The Prophecy of Isaiah - Part 34 Discussion

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Isa 7:18 The Lord Shall Hiss For The Fly a​nd For The Bee

Isa 7:18  And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria. 

We are continuing our study into how God goes about bringing us into judgment. As we have seen,​ God knew from the beginning the vessel of clay in His hand was "marred" (Jer 18:4). "The Potter" did not make a mistake when He marred "the vessel of clay". It was done by His design, because He had already called us in the crucified and risen Christ "before the world began":

Jer 18:4  And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.

2Ti 1:9  Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,

Tit 1:2  In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;

Every verb in Jer 18:4 has the Hebrew 'qual stem', which is the equivalent of the Greek aorist tense. What that means is that verse is actually telling us 'The vessel of clay He is making is being marred in the hand of the Potter: so He is making it again another vessel as seems good to the Potter to be making it'.

Another way of saying it, 'The marred vessel of clay is just the first step in the work God is performing in all mankind who are all being 'called in Christ before the world began'.

The next time anyone tells you God did not make Adam as a "marred... vessel of clay", ask them how we can be told we were "called... in Christ Jesus before the world began" if God did not know exactly what Adam and Eve would do even before there were any of the days He had written in their books:

Psa 139:16  Thine eyes did see mine unformed substance; And in thy book they were all written, Even the days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was none of them.

God has written in the books of all men that they must first be "marred in the Potter's hand" so they could and would need a sacrifice for their sins. Part of that marred condition is that all mankind, spiritually speaking, must be carried away into captivity into spiritual 'Babylon', which is symbolized here in Isaiah as "the king of Assyria".

This is what we saw in our last study that the Lord is doing as He begins our judgment via His work of "the king of Assyria" within our lives:

Isa 7:17  The LORD shall bring upon thee, and upon thy people, and upon thy father's house, days that have not come, from the day that Ephraim departed from Judah; even the king of Assyria.

We have demonstrated that Assyria and Babylon are both the same Chaldean people, and those people in scripture symbolize "Babylon the great", the religions of this world, one and all "the enemies of the cross of Christ":

Php 3:18  (For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ:

And this is what He is doing with His symbolic, spiritual "King of Assyria":

Isa 7:18  And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria.

Here we have the Truth. Just as we are told that it was the Lord who gave to Satan the job of destroying all the wealth Job had acquired, including all ten of his children, here also we are told that it is the Lord Himself who will "hiss [Hebrew: whistle] for the fly in Egypt and the bee in Assyria, by which He specifically tells us He means "even the king of Assyria".

The Lord shall Hiss

This is what Strong's tells us is meant by this Hebrew word 'sharaq', translated as 'hiss' in this 18th verse:

H8319
שָׁרַק
shâraq
shaw-rak'
A primitive root; properly to be shrill, that is, to whistle or hiss (as a call or in scorn): - hiss.
Total KJV occurrences: 12

Here are the twelve times this word appears in the Old Testament. As is made clear, it is consistently translated as 'hiss', but it is defined as "a shrill" and can be properly be translated either as a whistle to call someone to do something or as "a shrill" scorning sound, as in this example:

Jer 19:8  And I will make this [harlot] city desolate, and an hissing; every one that passeth thereby shall be astonished and hiss because of all the plagues thereof.
Jer 19:9  And I will cause them to eat the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters, and they shall eat every one the flesh of his friend in the siege and straitness, wherewith their enemies, and they that seek their lives, shall straiten them.

Here are the twelve entries for this word in the Old Testament demonstrating that it is used both as a whistling call and as "a shrill" sound of scorn:

H8319
שׁרק
shâraq
Total KJV Occurrences: 12
hiss, 12
1Ki_9:8, Job_27:23, Isa_5:26, Isa_7:18, Jer_19:8, Jer_49:17, Jer_50:13, Lam_2:15-16 (2), Eze_27:36, Zep_2:15, Zec_10:8

Here in Isa 7:18 the Lord is whistling for the flies and bees to come and destroy His unfaithful, adulterous people, but notice how this Hebrew word 'sharaq' is used in a positive sense as it concerns the Lord's redeemed:

Zec 10:6  And I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph, and I will bring them again to place them; for I have mercy upon them: and they shall be as though I had not cast them off: for I am the LORD their God, and will hear them.
Zec 10:7  And they of Ephraim shall be like a mighty man, and their heart shall rejoice as through wine: yea, their children shall see it, and be glad; their heart shall rejoice in the LORD.
Zec 10:8  I will hiss for them, and gather them; for I have redeemed them: and they shall increase as they have increased.

This Hebrew word 'sharaq', translated consistently as 'hiss', is simply God's way of telling us that it is He who calls forth both the good and the evil in our lives. It is not adding to the Word of God at all to say the Lord 'hissed' for Satan when He called  Satan to destroy Job's family and all His possessions, and then again He sent Satan once again to strike him with boils from head to toe.

This 18th verse of Isaiah 7 is just another way of giving us the same message we are given in Job one and two. The work the Lord sends Satan to accomplish is also described as flies and bees being sent to destroy us. When the Lord begins to deal with the brute beast, which He Himself "made to be taken and destroyed" (2Pe 2:12), He sends flies and bees into our lives to destroy the kingdom of our old man within us. Again, this all takes "a long time" (Luk 20:9), but it has to begin, and it has to be completed.

So what do  flies and bees do to us? Let's take them in the order they are mentioned and see what these two insects spiritually symbolize and what they do to us.

Flies

What did flies do to Egypt? Here in Isa 7:18 the Lord's people are acting as if they are Egyptians, so that is exactly how the Lord deals with us at this point in our "experience of evil... [our] one event" (Ecc 1:13 CVL, and Ecc 9:2 KJV):

Psa 78:45  He sent divers sorts of flies among them, which devoured them; and frogs, which destroyed them.

Psa 105:31  He spake, and there came divers sorts of flies, and lice in all their coasts.

The plagues upon Egypt devoured and destroyed Egypt, and that is what God is doing to the brute beast we all first are:

2Pe 2:12  But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption;

Flies are a symbol of​ the destruction of our old man and his "brute beast" kingdom within us.

Bees

So what does the Lord do within us with His symbolic spiritual 'bees'?

The word translated 'bee' here is:

H1682
דְּבֹרָה    דְּבוֹרָה
debôrâh    debôrâh
deb-o-raw', deb-o-raw'
From H1696 (in the sense of orderly motion); the bee (from its systematic instincts): - bee.
Total KJV occurrences: 4

This particular Hebrew word appears only three other times in the Old Testament:

H1682
דּברה / דּבורה
debôrâh / debôrâh
Total KJV Occurrences: 4
bees, 3
Deu_1:44, Jdg_14:8, Psa_118:12
bee, 1
Isa_7:18

The first time it appears is in Deuteronomy 1:44. This story demonstrates how we are to understand that God's symbolic bees typify how Israel's enemies destroyed them while they were yet in the wilderness:

Deu 1:44  And the Amorites, which dwelt in that mountain, came out against you, and chased you, as bees do, and destroyed you in Seir, even unto Hormah.

The entry in Judges 14 is the story of the bees that made honey in the carcass of the lion Samson had killed, but in Psa 118:12 bees again symbolize our outward enemies who would physically destroy us, as well as the inward false doctrines of the kingdom of the adversary which must, in time, be destroyed by the brightness of the coming of Christ within us.

Psa 118:10  All nations compassed me about: but in the name of the LORD will I destroy them. 
Psa 118:11  They compassed me about; yea, they compassed me about: but in the name of the LORD I will destroy them.
Psa 118:12  They compassed me about like bees; they are quenched as the fire of thorns: for in the name of the LORD I will destroy them.

The name 'Deborah' is spelled slightly differently and has its own assigned Strong's number, but it means the same - a bee:

H1683
דְּבֹרָה    דְּבוֹרָה
debôrâh    debôrâh
deb-o-raw', deb-o-raw'
The same as H1682; Deborah, the name of two Hebrewesses: - Deborah.
Total KJV occurrences: 10

The Lord used Deborah as 'bees' in their positive application to destroy the kingdom of Jabin, the Cannanite, and Sisera, the captain of his armies:

Jdg 4:7  And I will draw unto thee to the river Kishon Sisera, the captain of Jabin's army, with his chariots and his multitude; and I will deliver him into thine hand.

Here is a verse which demonstrates how the Lord sends 'bees' to destroy his enemies, as well as the fact that the destruction of our old man is a long drawn-out process, sometimes taking many years:

Exo 23:28  And I will send hornets before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee.
Exo 23:29  I will not drive them out from before thee in one year; lest the land become desolate, and the beast of the field multiply against thee.
Exo 23:30  By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land.

Here is what these spiritual 'hornets' accomplished:

Jos 5:1  And it came to pass, when all the kings of the Amorites, which were on the side of Jordan westward, and all the kings of the Canaanites, which were by the sea, heard that the LORD had dried up the waters of Jordan from before the children of Israel, until we were passed over, that their heart melted, neither was there spirit in them any more, because of the children of Israel.

Jos 2:9  And she said unto the men, I know that the LORD hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you.
Jos 2:10  For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed. 
Jos 2:11  And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the LORD your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath.

That is the fulfilling of:

Exo 23:28  And I will send hornets before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee.

So flies and bees in their negative application are the lies of the adversary which destroy our relationship with Christ. But in their positive application flies and bees are sent as a type of His Word to destroy the kingdom and the lying doctrines of our old man. The Lord destroys the kingdom and doctrines of our old man with flies and bees. Therefore, if the Lord is merciful in this age, He brings us to see and believe that it is foolish to continue in our sins and to be ruled over by those nations within us whose only future is their own destruction.

Hosea's prophecy

Hosea speaks of these flies and bees in these verses which prophecy of Israel's destruction at the hand of the king of Assyria:

Hos 11:5  He shall not return into the land of Egypt, but the Assyrian shall be his king, because they refused to return.
Hos 11:6  And the sword shall abide on his cities, and shall consume his branches, and devour them, because of their own counsels.

God has a plan for all mankind, and that plan includes all men spiritually going into spiritual Babylon after we come out of spiritual Egypt. Once we come to know Christ, even if it is as but a wilderness, immature "carnal... babe in Christ" knowledge of Christ, we still cannot ever "return into the land of Egypt, but the Assyrian shall be [our] king, because [we will] refuse to return" to our Deliverer who brought us up out of Egypt. So we all go into Babylon, which is in Assyria, and we live many years there in the darkness and deceit of that great city. It is there in 'that great city', the Lord's adulterous wife, where we kill our Lord and His prophets thinking we do God a service:

Luk 13:33  Nevertheless I must walk to day, and to morrow, and the day following: for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem. [Babylon, Rev 17]

Joh 16:2  They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.
Joh 16:3  And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me.

Rev 11:8  And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.

Isaiah's commission is our commission

All of this is part of the commission Isaiah was given from the Lord. It is back in chapter 6 that Isaiah is given his commission to give Judah and Jerusalem, "where... our Lord was crucified", the words of their impending judgment. That commission was via a vision of the Lord's throne and a seraphim placing 'a live coal from the altar' (the altar symbolizes the cross) to purge his sins and take away his iniquity:

Isa 6:5  Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.
Isa 6:6  Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar:
Isa 6:7  And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.

That the seraphim handles the "live coal... with the tongs" is simply the Lord's way of telling us that this seraphim has already learned that the coals on the altar, symbolizing the fiery experience of daily dying to the downward pulls of our flesh, are very hot "live coals", and for that reason they must be handled "with the tongs". In other words, this seraphim, who symbolizes God's elect, has already experienced the fiery heat of 'a live coal from the altar'.

This book of Isaiah is 'signified', just as the book of Revelation is signified (Rev 1:1). Spirits are not literally affected by physical flames, so we are given the symbol of a live coal to let us know that the Lord has already by this time, in type and shadow, put Isaiah, himself the symbol of God's elect, through the necessary fiery trials which must precede any man who is being qualified to be there at God's throne and to be given a commission to bring this  message of judgment and repentance to others.

This vision of Isaiah being at the throne of God and having His sins purged away by a fiery coal from the altar is a very condensed summary of our own fiery trials which bring us to a point in our lives when the fiery Word of God begins to cleanse and to purge sin from our own hearts. The fiery word of God is placed upon Isaiah's lips to tell us that this same 'fire' is essential to change us into a new man with a new "pure [and] clean heart", because it is 'out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks':

Psa 24:3  Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place?
Psa 24:4  He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.
Psa 24:5  He shall receive the blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.

Psa 51:10  Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

Mat 12:34  O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.

1Co 3:11  For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
1Co 3:12  Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;
1Co 3:13  Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.
1Co 3:14  If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
1Co 3:15  If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
1Co 3:16  Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

Paul had read and was very familiar with Isaiah six and seven. He knew from the scriptures that fire purges away sins. Nowhere in the Word of God, in either the Old or New Testaments, are we told that fire serves simply to inflict never-ending torment with no purpose or positive outcome. The primary scriptural function of the spiritual symbol of 'fire' is to 'take away our iniquities, and purge our sins' (Isa 6:7 and 1Co 3:15). The false satanic doctrine of eternal torment in literal, physical flames is not 'the voice of the True Shepherd'. "The king of Assyria" is merely a part of the fiery words of God which are sent against the false doctrines of the Lord's unfaithful people to bring the harlot known as Judah and Jerusalem, symbolizing all of us, to the point of being redeemed by Christ and His fiery words (1Co 3:13-15).

This is what scriptural 'fire' produces:

Zec 10:6  And I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph, and I will bring them again to place them; for I have mercy upon them: and they shall be as though I had not cast them off: for I am the LORD their God, and will hear them.
Zec 10:7  And they of Ephraim shall be like a mighty man, and their heart shall rejoice as through wine: yea, their children shall see it, and be glad; their heart shall rejoice in the LORD.
Zec 10:8  I will hiss for them, and gather them; for I have redeemed them: and they shall increase as they have increased.

The Lord's flies and His bees are both His means of deceiving us, and then this same symbol also typifies His 'fire', His words in the mouth of His witnesses, which He has designed for the very purpose of burning up and destroying our rebellious adulterous works of our old man and His kingdom:

Jer 5:3  O LORD, are not thine eyes upon the truth? thou hast stricken them, but they have not grieved; thou hast consumed them, but they have refused to receive correction: they have made their faces harder than a rock; they have refused to return.

Jer 5:14  Wherefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them.

1Co 3:12  Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;
1Co 3:13  Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.
1Co 3:14  If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
1Co 3:15  If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

The kingdom of our adulterous old man is given no quarter at all simply because:

2Pe 2:12  But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption;

All of this is what we must all first endure as our own sins are purged and our iniquity is taken away. This is what we must live and experience before we are sent by Christ to speak these words to those to whom the Lord sends us. Our own eyes must first be shut off from seeing the Truth, and our own ears must be 'made heavy', and our hearts must be 'made fat', before we can have our own inward cities "wasted and without inhabitant".

Fire on our lips can only take away our iniquity and purge our sins if our heart is being cleansed so our mouth can begin to "speak good things". Only then are we prepared to be sent to share our experience with others. God does not send immature, self-righteous, self-centered, petulant, "carnal... babes in Christ" whose lips have never been touched with a live coal from the altar to warn others of His judgments which are coming "upon the whole whole earth".

A thorough judgment takes a long time

Notice that Isaiah tells us that this is a long and drawn-out experience of evil which will humble us and destroy the kingdom of our beastly old man:

Ecc 1:13 I applied my heart to inquiring and exploring by wisdom concerning all that is done under the heavens: it is an experience of evil Elohim has given to the sons of humanity to humble them by it. (CLV)

Isa 6:8  Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.
Isa 6:9  And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.
Isa 6:10  Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.
Isa 6:11  Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate,
Isa 6:12  And the LORD have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land.
Isa 6:13  But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and shall be eaten: as a teil tree, and as an oak, whose substance is in them, when they cast their leaves: so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof.

Isa 28:22  Now therefore be ye not mockers, lest your bands be made strong: for I have heard from the Lord GOD of hosts a consumption, even determined upon the whole earth.

Amo 3:6  Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it?
Amo 3:7  Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.

The Lord's secret which He has revealed to his prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Christ Himself, Paul and Peter, and John and all of "His servants the prophets" is that the natural man cannot receive the things of the spirit, which "things of the spirit" are the fiery Words of the Lord (Jer 5:14; Joh 6:63 and 1Co 2:13-14).

As we will see, the fulfilling of Isa 6 and 7 in our own lives will require the living out of the rest of the entire prophecy of Isaiah because:

Mat 4:4  But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

Living by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God takes "a long time" according to Christ:

Luk 20:9  Then began he to speak to the people this parable; A certain man planted a vineyard, and let it forth to husbandmen, and went into a far country for a long time.

This entire prophecy has proceeded out of the mouth of God and is therefore merely a part of "every word that [has] proceeded out of the mouth of God. The "all things" of these next two verses also includes all these prophecies of Isaiah:

1Co 3:21  Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours;
1Co 3:22  Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours;

Isaiah parallels Revelation

This prophecy of Isaiah gives us many of the details of "the everlasting gospel" of the three angels of Revelation 14. These angels are 'three' because they reveal the long drawn-out process of the fiery judgments the Lord is working within us (Luk 20:9). "The [vision truly] is one" (Gen 41:25-26).

Rev 14:6  And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,
Rev 14:7  Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.
Rev 14:8  And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. 
Rev 14:9  And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,
Rev 14:10  The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:
Rev 14:11  And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. [What is all of this?]
Rev 14:12  Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.

How few are given to notice that the first thing this angel who has "the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people", [says] with a loud voice, is to Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and we must worship him that made heaven and earth and the sea and the fountains of waters.

It should be obvious to all who have the mind of Christ and who know His voice, that the declaration of God's judgment is a primary and integral part of "the everlasting gospel". The second and third angels simply declare the process of the Lord's judgments and His wrath against the great harlot, Babylon, and the kingdom of the beast on which she sits and rules as her own kingdom.  It is through the channel of this unfaithful, promiscuous woman, also known as "the king of Assyria, [that we are all brought to] drink of the wrath of God, [and to learn that this] is the patience and faith of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." If we are to "keep the things written therein" (Rev 1:3), then we must keep Rev 14:6-12. This is all based upon Isaiah's revelation that God's own people, "Judah and Jerusalem... is become an harlot" (Isa 1:1 and 1:21)

These prophecies have a universal application

How many men are deceived by the false doctr​ines and sorceries of this great harlot and "worship the beast and his image"? How many men must "drink of the wine of the wrath of God"? Upon whom must "the King of Assyria... the rod of [God's] indignation" come? What do the scriptures reveal about the king of Assyria?

Isa 10:5  O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation.
Isa 10:6  I will send him against an hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets.

This is the Old Testament foundation for these New Testament words:

Rev 14:9  And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,
Rev 14:10  The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:

Rev 15:1  And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God.

How many men 'worship the beast'? Against whom is the Lord's wrath directed? The answer cannot be clearer:

Rev 13:15  And he [the second beast which comes up out of the earth] had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. [The 'second beast' is also called the false prophet, the king of Assyria, Babylon the great and Babylon's leaders. In other words, he symbolizes the leaders of all of the world's religions]
Rev 13:16  And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:

Those are very clear, all-inclusive words concerning what really is "the faith of the saints". That the saints of God, His elect, "drink of the wine of the wrath of God" is again confirmed with the words we just read concerning what really constitutes "the patience of the saints", and those words tell us who are those who are truly "keep[ing] the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus".

Those who have the patience and faith of Jesus are those who are given to enter the temple of God in heaven, as Isaiah did when the seraphim touched his lips with the live coal from the altar.

Rev 15:7  And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever.
Rev 15:8  And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.

So there again "is the patience of the saints [and] they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus". 'Entering into the temple' after fulfilling the seven vials full of the wrath of God upon the kingdom of our old man, and having our own lips touched with a live coal from the altar, are the same fiery experience.

Now we ​are ​all equipped to know that anyone who tells us that these dire prophecies concerning the wrath of God in Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Matthew​ 24 or the book of Revelation have no application to the elect of God are those who do not have "the patience of the saints". Anyone who tells you that these prophecies of the wrath of God have no personal application to the elect of God are those who are not "keeping the commandments of God, and who [do not have] the faith of Jesus." That is the significance of:

Rev 14:12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.

In our study today, and in the rest of our studies in the prophecy of Isaiah, we are being told more specifically, chapter by chapter, of the details of our fiery judgment, which judgment we are told is "the everlasting gospel":

Rev 14:6  And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,
Rev 14:7  Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.

The "hour of His judgment... is now on the house of God" (1Pe 4:17), and the verse we covered today is the beginning of that process:

Isa 7:18  And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria.

The counter-intuitive wisdom of God is what keeps the blessing of this glorious everlasting gospel hidden from the whole world. A very few are given eyes that see and ears that hear that their judgment is at hand. Most will not, in this age, see or hear of their impending "hour of visitation" (Luk 19:44).

In our next study we will learn more of the effect of these flies and bees upon the unfaithful city of God's people.

Hi Mike,

Wondering what you think the spiritual significance of Judges 14 is. Particularly the lion and bees and honey.

Thanks,
J____

Hi J____,

Thank you for your question. You ask what is the spiritual significance of the lion, the bees and the honey of Samson’s riddle.

Let’s look at that riddle so we can see how it was presented to the Philistine guests at Samson’s wedding to a Philistine woman, who isn’t even named.

Jdg 14:14 And he said unto them, Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness. And they could not in three days expound the riddle.

We cannot understand this riddle until we understand what the lesson in this story of Samson is, which is the longest story in all of the book of Judges. After we see the lesson that is Samson, then this riddle, like Christ’s parables, will no longer hide its meaning from our eyes, and it will no longer be a riddle. So we need to read the entire chapter in which this riddle appears.

Jdg 14:1 And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines.
Jdg 14:2 And he came up, and told his father and his mother, and said, I have seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines: now therefore get her for me to wife.
Jdg 14:3 Then his father and his mother said unto him, Is there never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson said unto his father, Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well.
Jdg 14:4 But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the LORD, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines: for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel.
Jdg 14:5 Then went Samson down, and his father and his mother, to Timnath, and came to the vineyards of Timnath: and, behold, a young lion roared against him.
Jdg 14:6 And the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and he rent him as he would have rent a kid, and he had nothing in his hand: but he told not his father or his mother what he had done.
Jdg 14:7 And he went down, and talked with the woman; and she pleased Samson well.
Jdg 14:8 And after a time he returned to take her, and he turned aside to see the carcase of the lion: and, behold, there was a swarm of bees and honey in the carcase of the lion.
Jdg 14:9 And he took thereof in his hands, and went on eating, and came to his father and mother, and he gave them, and they did eat: but he told not them that he had taken the honey out of the carcase of the lion.
Jdg 14:10 So his father went down unto the woman: and Samson made there a feast; for so used the young men to do.
Jdg 14:11 And it came to pass, when they saw him, that they brought thirty companions to be with him.
Jdg 14:12 And Samson said unto them, I will now put forth a riddle unto you: if ye can certainly declare it me within the seven days of the feast, and find [it] out, then I will give you thirty sheets and thirty change of garments:
Jdg 14:13 But if ye cannot declare [it] me, then shall ye give me thirty sheets and thirty change of garments. And they said unto him, Put forth thy riddle, that we may hear it.
Jdg 14:14 And he said unto them, Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness. And they could not in three days expound the riddle.
Jdg 14:15 And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they said unto Samson’s wife, Entice thy husband, that he may declare unto us the riddle, lest we burn thee and thy father’s house with fire: have ye called us to take that we have? [is it] not [so]?
Jdg 14:16 And Samson’s wife wept before him, and said, Thou dost but hate me, and lovest me not: thou hast put forth a riddle unto the children of my people, and hast not told [it] me. And he said unto her, Behold, I have not told [it] my father nor my mother, and shall I tell [it] thee?
Jdg 14:17 And she wept before him the seven days, while their feast lasted: and it came to pass on the seventh day, that he told her, because she lay sore upon him: and she told the riddle to the children of her people.
Jdg 14:18 And the men of the city said unto him on the seventh day before the sun went down, What is sweeter than honey? and what is stronger than a lion? And he said unto them, If ye had not plowed with my heifer, ye had not found out my riddle.
Jdg 14:19 And the Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon, and slew thirty men of them, and took their spoil, and gave change of garments unto them which expounded the riddle. And his anger was kindled, and he went up to his father’s house.
Jdg 14:20 But Samson’s wife was given to his companion, whom he had used as his friend.

Now we will consider what is the spiritual significance of the symbols of Samson’s riddle for His Philistine guests at his wedding.

“What is stronger than a lion” was the answer to that part of Samson’s riddle. A lion, like every word of God, has both a positive and a negative application in scripture and always typifies one of two things, either Christ or the Adversary. For example:

Rev 5:5 And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.

1Pe 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

This particular lion had made the mistake of rising up against God’s elect, who had not yet come to maturity. Like Pharaoh, who wanted Moses dead and was destroy by the power of God, this lion too, was destroyed by an instrument of God though he could not yet cross over the Jordan in a body of sinful flesh and blood, had done “many wonderful works in the name of Christ.”

Deu 32:49 Get thee up into this mountain Abarim, [unto] mount Nebo, which [is] in the land of Moab, that [is] over against Jericho; and behold the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel for a possession:
Deu 32:50 And die in the mount whither thou goest up, and be gathered unto thy people; as Aaron thy brother died in mount Hor, and was gathered unto his people:
Deu 32:51 Because ye trespassed against me among the children of Israel at the waters of Meribah- Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin; because ye sanctified me not in the midst of the children of Israel.
Deu 32:52 Yet thou shalt see the land before thee; but thou shalt not go thither unto the land which I give the children of Israel.

Mat 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Mat 7:22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
Mat 7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

“Many wonderful works” before men is the very instrument that is used to deceive and mislead so very many.

Rev 13:14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.

So the Adversary is strong, but Christ is stronger, and in the end there is no doubt who will win.

Jdg 14:6 And the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and he rent him as he would have rent a kid, and he had nothing in his hand: but he told not his father or his mother what he had done.

What we need to learn from this riddle is that God is sovereign, even over our deception while we are in Babylon, married to Philistine women, or sleeping with Philistine prostitutes. When we are deceived, it is the Lord Himself who is deceiving us via the agency of false prophets.

Eze 14:9 And if the prophet be deceived when he hath spoken a thing, I the LORD have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand upon him, and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel.

1Sa 16:14 But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him.
1Sa 16:15 And Saul’s servants said unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee.

Like the lion, the bees, have both a negative and positive application in scripture. Here is their negative application.

Deu 1:44 And the Amorites, which dwelt in that mountain, came out against you, and chased you, as bees do, and destroyed you in Seir, even unto Hormah.

Psa 118:10 All nations compassed me about: but in the name of the LORD will I destroy them.
Psa 118:11 They compassed me about; yea, they compassed me about: but in the name of the LORD I will destroy them.
Psa 118:12 They compassed me about like bees; they are quenched as the fire of thorns: for in the name of the LORD I will destroy them.

Isa 7:18 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria.
Isa 7:19 And they shall come, and shall rest all of them in the desolate valleys, and in the holes of the rocks, and upon all thorns, and upon all bushes.
Isa 7:20 In the same day shall the Lord shave with a razor that is hired, [namely], by them beyond the river, by the king of Assyria, the head, and the hair of the feet: and it shall also consume the beard.

Syria and Assyria are Israel’s mortal enemies. The nations compassed David “like bees”, and Israel was “chased and destroyed” by bees. That is the negative application of bees. Yet it is through these very same bees which we must have in our lives, that God sees fit to feed us with sweet honey.

What is the honey that is produced by these bees? Honey in scripture is most often associated with milk. The land of promise is not the land of bread and wine or the land of strong meat. It is instead the “land of milk and honey”.

Exo 3:8 And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.

So, while the doctrine of universal salvation and the ability to overcome the giants in the land may seem like strong meat to a newborn baby, it still is nothing more than milk for “carnal… babes in Christ.”

Heb 5:12 For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which [be] the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.
Heb 5:13 For every one that useth milk [is] unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.
Heb 5:14 But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

There were no chapter breaks when this book was penned, and so it continues:

Heb 6:1 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,
Heb 6:2 Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.
Heb 6:3 And this will we do, if God permit.

“This we will do, if God permit,” does not mean that we will deny “the principles of the doctrine of Christ.” What it means is we will not bother ‘laying that already established foundation again and will instead go on into maturity.’ What we need to note is that “eternal judgment”, another way of saying ‘universal salvation,’ is one of those six listed milk doctrines.

Even where honey is mentioned apart from milk, it is still seen as a symbol of immaturity. For example, in both Ezekiel and Revelation, God’s word is said to be sweet as honey in our mouths, but it is bitter in our bellies.

Eze 3:1 Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou findest; eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel.
Eze 3:2 So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that roll.
Eze 3:3 And he said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness.

Rev 10:9 And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.
Rev 10:10 And I took the little book out of the angel’s hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.
Rev 10:11 And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.

It is one thing to learn what is God’s Truth and to have it in our mind and in our mouth, but it is an entirely different experience to live with the consequence of sharing and witnessing to and “speaking to the house of Israel” about what is in God’s “little book” He has given us. That is the “bitterness of the belly.”

Samson’s whole life is a perfect example of this spiritual truth, and Samson’s story is our story. When we are listening to Christ’s parables, we are still in Babylon. We are all so very much excited with the word of God, even as we lust after Philistine women. Until we have to live it out and become faithful to those words, they are sweet in our mouth. However, when we finally are brought face to face with the seriousness of God’s Words and the soberness of our calling, we continue in our relationships with Philistine women. God’s Word is sweet in our mouth, but it is bitter in our belly. Samson reveled as an immature child in the strength which God would give him “at times” when he would face a trial and was forced to fight those who were occupying the land. It seemed that God was with Him because he never lost a battle. It actually appeared outwardly as if he were invincible, even if he had married a Philistine woman and was sleeping with various Philistine prostitutes.

Jdg 13:25 And the Spirit of the LORD began to move him at times in the camp of Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol.

This whole story is each of us as we prosper in Babylon, where God Himself is keeping us deceived “by the miracles” we, as Samson was, are given to perform in the sight of men.”

Eze 14:9 And if the prophet be deceived when he hath spoken a thing, I the LORD have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand upon him, and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel.

Rev 13:14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.

We are both Samson and his parents, and as such we know when we are doing wrong, and we do it anyway, totally unaware that we are being set up for our own destruction, and totally unaware, that it is in our destruction that we are finally given by God to accomplish the job we were given to do.

This whole story is our story. At first, we all prefer a daughter of the uncircumcised Philistines over the daughters of Israel. Being in the promised land, yet we see no need for that distasteful thing called circumcision, “the putting away of the flesh”, or that messy bloody thing called “the cross”. The Philistines typify our own walk among the orthodox churches of Christianity, which see no need to obey the doctrines of Christ.

It is not as if we are not God’s elect, because we are. However, as yet we are just like Saul of Tarsus before he becomes Paul. We despise the true daughters of Israel who should be our wives, and we love the daughters of the Philistines who cause us nothing but hardships and trials, because we are still Philistines ourselves within our own hearts. Here is what Samson was living and experiencing.

Rom 7:17 Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
Rom 7:19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
Rom 7:20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.

It is all “of the Lord, because the Lord is seeking an occasion against [our uncircumcised] Philistine” flesh.

Jdg 14:4 But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the LORD, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines: for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel.

As an aside, it is this chapter of God’s Word that explains why God has chosen to release Satan out of the “bottomless pit” after one thousand years of rule over the kingdoms of this world with a rod of iron, by God’s very elect. He will release Satan, and He will cause Satan to gather all that are on the earth to “compass the camp of the saints” simply because God is “seeking an occasion” to destroy all flesh upon the earth with “fire from heaven” so that he can destroy death. Death will never be destroyed as long as Adamic babies are being born. This chapter of Judges 14 explains these verses of Revelation:

Rev 20:7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
Rev 20:8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom [is] as the sand of the sea.
Rev 20:9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
Rev 20:10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet [are], and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

I never could understand in the past why God put Satan in prison and then deliberately released him upon an unsuspecting world, until I was given the eyes to see what He was doing in the life of Samson. It is through the fire that comes down from heaven and destroys all flesh that the salvation of all men will begin in earnest.

Finally God has broken the cycle of death, and He can now bring all men to Himself in spiritual bodies which neither marry nor are given in marriage. Now He can begin the final harvest “in the years end”.

Exo 23:16 And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field.

So what do we have in the very next verse of Rev 20? We have the great WHITE throne judgment and the lake of fire, which will purify all who were not part of that “blessed and holy first resurrection” of Rev 20:6.

Rev 20:11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
Rev 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is [the book] of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
Rev 20:13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
Rev 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
Rev 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

It is only through death that life comes to God’s elect first at this time, and it is only through death that life comes to all others through “the second death.” It is only “through death that He might destroy… death.”

Col 1:22 In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:

Heb 2:14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;

This is the point of the entire experience of Samson. It was through death that he finally overcame the Philistines, and what he accomplished in his death was more than he ever accomplished in his physical life.

Jdg 16:28 And Samson called unto the LORD, and said, O Lord GOD, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.
Jdg 16:29 And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood, and on which it was borne up, of the one with his right hand, and of the other with his left.
Jdg 16:30 And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that [were] therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than [they] which he slew in his life.

“Let me die with the Philistines… for my two eyes” is the prayer of every man who comes to see how the doctrines and influences of modern day Philistines and Pharisees has robbed robbed us all of our “two eyes”. It is only in our death that we gain our life.

Mat 10:39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

Mat 16:25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it

Now with all this in mind, let’s look again at Samson’s riddle and see what it really reveals.

Jdg 14:14 And he said unto them, Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness. And they could not in three days expound the riddle.

The eater is those who would destroy Christ and His Christ, His elect. He is called “the eater” or the devourerer”.

Mal 3:11 And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts.

1Pe 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

The “meat” that comes out of “the eater” is the good God causes to come of evil. It is the light that God calls out of darkness.

Gen 45:4 And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt.
Gen 45:5 Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.
Gen 45:6 For these two years [hath] the famine [been] in the land: and yet [there are] five years, in the which [there shall] neither [be] earing nor harvest.
Gen 45:7 And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
Gen 45:8 So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.
Gen 50:19 And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God?
Gen 50:20 But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as [it is] this day, to save much people alive.

God alone can and will cause all evil deeds that have ever been committed to eventually bring forth good for all men, and all generations of all time. That is “Out of the eater came forth meat” and that is also “out of the strong came forth sweetness.”

I hope this answers your questions concerning the lion, the bees, and the honey of Samson’s riddle. More than that, I hope you see that we are Samson, and it is only through our death to the things of this life that we will ever know the “meat” and the “sweetness” which are both an integral part of our walk in Christ.

Your brother in Christ,
Mike