First let's get something clear about erroneous notions of Paul and his founding a new religion, which he didn't. True, the halakhah of his Judaism switched from the Pharisaic oral law to the Ruach Hakodesh, but his religion was still one of the Judaisms of the time, not a new non-Judaism Gentile religion.

MICHOH (MICAH)

After the Iran-Iraq war, Saddam Hussein, the dictator of Iraq,

found himself short of cash. He had been extorting vast sums from

Kuwait by means of military intimidation, but when the Kuwaiti

government did not give him all that he demanded, he invaded and

annexed the country in 1990, an act that started the Persian Gulf

war. Similarly, in the 8th century, the Assyrian Empire (modern

Iraq) was extracting "tribute" from both Israel and Judah. In 724

B.C. Hoshea, the last king of the northern kingdom of Israel,

withheld tribute from Assyria and triggered an invasion. But II

Kings 17:1-41 gives us G-d's perspective of these events, telling

of the idolatry and stubborn g-dlessness of G-d's people and how

these led to this terrible war. Micah was one of the prophets

that G-d raised up to preach repentance to the people and to warn

of the imminent divine judgment that would make itself felt in

the Assyrian invasion. In fact, the 12 towns in southwest Judah

named in Mic. 1:10-16 (with word plays on their names expressing

their terrible fate) are in the path of the coming Assyrian

invader. Micah's prophesy is especially relevant to our day. Just

as in modern times, Assyria (modern Iraq) was Israel's primary

enemy Micah's day.

Micah was a contemporary of Isaiah, Hosea, and Amos. The L-rd

showed this 8th century prophet (he probably ministered sometime

roughly between 740 and 701 B.C.) what was going to happen to

Samaria, the capital of the northern kingdom of Israel, and

Jerusalem, Judah's southern capital. The L-rd warned Micah about

the enemy army approaching as G-d's agent of judgment. Damascus

was the capital of Aram (Syria). It fell to the Assyrians in 732

B.C. But G-d was already revealing to Micah that He "would make

Samaria a pile of ruins in the open country" (1:6-7). The

Assyrian invasion, which would threaten Jerusalem itself by 701

B.C., is seen in Mic.l:9 as an incurable wound spreading to "the

very gate of the people, even to Jerusalem itself." Samaria was

destroyed by the Assyrians in 722-721 B.C. Gath, a city of the

Philistines, fell to the Assyrians in 711 B.C. Sennacherib's

march from Lachish to Jerusalem in 701 B.C. is Micah's prophecy

in 1:10-16.

While Nancy Reagan used astrology to decide her husband's

schedule, U.S. President Ronald Reagan spent some of his

astrologically determined time making sure Iraq had American

government approval to purchase huge quantities of weapons from

other countries as well as secret arms sales to Iraq from the

U.S. But during the Iran-Iraq war, nations that sold weapons to

Iraq soon thereafter often found those same weapons being

directed toward their own soldiers in the Persian Gulf War. These

pro-Iraqi nations made the mistake of King Ahar. When faced with

enemies and in need of militarily strong allies, Ahar king of

Judah (735-715 B.C.), inspite of Isaiah's warnings in Isa. chs

7-8, looked to Assyria's military might for protection instead of

almighty G-d and followed a pro-Assyrian policy in his defense

against Syria and the Northern Kingdom. However, ultimately,

this faithless and entangling policy of Ahaz led not only to the

fall of Syria's capital Damascus (732 B.C.), but also to the

captivity, exile, assimilation and national extinction of the

northern kingdom of Israel. Worse yet, Judah itself never fully

recovered from the political and religious "Pandora's Box" she

opened when she refused the divine protection that comes with a

national revival and instead unlatched the door to her

treacherous ally Assyria.

From 705 to 681 B.C. the Assyrian king was Sennacherib

(pronounced in English "sen-AK-uhr-ib". This king is referred to

in places like Isaiah 8:7-8; 36:1-37:38 and II Kings.) He is a

type of the Anti-Moshiach, the final Enemy of Israel (see Micah

5:5, which says "the Assyrian will invade our land"). Not much

has changed in 2700 years: the modern occupier of the land of

Assyria is Iraq, still an enemy of Israel. In fact, both Assyria

and Babylon lay within the borders of modern Iraq. The Assyrian

Empire included, along with her other territories, what is today

Iran, Iraq, and Syria (all Israel's enemies today). A Syrian

(Antiochus Epiphanes) is seen as typical of the Anti-Moshiach in

Dan. ch 8 and 11; and as Daniel prays against this beast, one of

the demons wrestling against him is called the "prince of the

Persian kingdom (Dan. l0:13)." Iran is often referred to as

Persia in the Bible because the Assyrian Empire was defeated by

the Babylonian Empire which was in turn defeated by the Persian

Empire, and the Persian Empire was the former official name of

Iran. It is worth noting that important enemies of Israel today

are Shiite terrorists from Iran and Syrian-backed elements in

Lebanon as well as the Iraqis; so little has changed since Micah

and other of G-d's preachers prophesied the existence of these

coming adversaries. Also the Philistines (their principle cities

were Ashdod, Ashkelon, Ekron, Gath (Mic. 1:10), and Gaza all

located in the southern coastal area of Israel) are still the

enemies of Israel in the persons who carry their name today, the

Palestinians (Palaistinoi is a Greek name given to the

descendants of the Philistines).

Micah preached during the reign of Jotham king of Judah (750-732)

and Ahaz king of Judah (735-715) and during part of the reign of

Hezekiah (715-686). As a street preacher, Micah shocked his

audience by walking around barefoot in a loincloth "naked" as if

he were a slave (see 1:8) being taken hostage in warfare (see,

similarly, also Isa. 20:2-6). Micah wanted to act out for his

audience how their sins would soon cause them to be costumed. The

dramatic way he was dressed as he preached made him act not only

like a slave taken hostage but also like a mourner being dragged

off as a prisoner. He was warning his generation that they were

going to be bereaved of their children who would be going into

exile as prisoners (1:16) and that they themselves would soon be

defeated slaves and vassals and exiles. His lament is found in

1:8-16. Street preachers are needed now (with Micah's sorrow for

the fate of sinners) who can pray for a revival--like Micah prays

in 7:14-20. In the way they dress and act these modern day

"Micahs" can warn of exactly how the children of our generation

are being dragged off into destruction and into an exile of sin

leading to judgment. These street maggid

(preacher)s can call for repentance as they depict the "deadly

blow" G-d is preparing for our wicked nation (see 1:9 where Micah

speaks of Samaria's unhealable wound). Micah describes a degraded

nation: a land of muggers (2:8), villainous landlords (2:9),

clever urban land-grabbers stealing the farmers' property by

means of nefarious schemes (2:3-5), false prophets (they preach

for money and have no word from the Lord--contrast 3:5-7 with

3:8), bribe-taking judges and hireling kohanim (3:5-12) and

impoverished, exploited children (2:9). Look what Micah says

about dishonesty and cheating of any kind (6:11-16) In fact, any

murderous nation guilty of millions of abortions yet unjustly and

heartlessly refusing to "rescue those who are being taken away to

death" (Prov. 24:11) is under the warning of Mic.2:3, where G-d

says, "I am planning disaster for this natlon...you won't be able

to save yourselves." The wealthy wicked who, like feeble

innocuous preachers, had better stop resisting Micah's preaching

(2:1-11) or their wealth will be lost in the coming catastrophic

end of the nation. Just as the land-grabbing greedy businessmen

had evicted the widow and the poor children of Israel, so G-d

will now evict them and they will leave their rich estates and go

into destruction in the Exile (see Mic. 2:10). As for the

preachers who preach for money, the things that will safely keep

them on the payroll of their corrupt constituencies will also

lead to G-d not at all confirming their prophecies as true and

their preaching as worthy (Mic. 3:5-7).

Look at Mic. 5:12. Certainly, the occult and new age religion

will not save us from G-d's judgment on a thieving, violent

nation of heathen idolators and liars. The astrologers and

fortune tellers are a common sight today, even operating from

sidewalk tables. Micah preaches against both sorcerers and

soothsayers in 5:12, which will "be destroyed" on "that day"

(5:10). A soothsayer was a person who used occult powers to

foretell events. This is also called divination. (See Deut.

18:10-14.) Sorcery or witchcraft is the attempt to use the power

of the devil to curse or cast a spell on a person or do magic.

Necromancy is calling up the dead, or the occult belief in such,

especially as a means of fortune telling. The witch at Endor in

I Samuel 28 told Saul's fortune by means of a "familiar

spirit"--that is, a demon that served her and worked with her on

an on-going "familiar" basis. For a sample of how the Bible

opposes all this, see: Isa. 8:19; 44:25; 47:12-15; Acts 8:9-24;

13:6-11; 19:13-20; Rev. 21:8; 22:15. Fortune tellers are like the

false prophets and lying religious leaders that Micah refers to

in 3:5,11, because they also prostitute and pervert religion for

money.

Samaria was the apostate capital of the Northern Kingdom of

Israel. She was marked for destruction. She had helped turn the

holy faith of Israel into Baal worship, a fertility cult which

promised rains and harvests by means of an orgy of religious

prostitution. The money from religious brothels had been melted

down to make idols, and Mic. 1:7 seems to say that invading

soldiers will demolish Samaria's syncretistic religion and carry

away her filthy idols. Hosea and Micah are preaching against Baal

worship's fertility cult prostitution (see also Judg. 8:22; Ezek.

16). Baal was a nature g-d or weather g-d associated with

thunderstorms as in I Kings 17:1-18:46 (notice I Kings 18:45

where the thunderstorm comes from the G-d of Israel, not Baal,

whose proponents have been defeated by Elijah). Baal was a

fertility g-d or sex cult g-d whose worship involved erotic acts

and public immorality (much like today's prostitution, soft and

hard porn movies, video stores, pornographic literature, massage

parlors, gay bars and sex clubs, etc). Baal worship was

apparently based on imitative magic: that is, magic that attempts

to control the universe by mimicking the desired event. If one

wants Baal, the prodigious lover and fertile bringer of rain and

harvests, to "ride the clouds" to his consort Asherah (Judg. 3:7)

so that one's barley harvest will be abundant, then one worships

Baal by visiting a cult prostitute and engaging in ritual

fornication. This is the rationale of imitative magic behind the

demonic worship of Baal, and this is also the background of Micah

1:7, where Samaria, the capital of the northern kingdom and a

fountainhead of this pagan religious wickedness, is marked out

for destruction. The Asherah poles in 5:14 are Asherah Idols.

But notice Micah's message in Mic.l:2-7, "The L-rd is coming?"

Why? Because of the sins of the people, because of the idolatry

of Samaria (1:5-7), and this explains the coming desolation and

devastation. The parousia comes down in an anticipatory way with

the arrival of Assyrian enemy troops at the gates of Jerusalem in

701 B.C. (see Mic. 1:12). If any nation thinks that pornography

will not be judged by the L-rd with violent judgment, that nation

should look at Samaria and heed the warning of Mic. 1:2-9.

Micah shows evidence of containing material that was preached on

many different occasions and over a number of years, but was

compiled by Micah and arranged in an artistic poetic book to be

preserved and published. Each of us should have a preaching

Bible and a journal or notebook to preserve the study notes and

insights that G-d gives us so that we can refine them and use

them in ministry at the proper time.

Notice how unpopular Micah's preaching was (2:6,11) in contrast

to the false prophets (3:11). Nevertheless, it is precisely

because of these lying preachers that Jerusalem will be destroyed

by the Babylonians (3:12; 4:10), and "you will go to Babylon.

But you will be saved from that place. The L-rd will go there and

take you back from your enemies" (4:10). Micah's words were

fulfilled in the first Babylonian deportation (605 B.C.), the

second Babylonian deportation (597 B.C.) and the Babylonian

destruction of Jerusalem (586 B.C.) and in the return of the Jews

from exile in 538 B.C. at the order of Cyrus King of Persia.

G-d's Spirit filled Micah with power to preach justice and an

uncompromised message (3:8), including the prophecy (5:2)

regarding the birth of the Moshiach, the ideal Moshel (ruler) of

Israel who will come forth "to Me," and whose "goings forth" are

from mikedem "olden time," even "from the days of eternity" mimei

olam (see Prov. 8:23 meOlam "from eternity;" Gen 3:22 l'Olam)

"and live forever;" Ps. 90:2 umeolame ad olam "from everlasting

to everlasting You are G-d;" therefore, since, according to Mal.

3:1, the Moshiach is the L-rd, we should hardly be surprised if

"His origin is from forever". Notice also that Mic. 5:1 says

that the Moshiach, like a helpless shopfet Judge, will be

insulted by a slap in the face (5:1). Although Assyria is said

to invade Israel (5:5-6), Israel will ultimately defeat this

enemy (see 5:6), just as the United States did on Purim, 1991,

for Israel's sake in a miraculous answer to prayer. This land of

Assyria/Babylon/Iraq is called the "land of Nimrod" because

Nimrod the warrior had his kingdom located in that area (Gen.

10:8-11). The remnant is scattered by G-d among the nations but

will overcome and prevail, though these survivors will in the

process be punished for their sins (5:8-15). Mic. 6:5 says to

remember the saving acts of the L-rd, in particular alluding to

Joshua 3:15 where the Jordan river parts like the Red Sea when it

is crossed as Joshua leads the children of Israel in to take the

promised land.

Memory verse: Micah 6:8 (see Deut. 10:12). Remember to be kind!

Study the great sermon found in 6:1-8.

Well over a century before his words were fulfilled in 586 B.C.,

Micah announced the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the

Jerusalem Beis Hamikdash (3:12). Notice that Jerusalem is to be

destroyed because of the sins of rulers, kohanim, and false

prophets (3:11-12). For this great prophecy Micah was still

remembered in the days of Jeremiah over a hundred years later

(see Jer.26:l-19). Then in Micah 4:1-4, we see the Good News go

forth and the nations destroy their war weapons and in faith

gloriously stream in as Zion (Jerusalem) is finally exalted in

triumph. Micah also predicted a time of tribulation is imminent

for this decadent world (7:1-6) in the coming days of judgment in

which a person's enemies will be members of his own family.

Israel will be severely chastened but will be saved in the end

(7:7-9) and her enemies will be destroyed (7:10).

A modern day miracle, the return of the Jewish people from the

dispersion is prophesied in 7:11-12. The message of hope in

2:12-15 is that a remnant will be restored. See also 4:1-5:15;

7:7-30. Everything that needs to be purged will be purged by the

L-rd (5:10-15).

The Moshiach will, according to Mic.5:3f, give up his people to

Exile until the time when Israel gives birth again and the

Moshiach's kindred return from Exile and sin to the people of

Israel. Then the Moshiach shall stand as a shepherd-king like

David, and shall feed His flock in the strength and majesty of

the Name of the L-rd, and a millennial security will abide with

Israel and the Moshiach shall be great to the ends of the earth

(Mic.5:4). The end-time Assyrian invader (the latter day Saddam

Hussein) shall find "seven shepherds and eight installed as

rulers" (meaning a more-than-sufficient deterrent) able to defeat

him and occupy his land and rescue Israel (Mic. 5:6), just as

America proved able to do during the Persian Gulf War. The rest

of chapter 5 seems to show the remnant of G-d ruling and reigning

with a rod of iron during the millennium.

MICAH 5:2 (1)

But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are insignificant among

the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be

Ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from days of

eternity.