In Amos 7:1-6, Amos saw visions of a locust-swarm and a great fire coming to judge Israel. He immediately interceded for Israel saying, "O sovereign Lord, please don't do this. There will be no hope for Israel if you judge them like that" God listened to Amos and gave up His plans to judge Israel - twice. This shows us the tremendous power there is in intercession (Amos 7:6). But prayer according to God's will requires that we stand with God where He stands - and see the seriousness of sin. In Ezekiel's time later, God did not find any intercessor (Ezek.22:30). But at this time, He did find one - Amos who pleaded with God, just as Moses had pleaded many centuries earlier when God had wanted to destroy Israel in the wilderness. These prophets were compassionate men and therefore they were great intercessors. It was because of these prophets that Israel was often saved from destruction. But Israel did not value them.

The Lord then gave Amos a vision of a plumb line and told him, "I am about to put a plumb line in the midst of My people Israel - to see if they are straightforward, honest and upright - I will spare them no longer" (Amos 7:8). God always tests us by His plumbline to see if we are honest about our sins.

We then see a confrontation between Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, (symbolizing a Babylonian "Christian" leader) and Amos (symbolizing one who builds Jerusalem the true church). Amaziah went to the king and told him a lie about Amos saying, "Amos is hatching a plot against you." False prophets are quick to spread lies about the true prophets of God saying, "They are preaching false doctrines. If you listen to them, it will lead to confusion in your church," etc., in order to turn people away from the truth that can set them free. That happened in Amos' time, and it has happened time and again during the last 2000 years in Christendom. Amaziah told Amos, "You came from Judah to Israel to preach here. Go back to Judah and earn money through your preaching there ("eat bread and prophesy there"- KJV). We have more than enough preachers here and we don't want to listen to any of your prophecies here."

But Amos replied, "Listen, Amaziah, I am not a professional prophet like you. I didn't go to any Bible-school to be trained. I am a shepherd and a farmer. I was looking after my flock and my fig trees when God came to me one day and told me to go to Israel and prophesy. That's why I came here. I didn't come here to earn my living or to make money as a prophet. And now, Amaziah, since you oppose me, the Lord will judge you. Your wife will become a prostitute in this city, your sons and daughters will be killed, and you yourself will die in a foreign land." (Amos 7:14-17).

It is a dangerous thing to fight against the true prophets of God.

Then the Lord gave Amos a vision of ripe fruit symbolizing that Israel was ripe for punishment (Amos 8:2). Why was Israel being punished? The Lord says, "Listen, you merchants who rob the poor, trampling on the needy; you who long for the Sabbath to end and the religious holidays to be over so you can get out and start cheating again - using your weighted scales and under-sized measures; you who make slaves of the poor, buying them for their debt of a piece of silver or a pair of shoes, or selling them your moldy wheat: The Lord, the Pride of Israel, has sworn: 'I won't forget your deeds! The land will tremble as it awaits its doom, and everyone will mourn.'" (Amos 8:4-7)

In Amos 8:11,12, we read these prophetic words about the last days: "There will be a famine in the last days - not a famine of bread but a famine of the word of the Lord - and people will wander here and there looking for a word from the Lord." We are seeing that famine today. 'The Word of God' refers to the Bible - and there is no shortage of that. The Bible Society distributes millions of Bibles every year and the Bible is still the world's best-selling book. But here it is speaking about 'the word of the Lord' - and that refers to the prophetic word that comes from God according to the need of the hour through the mouth of a prophet. The "word of the Lord" will be rare in the last days. People will wander everywhere to hear a true prophet - but they will not be easy to find. So, when you do get an opportunity to hear a prophetic word from the Lord, pay attention and listen to it carefully - and take it seriously.

When God judges Israel, those who genuinely fear Him will be saved: "I have commanded that Israel be sifted by the other nations as grain is sifted in a sieve, yet not one true kernel will be lost. But all these sinners who say, 'God will not touch us,' will die by the sword." Satan has a sieve with which he seeks to sift God's children (See Luk.22:31). But our Lord prays for us and our faith will not fail.

The Lord then says, "At that time I will rebuild the City of David, which is now lying in ruins, and return it to its former glory"(Amos 9:11). This verse is quoted by James (in Acts 15:16,17), as referring to the building of the church. If the church is in a ruined state in many places. But the Lord says, "I will rebuild it."

And then the time will come when "the plowman will overtake the reaper" (Amos 9:13). What that means is: We have sowed much evil in the past, and although we have been forgiven, yet to some extent we still reap what we have sown. But the time will soon come when the new things that you are sowing in your life (after becoming a wholehearted disciple) will wipe out the things you have been reaping (because of your past). For example: The dirty thoughts and dreams that have been plaguing your mind because you read and saw so much pornography in the past, will gradually be replaced by thoughts and dreams of spiritual things, because you are now filling your mind with the word of God. And your life will be fruitful for God.

What a glorious promise that is! Hallelujah!