuses so much on God's judgment. And we'll see why this is in a moment. There is *going* to be deliverance! It isn't just *all* doom and gloom as we've read about consistently so far in Jeremiah, and will see again as we continue on in coming chapters. Remember, Israel and Judah were the *visible* representation of the kingdom of God in their day, and they point to the churches and congregations in our day as the visible kingdom of God. They are today's Israel and Judah, in other words. And the people of Israel and Judah who have been driven out, the true believers, will return to the land that God had given to their fathers (as represented by the Promised land, the land of Canaan, given to Abraham and the patriarchs and which typified the kingdom of God), which land is the *eternal* Jerusalem, or the *eternal* kingdom of God ([Heb 11:10](Hebrews%2011.md#^10)). So even during this time of judgment, God still has a salvation plan as we will see. ^jer30-3 > [Jeremiah 30:4](Jeremiah%2030.md#^4), [5](Jeremiah%2030.md#^5), [6](Jeremiah%2030.md#^6) note > > We might hesitate here and ask, "What's going on here? This doesn't sound like sunshine at all like we just read in [verse 3](Jeremiah%2030.md#^3)." Here is the voice of trembling and fear, and not of peace ([v5](Jeremiah%2030.md#^5)). And in [verse 6](Jeremiah%2030.md#^6) we see that this relates to a woman travailing with child. > > Whenever the Bible speaks of a woman travailing with child ([v6](Jeremiah%2030.md#^6)), God is talking about *judgment* and *the great tribulation* ([1 Thess 5:2](1%20Thessalonians%205.md#^2), [3](1%20Thessalonians%205.md#^3)). Eventually that woman with child is *going* to give birth -- she doesn't know precisely when, but it is going to come. She may experience enormous pain, but she cannot stop it. (Of course, in our day a woman can have a C-section to alleviate a lot of the issues, but it wasn't normally that way throughout the history of time.) That baby is going to be born with all of the pain that is associated with it. And only God knows when that's going to happen. > > So God uses this as a very important picture of judgment day, as we'll see in [verse 7](Jeremiah%2030.md#^7). Judgment day is *going* to come, and it's going to be painful beyond measure for the unsaved. But you can't stop it. It's going to come. You can be in denial like many in the churches and those out in the world are. They can pretend like it's not going to happen. They can mock the Bible and try to discredit it in any way they can. But deep in their hearts they have a deep-seated fright. Since God's Law is written on the heart, and every human being is created in the image of God and intuitively knows they are accountable to God for sin and that there is a judgment day -- even though they might completely suppress the Truth in their conscience -- nevertheless there is fear and trembling because judgment day is going to come. And they do not want to face it. But you can't change it, it is going to happen. ^jer30-4-6 > [Jeremiah 30:7](Jeremiah%2030.md#^7) note > > This is the day we are in, it is the time of great tribulation and judgment, it is the day that the woman in travail has come to the birth. And here we read that it is the time of *Jacob's trouble*. > > The word *trouble* is also found in [Daniel 12:1](Daniel%2012.md#^1), which speaks of this same time -- it is the time of trouble, the time of affliction -- that is, it is the time of great tribulation when judgment begins with the house of God and transitions to the entire world (compare with [Mt 24:21](Matthew%2024.md#^21)). > > In the Bible, Jacob can refer to *Israel* -- Jacob was the progenitor of the nation of Israel. Jacob also identifies with Christ Himself ([Ps 24:6](Psalm%2024.md#^6)). But when the Bible speaks of *Jacob's trouble*, it is pointing to the time when God is bringing judgment upon the local churches and congregations. > > Yet, then in verse 7, God says that, "he (that is, Jacob) shall be saved out of it." So Jacob *here* refers to the body of true believers who will be *saved out of* the final judgment, they are the spiritual seed of Abraham through faith in Christ. So God is saying that salvation is still possible *even during this severe time of trouble* which is the time of judgment. And that, too, is parallel to what we read in [Daniel 12:1](Daniel%2012.md#^1) where God says, "...and at that time (of trouble) shall thy people be delivered, every one that shall be written in the book." So even as trouble (judgment, affliction) comes upon Jacob (the local congregations and denominations), God is yet saving Jacob (His elect people, a remnant) *outside* of the context of the visible churches. We'll see this again when we get to verses 10 and 11, and this is why we'll see language of judgment one moment and language of salvation the next. ^jer30-7 > [Jeremiah 30:8](Jeremiah%2030.md#^8), [9](Jeremiah%2030.md#^9) note > > In one sense, the yoke they have upon them currently is where God had commanded them to leave Jerusalem for Babylon and to serve the king of Babylon. They were *not* to serve him spiritually, they were not to serve his gods while in exile from Judah and Jerusalem. They were only to serve him secularly, as did Daniel and his companions. No matter where we are, we are to continue to serve and obey God even as we obey the laws of the land (where they are not unbiblical). > > But here in verses 8 and 9, God is indeed speaking about *salvation*, about breaking the yoke of spiritual bondage to sin and Satan. Before we are saved we are under the spiritual rule of Satan (as typified by King Nebuchadnezzar), we serve him. And when we're saved, we're delivered out of the dominion of darkness and translated into the kingdom of God ([Col 1:13](Colossians%201.md#^13)). So these 2 verses are teaching the same truth found at the end of verse 7, that there will be great salvation during this time when judgment has fallen upon the churches and congregations, which transitions to the world. And when we become saved, we serve David our King, with David (meaning *beloved*) being a name for *Christ* HImself. See [Ezekiel 37:23](Ezekiel%2037.md#^23), [24](Ezekiel%2037.md#^24), [25](Ezekiel%2037.md#^25) for a parallel example where those who are saved serve David *forever*, which points to Christ reigning as King in Heaven -- in the spiritual, heavenly Jerusalem. We also see there that *Jacob* points to the *believers* who inherit the eternal promised land, which will be the focus of the next verse, verse 10. ^jer30-8-9 > [Jeremiah 30:10](Jeremiah%2030.md#^10) note > > Jacob, we've learned, points to those who identify with the kingdom of God. And God is going to save them from afar, from anywhere in the world where they live. So Jacob shall *return*, that is, he (they, those who are called Jacob here) shall come into the kingdom of God when God saves them. And Jacob shall be at *rest*, that is, all of the work will have been done by God Himself. That is, we *rest* in Him and are safe and secure forevermore in Christ so that none shall make us afraid. That is, when we're saved we are no longer under the wrath of God. So Jacob in this verse points to those who become saved out of the nations. ^jer30-10 > [Jeremiah 30:11](Jeremiah%2030.md#^11) note > > There's a similar passage in [Amos 9:8](Amos%209.md#^8), [9](Amos%209.md#^9), [10](Amos%209.md#^10), [11](Amos%209.md#^11). There, God speaks of bringing judgment upon His corporate, visible people that have rebelled against Him while yet saving His eternal, chosen people (cp [Ro 9:27](Romans%209.md#^27)). He will sift out those who are not the true believers. And He uses language of wonderful salvation during the time that He is bringing judgment. So this is the idea that God has picked up in [verse 7](Jeremiah%2030.md#^7) and here in verse 11. God will make a full end *of all the nations where He had scattered them*, yet He will not make a full end of Jacob even as He brings this judgment -- because His elect (the eternal Jacob) will be saved out of judgment. > > "...but I will correct thee in measure, and will not leave thee altogether unpunished." -- So God has a plan for His people. Out of Jacob God has a remnant that will become saved, but there will be punishment upon the rest of them ([Ro 9:27](Romans%209.md#^27)). And this truth serves as the backdrop for the remainder of the chapter. ^jer30-11 > [Jeremiah 30:12](Jeremiah%2030.md#^12), [13](Jeremiah%2030.md#^13) note > > "For thus saith the LORD, Thy bruise *is* incurable, *and* thy wound *is* grievous." -- Just as God has spoken about saving Jacob in the previous verses, now He speaks about how they are in deep trouble again. At this time, when God is bringing judgment upon Jacob (the visible churches and congregations) and yet saving a remnant out of them, God is working with a *very* rebellious people. Those who are saved and escape are no better of themselves than those who come under judgment. Only by mercy and grace alone, God is saving a tiny part out of the whole. So this verse is really indicating *why* there is judgment and why we need salvation. We have an incurable bruise and a grievous wound of sin that leads to eternal death. > > "*There is* none to plead thy cause, that thou mayest be bound up: thou hast no healing medicines." -- That is, there is no one legally on their behalf to help them, to deliver them from the sentence of death. There is no healing balm (that is, there is no Physician, there is no Gospel) to heal their incurable bruise and their grievous wound so that they (we) might live (cp [Jer 14:19](Jeremiah%2014.md#^19), [20](Jeremiah%2014.md#^20)). ^jer30-12-13 > [Jeremiah 30:14](Jeremiah%2030.md#^14) note > > "All thy lovers have forgotten thee; they seek thee not" -- The lovers who have forgotten them can refer to Christ, Who loved them as His church but has now forgotten them because He is finished with them so that there's no hope for them any longer. Or, more likely, the lovers are those to whom they have run in their spiritual adulteries as they forgot God and went after the gods of the nations of the world ([Eze 16:37](Ezekiel%2016.md#^37)). And these lovers cannot help them at all. All they see is how bad they have turned out so that they are held in contempt and derision. > > As Satan has sown the seeds of the tares amongst the wheat over time, the tares have taken over. So God declares, "for I have wounded thee with the wound of an enemy, with the chastisement of a cruel one, for the multitude of thine iniquity; *because* thy sins were increased." Notice that it is *God* who has wounded them with the wound of an enemy. This is the wound that God says is grievous in [verse 12](Jeremiah%2030.md#^12) and continues with in [verse 15](Jeremiah%2030.md#^15) that their sorrow is incurable because of the increase of their iniquity. And now it is to that point when God separates the wheat from the tares at the end of time, in the time in which we now live. ^jer30-14 > [Jeremiah 30:15](Jeremiah%2030.md#^15) note > > "*because* thy sins were increased, I have done these things unto thee." -- As in [verse 14](Jeremiah%2030.md#^14), God indicates that *He* has done these things unto them. He has wounded them with the wound of an enemy. And who is the enemy? On the one hand God Himself is now their enemy because they have rebelled against Him. On the other hand, God allows Satan to overtake them and to become their spiritual ruler for their rebellion. And, in fact, this is what happens once they have left God for their idols, for their false gods and false gospels that they are pleased to follow that are not the true Gospel (see [Gal 1:6](Galatians%201.md#^6), [7](Galatians%201.md#^7), [8](Galatians%201.md#^8), [9](Galatians%201.md#^9)). Once they have done that they are effectively already worshiping Satan, so God abandons them to their own lusts unto destruction as Satan ravishes them through his ministers who masquerade as ministers of righteousness. But ultimately, God declares here that *He* has done these things. It is His plan for this to happen. ^jer30-15 > [Jeremiah 30:16](Jeremiah%2030.md#^16), [17](Jeremiah%2030.md#^17) note > > In [verse 16](Jeremiah%2030.md#^16), who is devouring them? Who is spoiling them as a prey? God has allowed Satan to come in to devour them for their iniquity because they insisted on going after him anyway by concocting their own kind of gods and their own kind of gospels. He has allowed the churches to grow worse and worse in rebellion against Him so that we see all kinds of unbiblical, worldly ideas in the churches. They are just a shell that go by the Name of Christ ([Is 4:1](Isaiah%204.md#^1)). So those who rule over them on down to those who follow them are under the rule and power of Satan ([2 Thess 2:8](2%20Thessalonians%202.md#^8), [9](2%20Thessalonians%202.md#^9), [10](2%20Thessalonians%202.md#^10), [11](2%20Thessalonians%202.md#^11), [12](2%20Thessalonians%202.md#^12)). And so it is they themselves that will be devoured as they rejected the Truth of God's Word. > > From [verses 16](Jeremiah%2030.md#^16), [17](Jeremiah%2030.md#^17), we see that those who are devouring the churches and congregations direct their venom and ire against those who have come out from them in order to maintain Truth, against those whom God plans to retain in the eternal kingdom of God. We see this, for example, if someone comes along who asks a lot of questions directly from the Bible against the creeds of their church. They are not received gladly at all for wanting to know the Truth of the Bible. That's not how they react at all. Rather, they are considered to be a disturbance for questioning what the churches teach. And the next thing the person has to leave or they'll be excommunicated. So they are being plundered, they are as adversaries to them. > > So in [verse 17](Jeremiah%2030.md#^17) God says that He will restore *health* to those who are His people, which refers to *salvation*. Christ is the great Physician who brings the healing balm of the Gospel to them. He will heal the wounds of those who are the outcasts for remaining faithful to the Bible ([Jer 29:14](Jeremiah%2029.md#^14)) so that they could no longer remain within the congregations, according to the commandment and plan of God here. And this includes the great multitude of those God has planned to save outside of the churches during this time. ^jer30-16-17 > [Jeremiah 30:18](Jeremiah%2030.md#^18) note > > "Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will bring again the captivity of Jacob's tents, and have mercy on his dwellingplaces;" -- This is language that we've seen in the previous verses: God will free His people from captivity to sin and Satan and bring them into the kingdom of the Lord Christ. He's talking about those who become saved, the eternal Jacob. > > "...and the city shall be built upon her own heap, and the palace shall remain after the manner thereof." The word translated *manner* could be translated *judgment, ordinance or law*: "and the palace shall remain after the law/ordinance thereof." God has *laws* describing the building of the temple. And the palace that God is speaking about here is the eternal temple that He is building, as we read about in [Psalm 48:3](Psalm%2048.md#^3), [9](Psalm%2048.md#^9), [13](Psalm%2048.md#^13). It has to do with the kingdom of God. > > But here God is speaking about the building the temple *upon her heap* -- so it is actually a rebuilding that is taking place. And the heap refers to when the visible kingdom of God, the churches and congregations that are typified by the visible temple, are destroyed under the judgment of God prior to the end of the world. In [Matthew 24:1](Matthew%2024.md#^1), [2](Matthew%2024.md#^2), Christ begins to speak about the final tribulation period just preceding His return at the end of the world ([Mt 24:3](Matthew%2024.md#^3)). So the temple that is destroyed in Matthew 24:1-2 refers spiritually to the churches and congregations at the end of the church age (cp [Lam 4:1](Lamentations%204.md#^1), [2](Lamentations%204.md#^2)). > > Now, when Solomon built the original, visible temple in Jerusalem, he was a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ who came to build His temple. All of the utensils, the altar and everything else in that temple represented aspects of God's salvation plan through pictures, types and patterns (see [Heb 8:1-6](Hebrews%208.md); [1 Cor 3:9](1%20Corinthians%203.md#^9), [10](1%20Corinthians%203.md#^10), [11](1%20Corinthians%203.md#^11) ... [16](1%20Corinthians%203.md#^16)). And Christ has been building the eternal temple, mostly through the *visible* temple of the churches and congregations, throughout the church age until the time came that God smashed that temple. So now not one stone is left upon another ([Mt 24:2](Matthew%2024.md#^2)). > > So here in Jeremiah 30:18, God is speaking of the time *after* this has occurred -- the temple has become a heap. And God will rebuild the city upon her own heap, and her palace (a synonym here for the temple) shall remain according to the *law* thereof. That is, for a very short period of time, God continues to have His salvation plan on the edge of His judgment upon the churches and congregations when He *rebuilds* the (eternal) temple upon the heaps of the destroyed visible temple. But this time there will be no more earthly, visible temple left. That was for the service of this world during the church age, but it will not continue to exist throughout eternity, just as the physical temple in Jerusalem existed for its time of service until God was finished with it. This rebuilt temple, then, will be the final, magnificent, eternal temple that God Himself has completed. > > We find parallel language to this in [Amos 9:11](Amos%209.md#^11), [12](Amos%209.md#^12), [13](Amos%209.md#^13), [14](Amos%209.md#^14), [15](Amos%209.md#^15) (and remember, we saw previously in [Amos 9:8](Amos%209.md#^8), [9](Amos%209.md#^9), [10](Amos%209.md#^10), that this context is at the time of the end). And *this* temple (that is, this palace) "will *remain* (that is, it will *abide*, it will *be inhabited*) according to the law thereof," that is, it will remain or abide *forever*, it will never be destroyed again (which comports with [Am 9:15](Amos%209.md#^15)). That's how we know for certain that God is speaking about the *eternal* temple here that is built upon the heap of that which was thrown down because now it will abide forever, it will abide according to the law thereof. > > Now, Amos chapter 9, discussed above, is approximately quoted in [Acts 15:13-19](Acts%2015.md). There, the apostles were faced with many Gentiles coming into the kingdom at the beginning of the church age as they wondered what to do. And in [Acts 15:16](Acts%2015.md#^16), [17](Acts%2015.md#^17), James, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, cites from [Amos 9:11](Amos%209.md#^11), [12](Amos%209.md#^12). So he's using this passage in Amos 9 as a proof-text that God's intention was for the Gospel to be sent to the Gentiles. Tthat was their evidence that God has a saving plan for the Gentiles just as well as for the Jews. And this was very logical for the time period in which they were living at the beginning of the church age. > > But, as we saw previously, since Christ tells us in [Matthew 24:1](Matthew%2024.md#^1), [2](Matthew%2024.md#^2), [3](Matthew%2024.md#^3) that the stones of this visible temple will be thrown down as we approach the end of time preceding eternity, which is parallel to what we read in [Amos 9:8](Amos%209.md#^8), [9](Amos%209.md#^9), [10](Amos%209.md#^10) -- then Amos chapter 9 speaks of rebuilding the *fallen* temple *where it will never again be pulled up* ([Amos 9:11](Amos%209.md#^11), [12](Amos%209.md#^12), [13](Amos%209.md#^13), [14](Amos%209.md#^14), [15](Amos%209.md#^15)), *this* is the time period where Amos chapter 9 actually comes in. *At this time, upon the heap of the fallen temple*, God rebuilds the *eternal* temple which will *never again be pulled up* per [Jeremiah 30:18](Jeremiah%2030.md#^18). So in this relatively short period of time, God Himself is *again* rebuilding the temple which, this time, will *never* be destroyed in all eternity ([Jer 30:18](Jeremiah%2030.md#^18); [Am 9:14](Amos%209.md#^14), [15](Amos%209.md#^15)) as He calls in a multitude which no man can number (from the highways and hedges) completely apart from the visible kingdom of God that existed throughout the church age ([Lk 14:21](Luke%2014.md#^21), [22](Luke%2014.md#^22), [23](Luke%2014.md#^23), [24](Luke%2014.md#^24)). This, then, will complete the heavenly, or the new, Jerusalem in which God will dwell forevermore. We'll see more of this kind of language when we get to [Jeremiah 31:4](Jeremiah%2031.md#^4). > > The next several verses of Jeremiah 30 (verses 19-22) confirm that we are on the right track as God speaks of this rebuilt temple comprising those who are truly saved, and as God again speaks of His judgment falling upon the unsaved in verses 23 and 24. ^jer30-18 > [Jeremiah 30:19](Jeremiah%2030.md#^19) note > > "And out of them shall proceed thanksgiving and the voice of them that make merry:" -- This is the happy language of salvation as God brings in a great multitude of His elect right near the very end of time, as He is rebuilding His spiritual temple (the everlasting temple, the new Jerusalem) upon the heap or the ruins of the visible temple (the churches and congregations) that has been destroyed. This is the final harvest during the time of the latter rain. > > "...and I will multiply them, and they shall not be few; I will also glorify them, and they shall not be small." -- This identifies with the language of [Revelation 7:9](Revelation%207.md#^9) which speaks of a *great multitude that no man could number.* They shall *not be few* and they shall *not be small* (small meaning *insignificant* here) who are going to become true believers during this time -- who become a part of this palace, this city of God (in [v18](Jeremiah%2030.md#^18)). This is different from what we read in [Romans 9:27](Romans%209.md#^27), where God speaks only of a *remnant* becoming saved. A remnant is only a tiny part of the whole. But here in Jeremiah 30:19 and in Revelation 7:9, God is speaking about this rebuilding of the *spiritual* temple for the *last time*. God is building the kingdom of God now in the latter days of the world even as judgment falls upon the churches and congregations and upon the world. > > So while, on the one hand, there is so much wickedness and doom and gloom everywhere -- where the world is rapidly heading to judgment day -- yet here is this wonderful blessing that God is giving us: That in this terrible day it is also a day of great salvation when God is rebuilding the final temple and getting ready for its dedication. And God is *multiplying* His people so that they will not be few nor insignificant, it is a great multitude, an abundance of believers! And, as we'll see in [verse 22](Jeremiah%2030.md#^22), there will never be a falling away again for all eternity. ^jer30-19 > [Jeremiah 30:20](Jeremiah%2030.md#^20) note > > "Their children also shall be as beforetime, and their congregation shall be established before me" -- This would be better translated "And *His* sons also shall be as beforetime, and *His* congregation shall be established before me." *His sons* refers to this great multitude in [verse 19](Jeremiah%2030.md#^19) as they become sons of God when they become saved. And they are as before time, that is, as the human race was in the garden of Eden in relationship with God. There, there was no sin, no judgment, no estrangement from God, no death. But after salvation our situation is far better because in the garden of Eden our relationship with God was conditional. Now, we have everlasting salvation in Christ where we can never fall away again if we have become saved. We'll see this more when we look at [verse 22](Jeremiah%2030.md#^22). So this great multitude that is being saved during this time, to put it in our kind of language, is a very big deal. > > "...and His congregation shall be established before me" -- This is speaking of Christ's *eternal* congregation where there are no more tares. There is no more visible congregation before God in which the wheat is mixed with the tares -- anyone and everyone who are in the eternal kingdom of God are in Christ's perfect congregation that is coming into being. > > "and I will punish all that oppress them" -- Anyone who is in opposition to Christ and His people shall come under damnation. ^jer30-20 > [Jeremiah 30:21](Jeremiah%2030.md#^21) note > > "And their nobles shall be of themselves, and their governor shall proceed from the midst of them;" -- This is language indicating that all who are saved are *the Body of Christ*. Christ is the Noble and He is the Governor Who is of themselves. He is the King Who rules over His congregation, the kingdom of God which is coming into existence in all of its purity at the end of the world wherein only those who are true believers can become a part of this eternal kingdom of God. > > "...and I will cause him to draw near, and he shall approach unto me: for who *is* this that engaged his heart to approach unto me? saith the LORD." -- The word translated *engaged* here means *pledged or to become a surety.* And Who is our Surety? A surety is someone who has taken the rap for us. If you cosign for your son to buy a new vehicle, you are telling those who are loaning the money that you will pay if your son does not, you are legally required to pay it if he does not. And that's exactly the picture that God paints of salvation. We are legally required to pay the penalty of eternal death for our sins, but we cannot do it to become saved. So Who cosigns for us, Who took the burden in our place? The Lord Jesus Christ, of course. He is the Surety, He has main the payment for our sins and made it possible for us to approached unto Him. > > These are words of great promise! We should be walking on Cloud 9, to use a figure, as we think about the world today -- not as we look at the world under judgment, which is so much doom and gloom, which makes us weep for our loved ones and so on -- but as we look at the whole perspectus of what is going on we can rejoice knowing that God is building His kingdom. And as we contemplate this we must continuously pray that God would keep us faithful to His Word as we bring the Gospel. And we should be thanking Him again and again for the opportunity to send forth the Gospel into the Word. ^jer30-21 > [Jeremiah 30:22](Jeremiah%2030.md#^22) note > > "And ye shall be my people, and I will be your God." -- This is more accurately translated, "And ye shall be my people, and I AM your God." God is the great I AM, the ever-Present One. So this means that *everlastingly* He is our God if we have become saved! There will never be a falling away of the temple again, such as occurred with the nation of Israel and during the church age, once the eternal temple is complete and is dwelling with God forevermore. And *every* promise that He has made is going to come into fulfillment. ^jer30-22 > [Jeremiah 30:23](Jeremiah%2030.md#^23), [24](Jeremiah%2030.md#^24) note > > After all of the joy of the previous several verses concerning God's salvation plan to bring in a multitude of people into His kingdom during this time of judgment, we must remember the other side of the coin. God is not saving every person in the world. Amongst this great company of believers coming in there is still *judgment day*. Judgment Day is still in full force as God prepares the churches and the world for judgment. But there is this tremendously wonderful program of salvation that is far greater than we read about in any other time in history. And they are happening side-by-side, so we must keep this in mind. We must not misunderstand this, God isn't negating all of His judgment that we've read about so far in Jeremiah and in other places in the Bible. God wasn't speaking about some kind of world-wide utopia where everyone in this world is now going to become saved. And all of this is happening today, in the latter days of the world as we rapidly approach the end: "...in the latter days ye shall consider it." > > So in our day, even as God has given up the unsaved to be more sinful than ever in a very dramatic way to prepare them for judgment ([Ro 1:18-32](Romans%201.md)) -- and His judgment will not end until He has fully performed it -- at the same time He is dramatically saving a great multitude that no man can number. And we'll see this again in chapter 31 of Jeremiah. ^jer30-23-24 Tags: #Old_Testament #Jeremiah #Gods_judgment_on_His_people #FSI