Gospel News — Mar-May 2012

Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good'" (Rom 12:19-21).

Our Creator could have decided to punish us severely for every wrong we commit, but for the love He has for us, He forgives us each day. Jesus Christ, when on the earth, forgave us of our sins, and today most of us beat our chests with pride and call ourselves the saved ones. "For God so loves the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life". "Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another" (1 John:11). "Be ye angry, and sin not, let not the sun go down upon your wrath, neither give place to the devil" (Eph 4:26-27).

Though it might be natural to want to retaliate, yet in the same way that God forgives us each day, we must also learn to forgive others irrespective of hurt. Perhaps it is very difficult to forget but remembrance should not so provoke us to take a wrongful action. We ought to forgive wrongs that our neighbours commit against us daily. "For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: but if you forgive not men their trespasses your Father will not forgive your sins" (Matt 6:14-15). So please let us all try and learn to forgive one another. When our Lord Jesus Christ comes, let him find us doing what he tells us about forgiveness, to the glory of our Almighty Heavenly Father.

Who Was Lucifer? (Isaiah 14:12)

Bro. Ralph Green, (Torquay, U.K.)

The name `Lucifer', which means shining one, only occurs once in the Bible and is used in the following verse:

5

"How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, Son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!"

This informative verse does not say who Lucifer was; we shall therefore study the context to find out who he was.

We discover the answer eight verses earlier; he was the king of Babylon! Verse 4 reads, "Thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, "How hath the oppressor ceased! The golden city ceased." A proverb in this context means something written in metaphorical style, a form of poetry also used concerning the king of Tyre.

The whole passage from verse 4 to verse 24 is a continuous taunting of the last king of Babylon, Belshazzar; it taunts his arrogant pride – in the words, "For thou hast said in thine heart, "I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God"" (v.13). It also prophecies his demise. "The LORD hath broken the staff of the wicked, and the sceptre of rulers. Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming...and they shall speak and say unto thee, "Art thou become weak as we? Art thou become like unto us? (v.10) Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols: the worms spread under thee and the worms cover thee"" (v.11). When was this `proverb' given? At the end of chapter 14 an historical event is mentioned, `In the year that King Ahaz died was this burden' (v.28). This was well over a century before the Babylonians came to power, such is the wonderful foreknowledge of God.

The Fall of Babylon

The last king, Belshazzar was holding a feast when the end came. The Medes under Darius and the Persians under Cyrus had combined their forces to surround the city Babylon in which the