Devotion 1 of 2: Jer 25
This is a significant chapter in that God calls Nebuchadnezzar His servant (v.9) and He states that Judah and the other nations would serve Babylon for 70 years (v.11).
The reason Nebuchadnezzar is God’s servant is because God used him to defeat sinful Judah, take the Jews captive to Babylon and cleanse the land of Judah’s wickedness. In endtime application, Nebuchadnezzar is a type of AC, who will also be God’s servant to force the lukewarm church to either becoming hot by following Christ to martyrdom, or cold by worshiping AC’s image and taking his mark to save their own life (Rev 3:15-19). So, let’s understand God’s reason for using AC as His servant, and help our Christian friends to become hot for Jesus!
About Judah’s 70 years of captivity, scholars say there were several deportations of the Jewish captives to Babylon, making the calculations complicated. Many scholars say Judah’s captivity was only 48 years, based on 586 BC as the beginning of the captivity and 538 BC as the end.
But some scholars believe that the captivity was 70 years and that 605 BC can be seen as the start and 536 as the end of the captivity. I like this interpretation rather than the 48 year interpretation
デボーション1/2：Jer 25
この章は、神がネブカデネザルを神のしもべと呼び（9節）、また、ユダと他の国々が70年間バビロンに仕えると述べている（11節）という点で重要です。
ネブカドネザルはどうして神のしもべだったと言えるかというと、神が彼を用いて罪深いユダを破り、ユダヤ人をバビロンに捕らえ、ユダの邪悪さをその地から一掃したからです。終末の時代に当てはめると、ネブカドネザルは反キの象徴です。神は反キをしもべとして用いて、生ぬるい教会を、キリストに従って殉教するほど熱くなるか、自分たちの命を救うために反キの像を崇拝したり、彼の刻印を受けたりするほど冷たくなるかのどちらかに強制するのです（黙3:15-19）。ですから、神が反キをしもべとして用いる目的を理解し、クリスチャンの友人たちがイエスに熱くなるよう助けましょう！
ユダの捕囚期間70年については、ユダヤ人捕虜がバビロンに何度も移送されたため計算が複雑であることを学者たちが指摘します。多くの学者は、捕囚の始まりを紀元前586年、終わりを538年とするので、ユダの捕囚期間はわずか48年だったと言います。
しかし、捕囚期間は70年で、紀元前605年が捕囚の始まり、536年が捕囚の終わりと考える学者もいます。私は48年間という解釈よりも７０年間の解釈の方が良いと思います。
この箇所の日本語訳はまだありません。英語の原文を表示しています。
Devotion 2 of 2: Acts 25
This chapter explains why, instead of returning from Caesarea to Jerusalem to be put on trial, Paul appealed to Caesar in Rome (v.9-12). It was because the Jewish religious leaders wanted to ambush and kill him (v.3)!
I believe Paul knew he was going to be a martyr, and it didn’t matter where. What mattered most was that the gospel be proclaimed to as many people as possible! So, by appealing to Caesar and going to Rome, Paul was moving his mission headquarters from Jerusalem and Antioch to Rome, the center of the Roman Empire!
According to Acts 28:30-32, Paul spent 2 years in Rome freely teaching about Jesus! He was raising up many disciples who would preach the gospel throughout the empire after he was gone! Tradition says Paul was martyred in Rome around 64 AD. In 380 AD, the Emperor Theodosius I made Christianity the state religion of the Empire! I think Paul’s plan worked!
— Pastor Elmer Inafuku