FromNowUntilForeverBook8.5x5.5 REV.indd

results of the famine. “People will stagger from sea to sea . . .They willgo to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, But they will not find it . . .In that day the beautiful virgins and the young men will faint from thirst . . .They will fall and not rise again” (Amos 8:12-14).They had pushed away from God’s Word for so long that when they realized they needed it, it wasn’t to be found. As a result, spiritual malnourish- ment soon took its toll. Interestingly, a time of prolonged silence ensued three cen- turies later, a 400+ year stretch between the Old and NewTesta- ments, from Malachi to Jesus, when God raised up no prophets, nor was any prophesy revealed. As another minor prophet, who came along just after Amos (737-696 BC), writes, “They will cry out to the Lord, But He will not answer them. Instead, He will hide Hisface from them . . .Therefore it will be right for you, without vision, and darkness for you, without divination” (Micah 3:4,6). Even when Jesus came on the scene, most Jews still missed the redemptive message of God. As Jesus stated, quoting Isaiah’s prophecy being fulfilled, “FOR THE HEART OF THIS PEOPLE HAS BECOME DULL, WITH THEIR EARS THEY SCARCELY HEAR, ANDTHEY HAVE CLOSED THEIR EYES, OTHERWISE THEY WOULD SEEWITH THEIR EYES, HEARWITH THEIR EARS, AND UNDER- STANDWITH THEIR HEARTS AND RETURN, AND I WOULD HEALTHEM” (Matthew 13:15). Undoubtedly, this describes each successive generation since Jesus spoke the words, though the problem is clearly worse than ever. It’s been said ours is the most biblically illiterate generation since the church was established 2000 years ago. With that in mind, let’s examine what Amos’ prophecy means for today , by first addressing evidence of the decline. I read that during a pastor search interview, the chairman of the committee asked the candidate “Do you know your Bible?”

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