Imagine, if you will, that a Godly man became President of the United States. I know, I know, this is such a far-fetched fantasy that it’s impossible even to conceive. What are the odds – right? But humor me.

So, a true follower of Jesus Christ makes his way into the Oval Office. Maybe he’d been a compromise vice-presidential pick that had been chosen to pull votes from a conservative state like Florida or Texas (that is, before Texas was overrun by California liberals fleeing their self-made hellhole).

In our pretend world, the president dies and our Christian VP ascends to the position of Commander-in-Chief.

Let’s give him a name, say, Hezekiah.

Upon assuming the reins of power, President Hezekiah does what he’s always done: he begins moving the chess pieces in his administration so as to honor the Lord. He replaces the Chief-of-Staff and all the advisors of the previous president – of course, to the vocal outrage of his party. But he gives them no heed and, in the course of his duties, begins to demonstrate his true faith, even going to a solid, Bible-believing church every week rather than the convenient liberal one across the street from the White House. Not only this, but he rolls back various anti-God initiatives that glorify abortion and gender dysphoria. In other words, he makes waves that ripple across the land.

Once he’s settled in at the historic Resolute desk, he surveys the landscape and sees how our nation has moved to new moral lows and has embraced the chaotic lawlessness of the Left. The nation is devolving into extreme depravity with seemingly no end in sight. Something must be done. In reading his Bible, which he does on a daily basis, the Lord puts on President Hezekiah’s heart that he should do even more than he has to date to turn the soul of the nation back to its Creator and the Source of all the many blessings it’s received over the years. He calls for a national fast, a week of prayer, and for all citizens to repent for the sins they’ve committed against their family, neighbors, and against the nation itself.

Now, despite God having placed such an initiative within President Hezekiah, that doesn’t necessarily mean that it will be well accepted and followed. God has certainly changed the temperament on the ground in numerous past circumstances. If He chose to rend the hearts of the people to bow down and follow Him and His ways, He could surely do that. A response like that would probably depend on God’s overall timeline and the purposes He will accomplish when He wants them.

If such an enterprise as this one from President Hezekiah were brought to bear in our current age, because of where we stand in the Bible’s prophetic history, it’s doubtful that many people would act positively. In fact, I can certainly picture much of this nation’s citizenry laughing, mocking, and scorning the president for being such a religious, fundamentalist fool. No, none of this would likely go over well, and America would continue to earn God’s wrath for spurning Him.

Something along these lines occurred in the Holy Land sometime after its division into two nations, i.e., that of Israel as the Northern Kingdom and Judah as the Southern Kingdom.

Following their split after the reign of Solomon, both territories had a series of kings. The Bible describes all those in the Northern Kingdom as wicked.

The Southern Kingdom had several kings that honored the Lord either partially or to a large extent. Israel, a.k.a. Samaria, fell completely to the Assyrians and was lost. Not long after this, Hezekiah became king over Judah. Realizing the perilous state of his godless country, King Hezekiah began a clean-up campaign throughout his territory to restore the Name of Yahweh to its proper place of reverence. As part of his reforms, 2 Chronicles 30:1-10 describes the events that followed:

“Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and wrote letters also to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to the house of the Lord at Jerusalem to keep the Passover to the Lord, the God of Israel. For the king and his princes and all the assembly in Jerusalem had taken counsel to keep the Passover in the second month— for they could not keep it at that time because the priests had not consecrated themselves in sufficient number, nor had the people assembled in Jerusalem— and the plan seemed right to the king and all the assembly.

“So they decreed to make a proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beersheba to Dan, that the people should come and keep the Passover to the Lord, the God of Israel, at Jerusalem, for they had not kept it as often as prescribed. So couriers went throughout all Israel and Judah with letters from the king and his princes, as the king had commanded, saying,

‘O people of Israel, return to the Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, that he may turn again to the remnant of you who have escaped from the hand of the kings of Assyria. Do not be like your fathers and your brothers, who were faithless to the Lord God of their fathers, so that he made them a desolation, as you see. Do not now be stiff-necked as your fathers were, but yield yourselves to the Lord and come to his sanctuary, which he has consecrated forever, and serve the Lord your God, that his fierce anger may turn away from you. For if you return to the Lord, your brothers and your children will find compassion with their captors and return to this land. For the Lord your God is gracious and merciful and will not turn away his face from you, if you return to him.’

“So the couriers went from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh, and as far as Zebulun, but they laughed them to scorn and mocked them.”

Hezekiah knew that the Lord God was merciful and wanted to bless His people. He also knew that unless they truly changed their attitudes toward Him, they would continue to be oppressed and suffer because they’d be on the receiving end of God’s wrath. What’s remarkable is that – despite the land being divided into opposing nations – Hezekiah invited the peoples of the Northern Kingdom to join them in the Passover celebration. With his heart toward God, he understood that unity was important.

One would think that the people remaining in the tribes of Israel, who were left over from the Assyrian destruction, would realize their need for God and His forgiveness. A few did, as the following verse (v11) indicates, with some men of Asher, Zebulun, and (some portion of) Manasseh humbling themselves; but tellingly, those from Ephraim and most of Manasseh refused to hear the call of God on their lives. Not only did they turn from this plea to restore their connection with the Holy One of Israel, they went a step further when Hezekiah’s couriers came to them: they laughed them to scorn and mocked them.

Such was the attitude of far too many of God’s people back in that day. Because an unholy spirit was infectious, ultimately, even Hezekiah’s reforms were forgotten, so that in the coming years, Judah – like her older sister Israel – was overrun by pagan invaders, in this case by Babylon. The people of God – when they decided not to be His people – abandoned all hope of His blessings and eventually suffered the complete loss of their land. Judgment came because it had to. God – being just, and in order to uphold His holy Name – unleashed His wrath as punishment that had to be imposed.

The analogy to our current time provides the picture of what must soon happen to America and the world.

Yes, there is a believing remnant – God always makes sure that there is. However, when a nation crosses God’s red line and exceeds the tipping point, no amount of prayer will change the outcome that He has determined according to His prophetic schedule. When judgment is due, it will come. When the vast majority of people respond to the couriers and watchmen by laughing them to scorn and mocking them, what is there left to save? Why should God continue to extend His mercy upon those who have rejected Him time and again and want nothing to do with Him?

Those of us watching and aware of the times know that we are so, so close to the end. Even many in the secular world recognize this, yet they don’t understand its implications. We do.

The Tribulation is coming like a freight train bearing down on a car stopped at a railway crossing with an unconscious driver. The collision will be catastrophic.

Thankfully, the Lord has given true believers in Jesus Christ an open door to avoid the collision. Romans 10:13 assures us:

“For ‘everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.'”

What a promise! What a blessing!

—

Please click here to listen to the audio version of this commentary: https://rumble.com/v1ny2ju-biblical-audio-commentary-laughed-them-to-scorn.html

Gary Ritter website: books & blog

http://garyritter.com/

Kindle Vella story: Tribulation Rising

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B099Z462WD

The number 9 represents finality and/or judgment in the Bible, especially where Israel is concerned. It is a remarkable number in many respects. It is the last of the single-digit numbers in the decimal system and thus marks the end, and is significant of the conclusion of a matter.

“Nine is akin to the number 6, six being the sum of its factors (3 x 3 = 9, and 3 +3 = 6), and is thus significant of the end of man, and the summation of all man’s works. Nine is, therefore, the number of the finality of judgment, for judgment is committed unto Jesus as the Son of man (John 27; Acts 17:31). It marks the completeness, the end and issue of all things as to man – the judgment of man and all his works. It is a factor of 666, which is 9 times 74. The sum of the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet is 4,995 (5 x 999). It is stamped, therefore, with the numbers of grace and finality. The sum of the Greek alphabet is 3,999.” ^{1}

MATHEMATICAL PROPERTIES OF THE NUMBER NINE

Mathematically it possesses properties that are not found in any other number. I gathered this information (below) from the following Wikipedia page at 9 – Wikipedia.

9 is a composite number, its proper divisors being 1 and 3. It is 3 times 3 and hence the third square number. Nine is a Motzkin number. It is the first composite lucky number, along with the first composite odd number, and the only single-digit composite odd number.

3 times 3 is one more than 2 times 2 times 2. Thus, 9 is a positive perfect power that is one more than another positive perfect power, and it can be proved by Mihăilescu’s Theorem that 9 is the only number having this property.

9 is the highest single-digit number in the decimal system. It is the second non-unitary square prime of the form (p2) and the first that is odd. All subsequent squares of this form are odd.

A polygon with nine sides is called a nonagon or enneagon. A group of nine of anything is called an ennead.

In base 10, a positive number is divisible by 9 if and only if its digital root is 9. That is, if any natural number is multiplied by 9, and the digits of the answer are repeatedly added until it is just one digit, the sum will be nine:

• 2 x 9 = 18 (1 + 8 = 9)
• 3 × 9 = 27 (2 + 7 = 9)
• 3 × 9 = 27 (2 + 7 = 9)
• 121 × 9 = 1089 (1 + 0 + 8 + 9 = 18; 1 + 8 = 9)
• 234 × 9 = 2106 (2 + 1 + 0 + 6 = 9)
• 578329 × 9 = 5204961 (5 + 2 + 0 + 4 + 9 + 6 + 1 = 27; 2 + 7 = 9)
• 482729235601 × 9 = 4344563120409 (4 + 3 + 4 + 4 + 5 + 6 + 3 + 1 + 2 + 0 + 4 + 0 + 9 = 45; 4 + 5 = 9)

There are other interesting patterns involving multiples of nine:

• 12345679 × 9 = 111111111
• 12345679 × 18 = 222222222
• 12345679 × 81 = 999999999

IDIOMS REGARDING THE NUMBER NINE

• “to go the whole nine yards”
• A cat-o’-nine-tails suggests perfect punishment and atonement.
• “A cat has nine lives.”
• “to be on cloud nine”
• “A stitch in time saves nine.”
• “found true 9 out of 10 times”
• “Possession is nine-tenths of the law.”

THE NUMBER NINE IN RELIGION AND MYTHOLOGY

Nine is an important number in Indian and Chinese culture and in the religions of Hinduism, Buddhism, Baha’i Faith, and Christianity (see the above link). It is also significant in Greek, Norse, Aztec, and Mayan mythology. Ramadan, the month of fasting and prayer, is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. The number 9 is held in great reverence by those who study the occult.

NOTABLE INSTANCES OF THE NUMBER NINE IN THE BIBLE

The first war recorded in the Bible involved four kings opposing five kings, for a total of nine kings (Genesis 14).

God confirmed the covenant with Abram when he was 99 years old. The sign of the covenant was for all male children of Abraham and his descendants to be circumcised. God changed Abram’s name to Abraham (Genesis 17).

Sarai was 89 years old when the covenant was confirmed. God changed her name to Sarah. God blessed her with the promise of a son who would be born one year later when she was 90 years old. Isaac was his name (Genesis 17).

Regarding the Sabbath and Jubilee years, God said, “I will send you such a blessing in the sixth year that the land will yield enough for three years. While you plant during the eighth year, you will eat from the old crop and will continue to eat from it until the harvest of the ninth year comes in” (Leviticus 25:21-22).

In the Old Testament, there are nine people recorded as having leprosy (Moses, Miriam, Naaman, Gehazi, King Azariah, and the four lepers of Samaria found in 2 Kings 7:3).

“In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah, Hoshea son of Elah became king of Israel in Samaria, and he reigned for nine years” (2 Kings 17:1).

“It was nine in the morning when they crucified him” (Mark 15:25). Jesus was placed on the cross at 9:00 am in the morning and died 6 hours later.

“And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46). Jesus died at 3:00 pm (Israel time) in the afternoon.

In Luke 15, Jesus tells the parable of the one lost sheep (out of 100), whereas the shepherd leaves the remaining 99 sheep to find the one that is lost. “I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent” (Luke 15:7).

In Luke 17, Jesus heals 10 men who have leprosy. Only one out of ten come back to praise God and thank Jesus. He was a Samaritan. “Jesus asked, ‘Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?’ Then he said to him, ‘Rise and go; your faith has made you well'” (Luke 17:17-19). I believe this is a typology of the gospel going to the Gentiles, as the Jews are largely unresponsive.

THE NUMBER NINE IN CHRISTIANITY

The number 9 also represents completeness and finality in divine things. Nine is the square of three, and three is the number of Divine perfection, as well as the number peculiar to the Holy Spirit. For example, there are nine characteristics of the fruit of the Spirit. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23).

There are nine Beatitudes found in Matthew 5: (1) “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (2) “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” (3) “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” (4) “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” (5) “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” (6) “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” (7) “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” (8) “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (9) “Blessed are you when [those who] people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way, they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

There are nine gifts of the Spirit according to 1 Corinthians 12:7-10: the word of wisdom, the word of knowledge, faith, healing, the working of miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, divers kinds of tongues, and the interpretation of tongues.

JUDGMENT AND THE NUMBER NINE

The number 9 also represents judgment in the Bible. Nine seems to be an especially unlucky number for Israel. In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria took Samaria, and carried Israel away into Assyria, and placed them in Halah and in Habor by the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes” (2 Kings 17:6).

“In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army against Jerusalem, and they besieged it” (Jeremiah 39:1).

“And in the fourth month, in the ninth day of the month, the famine was sore in the city, so that there was no bread for the people of the land” (Jeremiah 52:6).

Av is the 5th month on the Jewish calendar. Tisha B’Av is not one of the appointed Feast days of the Lord but is a fast and a day of mourning. The first nine days of the Hebrew month of Av are collectively known as “The Nine Days” (Tisha HaYamim) and are a period of semi-mourning leading up to Tisha B’Av, the ninth day of Av on which both Temples in Jerusalem were destroyed. Throughout Israel’s history, the ninth of Av has witnessed eight of the greatest disasters in their nation’s history (see below). If there is a next time, it will be the ninth disaster for Israel on this day.

1. Twelve Jewish spies survey the Promised Land – 1444 BC
2. The destruction of Solomon’s Temple by the Babylonians – 586 BC
3. The destruction of the second Temple by the Romans – AD 70
4. The Romans plowed Jerusalem and the Temple Mount – AD 71
5. The destruction of Simon Bar Kochba’s army – AD 135
6. England expelled the Jews – AD 1236
7. England expelled the Jews – AD 1492
8. Russia Mobilized for WWI and launched persecutions against the Jews – AD 1914

For more information on these disasters regarding the children of Israel, see The Dog Days of Summer (rev310.net).

CHAPTER NINE IN SCRIPTURE

Many books of the Bible talk about judgment from God. Interestingly, in numerous instances, chapter 9 of these books is one that deals with this prevalent subject of the Bible. Here are some examples:

Genesis 9 – Ham’s descendant, Canaan, is cursed by Noah due to Ham’s disrespect for his father, as per Genesis 9:21-27.

Exodus 9 – This chapter in Exodus describes the fifth, sixth, and seventh plagues upon Egypt as a judgment against Pharaoh for not letting God’s people go.

Deuteronomy 9 is a review from Moses regarding the children of Israel’s rebellions against God during their 40 years of wandering in the desert. If Moses hadn’t talked to God and convinced Him not to kill the people for their worshipping a molded calf idol, God would have destroyed them.

Judges 9 – God judges the wicked judge Abimelech and the evil men of Shechem. “Thus God repaid the wickedness of Abimelech, which he had done to his father by killing his seventy brothers. And all the evil of the men of Shechem God returned on their own heads, and on them came the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal” (Judges 9:56-57).

2 Kings 9 – God judges King Joram (son of Ahab) of Israel, King Ahaziah of Judea, and Queen Jezebel of Israel and uses Jehu as His tool to bring about their deaths.

Psalm 9 is a psalm of David regarding prayer and thanksgiving for God’s righteous judgments. “But the Lord shall endure forever; He has prepared His throne for judgment. He shall judge the world in righteousness, and He shall administer judgment for the peoples in uprightness” (Psalm 9:6-8).

Isaiah 9 is a judgment of destruction against the northern kingdom of Israel. Isaiah issues this prophecy by the Lord against Israel for their exceeding sinfulness. “Through the wrath of the Lord of hosts the land is burned up, and the people shall be as fuel for the fire; no man shall spare his brother” (Isaiah 9:19).

Jeremiah 9 is a judgment of destruction against Judea and Jerusalem for their rebellious and disobedient actions toward God and His word. “I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins, a den of jackals. I will make the cities of Judah desolate, without an inhabitant” (Jeremiah 9:11).

Ezekiel 9 is a judgment against the men and women of Israel who were worshipping idols and committing abominations in the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem. The Lord sent six angels to kill those who were performing these atrocities. One angel’s job was to place a mark on the ones who were innocent of these deeds. The other angels’ mission was to kill the ones who didn’t have this mark. As soon as this was accomplished, the glory of the Lord departed from the threshold of the Temple.

Daniel 9 – God sent the angel Gabriel to Daniel so we could be informed of the future of Israel and Jerusalem. This prophecy is known as Daniel’s Seventy-Sevens and includes the future judgment for Israel and the world in regard to the last seven years of human history.

Hosea 9 is a judgment against the northern kingdom of Israel. “The days of punishment have come; The days of recompense have come. Israel knows! The prophet is a fool, The spiritual man is insane, Because of the greatness of your iniquity and great enmity” (Hosea 9:7).

Amos 9 is another prophecy and judgment against Israel for their sinfulness. “Behold, the eyes of the Lord God are on the sinful kingdom, And I will destroy it from the face of the earth; Yet I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob,” Says the Lord” (Amos 9:8). However, Amos 9:11-15 describe Israel’s future restoration during the millennial reign of the Messiah.

Revelation 9 describes the horrific judgments against the world during Daniel’s 70th seven, otherwise known as the Tribulation. This chapter details the fifth and sixth trumpet judgments that will occur before the mid-point of the seven-year Tribulation.

The Rapture will occur at least 7 years before the start of Daniel’s Seventieth Seven (Jacob’s Trouble/Day of the Lord). It would not surprise me in the least if the Rapture transpired two years before the Tribulation. That means the Rapture might take place nine years before the Second Coming of Jesus to the earth. The world will be judged at the Rapture – those who believe in Lord Jesus and those who do not. Those who believe will be rewarded with entry into heaven, and those who do not believe will be punished with “hell on earth.”

Two is the number for division, and the world will be greatly divided (literally, as well) during the two years between the Rapture and the “confirming of the covenant” by the Antichrist, which begins the Tribulation. Only time will tell if this is correct or not, but I believe there has to be a significant gap of time that transpires between these two major events so the Antichrist can build up enough influence and power (within the 10 kings or kingdoms) to authorize and confirm this covenant. He will be judged nine years later for this unrighteous act and his rebellion against God by the Lord Jesus Himself and will be condemned to the Lake of Fire for eternity.

“Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him” (Jude 1:14-15).

Randy Nettles

rgeanie55@gmail.com

Endnotes: ^{1} Number in Scripture by E.W. Bullinger