I Kings Chapter 13 "Warning,
by a Man of God." This Bible
Study is written by Roger Christopherson, and it's
transcription is provided with written permission by http://www.theseason.org I Kings 13:1 "And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the Lord unto Beth-el: and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense." This man was led by the Word and from the Lord God to go to Beth-el, and face Jeroboam to say what he is about to say. "Beth-el" means "the house of God" in Hebrew tongue, and that was where Jeroboam built his altar to the heathen gods. Here Jeroboam is the king, and he has taken over the priesthood himself. Remember back in I Samuel, God separated the duties of the judges or kings from that of the priests and the church, but Jeroboam was trying to bring the two offices back together again. I Kings 13:2 "And he cried against the altar in the word of the Lord, and said, "O altar, altar, thus saith the Lord; `Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men's bones shall be burnt upon thee.' " " This is a true man of God standing before the alter and Jeroboam is the one spoken to here. Though Jeroboam has desecrated the altar itself, there is nothing else to desecrate for those high places of God had all been turned over to man's form of worship, headed by the Kenites, the men of Zidon. When those heathen preachers appointed by Jeroboam stood before their altars to the calves, it was not God they were worshipping, but Satan. This prophet was saying that the bones of the priests to that heathen altar would burn on that altar. It would take about three hundred and fifty years for this prophecy to come to pass, but the bones of the false prophets were consumed, and Josiah did become king. This is recorded in II Kings 23:13-20. II Kings 23:13 "And the high places that were before Jerusalem, which were on the right hand of the mount of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had builded for Ashtoreth the abominations of the Zidonians, and for Chemosh the abominations of the Moabites, and for Milcom the abomination of the children of Ammon, did the king defile." King Josiah started in Jerusalem doing the correcting, and destroying all altars and the sites of idolatry. II Kings 23:14 "And he brake in pieces the images, and cut down the groves, and filled their places with the bones of men." II Kings 23:15 "Moreover the altar that was at Beth-el, and the high place which Jeroboam the son of Nabat, who made Israel to sin, had made both that altar and the high place he brake down, and burned the high place, and stamped it small to powder, and burned the grove." Not only did he destroy all the altars, but he destroyed even the bones of the false priests that stood before that altar. II Kings 23:19 "And all the houses also of the high places that were in the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made to provoke the Lord to anger, Josiah took away, and did to them according to all the acts that he had done in Beth-el." II Kings 23:20 "And he slew all the priests of the high places that were there upon the altars, and burned men's bones upon them, and returned to Jerusalem." We know that a man is a prophet from God when those things he says, that are from God, come to pass. This prophet standing before Jeroboam was truly a prophet from God. God will not allow man's traditions and ways being substituted for His perfect plan. He just will not allow it. It seems that even today, men and women get a kick out of starting up something new that they can take the credit for, and have control over. So how does Jeroboam take this instruction from the prophet of God? I Kings 13:3 "And he gave a sign the same day, saying, "Thus is the sign which the Lord hath spoken; Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out.' ' " This sign was given also in II Kings 19:29-31; which also came to pass. I Kings 13:4 "And it came to pass, when king Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God, which had cried against the altar in Beth-el, that he put forth his hand from the altar and said, "Lay hold on him." And his hand, which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not pull it in again to him." When Jeroboam put forth his hand to grab the prophet of God, that hand became paralyzed, meaning he truly was a man of God. There was no playing of games, nor ego trips like many of today's false prophets like to display. Jeroboam found out the hard way that you just don't fool around with a man of God. I Kings 13:5 "The altar also was rent, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the Lord." This is the sign of the longer prophecy, and it did come to pass, as we read in II Kings 23:12-20. I Kings 13:6 "And the king answered and said unto the man of God, "Intreat now the face of the Lord thy God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored me again." And the man of God besought the Lord, and the king's hand was restored him again, and became as it was before." You would think that because Jeroboam request a favor from God through the prophet, that there was a change of heart in Jeroboam, however we will see that there was no change of heart. It is so easy when people drift away from God, to ask favors of God when things seem impossible, but when God acts to help them, immediately they forget what God did and turn away from Him. "There is nothing new under the sun, those things that happened before shall happen again", as Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 1:9. When you question the people as to what they know of the prophecies of the Scriptures it is easy to see why people can be led astray so easy. They have no idea of what it take to please God. I Kings 13:7 "And the king said unto the man of God, "Come home with me, and refresh thyself, and I will give thee a reward." Jeroboam is going to reward the prophet for bringing back the health to his arm: pay him off for using his prayer. Jeroboam is trying to save face to those that watched the event take place. He wanted to prove that God was still on his side. I Kings 13:8 "And the man of God said unto the king, "If thou wilt give me half thine house, I will not go in with thee, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place:" This prophet of God stated to Jeroboam that even if he gave him half of the entire nation, I will not go home with thee, to eat your bread nor drink your water. I Kings 13:9 "For so was it charged me by the word of the Lord, saying, `Eat no bread, nor drink water, nor turn again by the same way that thou camest.' " God instructed this prophet that when was finished with the message, don't stop to eat nor drink, but change your route, and return home immediately. That was God's orders before he left Jerusalem. I Kings 13:10 "So he went another way, and returned not by the way that he came to Beth-el." So far this prophet was following the word of the Lord. I Kings 13:11 "Now there dwelt an old prophet in Beth-el; and his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Beth-el: the words which he had spoken unto the king, them they told also to their father." This "old prophet", was a prophet before in Israel Jeroboam went bad and turned the nation to idolatry. Jeroboam was use to appointing his own priests and prophets, and thus this old prophet was left out of a job. We see part of the actions of the Nethinims in this old prophet, those given to service of Solomon's day. I Kings 13:12 "And their father said unto them, "What way went he?" For his sons had seen what way the man of God went, which came from Judah." This old prophet inquired of his sons more information of the true prophet, to go after him and seek information. I Kings 13:13 "And he said unto his sons, "Saddle me the ass." So they saddled him the ass: and he rode thereon," This old prophet wants to be with the prophet that is in good standing before God. I Kings 13:14 "And went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak: and he said unto him, "Art thou the man of God that camest from Judah?" And he said, "I am." " There is an extreme lesson here for God's people. It is easy to see the short comings of each of these prophets, in both the true prophet and the old prophet. So far this man of God has obeyed the word of God right to the letter, but here comes this old prophet down to do this true man of God a favor. I Kings 13:15 "Then he said unto him, "Come home with me, and eat bread." " I Kings 13:16 "And he said, "I may not return with thee, nor go in with thee: neither will I eat bread nor drink water with thee in this place:" This was the actual instructions that God gave to the prophet of God. I Kings 13:17 "for it was said to me by the word of the Lord, `Thou shalt eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again to go by the way that thou camest.' " Now watch what happens at this point. I Kings 13:18 "He said unto him, "I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the world of the Lord, saying, `Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water.' " But he lied unto him." This is what you must be very careful of, those that claim to be prophets of God, that claim that God has revealed something to them, yet the things that they say, go against the "Word of God". Many people today claim to be preachers and teachers of God's Word, and have even taken on great titles of honor, yet the words that come out of their mouths, deny God's Word. Even though you may think that you are grounded in God's Word, as this true prophet of God was; put yourself in the shoes of the true prophet from Judah; How can you tell when those that come to you are truly of God? This true profit of God is far from home, say forty miles and a days journey by this old mule, he accomplished his mission and is hungry and thirsty on his way home. It would be great to talk with another prophet of God and eat and drink at his table. Keep in mind that the old prophet lied when he stated that God told him to get this prophet and return home with him to eat and drink and come and have fellowship in his home. Friend, God never changes His prophecy, so if someone tells you that some portion of God's Word has as been altered and changed, after you have checked the manuscripts and found what is truth; mark that man well as a liar. When God gives a command, or makes a prophecy through one of His prophets, you can expect that prophecy to come to pass. All of the prophecies concerning Psalms 22, and Isaiah 53, and all the other prophecies concerning Christ life and death, came to pass exactly as they were written. You can count on it. So you can know, if you are a servant of God, that if anybody tries to change any part of the Scriptures concerning the course of what you know to be God's plan, he is a liar. Friend, if you accept anything that goes against what you know to be truth from God's Word, you are accountable for your actions. No "ands...if...or buts", you will account for those foolish acts of disobeying God. The liar may not pay any price, but God expects more for his servants than the servants of the evil one. If it is contrary to God's Word it is a lie. We are going to be exposed to many falsehoods, and things that seem to be so true by men and women that claim that God has revealed something special to them. Yet, if whose things that they will tell you are not backed up by the complete Word of God, those words are a lie, and that person is a liar. The false Messiah is coming, and this servants are preparing the way for him with their falsehoods. Watch out and don't buy into their lies. God never contradicts Himself in His Word. If there is conflict in your mind of the Word, than it is your mind that needs correcting, not God's Word. You just don't understand that part of God's holy plan. God gave this true prophet his orders twice, he wasn't to eat, he wasn't to drink, nor return home the way that he came. I Kings 13:19 "So he went back with him, and did eat bread in his house, and drank water." I Kings 13:20 "And it came to pass, as they sat at the table, that the word of the Lord came unto the prophet that brought him back:" This old prophet knew that he had told the prophet from Jerusalem a lie, and while they were sitting and eating at his table, the Lord revealed something to him. I Kings 13:21 "And he cried unto the man of God that came from Judah, saying, "Thus saith the Lord, `Forasmuch as thou hast disobeyed the mouth of the Lord, and hast not kept the commandment which the Lord thy God commanded thee," God is now going to use the old prophet that tricked the prophet of Judah to reveal a message to that prophet of Judah. I Kings 13:22 "But camest back, and hast eaten bread and drunk water in the place, of the which the Lord did say to thee, `Eat no bread, and drink no water;' thy carcass shall not come unto the sepulchre of thy fathers.' " The entire land of the ten tribes called the house of Israel, had become an abominable place before the Lord. There he sat in complete defiance of God's commandment, and with his stomach full, this same man that deceived him is telling him of the destruction that God is going to bring upon him. He is telling the true prophet that he will not make it home alive. It is no use that somebody tricked you and lied to you, to cause you to fall into some great sin. God expects you to use you common sense and His Word, and obey it completely. Those that God gives much to, He expects much from. He expects the wisdom of His Word to give the stability that comes from that wisdom. He does not want a double minded person. When God gives an order He expects him or her to carry it out, He expects you to discipline yourself in your obedience to His Word. I Kings 13:23 "And it came to pass, after he had eaten bread, and after he had drunk, that he saddled for him the ass, to wit, for the prophet whom he had brought back." This old prophet is now giving him a better animal to ride on, and making it ready for the journey back to Jerusalem. In his mind he know that the true prophet will never make it home. You can see the heavy heart in this, for God revealed what would happen to this disobedient prophet, and his lie would be the cause for this man's fall. I Kings 13:24 "And when he was gone, a lion met him by the way, and slew him: and his carcase was cast in the way, and the ass stood by it, and the lion also stood by the carcase." How do we know that this was of God? Because if the lion slew a man and his mule, there would not be much left of either. Lions eat flesh of both man and mules, and they carry their prey off to a private location. The thing that happened here was very strange, for the lion killed the man, and sat in the middle of the road with the mule untouched. Nothing was done in private. I Kings 13:25 "And, behold, men passed by, and saw the carcase cast in the way, and the lion standing by the carcase: and they came and told it in the city where the old prophet dwelt." When a lion kills for food, it carries the kill off to a private place. This lion left the carcase of the man and the mule standing there in the middle of the street, and just sat there. Other people came by, and there sat the lion with the carcase of the prophet, and the mule untouched. The lion never even attacked the people that passed by. It didn't take long for this strange sight to be reported and spread through out the city where this old prophet lived. I Kings 13:26 "And when the prophet that brought him back from the way heard thereof, he said, "It is the man of God, who was disobedient unto the word of the Lord: therefore the Lord hath delivered him unto the lion, which hath torn him, and slain him, according to the word of the Lord, which He spake unto him." " Sure the old prophet told a lie, however he knew that a man of God should never listen to any lie. The lesson in this for all Christians is that we are to be so familiar in God's Word according to his plan that we do not get sucked into the lies of the world. There are as many lies as there are people that know not the truth of God's Word. They put out their own ideas that go against God's Word. It doesn't matter how believable those lies are, if they are not completely true, they are lies. If it is contrary to God's Word, it is a lie. God takes His Word very serious. I Kings 13:27 "And he spake to this sons, saying, "Saddle me the ass." And they saddled him." I Kings 13:28 "And he went and found his carcase cast in the way, and the ass and the lion standing by the carcase: the lion had not eaten the carcase, nor torn the ass." Why would this be? Because this was a divine act, the same as God controlled the mouth of the lions when Daniel was thrown in their by king Nebuchadnezzar. This lion accomplished an act of God, on a divine mission. A lion rips and tares and shreds, and leaves no prey in one piece. He does not kill and sit there in the middle of the road for all to walk by stare. God wanted the people to know that it was He that brought it to pass. I Kings 13:29 "And the prophet took up the carcase of the man of God, and laid it upon the ass, and brought it back: and the old prophet came to the city, to mourn and to bury him." Remember that God promised that prophet that if he did stop and eat and drink, he would not make it home; "thy carcase shall not come unto the sepulchre of they fathers." That prophet of Judah would be buried in a foreign land, and would not see another day. I'm sure the old prophet felt very bad, for just because he wanted company with another prophet, he lied and caused it all to happen. I Kings 13:30 "And he laid his carcase in his own grave; and they mourned over him, saying, "Alas, my brother!" " There was probably a lot of repenting going on there, and I'm sure there was much mourning. I Kings 13:31 "And it came to pass, after he had buried him, that he spake to his sons, saying, "When I am dead, then bury me in the sepulchre wherein the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones:" I Kings 13:32 "for the saying which he cried by the word of the Lord against the altar in Beth-el, and against all the houses of the high places which are in the cities of Samaria, shall surely come to pass." " This old prophet is now giving a second witness to the what the prophet of Judah had stated before the altar of Jeroboam. That prophet of Judah made a prophecy that stated that God would bring forth a man, a king that would sit on the throne, and bring down all these high places both of Judah and of Samaria, the house of Israel. It took exactly three hundred and sixty years before this prophecy would come to pass. I Kings 13:33 "After this thing Jeroboam returned not from his evil way, but made again of the lowest of the People priests of the high places: whosoever would, he consecrated him, and he became one of the priests of the high places." The man of God's duty is to teach the Word of God to the people that are under him. The purpose is to teach it exactly and it is written, so that the understudy can know exactly what is of God, and what are the traditions and things of men. When you start consecrating men or women as the leaders and teachers in your spiritual community with the charge to teach God's Word, then all they do is play games with God's Word, then these lessons apply directly to you. They then are also made of the lowest kind, and are robbing both you and God. Many of them are nothing but hirelings in the first place, spiritual harlots inside the church house walls. This is a serious charge indeed and we are in that final generation. I Kings 13:34 "And this thing became sin unto the house of Jeroboam, even to cut it off, and to destroy if from off the face of the earth." This will come to pass also by the Assyrians, some hundred and ten years later. God will never go back on His Word to contradict himself. If God says that something will be done in a certain order, He will not change His mind to that prophecy. So if some man or woman tries to tell you that God is going to do something that is not in the Scriptures, or out of the Order that God has prophesied, mark that man well for he is a liar. There are no short-cuts to God's Word, God's plan is final, and will come to pass exactly as it is written. As a Child of God, a believer in His Word, learn the plan of God and to trust and obey those things that God expects of you. Prepare yourself for those events of our generation, for they will happen exactly as they were prophesied. And example of this is in II Thessalonians 2:3; dealing with the gathering back to the Lord Jesus Christ. The Word states; "let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition," II Thessalonians 2:2-3 "Not by any angel, nor letter, nor any spirit, nor any word, nor by any other means, even a so called prophet of God; for that "day of the Lord" will not come until the "son of perdition" who is Satan, the man of sin, is revealed first." This is why the rapture doctrine is so wicked and dangerous, for it prepares the follower to receive the first morning star, the first messiah, who is Satan as their false messiah. It forces the person to discard much of the Word of God that would prepare him or her for the spiritual darkness that shall cover the earth, and makes them open to the spiritual warfare that Satan and his fallen angels will use at their coming. II Thessalonians 2:4 "Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is call God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the Temple of God, shewing himself that he is God." The "son of perdition" is Satan, and the temple of God is on mount Zion, on the "side of the north". It is Satan that will be the person sitting there in god's seat, and pretending to be God. "He will be showing himself that he is God", and that was the "abomination by the desolator" that was spoken of by Jesus Christ in Matthew 24:15, when He was quoting from Daniel 9:27. Satan claiming to be God, is the abomination, and "he" [Satan] is the desolator, for the entire world will believe him to be God; all that is except the elect that have the seal of God in their minds ahead of time. This knowledge and understanding is the armor that you must have on and in place before the battle takes place. The battle field will be in the minds of people and it will be fought with ideas, words and even distorted precepts out of the Word of God. That is how Satan works, he uses God's Word, and puts his own spin to the verses, changing a word here and adding a word there, to make the entire thing said a lie. The old prophet from Judah that listened to the old prophet, was doomed because he allowed himself to be tricked by one that looked so righteous. II Thessalonians 2:5 "Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?" The only reason for Paul writing this II Thessalonians letter, was to warn that church, as well as the churches today, of the errors in teaching that others were making of his first letter. That first letter was written to instruct on "where the dead were". That they were not out there in a hole in the ground, but the had gone to be with the Father at death, and from this all sorts of fair-tales and fly away doctrines were being made, that would distract Christians from the preparing for the spiritual battle ahead. II Thessalonians 2:6 "And now ye know what witholdeth that he might be revealed in his time." Paul is reminding them that they did talk about this in person. Who then "would be revealed in his time?" The subject here is the "son of Perdition", Satan in the role of Antichrist, or by what ever name Satan chooses to use at that time. The time has not come yet, for Satan is not here. However, Satan will commit the "abomination of desolation" of Daniel 9:27, and the church will be here to see it and many will become part of Satan's kingdom here on earth. This will happen because "the gathering", or Christ's return will happen following Satan's abomination. Satan's coming is at the sixth trump and the coming of Christ is at the seventh trump. II Thessalonians 2:7 "For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way." To those that are sealed with the truth of God in their minds, this is no mystery to us. Those with the "seal of God" know when this will take place, for we know his method of operation [withholdeth], the signs, the seasons, and the times of Satan's arrival to the earth. If you are in the Word of God and not following these "one verse pastors", you will know when to expect the Antichrst. The "mystery of Lawlessness" is the mystery of iniquity. "He who now letteth will let", in the Greek language should be translated; "He who holds fast [ketecho] will stand." The ellipsis, or "omission from an expression of a word clearly implied"; "There is one who hold's fast", instead of by repeating the verb, "will let". However, "Ketecho" is a transitive verb, and an object must be supplied also. So if the subject in verse six is Satan, then the object must be his position in the heavenlies [See Ephesians 6:12], from which he will be ejected from heaven by Michael as recorded in Revelation 12:7-9. "Out of the way", in the Greek is "out of ek", or "the midst". It is the same expression used in Acts 17:33, and I Corinthians 5:2. Many rapture theorists claim this "one who letteth" is the Holy Spirit, and when He is "taken away", then the Antichrist will come. By reversing the role of the characters in the verse here, and attributing what is Satan's to the Holy Spirit, you have a whole new doctrine. That doctrine is called the "any moment doctrine" and this false doctrine is also known as the "rapture theory", for that is exactly what it is, a false doctrine. It is Michael who "holds fast" on to Satan, Lucifer, the Antichrist, or what every you wish to call him, and Michael will continue to hold on to Satan until the appointed time spoken of above. That time is appointed by God, and when that time comes, you will know it, for it is described in Revelation 9:1-11. Lets go just a little deeper into this. Revelation 12:7 "And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels," Revelation 12:8 "And prevailed not; neither was there place found any more in heaven." Revelation 12:9 "And the great dragon [Satan] was cast out [that is the transitive verb of verse II Thessalonians 2:7] , that old serpent [this is the role Satan played in the Garden of Eden], called the devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world [Except for God's elect, and those with the seal of God in their foreheads or minds]: he was cast out onto the earth, and his angels were cast out with him." This is when Satan will come to earth, prior to any gathering back to Christ, for Satan will physically appear on earth as a man with his angels. This is the time of the Antichrist's coming, and the reason we must know the times, seasons and events of the Word, so that we will not be deceived at Satan's coming. This time is prior to the coming of Jesus Christ, and Satan will actually do many miracles, and wonders to show that he is Christ, on he will be the fake. We are living in the time of the end, and the end time events are reported daily in our press. So also are many false prophecies from many so called prophets of God. This is why the warning to us is so dear that God gave us here in this I Kings 13, for there will be many that look just like prophets of God, they will have their credentials, and say words that seem so right, yet they will be false prophets if they do not conform exactly to the Word of God.
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