[Study Aired September 1, 2022]

2Ki 4:17  And the woman conceived, and bare a son at that season that Elisha had said unto her, according to the time of life.
2Ki 4:18  And when the child was grown, it fell on a day, that he went out to his father to the reapers. 
2Ki 4:19  And he said unto his father, My head, my head. And he said to a lad, Carry him to his mother. 
2Ki 4:20  And when he had taken him, and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees till noon, and then died.
2Ki 4:21  And she went up, and laid him on the bed of the man of God, and shut the door upon him, and went out.
2Ki 4:22  And she called unto her husband, and said, Send me, I pray thee, one of the young men, and one of the asses, that I may run to the man of God, and come again. 
2Ki 4:23  And he said, Wherefore wilt thou go to him to day? it is neither new moon, nor sabbath. And she said, It shall be well.
2Ki 4:24  Then she saddled an ass, and said to her servant, Drive, and go forward; slack not thy riding for me, except I bid thee.
2Ki 4:25  So she went and came unto the man of God to mount Carmel. And it came to pass, when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to Gehazi his servant, Behold, yonder is that Shunammite: 
2Ki 4:26  Run now, I pray thee, to meet her, and say unto her, Is it well with thee? is it well with thy husband? is it well with the child? And she answered, It is well. 
2Ki 4:27  And when she came to the man of God to the hill, she caught him by the feet: but Gehazi came near to thrust her away. And the man of God said, Let her alone; for her soul is vexed within her: and the LORD hath hid it from me, and hath not told me.
2Ki 4:28  Then she said, Did I desire a son of my lord? did I not say, Do not deceive me? 
2Ki 4:29  Then he said to Gehazi, Gird up thy loins, and take my staff in thine hand, and go thy way: if thou meet any man, salute him not; and if any salute thee, answer him not again: and lay my staff upon the face of the child. 
2Ki 4:30  And the mother of the child said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And he arose, and followed her. 
2Ki 4:31  And Gehazi passed on before them, and laid the staff upon the face of the child; but there was neither voice, nor hearing. Wherefore he went again to meet him, and told him, saying, The child is not awaked. 
2Ki 4:32  And when Elisha was come into the house, behold, the child was dead, and laid upon his bed. 
2Ki 4:33  He went in therefore, and shut the door upon them twain, and prayed unto the LORD. 
2Ki 4:34  And he went up, and lay upon the child, and put his mouth upon his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands: and he stretched himself upon the child; and the flesh of the child waxed warm. 
2Ki 4:35  Then he returned, and walked in the house to and fro; and went up, and stretched himself upon him: and the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes. 
2Ki 4:36  And he called Gehazi, and said, Call this Shunammite. So he called her. And when she was come in unto him, he said, Take up thy son. 
2Ki 4:37  Then she went in, and fell at his feet, and bowed herself to the ground, and took up her son, and went out. 

In keeping with the theme of provision, we come to this section of the story where the “great woman” of 2Kings 4:8, who represents the church, gives birth to a son. The “great woman” can typify both the church of Jerusalem above and also of the church in the wilderness from where the manchild of Revelation 12:5 comes. 

Rev 12:5  And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.

The “great woman”, who starts in the wilderness and represents Babylon the great out of which we all come, can also represent the other later stage of that woman as a new creation (2Co 5:17), or new woman, who is represented by Jerusalem above, the mother of us all, and both women are represented in this one verse: “Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.” (2Co 6:17) 

2Co 5:17  Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 

There is a lifelong process involved in being born again, and this story in Kings helps identify that process of which Christ declared, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” The natural birth of a child is nine months, 3×3, which speaks to that process and the need to die daily so we can “see the kingdom of God” within as we endure all things through Christ (Php 4:13) Who makes a way for the called and chosen to remain faithful being brought to full term in the blessed and holy first resurrection (Mat 24:13).

2Ki 4:17  And the woman conceived, and bare a son at that season that Elisha had said unto her, according to the time of life.

The church is also typified by Mary, the mother of Jesus, and this great woman of  2 Kings 4:8 is an earlier type and shadow of Mary (Luk 1:30, Luk 12:32).

Luk 1:30  And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. 

Luk 12:32  Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

The favor that Mary had with God represents the blessing God’s election brings upon those who are called and chosen and faithful to the end of their physical lives having the Lord complete this work of faith within God’s workmanship (Eph 2:10) that will bring forth the manchild in a moment and a twinkling of an eye (1Co 15:52-53). Christ’s maturation in the womb of Mary is typical of that which is happening to the manchild who has been raised to Jerusalem above, the mother of us all (Gal 4:26).

Eph 2:10  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. 

1Co 15:52  In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 
1Co 15:53  For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

Gal 4:26  But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.

“The woman conceived, and bare a son at that season that Elisha had said unto her, according to the time of life” reminds us in typical language that our “time of life” in God’s eyes is not when we are physically born, but rather when we are born again and able to see the kingdom of God within. That is when true life begins (Psa 139:16, Joh 3:3, Joh 6:54). 

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. [ASV] 

Joh 3:3  Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. 

Joh 6:54  Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.

All our days are written in God’s book (Psa 139:16), and the life of those who have the mind of Christ can say, “And we know that to them that love God all things work together for good, even to them that are called according to his purpose.” Because of God’s love that is shed abroad in our hearts, it is possible for us to fulfill God’s purpose to which we have been called (Rom 8:28, Luk 13:32, 1Co 3:6, Rom 5:5). That thought of all things includes the good and the evil, the light and the dark (Isa 45:7) and the way in which God leads us to repentance (Rom 2:4) so we can grow in the mind of Christ and remain zealous in His service.

Rom 8:28  And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. 

Rom 5:5  and hope putteth not to shame; because the love of God hath been shed abroad in our hearts through the Holy Spirit which was given unto us.

2Ki 4:18  And when the child was grown, it fell on a day, that he went out to his father to the reapers. 

Christ had to mature to a certain stage according to the will of God and that stage was predestinated and prophesied of throughout God’s word (Heb 9:27-28, Heb 10:7), and is typified by this verse, “And when the child was grown, it fell on a day, that he went out to his father to the reapers.” 

Heb 9:27  And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: 
Heb 9:28  So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation. 

Heb 10:7  Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.

Going “out to his father to the reapers” is symbolic language that tells us Christ went where His father went to do the work or will of God that He was called to do in this life, a work which obediently led him to His death as the first of the kind of first fruits who was reaped of God. God could not have sown more abundantly and shown us more clearly how he would now give us all things freely through the sacrifice of Christ (Luk 2:49, Php 2:8, 2Co 9:6, Eph 3:20, Rom 5:10, Joh 3:16, Joh 5:17).

Joh 5:17  But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.

Luk 2:49  And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?

Php 2:8  And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. 

2Co 9:6  But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully [1Co 15:22].

Joh 3:16  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

2Ki 4:19  And he said unto his father, My head, my head. And he said to a lad, Carry him to his mother. 
2Ki 4:20  And when he had taken him, and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees till noon, and then died.

Saying “my head, my head” is symbolic language that is repeated by Christ to His spiritual head and Father, “And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, (“my head, my head“) [1Co 11:3] why hast thou forsaken me?” (Mat 27:46)

It was the spiritually adolescent “a lad” who carried the son to his mother, and this is a shadow of our helping Christ bear His cross like Simon of Cyrene prior to conversion (Mat 27:32). 

Mat 27:32  And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to bear his cross.

He is brought “to his mother” so she can behold his state, “Woman, behold thy son!” “And when he had taken him, and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees till noon, and then died” (Joh 19:25-27). Again we learn of God’s provision in times of sorrow and death and agony, He never leaves us, and as a high priest who suffered under the most severe circumstances, He is able to comfort us in our times of need (Heb 4:15-16, Rom 5:10).

Joh 19:25  Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. 
Joh 19:26  When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! 
Joh 19:27  Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.

Heb 4:15  For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. 
Heb 4:16  Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

Rom 5:10  For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.

“He sat on her knees till noon, and then died” is symbolic of how Lazarus was in the bosom of Abraham, who is a type of Christ whose body is represented by this woman (Luk 16:23). We die daily until our last breath “and then died” as a result of bringing Christ to the church, as shown in this story where the son was brought to the mother. That good work God does through us is connected to the bosom of Christ where we rest as we labor to enter into that rest (Luk 6:38, Joh 13:23).

Luk 16:23  And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

Luk 6:38  Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.

Joh 13:23  Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved.

Heb 4:11  Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. 

2Ki 4:21  And she went up, and laid him on the bed of the man of God, and shut the door upon him, and went out.

Laying her dead son on “the bed of the man of God, and shut the door upon him, and went out” is symbolic of being buried into Christ’s death, Who now gives us the strength to be dead to sin and alive in him, as we rest in the Lord (Rom 6:3). 

Rom 6:3  Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? 

She “went up” to where Elisha’s room was, reminding us that this death and resurrection of the child typifies the passover that was also held in an upper room (Act 1:12-14). That symbolism of the passover is further confirmed with the words “and shut the door upon him, and went out” (Exo 12:22-23). She went out because she has not yet found this man of God who, when he does come, will be able to resurrect her son. That is her hope (Joh 11:32). 

Exo 12:22  And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the bason, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the bason; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning. 
Exo 12:23  For the LORD will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the LORD will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you.

Joh 11:32  Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.

2Ki 4:22  And she called unto her husband, and said, Send me, I pray thee, one of the young men, and one of the asses, that I may run to the man of God, and come again. 
2Ki 4:23  And he said, Wherefore wilt thou go to him to day? it is neither new moon, nor sabbath. And she said, It shall be well. 
2Ki 4:24  Then she saddled an ass, and said to her servant, Drive, and go forward; slack not thy riding for me, except I bid thee. 

Her calling unto her husband demonstrates her submission to her head, and regardless of what he says and does (Eph 5:22), God knows her heart and will make provision for her to take this journey today to find Elisha. She asks for “one of the young men, and one of the asses, that I may run to the man of God, and come again“. Both request “one of the young men”^H5288 which means a young servant and “one of the asses”^H860 (Luk 21:19) which are both also symbols of how God blesses us to search for the Lord as we possess our souls patiently and with the heart of a servant (Php 2:6-7). These things are required and accompany those who are called in this age to be a peculiar people, zealous of good works (Tit 2:12-14) “that I may run to the man of God, and come again“, which is a statement that typifies this verse (Php 3:14).

H5288  na‛ar  nah’-ar the young men

From H5287; (concretely) a boy (as active), from the age of infancy to adolescence; by implication a servant; also (by interchange of sex), a girl (of similar latitude in age): – babe, boy, child, damsel [from the margin], lad, servant, young (man).

H860  ‘âthôn  aw-thone’ one of the asses

Probably from the same as H386 (in the sense of patience); a female ass (from its docility): – (she) ass.

Her flesh is also represented by her husband who does not have the same sense of urgency that she has to go find this man of God. His life represents one bound by the law, and so he asks “And he said, Wherefore wilt thou go to him to day? it is neither new moon, nor sabbath. And she said, It shall be well.” Shouldn’t you go and see him on a particular holy day in order to receive what you’re looking for? This was the question he was asking her, and what the world’s religions do to this very day, assigning new moons and sabbath and holidays, as being important in our relationship with God (Gal 4:10-11).

Her faith is increasing as demonstrated by the words that she uttered and works accomplished: “Then she saddled an ass, and said to her servant, Drive, and go forward; slack not thy riding for me, except I bid thee.” “Except I bid thee” is a significant phrase as she represents a Christian moving with fear and only going where the spirit leads (Rom 8:14) as she moves in haste as opposed to her husband whose actions are being regulated by days, months, times and years (Rom 8:14, Heb 11:7).

Rom 8:14  For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. 

Heb 11:7  By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.

2Ki 4:25  So she went and came unto the man of God to mount Carmel. And it came to pass, when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to Gehazi his servant, Behold, yonder is that Shunammite: 
2Ki 4:26  Run now, I pray thee, to meet her, and say unto her, Is it well with thee? is it well with thy husband? is it well with the child? And she answered, It is well.

The servant Gehazi runs to the Shunammite woman telling us that when we cleave to Christ and resist the devil, or search for Him with all our hearts He will be found of us, and the devil will flee from us (Jas 4:7, Jer 29:13). God makes provision for those who seek Him diligently as she was granted for her diligent search (Heb 11:6). 

Jas 4:7  Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 

Jer 29:13  And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

Heb 11:6  But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. 

The spirit of God makes diligent search, which actions are symbolized by Elisha’s servant Gehazi, who is asked this of Elisha, “Run now, I pray thee, to meet her, and say unto her, Is it well with thee? is it well with thy husband? is it well with the child? And she answered, It is well.” All of this struggle and seeking and using of her resources is for the purpose of bringing forth fruit in her life, as she seeks to save her son. The destination mount Carmel is symbolic of this desire within the woman, “So she went and came unto the man of God to mount Carmel”^H3760. The “man of God saw her afar off” symbolizes the fact that nothing is hidden from God (Heb 4:13).

H3760  karmel  kar-mel’

The same as H3759; Karmel, the name of a hill and of a town in Palestine: – Carmel, fruitful (plentiful) field, (place).

Total KJV occurrences: 25

Heb 4:13  Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.

2Ki 4:27  And when she came to the man of God to the hill, she caught him by the feet: but Gehazi came near to thrust her away. And the man of God said, Let her alone; for her soul is vexed within her: and the LORD hath hid it from me, and hath not told me. 
2Ki 4:28  Then she said, Did I desire a son of my lord? did I not say, Do not deceive me? 

This is the moment in her sojourn that typifies our coming “boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” when we are at our wits’ end and our souls are vexed (Heb 4:16). The implication is that there are forces that will try to impede us from doing this as Gehazi did in this instance with the woman (Rom 8:37-39), but if God is for us nothing will separate us from His love as demonstrated with these words, “And the man of God said, Let her alone; for her soul is vexed within her: and the LORD hath hid it from me, and hath not told me.” 

Heb 4:16  Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. 

Rom 8:37  Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 
Rom 8:38  For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 
Rom 8:39  Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Now the stage is set for her to cast all her care upon this man of God, which is what God causes us to do in our appointed time. “Then she said, Did I desire a son of my lord? did I not say, Do not deceive me?” She needs faith now and sounds like one of the Israelites in the wilderness saying, “Why did you take us out here just to have us die in the wilderness?” In fact that is the present seemingly impossible situation she has been brought to (Exo 14:11, Jer 32:27, Mar 9:24).

Exo 14:11  And they said unto Moses, Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt? 

Jer 32:27  Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me? 

Mar 9:24  And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief. 

2Ki 4:29  “Gehazi, get ready and go to her house,” Elisha said. “Take along my walking stick, and when you get there, lay it on the boy’s face. Don’t stop to talk to anyone, even if they try to talk to you.”
2Ki 4:30  But the boy’s mother said to Elisha, “I swear by the living LORD and by your own life that I won’t leave without you.” So Elisha got up and went with them. 
2Ki 4:31  Gehazi ran on ahead and laid Elisha’s walking stick on the boy’s face, but the boy didn’t move or make a sound. Gehazi ran back to Elisha and said, “The boy didn’t wake up.” [CEV]

The mother knows that Elisha has the power to do miracles, but she does not have the confidence to believe that Gehazi can do this miraculous act of healing without Elisha being present and instrumental in the healing. Gehazi’s role is somewhat like that of John the Baptist in this story where he is told this from Elisha, “Gehazi, Gird up thy loins, and take my staff in thine hand, and go thy way: if thou meet any man, salute him not; and if any salute thee, answer him not again: and lay my staff upon the face of the child.“

John came preaching the gospel and taking all the right outward actions as Gehazi did, but his baptism did not bring forth the spiritual fruit of life in Christ which will happen in type and shadow when Elisha steps in as a type of Christ who can bring healing and raise this young boy from death. The rod laying on the face of the dead child is a symbol of how God’s word set before us can bring healing and raise us up into heavenly places (Psa 23:4, Psa 107:20). 

Psa 23:4  Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Psa 107:20  He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions. 

Elisha’s directive to Gehazi is what Christ requires of us and reminds us of the directive which Christ gave His disciples for them to tarry in Jerusalem until the holy spirit comes (Luk 24:49). These words speak to the singleness or simplicity (2Co 11:3) of mind God requires of us as we remain focused on what He has called us to do: “Gehazi, Gird up thy loins, and take my staff in thine hand, and go thy way: if thou meet any man, salute him not; and if any salute thee, answer him not again: and lay my staff upon the face of the child.“

Luk 24:49  And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.

2Co 11:3  But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

2Ki 4:32  Elisha arrived at the woman’s house and went straight to his room, where he saw the boy’s body on his bed. 
2Ki 4:33  He walked in, shut the door, and prayed to the LORD. 
2Ki 4:34  Then he got on the bed and stretched out over the dead body, with his mouth on the boy’s mouth, his eyes on his eyes, and his hand on his hands. As he lay there, the boy’s body became warm. [CEV]

When we recognize death within ourselves, we shut the door and pray to the LORD (Mat 6:6). It is only through Christ that we can be healed of the wages of sin which is death (Rom 6:23), and we can no more be freed from sin than this dead child can live again unless the LORD intervenes as He does (Joh 8:36) and will in this physical instance through Elisha. How we are delivered from death is symbolized by the actions that Elisha takes to bring this child back to his mother.

Mat 6:6  But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

Rom 6:23  For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. 

Joh 8:36  If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

Elisha brings life back to this lifeless child by stretching forth over him, and this symbolic act is also seen in Genesis where God’s spirit “moved upon the face of the waters” over the marred creation that was “without form^H8414, and void”^H922 and made that way to the glory of God (Joh 11:4) who would bring complete physical healing to His creation over a period of seven days, which seven days represent the process we must go through to go on to perfection (Gen 1:2-3).

Joh 11:4  When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.

Gen 1:2  And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. 
Gen 1:3  And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

God’s spirit that moves upon us quickens us and brings life to us, but our mouth must be next to his mouth, speaking the same thing and breathing the same breath of life that comes from God which is His word. Our “eyes on his eyes” as we look to the Lord (Mic 7:7) whose eyes are like fire that pierce our souls and bring us to see who we are and our need to repent (Rev 2:18, Rom 2:4). The end result of this closeness to Elisha is resurrection, and so it is with the body of Christ. Our closeness to Christ is what will bring us to see Him one day “face to face” (1Co 13:12). Elisha’s hands on the child’s hands symbolizes that we recognize that Christ is the one who is doing the work within us as we work out our own salvation with fear and trembling (Php 2:12-13). God’s provision comes to us through Christ is what we are learning in this parable of the child being healed and warmed by the flesh of Elisha. Otherwise we are just the dead burying the dead (Luk 9:60). We are Christ’s flesh and bones and warm each other up through our communion we have together in Christ (Eph 5:30, 1Co 10:16).

Rev 2:18  And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass;

1Co 13:12  For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. 

Eph 5:30  For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. 

1Co 10:16  The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?

2Ki 4:35  Then he returned, and walked in the house to and fro; and went up, and stretched himself upon him: and the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes.
2Ki 4:36  And he called Gehazi, and said, Call this Shunammite. So he called her. And when she was come in unto him, he said, Take up thy son. 
2Ki 4:37  Then she went in, and fell at his feet, and bowed herself to the ground, and took up her son, and went out.

This event of having her son given back to her alive and healed is typical of salvation that comes to God’s elect first as a kind of first fruits. Those saviors who come up on mount Zion will indeed eventually be seen for who we are face to face through a process of judgment, typified by Joseph who eventually saw his brothers who were brought into a typical judgment explained for us in Genesis (Gen 45:7).  The great white throne judgment, or the last great day as it is called (Joh 7:27), is when all humanity will be saved by this close relationship that will be forged through judgment that began at the house of God and ends in the lake of fire (1Pe 4:17). It is a time of great mercy and spiritual healing just as this time with the mother and child, and it will take time which is indicated by this statement, “Then he returned, and walked in the house to and fro; and went up.“

Joh 7:27  Howbeit we know this man whence he is: but when Christ cometh, no man knoweth whence he is. 

We experience judgment first which is akin to having Christ stretched out over our land where we learn of His righteousness first via the seven last plagues (Exo 6:6-7, Psa 136:6). 

Exo 6:6  Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments:
Exo 6:7  And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God: and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. 

Psa 136:6  To him that stretched out the earth above the waters: for his mercy endureth for ever.

After a specific amount of time is required in the lake of fire, where the body of Christ has “stretched himself upon him” we will help exorcize all these evil spirits out of the entirety of mankind, typified by what Elisha had done to this child. The world will have sneezed seven times which is a symbol of bad spirits coming out of us as a result of the seven last plagues having been poured out upon them as they are upon the elect today (1Pe 4:12, 1Pe 4:17). This exercise is what is required for all mankind to see with spiritual eyes symbolized by the words, “and the child opened his eyes” which happens after the seven sneezes (Rev 15:8). After those spirits are exorcized, the world will be able to “take up thy son” which represents receiving correct doctrine (Luk 11:28). 

Luk 11:26  Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first.
Luk 11:27  And it came to pass, as he spake these things, a certain woman of the company lifted up her voice, and said unto him, Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked.
Luk 11:28  But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it [Rev 1:3].

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.

There is an acknowledgment of what God has done through His bride symbolized by these words, “Then she went in, and fell at his feet, and bowed herself to the ground” (Rev 3:9). Elisha throughout this story you will notice is giving direction to Gehazi, as Elisha represents Christ, and Gehazi represents our flesh that is against the spirit and must be brought into subjection by the commandments of the Lord typified by the direction that Elisha gives him throughout his walk. Gehazi is us, and his leprous condition will be revealed in later chapters that tells us how God sees all flesh (Act 2:17, Luk 3:6). 

Rev 3:9  Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.

Act 2:17  And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: 
Act 2:18  And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:

Luk 3:6  And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.

Exo 21:1-19  Laws Governing Hebrew Servants and Personal Injuries

[Study Aired August 15, 2022]

Exo 21:1  Now these are the judgments which thou shalt set before them.
Exo 21:2  If thou buy an Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve: and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing.
Exo 21:3  If he came in by himself, he shall go out by himself: if he were married, then his wife shall go out with him.
Exo 21:4  If his master have given him a wife, and she have born him sons or daughters; the wife and her children shall be her master’s, and he shall go out by himself.
Exo 21:5  And if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free:
Exo 21:6  Then his master shall bring him unto the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or unto the door post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an aul; and he shall serve him for ever.
Exo 21:7  And if a man sell his daughter to be a maidservant, she shall not go out as the menservants do.
Exo 21:8  If she please not her master, who hath betrothed her to himself, then shall he let her be redeemed: to sell her unto a strange nation he shall have no power, seeing he hath dealt deceitfully with her.
Exo 21:9  And if he have betrothed her unto his son, he shall deal with her after the manner of daughters. 
Exo 21:10  If he take him another wife; her food, her raiment, and her duty of marriage, shall he not diminish.
Exo 21:11  And if he do not these three unto her, then shall she go out free without money.
Exo 21:12  He that smiteth a man, so that he die, shall be surely put to death. 
Exo 21:13  And if a man lie not in wait, but God deliver him into his hand; then I will appoint thee a place whither he shall flee.
Exo 21:14  But if a man come presumptuously upon his neighbour, to slay him with guile; thou shalt take him from mine altar, that he may die.
Exo 21:15  And he that smiteth his father, or his mother, shall be surely put to death.
Exo 21:16  And he that stealeth a man, and selleth him, or if he be found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death.
Exo 21:17  And he that curseth his father, or his mother, shall surely be put to death.
Exo 21:18  And if men strive together, and one smite another with a stone, or with his fist, and he die not, but keepeth his bed:
Exo 21:19  If he rise again, and walk abroad upon his staff, then shall he that smote him be quit: only he shall pay for the loss of his time, and shall cause him to be thoroughly healed.

Apart from the Ten Commandments, the Lord also gave the people of Israel several laws regarding how they were to live their lives. This chapter deals with laws concerning how the people of Israel were to deal with their Hebrew servants and personal injuries. These laws were not different from the laws pertaining in other countries that do not know the Lord. That is why Paul said:

Rom 2:14  For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. 
Rom 2:15  They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them.

Obeying these carnal ordinances could not make the people of Israel holy. It was during this time of the reformation that Jesus brought about the law of Christ, which is the same as the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus which sets us free from these carnal ordinances which refer to the law of sin and death.

Heb 9:8  The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing: 
Heb 9:9  Which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience; 
Heb 9:10  Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation.

Gal 6:2  Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.

Rom 8:1  There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Rom 8:2  For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. 
Rom 8:3  For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: 
Rom 8:4  That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

What this means is that these carnal laws have been raised to a higher spiritual level. Our study today will therefore look at the spiritual implication of these carnal ordinances.

Exo 21:1  Now these are the judgments which thou shalt set before them.
Exo 21:2  If thou buy an Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve: and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing.

The judgments here in verse 1 refer to these carnal laws set before the people of Israel. To understand verse 2 and the next few verses, we need to know what the word “Hebrew” means. The root letters of the word “Hebrew” means to cross over or pass through. In the Bible, it seems to have primarily referred to those who traversed or crossed over rivers. Abram was called “Abraham the Hebrew” in Genesis 14:13 which is the first time the word “Hebrew” is used in the Bible. The reference to Abraham as a Hebrew refers to the fact that he came from the other side of the river. The Hebrew servant here in verse 2 refers to us, the elect, who have crossed or are crossing the river of Babylon. As Paul indicated, we were bought by the Lord Jesus with His own blood and therefore are the Hebrew servants of Christ.

Gal 3:13 Christ bought us with His blood and made us free from the Law. In that way, the Law could not punish us. Christ did this by carrying the load and by being punished instead of us. It is written, “Anyone who hangs on a cross is hated and punished.” 
Gal 3:14 Because of the price Christ Jesus paid, the good things that came to Abraham might come to the people who are not Jews. And by putting our trust in Christ, we receive the Holy Spirit He has promised. (NLV)

Rom 1:1  Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,

The six years of labor is the period of our walk with Christ where we use our strength (flesh) to serve the Lord. The seventh year is when we are set free in the liberty of the spirit to find rest in the Lord as He does the work. These six days of labor in the flesh therefore refer to our servitude under the devil. Unfortunately, during this period we think we are serving Christ and are therefore free. The seventh day is when we are set free from the evil one to serve the living God.

Joh 8:33  They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?
Joh 8:34  Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. 
Joh 8:35  And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever. 
Joh 8:36  If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

Externally, our labor here on earth is signified by the six years. The seventh year is the next age where the kingdoms of this world become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ. It is during this period that we shall be free of this flesh as we take hold of the purchased possession to rest in the Lord.

Heb 4:9  There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. 
Heb 4:10  For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. 
Heb 4:11  Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. 

Rev 11:15  And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

Eph 1:13  In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, 
Eph 1:14  Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

Exo 21:3  If he came in by himself, he shall go out by himself: if he were married, then his wife shall go out with him. 

We know from the word of Christ that none of us become slaves of the Lord by ourselves. We are dragged by the Lord to come and serve Him.

Joh 6:44  No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw (G1670: drag) him: and I will raise him up at the last day.

However, when we were in Babylon, we thought we came to serve the Lord by our own choices. If we think we came to be the Lord’s servant by our own choice, then our supposed “liberty” is our own making as Christ does not come in to give us the rest that we seek. In that case, we are in bondage, but we think we are free. The wife here on a negative note refers to Babylon which is in bondage with her children. Being in bondage, we shall not abide in the house of the Lord forever.  This is what the Lord has to say about this:

Joh 8:31  Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; 
Joh 8:32  And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. 
Joh 8:33  They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? 
Joh 8:34  Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. 
Joh 8:35  And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever.

Exo 21:4  If his master have given him a wife, and she have born him sons or daughters; the wife and her children shall be her master’s, and he shall go out by himself. 

It is the Lord that gives us the church (wife), and through the union of Christ with the church, several sons and daughters are born who belong to Christ. The servant going out by himself here is another way of saying that we should work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. Although the church nurtures us to grow in Christ since it is the pillar of truth, it is not because we belong to the church that we shall be part of the first resurrection. We must work out our salvation individually through the Lord’s enabling.

Php 2:12  Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. 
Php 2:13  For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

Exo 21:5  And if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free: 

Although we are servants of the Lord, the Lord’s goodness and mercies toward us cause us to love Him such that we come to see our obedience as not the result of compulsion, but our willingness to submit to Him. His love toward us first is the basis of our love (obedience) toward Him.  That is when we come to serve Him freely by resting in Him. Our love for Christ also makes us love the church which is His wife and the children. We cannot love the Lord and hate His wife, the church.

Psa 145:7  They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness, and shall sing of thy righteousness. 
Psa 145:8  The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.
Psa 145:9  The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.

1Jn 5:1  Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him.
1Jn 5:2  By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. 
1Jn 5:3  For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.

Exo 21:6  Then his master shall bring him unto the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or unto the door post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an aul; and he shall serve him for ever. 

When we come to obey (love) the Lord, we are given to know more of the mysteries of the kingdom of God as our ears are opened to hear clearly what the spirit of God is saying. This is symbolized by the master boring the ears of the servant with an aul. As stated in verse 6, our eyes being opened and our ears hearing is what makes us able to serve the Lord forever!! Our master bringing us to the judges means that we are before the cloud of witnesses (His elect) as we labor here in this tent of flesh.

Mat 13:11  He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
Mat 13:12  For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.

Mat 13:16  But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. 
Mat 13:17  For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.

Heb 12:1  Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

Exo 21:7  And if a man sell his daughter to be a maidservant, she shall not go out as the menservants do.

A daughter or maidservant represents either the church of the firstborn (Jerusalem which is above) or Babylon (Jerusalem which is in bondage with her sons). This verse is another way of saying that it is an individual that is saved (in other words, set free) and not the church.

Gal 4:25  For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children.
Gal 4:26  But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.

Exo 21:8  If she please not her master, who hath betrothed her to himself, then shall he let her be redeemed: to sell her unto a strange nation he shall have no power, seeing he hath dealt deceitfully with her.

A better rendition of verse 8 is as follows:

Exo 21:8  If she does not please her master, who has designated her for himself, then he shall let her be redeemed. He shall have no right to sell her to a foreign people, since he has broken faith with her. (ESV)

As indicated, the maidservant represents either the church of the firstborn or Babylon depending on the context. In verse 8, the maidservant does not please the master, and so she represents Babylon which needs to be redeemed in the fullness of time. The master in this case has no right to sell the maidservant to strange nations or foreigners. The strange nations or foreigners here represent the people of the world who are symbolized by the nation of Egypt. It is instructive to note that even though when we were in Babylon, we did not please our master Jesus Christ, we were not sold to Egypt by the Lord. In other words, the Lord did not allow us to go back to Egypt even though He has broken faith with us as a result of our rebellious ways.

Jer 42:19  The LORD has said to you, O remnant of Judah, ‘Do not go to Egypt.’ Know for a certainty that I have warned you this day.

Exo 21:9  And if he have betrothed her unto his son, he shall deal with her after the manner of daughters. 

God has selected us, the elect, to become the bride of His son Jesus. Thus, the Lord has granted us the rights of a daughter. That is what it means to deal after the manner of daughters in verse 9. Remembering that Israel or the church is signified by a woman or daughter, all that the Lord said concerning how He will deal with Israel reflects the rights of a daughter which we are. The following is an example:

Jer 31:3  the LORD appeared to him from far away. I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you. 
Jer 31:4  Again I will build you, and you shall be built, O virgin Israel! Again you shall adorn yourself with tambourines and shall go forth in the dance of the merrymakers. 
Jer 31:5  Again you shall plant vineyards on the mountains of Samaria; the planters shall plant and shall enjoy the fruit. 
Jer 31:6  For there shall be a day when watchmen will call in the hill country of Ephraim: ‘Arise, and let us go up to Zion, to the LORD our God.’
Jer 31:7  For thus says the LORD: “Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob, and raise shouts for the chief of the nations; proclaim, give praise, and say, ‘O LORD, save your people, the remnant of Israel.’

Exo 21:10  If he take him another wife; her food, her raiment, and her duty of marriage, shall he not diminish. 

Our Lord has “two wives” – Jerusalem, which is above which is the mother of us all, and Jerusalem which is, which is in bondage with her sons. Jerusalem which is, came first before Jerusalem which is above as shown in the verses below:

1Co 15:46  Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.
1Co 15:47  The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.

This means that the statement that if our Master takes another wife refers to us, the elect – the church of the firstborn. In taking us as another wife, the Lord has not neglected His responsibilities towards His “first wife” (Jerusalem which is – the physical churches of this world) in terms of providing her food, raiment and her duty of marriage as stated in verse 10. The Lord’s duty of care for His “first wife” is made clear in the following scriptures:

Rev 12:5  And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.
Rev 12:6  And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days. 

Rev 12:13  And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child.
Rev 12:14  And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.
Rev 12:15  And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood. 
Rev 12:16  And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth. 
Rev 12:17  And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Exo 21:11  And if he do not these three unto her, then shall she go out free without money. 

Since the Lord has not neglected His responsibilities towards His “first wife”, she cannot go out free without money. In other words, for the “first wife” to be free, she has to be redeemed at a cost. This cost is the blood of Jesus which has redeemed us all including those in Babylon and people of the world. What this means is that in the fullness of time, people in Babylon and the rest of the world shall also be saved through the sacrificial offering made by Jesus.

Rom 11:30  For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief: 
Rom 11:31  Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy. 
Rom 11:32  For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.

Exo 21:12  He that smiteth a man, so that he die, shall be surely put to death. 
Exo 21:13  And if a man lie not in wait, but God deliver him into his hand; then I will appoint thee a place whither he shall flee. 

According to this law, he that commits murder must be put to death. As we have indicated earlier, to hate a brother or sister means to murder. This means that we are all guilty of murder and deserve to die.  Since we are talking about the spiritual implication of this law, the punishment for committing murder is also spiritual. In other words, the death that we must face is also spiritual. That is, we must die to the old man or the flesh.

1Jn 3:14  We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.
1Jn 3:15  Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.

A simpler translation of verse 13 is as follows:

Exo 21:13  But if he did not lie in wait for him, but God let him fall into his hand, then I will appoint for you a place to which he may flee.

Verse 13 is saying that if the death of the person smitten was by accident, then the culprit must flee into a place of refuge designated by the Lord. This place of refuge is Christ.

Psa 46:1  To the choirmaster. Of the Sons of Korah. According to Alamoth. A Song. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Psa 46:2  Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, 
Psa 46:3  though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah

We know that nothing happens by accident and that everything is according to the counsel of His will. This implies that a prerequisite to taking refuge in the Lord is to come to realize that we are murderers just like our father the devil. That was what Jesus wanted to point out when He said the following to those who believed in Him:

Joh 8:44  You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 

Eph 1:11  In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will,

Exo 21:14  But if a man come presumptuously upon his neighbour, to slay him with guile; thou shalt take him from mine altar, that he may die. 

What we need to know is that whether we killed a man by accident or by intent, the Lord wants us to come to know that we are the greatest sinners just like Apostle Paul came to this realization. We have all killed our brothers and sisters in the name of the Lord thinking we are doing God a service just like Paul. Resisting the words of those the Lord has sent to us all amounts to killing them spiritually. This is all to bring us to that point of accepting that we are murderers just like our father the devil – that is, we are spiritually poor. It is when we come to this realization that Christ comes to us with the spirit of His mouth to put to death the old man or the flesh within us to make us His sons. Taking the guilty person from the Lord’s altar in verse 14 is to make us aware that the person is a worshiper of God. This means that it refers to us at a certain point of our walk with Christ.

1Ti 1:12  And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; 
1Ti 1:13  Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. 
1Ti 1:14  And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. 
1Ti 1:15  This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.
1Ti 1:16  Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.

Joh 16:1  These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended. 
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. 

2Th 2:8  And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

Exo 21:15  And he that smiteth his father, or his mother, shall be surely put to death. 

We are all guilty of smiting our father and mother, and therefore we deserve to die. In other words, our old man or the flesh must die. Our father here is Christ, and our mother is the church of the firstborn. We hurt Christ by hurting our brothers and sisters in Christ. This means that hurting our mother is the same as hurting our father and vice versa.

Act 9:3  And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: 
Act 9:4  And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
Act 9:5  And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.

We are all guilty of killing the prophets the Lord sent and therefore are going through our death sentences through His judgment.

Luk 11:49  Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute:
Luk 11:50  That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation; 
Luk 11:51  From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation.

Exo 21:16  And he that stealeth a man, and selleth him, or if he be found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death.

The word of the Lord summarizes our sins here on earth as lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes and pride of life. It is the lust of the flesh and eyes which drives us to steal. As we have stated, Jesus raised the bar in terms of the law of Moses to that of spiritual laws called the law of Christ. According to this law, desiring to possess what belongs to others is equivalent to stealing, for which we are punished by a death sentence. We are all guilty before the Lord according to verse 16 and therefore deserve to die. Our death sentence has already been passed as we die daily.

1Co 15:31  I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.

Exo 21:17  And he that curseth his father, or his mother, shall surely be put to death.

We have already stated that cursing our mother, which is the church of the firstborn or the elect, is the same as cursing the Lord who is our father. We have all cursed the church of the elect and therefore cursed our father, Lord Jesus. We are therefore guilty and therefore must be put to death. Again, putting to death pertains to the dying of the old man or the flesh or the beast within us.

Exo 21:18  And if men strive together, and one smite another with a stone, or with his fist, and he die not, but keepeth his bed:
Exo 21:19  If he rise again, and walk abroad upon his staff, then shall he that smote him be quit: only he shall pay for the loss of his time, and shall cause him to be thoroughly healed.

We have all striven with the Lord at a certain period of our walk in Christ. Jacob’s experience of striving with the Lord is also our experience. Let’s look at what happened when Jacob strove with the Lord.

Gen 32:24  And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.
Gen 32:25  And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him. 
Gen 32:26  And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. 
Gen 32:27  And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob. 
Gen 32:28  And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed. 
Gen 32:29  And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there. 
Gen 32:30  And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.

Just like Jacob, our Lord will prevail over us when we strive with Him as He touches the hollow of our thighs, and in the process, the hollow of our thighs becomes out of joint and therefore, we become incapacitated. It is only in our incapacitated state or the state of weakness that the Lord comes in to take care of us. This is what verse 19 is inferring. The staff that we walk with after being incapacitated is Christ. In verse 19, the loss of our time that we have to be compensated for by the one (Christ) who wounded us is the life we gain after we have lost it in this life.

Mat 16:24  Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. 
Mat 16:25  For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.

Again, in verse 19, the one that caused the wound is expected by this law in verse 19, to cause us who are wounded to be completely healed. We know that it is our Lord Jesus that heals us after wounding us. It is in our wounded (weakened) state that Christ does His work best!!  We should therefore glory in our wounds for when we are weak, then we are strong in Christ!! Are you feeling weak, powerless, etc? Then you are the best candidate to receive the strength of the Lord!! He will surely come around to heal us spiritually and physically!!

2Co 12:9  And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
2Co 12:10  Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

May the Lord grant us the grace to be healed both spiritually and physically of all our wounds or diseases!!!! Amen!!

[Study Aired December 30, 2021]

1Ki 8:14  And the king turned his face about, and blessed all the congregation of Israel: (and all the congregation of Israel stood;) 
1Ki 8:15  And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, which spake with his mouth unto David my father, and hath with his hand fulfilled it, saying,
1Ki 8:16  Since the day that I brought forth my people Israel out of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel to build an house, that my name might be therein; but I chose David to be over my people Israel. 
1Ki 8:17  And it was in the heart of David my father to build an house for the name of the LORD God of Israel. 
1Ki 8:18  And the LORD said unto David my father, Whereas it was in thine heart to build an house unto my name, thou didst well that it was in thine heart. 
1Ki 8:19  Nevertheless thou shalt not build the house; but thy son that shall come forth out of thy loins, he shall build the house unto my name. 
1Ki 8:20  And the LORD hath performed his word that he spake, and I am risen up in the room of David my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as the LORD promised, and have built an house for the name of the LORD God of Israel. 
1Ki 8:21  And I have set there a place for the ark, wherein is the covenant of the LORD, which he made with our fathers, when he brought them out of the land of Egypt. 
1Ki 8:22  And Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven: 
1Ki 8:23  And he said, LORD God of Israel, there is no God like thee, in heaven above, or on earth beneath, who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants that walk before thee with all their heart: 
1Ki 8:24  Who hast kept with thy servant David my father that thou promisedst him: thou spakest also with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thine hand, as it is this day. 
1Ki 8:25  Therefore now, LORD God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that thou promisedst him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit on the throne of Israel; so that thy children take heed to their way, that they walk before me as thou hast walked before me.
1Ki 8:26  And now, O God of Israel, let thy word, I pray thee, be verified, which thou spakest unto thy servant David my father.
1Ki 8:27  But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded?
1Ki 8:28  Yet have thou respect unto the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O LORD my God, to hearken unto the cry and to the prayer, which thy servant prayeth before thee to day:
1Ki 8:29  That thine eyes may be open toward this house night and day, even toward the place of which thou hast said, My name shall be there: that thou mayest hearken unto the prayer which thy servant shall make toward this place.

The title of our study is taken from John 14:12 which reads “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.” It is with this statement of Christ that we are being reminded of the certainty of the fruit in our lives that has been prophesied to come forth (Joh 15:16) as a result of the life of Christ within us (Col 1:27). It is “because I go unto my Father” which was expedient for Christ to do (Joh 16:7) we can be assured that what God has predestined to be fulfilled in our lives will be accomplished through Him who is the vine. As we abide in Him, we will bring “forth much fruit” (Joh 15:5).

Joh 15:16  Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. 

Col 1:27  To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: 

[Who brings forth much fruit within the gentile flesh that I abide in through spiritual circumcision (Rom 2:28-29) “that ye should go and bring forth fruit“]

Joh 16:7  Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.

Joh 15:5  I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

The temple of Solomon is now complete, and Solomon, who is a type of the elect, typifies those who have Christ’s spirit within them. Solomon is now proclaiming, in type and shadow, the blessing that is ours unto which we have been called (1Pe 3:9) and that is to be God’s workmanship who will be a blessing for the rest of the world, given as a living sacrifice (Rom 12:1, Joh 3:16).  We are ordained to bring forth much fruit through the faith of Christ (Joh 15:16, Rom 7:4, Rom 7:24-25, Luk 22:32), having become the apple of God’s eye through Christ, and a light unto the Gentiles (Act 13:47) as a result of His life in us (Rom 8:9).

1Pe 3:9  Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.

Joh 3:16  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son (1Jn 4:17), that whosoever believeth (Joh 6:28-29) in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Rom 8:9  But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

It is those who believe and abide, or continue, in the truth (Joh 8:31-36), who have been given eyes to see and ears to hear where our hope resides (Mar 4:11, Col 1:27). Then, with these things in mind, we will look at this section of Kings which points to that hope of glory within, via the typical language of king Solomon. Solomon is now able to bless the nation of Israel from the completed temple that represents the mature life of Christ in us which will be used to bless all the nations of the world in time.

Joh 8:31  Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
Joh 8:32  And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
Joh 8:33  They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? [Mat 24:13]
Joh 8:34  Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.
Joh 8:35  And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever.
Joh 8:36  If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. [“If ye continue^G3306 in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed” (Joh 6:44)]

1Ki 8:14  And the king turned his face about, and blessed all the congregation of Israel: (and all the congregation of Israel stood; ) 

The whole or “all the congregation of Israel stood” is typical of all the world beholding the salvation of God as they stand (Act 1:10-11, Exo 14:13, Deu 18:6-7).

Act 1:10  And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; 
Act 1:11  Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven [in time into the hearts and minds of all of God’s creation].

Exo 14:13  And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. 

Deu 18:6  And if a Levite come from any of thy gates out of all Israel, where he sojourned, and come with all the desire of his mind unto the place which the LORD shall choose; 
Deu 18:7  Then he shall minister in the name of the LORD his God, as all his brethren the Levites do, which stand there before the LORD.

It is when “the king turned his face about, and blessed all the congregation of Israel” that they were told of the blessing that God was bringing to them that came about by His choosing, “David to be over my people Israel“. David represents Christ, and Solomon represents those who have been granted to turn their faces about and see what God is doing within our lives which is represented by the temple (Rev 1:10-12).

Rev 1:10  I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,
Rev 1:11  Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea. 
Rev 1:12  And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks;

1Ki 8:15  And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, which spake with his mouth unto David my father, and hath with his hand fulfilled it, saying, 
1Ki 8:16  Since the day that I brought forth my people Israel out of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel to build an house, that my name might be therein; but I chose David to be over my people Israel. 
1Ki 8:17  And it was in the heart of David my father to build an house for the name of the LORD God of Israel.

Solomon’s blessing, given before the congregation of Israel, is a shadow of these words in Revelation 4:10-11 and 1 Chronicles 29:14 that God’s elect will profess before all the world and that we declare to each other as we witness His power working in our lives (Rev 11:3).

Rev 4:10  The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, 
Rev 4:11  Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

1Ch 29:14  But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? for all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee. 

Rev 11:3  And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.

It is David, who is a type of Christ, through whom the Father spoke (Joh 1:1-4), and so when we read of this event, it is typical of our heavenly Father speaking through Christ, the YAHWEH of the Old Covenant. “The LORD God of Israel” who “spake with his mouth unto David my father, and hath with his hand fulfilled it.” Christ came to reveal the Father and was speaking only what the Father had predestined Him to say (Joh 12:49-50).

Joh 12:49  For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.
Joh 12:50  And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak.

What David spoke was a declaration of what Christ would declare while He was on earth, and that is, “Since the day that I brought forth my people Israel out of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel to build an house, that my name might be therein; but I chose David to be over my people Israel.” This statement is symbolic language telling us that many are called and few are chosen. God “brought forth my people Israel out of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel to build an house, that my name might be therein” represents the many called but not chosen to have the life of Christ within them, and “but I chose David to be over my people Israel” represents Christ and His body who are chosen^G1588 out of the called^G2822 (Mat 20:16).

Mat 20:16  So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called^G2822, but few chosen^G1588.

G2822klētos klay-tos’

From the same as G2821; invited, that is, appointed, or (specifically) a saint: – called.

Total KJV occurrences: 11

G1588 eklektos ek-lek-tos’

From G1586; select; by implication favorite: – chosen, elect.

Total KJV occurrences: 23

Then we’re told in 1 Kings 8:17 that “it was in the heart of David my father to build an house for the name of the LORD God of Israel” which further confirms that David is a type of Christ whose desire was to drink of the fruit of the vine with the body of Christ but plainly said “For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come.” It is when the kingdom of God comes within us (Luk 17:21) that a “house for the name of the LORD God of Israel” is built by Christ (Psa 127:1). However, it is Solomon who typifies the elect through whom God builds this new creation, doing greater works than Christ as Solomon did greater works than David, typified by the building of the temple which we are (Joh 14:12, 1Co 3:16). The words  “greater works than these shall he do” means God’s elect are blessed to be able to be instrumental in the conversion of someone which Christ, while he was in the flesh, never did (1Ti 4:16).

Joh 14:12  Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

1Ti 4:16  Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue^G1961 in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.

1Ki 8:18  And the LORD said unto David my father, Whereas it was in thine heart to build an house unto my name, thou didst well that it was in thine heart. 
1Ki 8:19  Nevertheless thou shalt not build the house; but thy son that shall come forth out of thy loins, he shall build the house unto my name.

These two verses (1Ki 8:18-19) are saying the same thing as 1Kings 8:16-17, that it was in Christ’s “heart to build an house unto my name” (Luk 22:15) as it was in David’s. That desire would be accomplished in time but was not going to be accomplished while Christ was in His flesh (Joh 16:7). The true spiritual communion we have in Christ was not going to be realized until the holy spirit was given on Pentecost, making it then (and only then) possible for Christ’s disciples to be as Him (1Jn 4:17) having the same desire “to eat this passover with you before I suffer” which is how the spiritual house is built (Luk 18:34, 1Co 10:16). Breaking bread and drinking wine at the Passover were symbols that revealed how the word of God nourishes the body and prepares our hearts to endure the suffering required in this life if we are going to mature in Christ and rule with Him in the next (2Ti 2:12-13). It sounds like the scriptures are saying that David of himself did well to have this desire in his heart to build the temple, but the sum of God’s word tells us otherwise: “thou didst well that it was in thine heart” (Pro 16:1).

Luk 22:15  And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer:

Luk 18:34  And they understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken. 

1Co 10:16  The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? 

2Ti 2:12  If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us: 
2Ti 2:13  If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself [Joh 10:28-29, Mat 16:18].

Pro 16:1  The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD. 

“Nevertheless” is a word that means ‘never what we want in our fleshly desires, but God’s will be done’, which Christ always submitted to while He was on the earth, and this is what God’s elect pray is being accomplished in our lives now as it was in His (Luk 22:42, 1Jn 4:17). So Christ himself would “not build the house” which was not God’s will for him, but His sons “thy son that shall come forth out of thy loins, he shall build the house unto my name” (Joh 16:7). Abraham, who is a type of Christ, reminds us of this point (Gen 15:2-6). We are so few now who are being used to build that house with God’s spirit within us, but we know that in time Christ’s other fold will be saved, and God will ultimately be all in all (Joh 10:16, Gal 4:27, Rev 19:7, 1Co 15:28).

Gen 15:2  And Abram said, Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus? 
Gen 15:3  And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir. 
Gen 15:4  And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. [“thy son that shall come forth out of thy loins” (Gal 3:16)]
Gen 15:5  And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be [Gal 4:27].
Gen 15:6  And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.

Joh 10:16  And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd [1Co 15:28].

Rev 19:7  Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.

1Ki 8:20  And the LORD hath performed his word that he spake, and I am risen up in the room of David my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as the LORD promised, and have built an house for the name of the LORD God of Israel. 
1Ki 8:21  And I have set there a place for the ark, wherein is the covenant of the LORD, which he made with our fathers, when he brought them out of the land of Egypt. 
1Ki 8:22  And Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven:

The first section of this verse reminds us that we are raised in heavenly places with Christ: “I am risen up in the room of David my father, and sit on the throne of Israel” (Eph 2:4-7), Solomon, being a type of the elect, “risen up in the room of David my father” and David being a type of Christ our Olam^H5769 Father. (Deu 32:39-40, Eph 2:6)

With Christ as our high priest (Heb 4:15-16), we are promised we can be more than conquerors through Him, just as the covenant of the Lord being within the ark is symbolic language telling us we will overcome through the exceedingly great and precious promises of God (2Pe 1:4). We will overcome the powers and principalities we wrestle against through Christ, which overcoming is typified by the covenant (‘promise’ Exo 19:5, Luk 24:49) that the LORD “made with our fathers” when “he brought them out of the land of Egypt“.

2Pe 1:4  Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust [Tit 2:11-12].

“Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven” is a shadow of God’s elect that tells us when we are before the altar of God which is symbolic of the cross, we can then spread forth our hands toward heaven to bless others as a wave sheaf offering (Lev 23:17), or like the cherubim that sat on the ark with wings that were “spread forth” symbolizing the mercy that God will extend to all the world one day as a mother hen does her chicks (Mat 23:37).

Mat 23:37  O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!

1Ki 8:23  And he said, LORD God of Israel, there is no God like thee, in heaven above, or on earth beneath, who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants that walk before thee with all their heart: 
1Ki 8:24  Who hast kept with thy servant David my father that thou promisedst him: thou spakest also with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thine hand^H3027, as it is this day.

We serve a merciful God who “keepest covenant” meaning what God has promised to do, He will do (Heb 6:18-19), and what He has promised to God’s elect in this age is that He is going to show “mercy with thy servants that walk before thee with all their heart“. That mercy is expressed through “the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering” that leads us to repentance in this age, which we are not to despise (Rom 2:4) as we seek the Lord with all our hearts (Heb 11:6-7, Jer 29:13-14). The corruption of this world is escaped by giving all diligence and following these steps outlined in 2 Peter 1:4-12.) Do we rip the veil with Christ in us (Rom 5:10)? The answer is yes, and we are called to believe that the One who we are committing our ways unto is faithful, and promises we will be more than conquerors through Him (1Pe 4:19).

Heb 6:18  That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: [Rom 8:25]
Heb 6:19  Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil;

Heb 11:6  But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

[God turns away our captivity by blessing us to move with fear as we build the ark which is represented by the church, Christ’s body (Col 1:24), that is being led by God’s holy spirit (Rom 8:14)]

Heb 11:7  By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet [Rom 8:25], moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.

Jer 29:13  And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

David is again mentioned, in context with this covenant of mercy, as a type of Christ who brings to the body of Christ the understanding that we have been given promises which are exceedingly great and precious (2Pe 1:4). “Who hast kept with thy servant David my father that thou promisedst him: thou spakest also with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thine hand^H3027, as it is this day” tells us that all of God’s desire is going to be fulfilled in each of the elect’s lives by God’s power (Heb 10:7, 1Jn 4:17, Php 2:12-13). As God accomplishes His will through the body of Christ, we are told not to murmur which is the bad fruit of despising “the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering” that leads us to repentance.

Heb 10:7  Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God. 

Php 2:13  For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. 
Php 2:14  Do all things without murmurings and disputings:

1Ki 8:25  Therefore now, LORD God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that thou promisedst him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit on the throne of Israel; so that thy children take heed to their way, that they walk before me as thou hast walked before me. 
1Ki 8:26  And now, O God of Israel, let thy word, I pray thee, be verified, which thou spakest unto thy servant David my father. 

If the LORD God of Israel will keep “with thy servant David my father that thou promisedst him“, the gates of hell will not prevail against the church (Mat 16:18), which is what this symbolic statement means: “There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit on the throne of Israel.” Why this must happen is “so that thy children take heed to their way, that they walk before me as thou hast walked before me“, meaning because of God’s purpose being fulfilled in the body of Christ through God’s power, the world will in time “take heed to their way, that they walk before me as thou hast walked before me.

Solomon, who is a type of the elect, goes on to say “And now, O God of Israel, let thy word, I pray thee, be verified^H539, which thou spakest unto thy servant David my father“, demonstrating the right desire to want to see God’s plan move forward through the judgment of the rest of His creation brought about by God’s word being spoken, which words are the fiery words of eternal life (Rom 10:1, Num 11:29, Rev 6:10, Jer 5:14).

verified  H539  ‘âman  aw-man’

A primitive root; properly to build up or support; to foster as a parent or nurse; figuratively to render (or be) firm or faithful, to trust or believe, to be permanent or quiet; morally to be true or certain; once (in Isa 30:21; by interchange for H541) to go to the right hand: – hence assurance, believe, bring up, establish, + fail, be faithful (of long continuance, stedfast, sure, surely, trusty, verified), nurse, (-ing father), (put), trust, turn to the right.

Total KJV occurrences: 108

Rom 10:1 Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.

Num 11:29  And Moses said unto him, Enviest thou for my sake? would God that all the LORD’S people were prophets, and that the LORD would put his spirit upon them! 

Rev 6:10  And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? [Our blood is avenged by fulfilling its purpose of washing the sins of the world, seeing our blood has now become the blood of Christ, his bones and flesh that will devour all carnality in time (Eph 5:30, Oba 1:21, Jer 5:14)]

1Ki 8:27  But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded? 

“But will God indeed dwell on the earth?” was answered to Philip with this verse (Joh 14:9), written for our sakes to help us understand our relationship with our heavenly Father and Christ “at that day” (Joh 5:30, 2Co 3:5, Joh 14:20). We work out our own salvation with fear and trembling knowing that it is God who is working in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure (Php 2:12-13).

If ever there was a verse that witnesses to the fact that we have God’s spirit in earnest (Eph 1 :14) this would be the one: “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded?”. We are those marred vessels that must be made new again (Jer 18:4), weak and “not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof” (Luk 7:6). Yet “he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust” (Psa 103:14). “The mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children’s children; to such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them. The LORD hath prepared His throne in the heavens; and His kingdom ruleth over all” (Psa 103:17-19, Heb 12:2, Php 1:6).

It is only by the power of God that we, as His body, can be partakers with Christ and strengthened “in the inner man that Christ may dwell in [our] hearts by faith” (2Co 13:4, Eph 3:16-19, Joh 15:5, Col 1:24, 1Pe 1:3-5).

2Co 13:4 For though he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of God toward you.

Eph 3:16  That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; 
Eph 3:17  That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, 
Eph 3:18  May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; 
Eph 3:19  And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. 

Joh 15:5  I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

Col 1:24  Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church: 

1Pe 1:3  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
1Pe 1:4  To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, 
1Pe 1:5  Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

1Ki 8:28  Yet have thou respect unto the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O LORD my God, to hearken unto the cry and to the prayer, which thy servant prayeth before thee to day:

The verses that show us God would have “respect unto the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication” can be found in 1 John 5:14 and John 16:23-24, to name a few. David is typified as Christ through whom our prayers are accepted, which is what “respect unto the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication” is a shadow of (Eph 1:6).

1Jn 5:14  And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: 

Joh 16:23  And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.
Joh 16:24  Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.

Eph 1:6  To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

1Ki 8:29  That thine eyes may be open toward this house night and day, even toward the place of which thou hast said, My name shall be there: that thou mayest hearken unto the prayer which thy servant shall make toward this place. 

This last verse of our study reminds us again that the gates of hell will not prevail against the church if we are the apple of His eye (Zec 2:8). He is wakeful over His word so “that thine eyes may be open toward this house night and day, even toward the place“, symbolized also by the sparrows that over which He watches, and whether they live or die, it is unto the Lord because of our belief (Jer 1:12, Mat 10:29, Rom 14:8). This concept ties in with our title for this study taken from John 14:12,  which reads, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

Jer 1:12  Then said the LORD unto me, Thou hast well seen: for I will hasten my word to perform it.

Mat 10:29  Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father [“The works that I do shall he do also” (Lev 14:5-7)].

Rom 14:8  For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s.

God is the one who is making a holy people unto Himself which is what “my name shall be there: that thou mayest hearken unto the prayer which thy servant shall make toward this place” symbolizes, and this is being done for the purpose of perfecting praise within us as we worship Him in spirit and in truth for the wonderful works (Rom 2:4, Pro 3:11, Gal 6:9) He is doing unto the children of men (Joh 4:23-24, Psa 107:8, Psa 107:15, Psa 107:21, Psa 107:31), which we will look at more closely next week, Lord willing.

Joh 4:23  But the hour cometh [1Pe 4:17], and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
Joh 4:24  God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

Psa 107:8 Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! 

Psa 107:15 Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! 

Psa 107:21 Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! 

Psa 107:31 Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! 

[This two-part article is in response to the title question a reader asked.]

[Study Aired February 3, 2020]

Hi S____,

Thank you for asking:

“If “the potter has mercy (Rom 9:18) and gives Hymeneus and Alexander a spirit of repentance, they may return to God as David did. If ‘the potter hardeneth’ (Rom 9:18), they will die in their sins as Esau and Pharaoh and King Saul and Ahab did. They will be resurrected at the great white throne judgment. ‘Their works will be burned and they will suffer loss, [what will they, (possibly I) lose?] BUT THEY THEMSELVES SHALL BE SAVED, YET THOUGH AS BY THE LAKE OF FIRE’ (1Co 3:15)”. (End Quote… The emphasis is his.)

Here are the verses you reference:

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. 

Since it is true that:

1Co 15:22  For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

What can possibly be ‘lost’ then if everyone is given life? The Christian world as a whole teaches that, “If you die in your sins, then you are forever lost,” which essentially denies there is any “loss” of anything which is not common to all who do not accept Christ in this life. To the Christian world, the only “loss” is the salvation which they teach is offered only in this life. That doctrine flies in the face of this scriptural doctrine promulgated and taught by the apostle Paul:

1Co 15:22  For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
1Co 15:23  But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.
1Co 15:24  Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.
1Co 15:25  For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
1Co 15:26  The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
1Co 15:27  For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him.
1Co 15:28  And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all. 

For God to “destroy… death” and “be all in all” necessitates that there must also be a ‘fruit’ which is not the firstfruits. The very use of the moniker ‘firstfruits’ necessitates that there is also a later ‘fruit’ which is not the ‘firstfruits’.

Christ was the first of “the firstfruits”. He was not the ‘only fruit’! All in Adam “Shall… be made alive… but each in his own order. Christ [was made alive as the first of] the firstfruits, afterward [meaning after Christ as the first of the firstfruits] they that are Christ’s at His coming. Then comes the end [harvest]…” 

“The end” does not mean the end of God’s efforts to make “all in Adam… alive… in Christ”. Most Christians agree that God desires to see “all men… repent and come to a knowledge of the truth”, as the apostle Paul clearly states “will” indeed happen:

1Ti 2:4  Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. 

However, almost the entire Christian world twists that very clear statement to make it read:

1Ti 2:4  Who would have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. (ASV)

Just look at how a few other versions twist this verse of scripture to make it fit their own false doctrines:

1Ti 2:4  since he wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. (NET)

1Ti 2:4  He wants all people to be saved and to learn the truth. (GWV)

1Ti 2:4  Whose desire is that all men may have salvation and come to the knowledge of what is true. (BBE)

There is a world of difference between telling us what He wistfully “would have… wants, [or] desires” as opposed to what He “will have all men to” do.

What God has blinded all these translators from seeing is:

Job 23:13  But he [the Lord] is in one mind, and who can turn him? and what his soul desireth, even that he doeth.

That being the case, the scriptures teach that even if you twist 1Timothy 2:4 to say “would have… wants… [or] desires”, the Truth still remains that what Christ “would have… wants… [or] desires, even that He does“! (Job 23:13), and according to 1Corinthians 15:22-28 what He is in the process of doing is saving all who are in Adam “each in His own order”.

So, what advantage is there to having works of “gold, silver, and precious stones” if, in the end, “all in Adam shall be made alive”, even those whose works are “wood, hay, and stubble”? Why bother to have works of ‘gold, silver and precious stones’ if those whose works are the much less valuable works of ‘wood, hay, and stubble’ are still “saved, yet though as by fire”? What is lost if you are not in that firstfruits group of whom we are told:

Mat 25:34  Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 

Here now is what gold, silver and precious stones typify:

Mat 25:35  For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
Mat 25:36  Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
Mat 25:37  Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
Mat 25:38  When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
Mat 25:39  Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
Mat 25:40  And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. 

You ask, “Their works will be burned and they will suffer loss, [what will they, (possibly I) lose?]?” 

The answer is, instead of being raised from the dead at the beginning of the thousand-year reign of Christ to hear these very comforting words, “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” this is what those whose works are ‘wood, hay and stubble’ will hear when they are called forth from the grave:

Mat 25:41  Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
Mat 25:42  For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
Mat 25:43  I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
Mat 25:44  Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
Mat 25:45  Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
Mat 25:46  And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal. 

What will those who are sent away into age-lasting punishment be losing out on by not being in what the scriptures refer to as “the blessed and holy first resurrection”? As we just read, one of the things they will lose is that they will not be rulers with Christ in His kingdom for a thousand years. 

Look at how important the scriptures make ruling with Christ during that thousand years to be:

Rev 20:1  And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
Rev 20:2  And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
Rev 20:3  And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
Rev 20:4  And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Rev 20:5  But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
Rev 20:6  Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

“The rest of the dead” is the vast majority of mankind from Adam until the great white throne judgment. The chosen few are in the “blessed and holy… first resurrection [who] “reign with [Christ] a thousand years”.

Hearing the words, “Depart from me ye workers of iniquity into age-lasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels” is so great a loss that we cannot fully comprehend the extent of the blessing of what would have been “Come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world”. 

Let’s contrast the promises given to the ‘overcomer’ with the curses promised to those who are not given to be overcomers in “this present time” (Rom 8:18). Those contrasts are made in the admonitions given to the seven churches of Revelation 2-3:

Ephesus:

The church at Ephesus is admonished that those who say they are apostles, sent from Christ and are not will have their “candlestick removed… except [they] repent”:

Rev 2:2  I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: 
Rev 2:3  And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.
Rev 2:4  Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.
Rev 2:5  Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. 

What will the church at Ephesus lose if they do not repent and overcome”?:

Rev 2:7  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.

Those who do not overcome in “this present time” are not given to eat of the tree of life and are not given to be in “the paradise of God”, because they were not given to eat Christ’s flesh and drink His blood in this present time:

Joh 6:53  Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.
Joh 6:54  Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. 

That is the meaning of “eat of the Tree of Life” because Christ tells us unequivocally that He is life:

Joh 14:6  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. 

“No man comes to the Father, but by me” means that Christ is the tree of life, which is placed right in the middle of the Lord’s garden and is rejected in favor of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Those who “suffer loss” will not eat Christ’s flesh nor drink His blood, because they will not know Christ in “this present time”, and they will not know Christ until after they have endured the age-lasting fire of “the lake of fire [which] is the second death”:

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. 

Those who are cast into the lake of fire will suffer the loss of ruling with Christ during the thousand years, and they will suffer the punishment of the second death, which is the lake of fire, as we will see.

What else will those in the second death lose?

Smyrna:

Rev 2:8  And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive;
Rev 2:9  I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.
Rev 2:10  Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.
Rev 2:11  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death. 

Those whose works are wood, hay, and stubble do not overcome sin in their lives in “this present time” and will lose out on being given “a crown of life” which qualifies us to become “kings and priests… [to] reign with Christ… for a thousand years” (Rev 20:4-6).

What difference do our works make if “as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive”? 

Let’s continue to “hear what the spirit says to the churches”:

Pergamos:

Rev 2:12  And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges;
Rev 2:13  I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan’s seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth.
Rev 2:14  But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.
Rev 2:15  So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.
Rev 2:16  Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.
Rev 2:17  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it. 

Those whose works are wood, hay, and stubble will not be given to eat of the hidden manna, will not be given a white stone and will not be given a new name until after the lake of fire, “which is the second death”. Considering the admonition of the spirit to the church in Pergamos, it is absolutely possible to ‘hold fast [Christ’s] name, and… not deny His faith’ and at the same time “have… them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication… [and] have… also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans”, whose very name means ‘to lord it over the laity’. Those are just a few of the doctrines and works of wood, hay, and stubble, which will, in time, be burned up. If those works are burned up in “this present time” (Rom 8:18), then our works become works of gold, silver, and precious stones in “this present time”. If the wood, hay, and stubble are not burned out of us in this age, then we, too, will be cast into the lake of fire, and we will be hurt of the second death which is the lake of fire.

Again, we all just naturally ask, “If all in Adam will be made alive, what difference does it make whether we overcome in this life?” I had two men approach me at a Bible conference in Alabama, and ask me, “Why do you make such a big deal about wanting to be in the first resurrection?” Then again, just this past year a lady who had been in our fellowship for years told me, “I don’t care whether I am in the first or the second resurrection. I do not believe it matters.”

So, thank you for this question because it gives me the opportunity to share with our readers what exactly it means to say “…he shall suffer loss, but he himself shall be saved yet so as by fire”:

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.

This last above verse is just a repetition of what Paul says in:

1Co 15:22  For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. 

However, notice carefully what is in the very next verses of this 15th chapter of 1 Corinthians:

1Co 15:23  But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.
1Co 15:24  Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.
1Co 15:25  For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
1Co 15:26  The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. 

“Every man in His own order” means there is an order in which God is saving “all in Adam”. “Firstfruits” means there is an order in which God “will have all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of The Truth.” Anyone who denies there is an order in which God is saving all men is living under “strong delusion” which God Himself has sent to “deceive that prophet”:

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.
Eze 14:10  And they shall bear the punishment of their iniquity: the punishment of the prophet shall be even as the punishment of him that seeketh unto him; 

2Th 2:10  And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
2Th 2:11  And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
2Th 2:12  That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. 

“That they might be damned” to what? Here is Christ’s own answer to that question:

Mar 16:16  He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. 

Joh 5:28  Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,

Joh 5:29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation^G2920 [Greek: krisis, judgment]

The punishment of the prophet, the damnation of those who are deceived, and the loss suffered by those whose works are still lying false doctrines which are nothing more than spiritual ‘wood, hay, and stubble’, are all one and the same punishment and loss.

The admonitions of the spirit to the church at Thyatira let us know a little more about what is lost by those whose works and doctrines are mere worthless wood, hay, and stubble:

Thyatira:

Rev 2:24  But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will put upon you none other burden.
Rev 2:25  But that which ye have already hold fast till I come.
Rev 2:26  And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:
Rev 2:27  And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.
Rev 2:28  And I will give him the morning star.
Rev 2:29  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

Like Pergamos, Thyatira has many good qualities, which the spirit acknowledges, and like Pergamos, the spirit admonishes the church at Thyatira to repent of allowing Jezebel to teach and seduce the church to commit spiritual fornication. The spirit incentivizes us to overcome our sins by promising us… “he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father. And I will give him the morning star.” 

“The morning star”, like “the tree of life”, is just another name for Christ:

Rev 22:16  I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star. 

To miss out on the potential of ruling the nations with Christ for a thousand years, and then being Christ’s channel for showing His mercy to all men of all time, is to miss out on being given the mind of Christ… the bright and morning star”. To miss out on all of that is indeed great “loss”, and yet, through the second death, through the death to the carnal mind which the lake of fire accomplishes, “he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire [the lake of fire].

What else is lost by having works of wood, hay and stubble?

Sardis:

Rev 3:1  And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.
Rev 3:2  Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God.
Rev 3:3  Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.
Rev 3:4  Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.
Rev 3:5  He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.
Rev 3:6  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. 

Sardis is a dead church. Yet the spirit admonishes those in the church at Sardis to repent of their works of wood, hay, and stubble, and become vigilant and watch closely what kind of works they are producing and remember how they heard (vs 3). If they do so, they are promised to be given to walk with Christ in white raiment, and the Lord will not blot their names out of the book of life. 

It is the worst possible curse to be deprived of walking with Christ in this present time and having one’s name blotted out of the book of life and to miss out on having a part in the “blessed and holy first resurrection” (Rev 20:4-6).

What else will those whose works are wood, hay, and stubble lose?

Philadelphia:

Rev 3:7  And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth;
Rev 3:8  I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.
Rev 3:9  Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.
Rev 3:10  Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.
Rev 3:11  Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.
Rev 3:12  Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.
Rev 3:13  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. 

Christ tells us that no man can come to God, but by Him.

Joh 14:6  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. 

He also tells us that He is “the Door”:

Joh 10:7  Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.
Joh 10:8  All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.
Joh 10:9  I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. 

“By me if any man enter in, he shall be saved.” So, the “door to the sheep” is also the door into the kingdom of heaven, and the ‘key’ to that door is the ‘key’ to being saved, “By me… he shall be saved.”

Being given “an open door [which] no man can shut” is the exact opposite of being given a shut door which “no man [can] open”. The salvation of all in no way diminishes the value of all of these “great and precious promises”. What we are being told is that our calling and our salvation is a work of Christ in us, and whenever we are given an open door into His kingdom is for Him to decide. He has every right to pay us for our work when He chooses to do so. The “key of David” is the keys to the kingdom of heaven”, and the Lord passes out that key to whomsoever He wills whenever He chooses to do so. “All in Adam” will be saved, but the Lord’s order of saving all men is revealed to be “the first shall be last and the last shall be first”, which is the conclusion of the parable of the workers in the Lord’s vineyard:

Mat 20:1  For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard.
Mat 20:2  And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard.
Mat 20:3  And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace,
Mat 20:4  And said unto them; Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way.
Mat 20:5  Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise.
Mat 20:6  And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle?
Mat 20:7  They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive.
Mat 20:8  So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first.
Mat 20:9  And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny.
Mat 20:10  But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny.
Mat 20:11  And when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house,
Mat 20:12  Saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day.
Mat 20:13  But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny?
Mat 20:14  Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee.
Mat 20:15  Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good?
Mat 20:16  So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen. 

Those who are paid first are given an open door first. They work fewer hours and receive the same wage as those who worked all day long. Losing out on a day’s wages for one hour of work is a great loss, and that loss is suffered by those whose works and doctrines are nothing more than “wood, hay, and stubble”. The great and precious promises are given only to ‘the last [who are made to be] first”.

The church at Philadelphia is given an open door into the kingdom of God. Those who claim to be Christians but are just the synagogue of Satan are made to come and worship at the feet of the overcomers in Philadelphia. Those of the synagogue of Satan are those whose suffer the loss of their works, which are nothing more than combustible wood, hay, and stubble. 

Because these overcomers in the church of Philadelphia have already endured the fiery trials of ‘keeping the word of Christ’s patience’, he will now keep them from “the hour of temptation which shall come upon all the world.” This is the same as telling the overcomers of Smyrna that they will not be hurt of the second death if they “die daily [and are] crucified with Christ… [if they] overcome [in] this present time” (Rom 8:18).

The overcomers of Philadelphia are also given a crown, of which they are admonished:  let “no man take thy crown”. The overcomers of Philadelphia are promised to be made “a pillar in [the Lord’s] temple”. The Lord promises to write His name upon them and the name of the city of our Lord’s God, which name is ‘New Jerusalem’, which is also Christ’s new name. All these promises will be lost if our works are works of wood, hay, and stubble.

There is yet one more church which will serve to let us know what we will lose if our works of wood, hay, and stubble are not burned up in this present time. We will cover that church in Part 2 of this study.

Isa 51:6-11 Put on Strength O Arm of the Lord - Discussion

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Isa 51:6-11 Put on Strength O Arm of The Lord

[Study Aired December 15, 2019]

Isa 51:6  Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished. 
Isa 51:7  Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law; fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings. 
Isa 51:8  For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool: but my righteousness shall be for ever, and my salvation from generation to generation. 
Isa 51:9  Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD; awake, as in the ancient days, in the generations of old. Art thou not it that hath cut Rahab, and wounded the dragon? 
Isa 51:10  Art thou not it which hath dried the sea, the waters of the great deep; that hath made the depths of the sea a way for the ransomed to pass over? 
Isa 51:11  Therefore the redeemed of the LORD shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away.

The Lord wants His elect to know “the heavens shall vanish away like smoke… and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished.”

As impossible as those words may seem to be, the truth is:

2Co 4:17  For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;
2Co 4:18  While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

The truth is that “the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal”, but our flesh cannot accept this fact. We simply are not just naturally given to see or understand the things of the spirit (1Co 2:13-15). It is especially hard for us to believe that a transition from one realm to another, from this old physical world to another realm, the realm of the spirit is even possible.

For that very purpose and for our sakes, the Lord has given us the entire experience of Noah. The story of Noah demonstrates how none of us of ourselves can believe in things which we cannot see. Noah was given the faith to believe the seemingly impossible fact that a flood was coming upon the whole earth. Because it had never rained in all the history of mankind, everyone believed nothing would ever change. The whole world considered Noah to be a delusional mad man who was building a huge ship on dry land which had never seen rain, much less an impending destructive flood which would destroy all in whom was the breath of life. It was in this atmosphere that Noah warned the world for 120 years that the Lord was going to destroy all life on earth. Noah, we are told, was preaching to people who were all bound in a prison of their own preordained unbelief and lack of faith in something they could not physically see:

1Pe 3:18  For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:
1Pe 3:19  By which [spirit] also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; [When did Christ “preach to spirits in prison? The answer is:]
1Pe 3:20  Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by [Greek: dia, through] water. [Not fire]

Luk 3:16  John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire:

Another similar story with the same lesson for us is the account of the two messengers who were sent to take Lot and his family out of Sodom before the Lord destroyed that city and all the cities of the plains around the Dead Sea. No one in Sodom believed anything would be changing any time soon. Here is that story. This time it was done by fire, typifying the coming destruction of all flesh:

Gen 19:9  And [the men of Sodom] said, Stand back. And they said again, This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge: now will we deal worse with thee, than with them. And they pressed sore upon the man, even Lot, and came near to break the door.
Gen 19:10  But the men put forth their hand, and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door.
Gen 19:11  And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great: so that they wearied themselves to find the door.
Gen 19:12  And the men said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides? son in law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place:
Gen 19:13  For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the LORD; and the LORD hath sent us to destroy it. 
Gen 19:14  And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this  place; for the LORD will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law.

Luk 3:16  John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire:

Those two stories, the story of Noah and the story of Lot, should give you some sense of how this world thinks of the idea of anyone “making war with the beast within” or of a literal kingdom of God ruling over the kingdoms of this world for “a thousand years”. It simply does not seem possible, and it is so hard to believe that many of our own brothers have lost faith in these very plain words:

Rev 11:15  And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. [Greek: ages of the ages]
Rev 11:16  And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God,
Rev 11:17  Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned. 
Rev 11:18  And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.

“He shall reign for ever and ever” should read ‘He shall reign for the ages of the ages” meaning the thousand years and the time of the great white throne judgment mentioned in the last half of Revelation 20. It is here in Revelation 20 that some of the details of the reign of “the Lord and His Christ [over] the kingdoms of this world” are revealed to us:

Rev 20:1  And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
Rev 20:2  And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
Rev 20:3  And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
Rev 20:4  And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Rev 20:5  But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
Rev 20:6  Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
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.

Immediately following this “little season” of rebellion against the sovereignty of “the Lord and His Christ” we are shown that there will be a second judgment before the great white throne, which is but another symbol for “the Lord and His Christ”, the same “priests of God and of Christ [who] reigned with Him a thousand years”:

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.

Noah “preached to spirits in prison” for 120 years, all while being ridiculed by that generation. Nevertheless, the flood came just as Noah had been warning. Lot preached for a very short time to His sons-in-law, “But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law”. However, Sodom was destroyed that very same day. This brings us to the first two verses of our study today concerning how we should be thinking of what was prophesied thousands of years ago concerning what the Lord has in store for us and for the world of today:

Isa 51:6  Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished. 
Isa 51:7  Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law; fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings.

It is only the Lord’s elect who ‘listen to the Lord, know righteousness, and whose heart is in the Lord’s law’. It is we who are admonished, “Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner:”

That these words, “The heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old as a garment” are addressed to us is made clear when they are repeated in the books of Hebrews and 2nd Peter:

Heb 1:10  And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands:
Heb 1:11  They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment;
Heb 1:12  And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.

2Pe 3:7  But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. 
2Pe 3:8  But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
2Pe 3:9  The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
2Pe 3:10  But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. 
2Pe 3:11  Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, 
2Pe 3:12  Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
2Pe 3:13  Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.

This is not some new doctrine the Lord is giving Paul and Peter. It is all right here in the book of Isaiah. “The things that are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal”:

2Co 4:18  While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

Isaiah continues with this theme:

Isa 51:8  For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool: but my righteousness shall be for ever, and my salvation from generation to generation. 

The fact that we are speaking of moth and worms and something that lasts “from generation to generation” indicates that these words are addressed to those who reign with Christ for a thousand years before judging angels in the lake of fire and before the “all in all” (1Co 15:28 and Eph 5:23)

1Co 6:2  Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
1Co 6:3  Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?

1Co 15:25  For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
1Co 15:26  The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
1Co 15:27  For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him.
1Co 15:28  And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.

Eph 1:22  And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,
Eph 1:23  Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.

Still speaking to us, the Lord continues here in Isaiah:

Isa 51:9  Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD; awake, as in the ancient days, in the generations of old. Art thou not it that hath cut Rahab, and wounded the dragon? 
Isa 51:10  Art thou not it which hath dried the sea, the waters of the great deep; that hath made the depths of the sea a way for the ransomed to pass over? 

There will be those who will read this study and say to themselves, “We were not there in the ancient days. We have not cut Rahab or wounded the dragon.  We have never dried up the sea or made the depths of the sea a way for the ransomed to pass over, and we certainly are not the Lord’s arm.” Those who speak thusly will be judged out of their own mouths. Those of that mindset do not yet believe that mankind must “live by every word which proceeds out of the mouth of God”:

Mat 4:3  And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.
Mat 4:4  But he answered and said, It is written, Man [Greek: ‘anthropos’, mankind] shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

Luk 19:20  And another came, saying, Lord, behold, here is thy pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin:
Luk 19:21  For I feared thee, because thou art an austere man: thou takest up that thou layedst not down, and reapest that thou didst not sow.
Luk 19:22  And he saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow:

Psa 18:25  With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright;
Psa 18:26  With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself froward.

If we are of the mindset that God created His weak, carnal-minded creatures knowing He would send most of them away into an ever-burning lake of fire to be tormented with excruciating pain for all eternity, as most Christian denominations  as well as the Jewish and the Muslim religions believe, then that is exactly how the Lord will present Himself to you when you are being judged. Yes, the Lord has “cut Rahab and wounded the dragon”, but when our eyes are opened to see the meaning of the Hebrew word ‘olam’ and the Greek word ‘aion’ we are then given to understand that nowhere in all of scripture is anyone ever once threatened with eternal torment. Such a thought has never once entered the Lord’s mind. His judgments are always corrective and redemptive in their purpose and in their implementation. God’s judgments correct us and teach us His righteousness:

1Co 11:31  For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.
1Co 11:32  But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.

To what is “the world… condemned”?  They are ‘condemned’ to a later “judgment” which follows the thousand-year reign of “the Lord and His Christ”, and that ‘judgment’ is called the “great white throne… judgment”:

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.
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.

There we have it… the “great white throne” is “judgment”, and what do the scriptures teach is the purpose for all of the Lord’s judgments, including this “great white throne… judgment”, which is also called “the lake of fire/second death”? This is the Truth about all of God’s judgments:

1Co 11:32  But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world [to the later “great white throne… judgment”]

Who is the Lord’s “arm” with which He will administer this ‘white throne judgment [of] the dead small and great’ (Rev 20:7-15)? As we learned right here in this prophecy of Isaiah, it will be administered by “the righteous [who are even now] dwell[ing] with the devouring fire [and] everlasting burnings”:

Isa 33:14  The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?
Isa 33:15  He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil;

It will be “He that walks righteously [in] this present time” (Rom 8:18) who are given to have part in “the resurrection of life… [of] the righteous”. It was Christ who inspired Isaiah to write these words here in chapter 33, who also tells us:

Joh 5:28  Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
Joh 5:29  And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation. [Greek: ‘krisis’, judgment]

The Lord’s elect, “they that have done good [in] this present time”, (Rom 8:18) are being judged in ‘this present time’ and will have no need to come up “unto the resurrection of judgment”. “When we are judged we are chastened of the Lord that we should not be condemned with the world… unto the resurrection of judgment.” Nevertheless, even those who are condemned to the resurrection of judgment are still being judged of God, and when His judgments are in the earth men will learn righteousness, even those in the lake of fire/second death/great white throne judgment:

Isa 26:8  Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O LORD, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee.
Isa 26:9  With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.

It is only by the Lord’s sovereign will that some few are given to be judged in “this present time”. If we are blessed to be part of “the house of God [in] this present time”, then we will also be given to believe these words of the apostle Paul concerning this the greatest of all honors:

Rom 8:18  For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. 
Rom 8:19  For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.

It is because of “the glory which shall be revealed in us” that we will experience the “everlasting joy” of the last verse of our study today:

Isa 51:11  Therefore the redeemed of the LORD shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away.

Nowhere in all of scripture are we ever told “and sorrow and mourning shall flee away” in this age and at this time. To the contrary, we are told that only “if we suffer with Him, [then we are] joint heirs with Christ…[and] we shall also reign with Him…”:

Rom 8:16  The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
Rom 8:17  And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.