The Prophet Micah wrote about man’s most extraordinary and mind-staggering potential. Though his book is part of the minor prophets, there is nothing minor about his message!

“I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of thee; I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; I will put them together as the sheep of Bozrah, as the flock in the midst of their fold: they shall make great noise by reason of the multitude of men” (Micah 2:12). Jacob was Israel’s name before he was converted. We can see from this verse that Micah’s message applies to Jacob—primarily America, Britain and the Jewish nation in the Middle East—and Israel, or God’s Church. God says He will shepherd them both.

Trouble in Zion

Micah mainly targets God’s Church with his marvelous message of hope. He bemoans the evils of this world, while highlighting the example of a loyal remnant that clings to God’s truth and delivers His warning message in the end time.

“Make thee bald, and poll thee for thy delicate children; enlarge thy baldness as the eagle; for they are gone into captivity from thee” (Micah 1:16). The context shows this is discussing God’s Church (Micah 2:5). At a time when a fanatical nation like Iran is receiving sanctions relief, the United States’ debt is zooming toward $20 trillion, and approximately one tenth of Americans are taking illegal drugs, God’s church has fallen asleep! We are living in the most dangerous time in human history, yet God’s people have lost all urgency. For this reason, God makes them “bald.”

“Prophesy ye not, say they to them that prophesy: they shall not prophesy to them, that they shall not take shame” (verse 6). The 95 percent majority of God’s Church tells the loyal remnant not to prophesy! These people once supported the prophetic warning message, but they are too caught up in the cares of this world to do that any longer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LFNd_i9i24&feature=youtu.be

The Breaker

A work of prophesying requires a prophet at the head. God’s people rally around this man and excitedly disseminate a wondrous, vision-filled warning. It is fundamentally impossible for them to coexist in the same church with those who seek to stamp out God’s truth. “Arise ye, and depart; for this is not your rest: because it is polluted, it shall destroy you, even with a sore destruction” (Micah 2:10).

“The breaker is come up before them: they have broken up, and have passed through the gate, and are gone out by it: and their king shall pass before them, and the Lord on the head of them” (verse 13). God leads this “breaker,” who is also called a king in this verse. The Hebrew word for king is melek, and it has a wide range of translations. Really, the “breaker” is a spiritual leader—a prophet in God’s Church (Ezekiel 33:33). The context bears that out.

Here is the Soncino Commentary’s definition of “breaker”: “One who clears away, breaking down barriers and removing obstacles.” This man leads an obedient little remnant out of God’s rebellious Church—a church that rises up as God’s enemy! (Micah 2:8).

“Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Matthew 7:13-14). This is the only way to salvation—the only solution to world problems. If God’s warrior remnant doesn’t deliver His message, then no one will!

Hearken!

“Hear, all ye people; hearken, O earth, and all that therein is: and let the Lord God be witness against you, the Lord from his holy temple” (Micah 1:2). God speaks through a man today. The whole Earth needs to hear the warning!

“For the transgression of Jacob is all this, and for the sins of the house of Israel …” (verse 5). Physical and spiritual Israel have turned away from God. God’s Church is not exempt from Micah’s correction.

“And all the graven images thereof shall be beaten to pieces, and all the hires thereof shall be burned with the fire, and all the idols thereof will I lay desolate: for she gathered it of the hire of an harlot, and they shall return to the hire of an harlot” (verse 7). Nuclear fire will devour our vile, idolatrous cities! People may scoff at God now, but they won’t for long.

“Therefore I will wail and howl, I will go stripped and naked: I will make a wailing like the dragons, and mourning as the owls” (verse 8). “Dragons” should be “jackals,” and “owls” should be “ostriches.” Micah is saying that he will go to extremes to warn the people—even stripping naked, howling pitifully like a jackal and fleeing from danger like a foolish ostrich if necessary! God’s man is always willing to do whatever it takes to reach as many people as possible.

Micah uses some of the strongest language imaginable to emphasize the abominable condition of God’s end-time Church. “Who hate the good, and love the evil; who pluck off their skin from off them, and their flesh from off their bones; Who also eat the flesh of my people, and flay their skin from off them; and they break their bones, and chop them in pieces, as for the pot, and as flesh within the caldron. Then shall they cry unto the Lord, but he will not hear them: he will even hide his face from them at that time, as they have behaved themselves ill in their doings” (Micah 3:2-4). This is a grisly metaphor depicting the savage act of cannibalism. God’s own people are being eaten alive spiritually! The physical fulfillment of this prophecy is coming soon, during the greatest time of suffering ever (Daniel 12:1).

God’s Greatest Masterpiece

Thankfully, the most spectacular news we could ever hear follows quickly after the Great Tribulation. “But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it. And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the Lord of hosts hath spoken it” (Micah 4:1-4).

God will soon rule the Earth. All people will worship Him. He will abolish war and ensure peace and prosperity for all. He will show the world that only His way of life—not the disastrous way of Adam and Eve—produces happiness.

“For all people will walk every one in the name of his god, and we will walk in the name of the Lord our God for ever and ever” (verse 5). This verse seems contradictory at first, but it reveals the purpose for man! How can people look to their own gods and still worship the Father and Son in unity? God’s little flock today will be God beings tomorrow, sharing the throne of David with Jesus Christ and helping Him rule for all eternity! People all over the world will worship the God being in charge of their region. There may be more than one God in the World Tomorrow but still only one God Family—and only one God reigning supreme.

This is what the late Herbert W. Armstrong wrote in The Incredible Human Potential:

So mark well this super-vital truism—that perfect, holy and righteous character is the supreme feat of accomplishment possible for Almighty God the Creator—it is also the means to His ultimate supreme purpose! His final objective! …Now came the CROWNING PINNACLE of even God’s unmatched creative power! Now came the very zenith of all divine accomplishment! Now came a project so incredulously transcendentlyawesome it is hard for the human mind to grasp.How could the great GOD—self-existent, before all else, Creator of all else, reproduce Himself into multiplied millions of others just like Himself—divine, supreme in power, perfect in character—each by his own choice perfectly like-minded with the Father, each having so set himself that he cannot sin?

God is re-creating Himself! We are His greatest masterpiece! Nothing is more challenging than turning carnal, selfish humans into sinless, immortal gods.

“I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of thee; I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; I will put them together as the sheep of Bozrah, as the flock in the midst of their fold: they shall make great noise by reason of the multitude of men” (Micah 2:12). To find where God dwells today, look for a worldwide work making a great noise! We sound the alarm in all nations—on tv and through other mediums. God’s loyal remnant will receive the greatest reward.

The times ahead are daunting, but God uses trials to challenge us to see our extraordinary potential! Study this inspiring subject, and God will bless you beyond measure.