Jezebel – A Wicked Woman: A warning from history!

CREDITS: With grateful thanks to Mrs Clare Adams who wrote this in 2012 for a church fellowship women’s bible studies group, edited by Selah – with me. Everything written below is fully endorsed by Selah – with me.

Introduction

As we come to look at Jezebel, probably one of the most wicked and evil women who ever lived, we should perhaps begin with a reminder from the Scriptures as to what we as Christian women should be striving to be:

Proverbs 31v10–30 is a description of a virtuous wife; the literal translation means, a wife of valour, in the sense of all forms of excellence. We are also told, as has been pointed out in previous discussions (see other titles in Wise Women, Foolish Women webpage), that we are to endeavour to be adorned with ‘the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God’ (1 Peter 3:4).

Queen Jezebel is described in the following way by J Vernon McGee:

She was a bloody, mean, terrible woman. She was a member of a royal family, the beautiful daughter of Ethbaal, king of Sidon. Probably she had been one of the most beautiful women of her day. When Ahab and Jezebel married, it was the society event of the year. The best people of the two kingdoms were there. There was a surplus of royalty gathered. It was respectful and dignified – even Elijah could not find fault with the event. The common people of both realms celebrated. It should also be added that the demons of hell joined in the festivities. They laughed with glee, and the devil was glad. However, crepe was on the gate of heaven and the angels wept. Instead of wedding bells it was a funeral dirge. That was heaven’s view of this marriage. The world saw things differently, as it always does. Why is the world optimistic and heaven pessimistic? God looks on the heart. Man has only a limited view of things.”

“Ahab was evil, and he had a wife who helped him in his evil ways. She was a real helpmeet in the area of evil. What Ahab didn’t think of, Jezebel did. The combination of Ahab and Jezebel was the worst possible”. 

Overview on Jezebel

The story of Ahab and Jezebel begins about 150 years after the death of King David. His great kingdom had been fractured into two weakened fragments. The ten northern tribes bore the name of Israel, and were being ruled by a succession of wicked men, whilst the southern kingdom of Judah was being ruled by David’s descendants. King Ahab of Israel is introduced to us in Scripture with the following words: ‘In the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, Ahab the son of Omri became king over Israel; and Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty-two years.  Now Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord, more than all who were before him’ (1 Kings 16vs29-30).

Ahab was the most wicked king to date in Israel. He defied the LORD in many ways. One of these ways was to marry Jezebel, as it says in 1 Kings 16v31: ‘And it came to pass, as though it had been a trivial thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took to wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians, and went and served Baal and worshipped him’. The reference here is to the first Jeroboam recorded in Scripture who had encouraged idol worship in Israel (see e.g. 1 Kings 12vs26-30).

Ahab is followed in the footsteps of Jeroboam, turning away from the God of Israel to the worship of idols. It is no surprise then, that he chose as wife the idol-worshipping Jezebel. Jezebel was the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians, another name for Phoenicians, the seafaring people on the Mediterranean coast who occupied the great cities of Tyre and Sidon. The Phoenicians worshipped many gods and goddesses, chief of which was Baal and his female consort, Ashtoreth. As King of Phoenicia, it is likely that Ethbaal was also high priest of Baal and had important religious duties in this respect. Jezebel had grown up steeped in the worship of Baal and Ashtoreth and may well have served as a priestess when she was growing up. Baal was believed to be the god of the land. They believed he owned the land and that he controlled its weather and the increase of its crops and cattle. Ashtoreth was considered to be the mother-goddess of fertility. So idols of both Baal and Ashtoreth stood side by side in their temples and were worshipped by priests and temple prostitutes with lewd dances and orgies, in the hope that their god and goddess would increase the productivity of their agriculture, their animals and their children. In times of crisis such as famine, they slashed themselves and even sacrificed their children to appease the gods and implore their help.

The marriage of Ahab and Jezebel was most likely done for reasons of political expediency. With the ever-present menace of Syria and the growing threat of Assyria, Ahab decided that he needed an alliance with this neighbouring nation, so he made a treaty with the King of Phoenicia and sealed it by marrying his daughter.

In marrying Jezebel, Ahab was defying the LORD’s command not to select a wife from the ungodly. At Exodus 34v12–16 we read:

‘Take heed to yourself, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land where you are going, lest it be a snare in your midst. But you shall destroy their altars, break their sacred pillars and cut down their wooden images (for you shall worship no other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God), lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land and they play the harlot with their gods and make sacrifice to their gods, and one of them invites you and you eat of his sacrifice, and you take of his daughters for your sons, and his daughters play the harlot with their gods and make your sons play the harlot with their gods.’

 Here the LORD warns the Israelites not to be drawn into the worship of idols practised by the Canaanites. He warns against intermarriage with the Canaanites, in case the women lure their husbands into idol-worship. We see the same command in Deuteronomy 7v3,4: ‘Nor shall you make marriages with them. You shall not give your daughter to their son, nor take their daughter for your son. For they will turn your sons away from following Me, to serve other gods; so the anger of the LORD will be aroused against you and destroy you utterly.’

But marriage with a fanatical idol-worshipper for reasons of political expediency was exactly what Ahab did and the result was ruin for Ahab and his line. His wife was a terrible influence on him; in 1 Kings 21v25 we are told: ‘But there was no one like Ahab who sold himself to do wickedness in the sight of the LORD, because Jezebel his wife stirred him up’ (Ed. underlined for emphasis). Jezebel encouraged him to behave abominably, behaviour which, ultimately, led to Ahab’s downfall and the removal of the crown from his line. What a contrast to the virtuous wife of Proverbs 31 who ‘does [her husband] good and not evil all the days of her life.’

It is a well-known point, but perhaps one that is worth reiterating, that as believers in Lord Yeshua, we should only marry another believer in Lord Yeshua. 1 Corinthians 7v39, for example, says this: ‘A wife is bound by law as long as her husband lives, but if her husband dies, she is at liberty to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord’. If we ignore this and marry outside of the faith, we will face trouble and heartache.

Jezebel’s Legacy

What can we learn from Jezebel?

It is easy for us as Christian women, to think there is nothing for us to really learn from Jezebel. She was the most wicked of women, an idolatress, God-hating, lying, thieving murderer. We feel very glad that we are not like that! But I think that her story contains warnings to us as women who love the LORD, and we can also learn a great deal from looking at how God-fearing people reacted to Jezebel and her wickedness.

Here are a few thoughts about Jezebel’s characteristics:

She was an idolatress!

She was completely devoted to Baal and Ashtoreth. As stated earlier, she had been brought up in the worship of false gods and was fanatical about eradicating worship of the living God and replacing this with worship of Baal. No sooner had Ahab married Jezebel, than we see him worshipping Baal and building a temple of Baal in Samaria. He also built a wooden image of the Ashtoreth. Jezebel encouraged her husband in his forsaking of the LORD and worshipping idols. In 1Kings 18v19 it tells us that ‘four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and four hundred prophets of Ashtoreth ..eat at Jezebel’s table’.  Jezebel probably brought these false prophets with her when she married Ahab; these idol-worshippers were perhaps housed in the palace, were provided for by her and fed “royal style”. Their duties would have been to promote the worship of Baal and Ashtoreth in Israel.

The Scriptures are full of warnings about idolatry, for example:

It is, of course, strictly forbidden –  ‘And God spoke all these words, saying: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; ⁵ you shall not bow down to them nor serve them.’ (Exodus 20v1-5a)

Idolatry is described as an abomination to God – ‘You shall burn the carved images of their gods in the fire; you shall not covet the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it for yourselves, lest you be snared by it; for it is an abomination to the LORD your God. Nor shall you bring an abomination into your house, lest you be doomed to destruction like it; but you shall utterly detest it and utterly abhor it, for it is an accursed thing. (Deuteronomy 7v25-26)

It is described as hateful to God – ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘You have seen all the calamity that I have brought on Jerusalem and on all the cities of Judah; and behold, this day they are a desolation, and no one dwells in them, because of their wickedness which they have committed to provoke Me to anger, in that they went to burn incense and to serve other gods whom they did not know, they nor you nor your fathers. However I have sent to you all My servants the prophets, rising early and sending them, saying, “Oh, do not do this abominable thing that I hate!”’ (Jeremiah 44v2-4)

In 1 Peter 4v3, idolatry is again described as abominable to God, ‘For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles – when we walked in licentiousness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries.’

What is idolatry?

Definitions from the Scriptures include:

• bowing down to images (Exodus 20v5; Deuteronomy 5v9)
• worshipping images (Isaiah 44v17; Daniel 3vs4-5)
• sacrificing to images (Psalm 106v38; Acts 7v41); [ also consider 1 Corinthians 10:19-20]
• worshipping other gods (Deuteronomy 30v17; Psalm 81v9)
• swearing by other gods (Exodus 23v13; Joshua 23v7)
• walking after other gods (Deuteronomy 8v19)
• speaking in the name of other gods (Deuteronomy 18v20)
• looking to other gods (Hosea 3v1)
• worshipping the true God by an image (Exodus 32v1-8; Psalm 106v19-20)
• worshipping angels (Colossians 2v18)
• sacrificing to dead men (Psalm 106v28)
• [Ed. sacrificing to demons (Psalm 106:37)
• Serving idols (i.e. living for, obedience to a religion based on idols) (Psalm 106:36; Isaiah 44:9-20)]

But the Bible also goes further in identifying idolatry. In Ezekiel 14v3-5 the LORD tells Ezekiel that the elders of Israel who came apparently seeking God’s counsel actually came insincerely. Of them, the LORD says this:

“Son of man, these men have set up idols in their hearts, and put before them that which causes them to stumble into iniquity. Should I let Myself be inquired of at all by them? Therefore speak to them and say to them: ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Everyone of the house of Israel who sets up idols in his heart, and puts before him what causes him to stumble into iniquity, and then comes to the prophet, I the LORD will answer him who comes, according to the multitude of his idols, that I may seize the house of Israel by their heart, because they are all estranged from Me by their idols”.

We need to guard against setting up idols in our hearts.

The LORD knows what is in our hearts; though man looks at the outward appearance, He looks at the heart. Jeremiah 17v10 says: “I, the LORD, search the heart”.  Although we don’t engage in blatant idol-worship such as Jezebel did, we need to be careful of idols in our hearts.

Anything that takes the place of God in our hearts is an idol!

It could be anything: a person, material possession, a hobby, our career, the TV, computer etc. These things of themselves are not wrong. It is our attitude to them; how much importance we attach to them and how much we think about them or spend time on them. When these become more dear to us, more precious to us than the LORD, that is making an idol of them. We need to ask: is this thing, person etc, taking up more of my thinking, more of my time, more of my heart, than the LORD? [Ed. This is SO true and also to be considered is whether I am my own idol? Do I find myself thinking of myself – my life, my problems, my needs, my opinion, thoughts and emotions – more than thinking of the Lord?] This is a constant challenge and constant battle for us. The LORD should have first place in our hearts. We are told that the greatest commandment is: “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind”. (Matthew 22v37) Biblical Christianity is essentially a relationship of obedience through love with the LORD. He demands first place in our lives. May we constantly pray to be kept from making idols in our hearts.

Similarly, the Bible says that covetousness is idolatry.

In Ephesians 5v5 we read: ‘For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God’. Likewise, in Colossians 3v5, 6  we read: ‘Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience.’ In both passages, covetousness is deemed a very serious sin.

A dictionary definition of covetousness is ‘eagerly desirous to possess, especially the property of another’. Covetousness is idolatry because it is making an idol of the property, possession or person belonging to someone else. Desire for that thing takes over the heart, takes over the thinking, takes the place of God in the heart, and very often, leads to other sins. In Luke 12v15, Jesus warns against covetousness: “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses”. In our materialistic society, we need to guard against this form of idolatry.

Jezebel indulged Ahab’s covetousness with lies, thieving and murder

Consider 1 Kings 21:1-16. Ahab and Jezebel had a beautiful palace in Jezreel. Next to the palace was a vineyard belonging to Naboth. Ahab was not content with the beautiful palace; he wanted the vineyard as well, for a vegetable garden. When he asked Naboth to sell it, Naboth refused. In this we see a direct contrast with Ahab and Jezebel: Naboth feared the LORD; they did not. He did not want to sell it because according to God’s law, a family should maintain their land in perpetuity (see e.g. Numbers 36:1-13). Naboth would have been disobeying God in agreeing to the King’s request. It’s easy to focus on the despicable actions of Ahab and Jezebel here and miss the incredible strength of faith and courage that Naboth had. He probably knew the Queen’s reputation as a murderer: she had murdered many priests of the LORD and had threatened Elijah’s life also. Naboth probably knew that he risked his life in turning the King down. But he stood up for what is right. What an inspirational man!

What a contrast, Naboth and Jezebel! Naboth risks his life to obey the LORD; Jezebel had no regard for the laws of God whatsoever. She comes up with the murderous plan. Her husband was King, he could do as he pleased. With her Phoenician background, where the monarch’s whim was tantamount to law, she cannot understand that even the King in Israel is subject to the laws of God. She has no regard for God or God’s commands. She contrives a plot and arranges to have two lawless men witness against Naboth. They say he has blasphemed God and the King. Naboth is then carried out of the city and stoned to death. As was customary when a person was found guilty of a serious crime, his land then automatically escheated to the throne. In this dreadful episode, covetousness led to lying, stealing and murder. But there is a higher throne than that of Ahab for, ‘[t]then the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, “Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel who lives in Samaria.  There he is, in the vineyard of Naboth, where he has gone down to take possession of it.  You shall speak to him, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Have you murdered and also taken possession?”‘ And you shall speak to him, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord: “In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth, dogs shall lick your blood, even yours”‘ (1 Kings 21v17-19).

Murder is a sin against God. It is worth reminding ourselves here of the teaching of the Lord Jesus, which challenges us to examine our own hearts. Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder’ and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgement. But I say to you that whoever is angry at his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgement” (Matthew 5v2-22) .

 In 1 John 2v9  we read ‘He who says he is in the light and hates his brother, is in darkness until now’.  Also, 1 John 3v15: ‘He who does not love his brother abides in death. Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.’ There is no room for hatred in the Christian heart. We must keep coming back to the LORD, asking Him to fill our hearts with His love.

In Proverbs 6v16-19, it tells us of ‘six things the LORD hates, Yes, seven are an abomination to Him: A proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that are swift in running to do evil; a false witness who speaks lies, and one who sows discord among brethren’.  Jezebel was guilty of all of these abominations! The shedding of innocent blood is an abomination to the LORD.

After Abel’s murder, the LORD told Cain that “the voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground”. (Genesis 4v10) In John 8v44 Jesus says of the Devil: “He was a murderer from the beginning”.

A Personal Plea from Mrs Clare Adams:

This leads me to mention something about which I feel a great burden. I read this week [Ed. 2012] that every year 46 million babies are aborted, worldwide. In Britain, the number is about 186,000 each year. That works out at about one baby killed in Britain every three minutes. As a worldwide average, it works out as one abortion for every woman. I feel very strongly that the blood of these innocents cries out to the LORD from the ground. May the LORD give us opportunity to rescue those who are being led to the slaughter; may He help us convince even one woman not to kill her baby – the Hebrew saying goes that he who saves one life saves the world entire. I feel so burdened about this – it is state-sanctioned murder of innocents and our prayer should be that the LORD have mercy on this land and indeed, the whole world, for sacrificing their children. In fact, in Biblical times, idol-worship often went hand in hand with child sacrifice:

Deuteronomy 12v31: “You shall not worship the LORD your God in that way, for every abomination to the LORD which He hates they have done to their gods; for they burn even their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods”.

Jeremiah 19v4: “Because they have forsaken Me and made this an alien place, because they have burned incense in it to other gods whom neither they, their fathers, nor the kings of Judah have known, and have filled this place with the blood of the innocents, they have also built the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings to Baal, which I did not command or speak, nor did it come into My mind”

There is nothing new under the sun: children are still being sacrificed, this time on the altar of materialism. The article that I read stated that 95% of abortions are done because the baby is simply unwanted at that time, as opposed to concerns about the mother’s health or rape. These are innocents being slaughtered. We should be very concerned about this issue as Christian women, and should pray regularly for our leaders, for those in pro-life work, for pregnant women considering abortions and for those who have undergone the agony of abortion, they may come to know the LORD who loves them and is willing to forgive and reunite them one day with the child they have lost.

Jezebel hated the LORD

In 2 Chronicles 19v2-3, Jehu goes to King Jehoshaphat, King of Judah, who has just come back from battle with Ahab against the King of Syria for the town of Ramoth-Gilead. Jehoshaphat had entered into an alliance with Ahab to war against the King of Syria. Ahab died in the battle, and Jehoshaphat narrowly escaped death himself. Jehu rebuked Jehoshaphat for allying with Ahab, saying: “Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the LORD? Therefore the wrath of the LORD is upon you.”

Jezebel hated God. She was determined to eradicate worship of the God of Israel from the outset: as well as influencing her husband to build a temple for Baal and stirring him up to idolatry and gross sin, Jezebel also was merciless in her persecution of priests of the living God. In 1 Kings 18v4 we read that ‘Jezebel massacred the prophets of the LORD’ and after Elijah’s victory over the priests of Baal on Mount Carmel, when told by Ahab that Elijah has killed the false prophets, Jezebel is enraged. She sends Elijah a murderous message: “So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time” (1 Kings 19v2).

We live in a society – indeed, in a world, that hates God and “will not have this Man to reign over us” (Luke 19v14). Our society has rejected the Word of God e.g. by legalising homosexual “marriage”, in complete defiance of the Bible’s teaching that homosexuality is an “abomination” (Leviticus 18v22); it is a “vile passion” (Romans 1v26), “against nature”, (Romans 1v26), “shameful” (Romans 1v27). Indeed, Romans 1 describes  what happens when man rejects God and is perhaps an apt description of the society in which we live:

“And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness, full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful” (Romans 1v28-31) 

When a society rejects the LORD and rejects His commands there is carnage. Our society seems to be becoming darker and darker. Condemnation of homosexuality is now regarded as a hate crime.

Another example of rejection of the Word of God is the complete rejection of the teaching of Jesus that belief in Him is the only way to God. Jesus’ claim that He is the Way, the Truth and the Life and that no-one comes to the Father except through Him (John 14:6) has been utterly rejected. The RE National Curriculum has long been designed to teach children that all religions are equal, all are valid and basically it doesn’t matter which one you choose.

We need grace, strength, courage and wisdom to live as lights in a world like this! How did Elijah respond to the rule of Ahab and Jezebel? How did Elijah act in a society that had rejected the LORD, as ours has done? This is our tremendous challenge! Oh may we have something of the courage and faith of Elijah! J Vernon McGee says of Elijah:

 “He remained faithful to the LORD and stood up for the true God of Israel, facing the prophets of Baal alone. Martin Luther said “One with God is a majority” and he knew the truth of this statement by experience. Elijah also learned this truth through experience in his day when there had been a wholesale departure of the northern kingdom from God. Under Ahab and Jezebel there was almost total apostasy – Elijah stood pretty much alone. It is true that there were seven thousand people who had not bowed to Baal, but they had retreated to the mountains. Not one of them stood with Elijah. He was not aware of their existence until God told him. Dr Wilfred Funk said that the most bitter word in the English language is “alone”. Elijah stood alone. He did not voice public opinion. He was more concerned about pleasing God than courting the popularity of the crowd. He sought divine approval rather than public applause. He was a fool for God’s sake.”

May we not be those who run to the mountains and hide when things get bad. May we not compromise; may we not hide our lights under a bushel. Rather, may we be the ones who, with courage, and with the help of our dear LORD, stand up for righteousness and remain faithful to the LORD in days of darkness. We will only be able to stand with His grace and help. If we make our focus the terrible things happening around us, we will begin to sink, just as Peter did, when the LORD called Him to walk on water. Whilst Peter had his eyes on the LORD, he was able to walk. But when He took his eyes off the LORD and ‘saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid, and beg[an] to sink’ (Matthew 14v30). In these days, we women must keep our eyes on Jesus. Only by keeping our eyes on Him can we build our houses; only by keeping our eyes on Him can we be virtuous wives and bring honour to our husbands. Remember Hebrews 12v1,2: ‘Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith’.

Conclusion

Just some final thoughts about the nature of Jezebel’s death. She died as she lived – violently!

Fourteen years had passed since the death of Ahab and perhaps Jezebel did not believe that God’s word would ever be fulfilled in her case. She was unmoved. She defied God, to the end. Perhaps she thought she could get away with all her sin and blasphemy. But ‘be not deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he shall also reap’ (Galatians 6v7); also ‘for with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you (Luke 6v38). Jezebel was now the Queen Mother and had been living in luxury at the palace at Jezreel. Suddenly Jehu appears, having just killed two kings – the king of Judah and the king of Israel – her own son, Joram. We read of the gruesome account at 2 Kings chapter 9. It tells us then that Jezebel “put paint on her eyes and adorned her head and looked through a window”. The common interpretation here is that Jezebel was trying to use her physical beauty to allure Jehu – to captivate him with her charms. Another interpretation could be that she was donning the headdress and make up of a high priestess of Baal. Either way, she is unrepentant, defiant and proud. Jehu is unmoved by her words. He is without pity or mercy. Jezebel now reaps what she has sown. She has shed much blood in her lifetime: now her blood is to be shed. Jehu orders Jezebel’s eunuchs to throw her down. She is thrown out of the window and falls to her death. One commentator says of this

“history presents no parallel to such an indignity. It is truly unprecedented. A queen mother was customarily treated with respect.”

Vernon McGee says:

“There was no laughter in Heaven because of this. There was no mourning either. Perhaps in Heaven it was being said, as the Book of Revelation tells us that it will be said in the future, ‘For true and righteous are His judgements: for He has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication and He has avenged on her the blood of His servants shed by her”.

What a contrast with the death of those who believe in the LORD!

Let’s end with reminding ourselves what is says of death for those who put their faith in and love Lord Jesus, the Messiah, the Son of the living God:

Psalm 116v15: ‘Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His saints’.

Psalm 73v24: ‘You will guide me with Your counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.’

Acts 7v55-56: ‘But [Stephen], being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into Heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and said: ‘Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!”

John 11v25: “Jesus said to her ‘I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.”

Amen. Praise the Lord!