The Spiritual Significance of Man vs Men in Scripture

[Studies Aired November 25, 2025]

Introduction

Scripture’s precision extends even to the distinction between singular and plural forms. When we examine the use of man versus men throughout the Bible, God reveals a spiritual principle woven into the very grammar of His Word. This distinction illuminates the relationship between giving personal account and collective identity, between individual experience and unified purpose, and ultimately between the first Adam and the last Adam.

The Hebrew word for man, adam (אָדָם, H120), carries both singular and plural meaning. This same word describes the first created human being and refers to mankind generally. Another Hebrew term, enosh (אֱנוֹשׁ, H582), emphasizes man’s mortal, frail nature—humanity in its weakness and dependence upon God. The Greek equivalent, anthrōpos (ἄνθρωπος, G444), likewise functions as both singular and plural, describing an individual human or humanity as a whole. This linguistic flexibility is not accidental but reveals God’s design: we are created as individuals in whom God reveals true identity within a collective whole, and that collective whole manifests through individuals in whom God works conversion.

And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul (Genesis 2:7). Here man is singular—the individual Adam—yet this one man contained all humanity within himself. As Paul writes, For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive (1 Corinthians 15:22). The singular man becomes the representative head of all men, just as Christ, the last Adam, becomes the representative head of all who are in Him.

This study will explore how Scripture uses the singular and plural forms to reveal spiritual truths about our identity in Christ, examining the personal dimension of God’s transforming work alongside the communal reality of the body of Christ.

A Note on Imperatives and Divine Agency

Before proceeding, we acknowledge a crucial hermeneutical principle: Throughout Scripture, when we encounter imperatives and exhortations, we understand these not as commands requiring independent human performance, but as descriptions of what God works in us. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure (Philippians 2:13). Even our willing and doing originate in His work, not in autonomous human effort. When Scripture says put on, cultivate, or be renewed, these reveal the pattern of God’s transforming work rather than obligations for self-generated human activity. God is the actor; we are the recipients and witnesses of His sovereign work.

The Individual Man: Giving Personal Account Before God

Scripture consistently emphasizes that God requires each individual to give account, using the singular man to establish this personal answering. So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God (Romans 14:12). This verse underscores that regardless of our collective identity, each person gives account of his own walk with God—reporting what God has worked in him. The singular man in this context does not hide behind communal identity or shared justification.

The apostle Paul declares, What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? (1 Corinthians 6:19). Here the individual believer is addressed—your body is singular, not plural. God makes each person a distinct temple for His dwelling. This brings both privilege and the necessity of giving account, for if any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are (1 Corinthians 3:17).

The Hebrew word ish (אִישׁ, H376), often translated man, emphasizes the distinct person. When Scripture uses ish, it typically highlights what God works personally in each individual—personal action wrought by God, personal faith given by God, personal experience of God’s work. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things (1 Corinthians 9:25). God produces self-control in each person—this is fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), not human achievement. The singular form reminds us that God works in each heart individually.

Jesus taught that God requires each to give personal account in the parable of the talents: For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability (Matthew 25:14-15). Though the servants formed a group, each received according to his capacity and would give answer separately regarding his stewardship. The master’s reckoning addressed each servant individually, requiring each man to give account of what he alone had been given—to report what had been accomplished through him.

This personal dimension appears throughout Scripture’s revelation of God’s work in believers. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind (Romans 14:5). But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another (Galatians 6:4). These passages reveal that while we function within a body, God cultivates conviction in each member and works faithfulness in each one individually.

The prophets consistently addressed individuals within the nation. Ezekiel received the word: The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him (Ezekiel 18:20). Though Israel existed as a unified nation, God required each person to give account of his own experiences. Communal identity did not eliminate the requirement to give personal account of what God had worked in individual lives.

The Common Men: Collective Identity and Unified Purpose

While Scripture establishes that God requires each person to give account, it simultaneously reveals a communal dimension where men function as a unified whole. The plural form often describes the church, the body of Christ, operating together to fulfill God’s purposes. Paul writes, For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ (1 Corinthians 12:12). Individual believers, though many men, form one collective entity in Christ.

The Hebrew word anashim (אֲנָשִׁים, H582), the plural of enosh, and the Greek anthrōpoi (ἄνθρωποι, G444), the plural of anthrōpos, describe groups functioning as a whole. When God addresses men, He often speaks to the collective people with a shared purpose. Ye men of Israel, hear these words (Acts 2:22). Peter addressed the gathered assembly as a unified people with common identity and destiny.

This communal reality appears clearly in the building metaphor. Peter declares, Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ (1 Peter 2:5). Though each believer functions as an individual living stone, God builds these stones together into one spiritual house. The plural stones construct the singular house—many men become one temple. Paul elaborates: Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit (Ephesians 2:19-22).

Notice Paul’s movement between plural and singular: ye (plural) are fellowcitizens (plural), yet together form a holy temple (singular), a habitation (singular). Individual believers maintain distinct identities while simultaneously being formed by God into one collective dwelling place for Himself. This is the mystery of many men becoming one man in Christ.

The concept of the body demonstrates this unity. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:13). Many men with diverse backgrounds are united by God into one body through the Spirit. Paul continues, And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you (1 Corinthians 12:21). Each member remains distinct—the eye is not the hand, one man is not another—yet God causes all to function together as one organism.

This shared identity extends to spiritual warfare. Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil (Ephesians 6:10-11). Though God clothes each believer with this armor individually, He does so within the context of a collective army. The plural brethren suggests communal strength, mutual support in battle, and shared victory through Christ.

Male and Female: The Pattern of Union

Before examining the two Adams, Scripture reveals God’s original design for humanity as both singular and plural. Genesis presents a unique use of man that reveals profound spiritual truth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them (Genesis 1:27). Notice the shift from singular to plural: man (singular) becomes male and female (plural), yet both are encompassed in the one creation of man. This grammatical movement demonstrates that God designed humanity to function as a unified whole from the beginning.

The creation account continues: And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him (Genesis 2:18). God determined to complete the singular man through relationship. When God formed Eve, Adam declared, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man (Genesis 2:23). Two distinct individuals—man and woman, masculine and feminine—yet both originating from one flesh, designed by God for reunion as one flesh.

This physical pattern establishes a spiritual principle that finds its ultimate fulfillment in Christ and the church. Paul reveals this mystery: For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church (Ephesians 5:31-32). The singular man (Christ) unites with the collective men (the church, His bride) to become one flesh—many members forming one body with one Head.

The relationship between man and woman in marriage thus illustrates the relationship between Christ and the church. As husband and wife are two distinct persons who become one flesh, so Christ and His church are many distinct persons who become one body. The singular man (husband) represents Christ; the singular woman (wife) represents the collective church. Yet the church consists of many separate men and women who together form the bride. The movement between singular and plural throughout Scripture’s teaching on marriage and the church reflects this profound spiritual reality. This pattern of one becoming two, then two becoming one, prepares us to understand the greater mystery of the two Adams.

The First Man Adam and the Last Adam: Representative Headship

The most profound use of singular man versus plural men appears in Paul’s teaching about the two Adams. And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit (1 Corinthians 15:45). Here Scripture uses the singular man to describe representative heads who contain multitudes within themselves. The first man Adam represents all natural humanity; the last Adam (Christ) represents all who bear the heavenly image. One man stands for many men.

Paul elaborates this principle: For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive (1 Corinthians 15:21-22). Two singular men determine the destiny of all men. In Adam, the representative head, all humanity participated in death. In Christ, the representative head, all who are His participate in life. The entire Bible concerns itself with these two men—the first man Adam and the last Adam.

The principle of representative headship explains how one man’s actions affect many men. Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned (Romans 5:12). One man (Adam) brought consequences upon all men. This is not merely forensic imputation but representative identification—Adam was not simply the first to sin; he was the head of humanity, the singular man who contained all men within himself.

Similarly, For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ (Romans 5:17). The singular one man (Christ) reverses what the singular one man (Adam) initiated. Christ’s representative headship means that His victory becomes the victory of all men who are in Him. The many find their identity in the One.

This understanding illuminates Scripture’s constant movement between singular and plural. When Scripture speaks of putting off the old man and putting on the new man (Ephesians 4:22-24), it uses the singular to describe both the Adamic nature from which God divests us and the Christic nature with which God clothes us. Yet this singular man manifests in many separate men. Each believer experiences the death of the first man Adam and the life of the last Adam as God works this transformation, yet all share in one collective dying and rising from the old to the new.

The struggle between these two men plays out in every believer’s experience. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would (Galatians 5:17). The first man Adam (flesh) wars against the last Adam (Spirit) within each person, yet this is simultaneously the shared experience of all who are being changed by God from the natural to the spiritual.

Individual Transformation Within United Identity

Scripture reveals that God’s transforming work never occurs in isolation but always within the context of communal identity. God reveals to the singular man his true identity only as He places him among the plural men who form Christ’s body. Conversely, as God works transformation in each singular man, the collective body functions properly according to His design.

Paul’s teaching on spiritual gifts illustrates this balance. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal (1 Corinthians 12:7). God gives each person spiritual endowment, yet the purpose extends beyond personal blessing—to profit withal means for the benefit of the whole. God’s gifting in individuals serves communal edification. Paul continues, For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:8-9). God gives distinct individuals diverse gifts, yet all emanate from the same Spirit working through many members to serve the one body.

This interdependence reflects both God’s work in individuals and His work in the collective. Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ (Ephesians 4:13). Notice the movement: we all (plural) come to a perfect man (singular). God matures many persons together toward one unified maturity, the fulness of Christ achieved not through any single man but through all men together in Him.

The building metaphor reveals this dynamic. Each believer stands as a living stone, yet God joins these stones properly to form the temple. From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love (Ephesians 4:16). God’s work in each part (the effectual working in the measure of every part) contributes to collective growth (maketh increase of the body). Paul also writes, But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him (1 Corinthians 12:18). God sovereignly places each member; the singular man cannot reach maturity apart from the plural men, nor can the communal body mature if God’s work in separate members remains incomplete.

This principle appears in Jesus’ teaching about the vine and branches. 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 (John 15:5). God causes each branch to maintain distinct identity and to abide in Christ, yet no branch exists independent of the vine or the other branches. God gives life to the singular man only through connection to Christ and simultaneously through connection to the collective body.

The Wisdom of Men Versus the Wisdom of God

Scripture uses the plural men to describe human wisdom and systems that stand opposed to God’s wisdom. And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God (1 Corinthians 2:4-5). The collective wisdom of natural men—their philosophies, reasonings, and traditions—cannot comprehend spiritual truth. The plural emphasizes the accumulated knowledge of many minds all functioning from natural understanding.

Paul continues, Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought: But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory (1 Corinthians 2:6-7). The wisdom of men represents collective human understanding operating from the first man Adam—natural, carnal, limited to the five senses. This stands opposed to the wisdom of God, which comes through spiritual revelation to those being transformed by the last Adam.

James further clarifies this distinction: This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy (James 3:15, 17). The contrast between earthly and heavenly wisdom parallels the contrast between the first Adam and the last Adam—one earthly, the other heavenly.

The distinction between singular and plural illuminates this truth. When Scripture speaks of the natural man, it uses the singular: But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned (1 Corinthians 2:14). The singular man describes the unified Adamic nature shared by all unregenerate humanity. Yet when describing the collective wisdom produced by this nature, Scripture uses the plural men—for many individuals operating from the same natural mind produce a body of thought called the wisdom of men.

Similarly, spiritual wisdom operates both individually and communally. God gives spiritual understanding to each believer: If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him (James 1:5). God gives wisdom when the singular man seeks it from Him. Yet this wisdom, given by God to many persons, forms a collective spiritual understanding that transcends any single person’s perception. The body of Christ, with its many members all receiving from the same Spirit, manifests wisdom that no singular man could produce—wisdom that God alone generates through His people.

From Natural Man to Spiritual Man

Scripture traces God’s work in transforming humanity from the natural to the spiritual, using singular man to describe both states. The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven. As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly (1 Corinthians 15:47-49). The two singular men represent two communal realities—two humanities, two natures, two kingdoms.

God works in every believer this transition from being in the first man to being in the last man. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new (2 Corinthians 5:17). The singular man experiences transformation by virtue of being placed in Christ. This is not merely moral reformation but fundamental change of identity—from being in Adam to being in Christ, from the first man to the last Adam—all wrought by God’s sovereign work.

The process continues throughout the believer’s life as God progressively transforms. But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord (2 Corinthians 3:18). The plural we all indicates shared experience—God works this transformation in all believers—yet God causes each singular man to behold the Lord’s glory. God’s transforming work in individuals and His transforming work in the community proceed simultaneously as many men become one man in Christ.

This transformation manifests in practical righteousness. That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness (Ephesians 4:22-24). The singular man describes both the nature from which God divests us and the nature with which God clothes us. This putting off and putting on is God’s transforming work in us, for it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure (Philippians 2:13). God works in each believer to divest him of the first man Adam and to clothe him with the last Adam, yet this is the shared experience of all who are in Christ—making it both individual and communal reality.

The Son of Man: Individual and Common Identity in Christ

Jesus’ favorite self-designation, Son of man, reveals the profound connection between singular and plural, individual and collective identity. The Greek phrase ho huios tou anthrōpou (ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου, G5207, G444) literally means the son of the man or the son of mankind. Christ identifies Himself with humanity while simultaneously standing as representative head of a new creation.

Daniel’s vision prophesied this title: I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed (Daniel 7:13-14). The singular Son of man receives a kingdom comprising all people, nations, and languages—the One represents the many, and the many find their identity in the One.

Ezekiel was addressed as son of man ninety-three times throughout his prophetic ministry, emphasizing his identification with frail, mortal humanity (enosh) even as he received divine revelation. Christ’s use of this title thus connects Him both to prophetic ministry and to identification with humanity’s weakness, yet He transcends both as the perfect man who brings redemption.

Jesus used this title to describe both His suffering and His glory. For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost (Luke 19:10). For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works (Matthew 16:27). As Son of man, Christ identifies with humanity in redemptive suffering, yet as Son of man, He exercises divine authority to judge all men. The singular title encompasses both personal mission and collective representation.

The title also emphasizes Christ’s role as the last Adam. And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man (John 5:27). Christ’s humanity qualifies Him to judge humanity, yet His humanity is not that of the first man Adam but of the last Adam—the spiritual nature being God’s outcome from the beginning. Calling Himself Son of man, Jesus declares both identification with mankind and distinction from corrupt mankind. He is the true man, the pattern man, the representative head in whom all men find redemption.

Moreover, Christ’s body—the church—shares in this identity. Paul writes, For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God (Romans 8:14). God makes believers sons through union with the Son. The singular Son of man extends His sonship to many sons, God creating a collective sonship. For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings (Hebrews 2:10). The singular Son brings many sons to glory, yet all these sons find their sonship only in Him as God works this identification.

Conclusion: Many Members, One Body

The scriptural distinction between man and men reveals the beautiful tension between giving personal account and communal identity that defines the Christian life. God calls each of us as singular men to experience personal relationship with Him, to receive holiness, to manifest faithfulness. Yet God reveals our true identity only within the collective whole, only as He places us among the many men who together form the one body of Christ.

This tension between singular and plural, between one and many, ultimately resolves in Christ. He is the singular representative head who contains all men within Himself. In the first man Adam, all died; in the last Adam, all are made alive. The entire Bible tells the story of God’s work transforming humanity from the first man to the last, from the natural to the spiritual, from the separate Adam to the unified Christ.

As individuals, we each give account before God—reporting what He has worked in us, testifying to His transforming power. Our personal transformation never occurs in isolation. God builds us together as living stones, fits us together as members of one body, grows us together toward the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.

From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love (Ephesians 4:16). God causes every part—each singular man—to function according to its measure, yet the goal is not individual perfection but communal maturity. We are many members, yet one body. We are many men, yet one man in Christ Jesus.

This is the great mystery Paul revealed: For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones (Ephesians 5:30). Just as Eve came from Adam’s side, so the church comes from Christ’s pierced side. Many persons form one unified bride for the one Bridegroom. The singular man and the plural men both find their ultimate meaning and fulfillment in Christ, who is both the individual Son of God and the collective head of a new creation. In Him, God reveals that we are simultaneously distinct persons who give personal account and unified members with shared identity—many men becoming one man, one new man in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The Prophecy of Isaiah - Part 58 Discussion

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Isa 14:5-11 The Lord Has Broken The Staff of The Wicked... King o​f Babylon

Isa 14:5  The LORD hath broken the staff of the wicked, and the sceptre of the rulers.
Isa 14:6  He who smote the people in wrath with a continual stroke, he that ruled the nations in anger, is persecuted, and none hindereth.
Isa 14:7  The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet: they break forth into singing.
Isa 14:8  Yea, the fir trees rejoice at thee, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying, Since thou art laid down, no feller is come up against us.
Isa 14:9  Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.
Isa 14:10  All they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? art thou become like unto us?
Isa 14:11  Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee.

This fourteenth chapter of Isaiah in realtiy has very little to say about Satan Himself, and is rather first and foremost "a proverb against the king of Babylon" within each of us as we saw in last week's study.

Isa 14:3  And it shall come to pass in the day that the LORD shall give thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy fear, and from the hard bondage wherein thou wast made to serve,
Isa 14:4  That thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased!

In our last study we noted how the message, "How has the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased!" are repeated concerning "Mystery Babylon" in the book of Revelation:

Rev 18:1  And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.
Rev 18:2  And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.

The fall and destruction of Babylon within each of us is essential to the message of our salvation. We are all at first greatly invested in the lies and false doctrines, which symbolically are "every foul spirit, and... every unclean and hateful bird", and we are heavily invested in all that is valuable to Mystery Babylon, before the kingdom of that great harlot city is destroyed within each of us.

This phrase, "Babylon is fallen", is repeated in Isaiah 21, in Jeremiah and in the book of Revelation:

Isa 21:4  My heart panted, fearfulness affrighted me: the night of my pleasure hath he turned into fear unto me.
Isa 21:5  Prepare the table, watch in the watchtower, eat, drink: arise, ye princes, and anoint the shield.
Isa 21:6  For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Go, set a watchman, let him declare what he seeth.
Isa 21:7  And he saw a chariot with a couple of horsemen, a chariot of asses, and a chariot of camels; and he hearkened diligently with much heed:
Isa 21:8  And he cried, A lion: My lord, I stand continually upon the watchtower in the daytime, and I am set in my ward whole nights:
Isa 21:9  And, behold, here cometh a chariot of men, with a couple of horsemen. And he answered and said, Babylon is fallen, is fallen; and all the graven images of her gods he hath broken unto the ground.
Isa 21:10  O my threshing, and the corn of my floor: that which I have heard of the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, have I declared unto you.

Jer 51:8  Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed: howl for her; take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed.

Rev 14:8  And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.

Rev 18:2  And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird [Lies and false doctrines that keep us in bondage to Babylon's oppression within our lives].

In Isaiah 21 the fall of Babylon is followed by the groanings of the work of the threshing and crushing which occur on any threshing floor, which threshing floor symbolizes our darkened and deceived hearts and minds. The fall of Babylon within us is an excruciating time of our lives, because everything we have ever believed has been exposed as nothing less than lies and strong delusion. At this point we are beginning to see the truth but we are "yet [so] carnal" that we want to stuff our newly found truths down the throats of family and friends who are still in strong delusion and we ourselves are still such carnal babes in Christ (1Co 3:1-4) that we:

Rev 17:16  And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and [we] shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.
Rev 17:17  For God hath put in [our] hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give [our] kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.

In changing the word 'their' to 'our' I am not at all 'adding to the word' because we are admonished at the very opening of this prophecy:

Rev 1:3  Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

It is at this point, when we are just beginning to see Babylon for the harlot she is, that:

Isa 14:5  The LORD hath broken the staff of the wicked, and the sceptre of the rulers.
Isa 14:6  He who smote the people in wrath with a continual stroke, he that ruled the nations in anger, is persecuted, and none hindereth.

"The king of Babylon" is our old man who has "no place within [him]" (Joh 8:37) for the Words and doctrines of Christ. We just naturally hate a doctrine which commands us to "love [our] enemies". As one minister who claimed to be a Christian teaches,"Those words ("love thine enemies") are bad advice at best, and at worst they will get you killed." That is just how lacking in faith and in spiritual knowledge or in commitment to Christ and His words those are who "believe in Him" and yet "seek to kill [Him]. because [His] word has no place in [them]".

This is what the apostle Paul has to say about such men:

1Ti 6:3  If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness;
1Ti 6:4  He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings,
1Ti 6:5  Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.

What that minister and all of us at first cannot see or understand is that it is only "through death" that we gain our lives, and that it is by the daily death and destruction of our old man that our new man is given a new mind and is being birthed into the kingdom of God.

Joh 12:23  And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified. [How is the Son of Man glorified within us?]
Joh 12:24  Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
Joh 12:25  He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world [Greek: kosmos - this world] shall keep it unto life eternal.

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

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

These New Testament words are the spiritual reiteration of the same message which is in these words in Deuteronomy:

Deu 20:16  But of the cities of these people, which the LORD thy God doth give thee for an inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth:

The cities of the old man within us must be given absolutely no quarter at all if we hope to "keep [our life] unto life eternal". "You shall save alive nothing that breaths [within our old man]!" That is the good news which, according to our Lord, will bring us life:

Joh 12:24  Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
Joh 12:25  He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.
Joh 12:26  If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.

As we die to our merciless old taskmaster, known as "the man of sin", we are ceasing from our works and we are entering into Christ's workmanship in our lives, and we are following Him. When we 'come out of [Babylon]' we are entering into His 'rest'.

Eph 2:8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph 2:9  Not of [our] works, lest any man should boast.
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.

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.

Christ within us does not produce our own unrighteous works. Christ's workmanship within us produces "good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them". When Christ lives His life of dying daily to the king of Babylon and the pulls of the flesh within us, then it can truthfully, spiritually be declared:

Isa 14:7  The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet: they break forth into singing.

And it will also be declared of "the law of sin" within our flesh, and of the "the king of Babylon, the man of sin" within us:

Isa 14:8  Yea, the fir trees rejoice at thee, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying, Since thou art laid down, no feller is come up against us.

These "fir trees... and the[se] cedars of Lebanon" are the positive application of these trees within scripture, and in this case their safety and prosperity typify the growth and nourishment of our new man who is increasing within us as we are dying daily to the law of sin within our members:

Rom 8:29  For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

2Co 4:16  For which cause we faint not; but though [the king of Babylon within us] our outward man perish, yet the inward man [the fir trees and cedars of Lebanon within us] is renewed day by day.

Eph 4:23  And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;

Col 3:10  And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:

Our new man is being made into "the image of Him that created him" because we are all, being created by Christ, whether now in this age or later in the lake of fire, we are being "renewed in knowledge after the image of Him [who is] creat[ing] us into His [own] image".

As this process continues, we are given to do battle with the beast within us, and for the first time ever, Christ within destroys the beast with the brightness of His coming. Up until this time we are forced to ask with all men "who is able to make war with [the beast within us]":

Rev 13:2  And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.
Rev 13:3  And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.
Rev 13:4  And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?

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:
2Th 2:9  Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,

Here in Revelation 13 is a simple Biblical Truth concerning our inability of ourselves to wage war against the beast who occupies the temple of Christ within us. This truth had already been made clear in Romans 7:

Rom 7:17  Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:18  For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
Rom 7:19  For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
Rom 7:20  Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:21  I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
Rom 7:22  For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
Rom 7:23  But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.

Here we have a very clear doctrine, confirmed by the sum of the Lord's Word, teaching us His Truth. That Truth is that we, of ourselves, are helpless and hopeless when struggling against the beast we all are. We are powerless against "the law of sin... in [our] members". That law of sin is a law which He, the "one lawgiver", has placed "in [our] members". Twice we are told that we of ourselves have absolutely no power which can deliver us from this law which is "in [our] members". This is all clearly stated, and it is consistently taught throughout the Lord's Word, and yet the Lord Himself has hidden this truth from the masses and multitudes of mankind (Mat 13:9-15). He has accomplished this by blinding the minds of those who believe on Him but have no place within them for His words". It simply is not given to the masses who believe on Christ to see that "it is not I that [sin] but [it is] sin that dwells in me". Christ's doctrines simply have no place in us until we are given eyes to see and ears to hear:

Joh 8:37  I know that ye are Abraham's seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you.

Joh 9:39  And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.
Joh 9:40  And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also?
Joh 9:41  Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.

Jas 4:12  There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?

This is all by design. We were made sinners by nature, and God has devised means to deliver us from ourselves and from the man of sin who we all are by nature:

2Sa 14:14  For we must needs die, and are as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; neither doth God respect any person: yet doth he devise means, that his banished be not expelled from him.

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

The Lord and His apostles all reveal to us what is the "means [which] He [has] devised that His banished be not expelled from Him", and that "means [which] He has devised" requires that we acknowledge that we are spiritually blind as a bat and helpless and hopeless to overcome the law of sin which He has placed within our members to humble us by it.

Knowing all of this provoked this exclamation from the apostle Paul:

Rom 7:24  O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
Rom 7:25  I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

"Christ in you [is our only] hope of glory". That Truth is the 'mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations'.

Col 1:26  Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:
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:

But our "hope of glory" requires the death of our old man, "the king of Babylon", and his entire kingdom within us. That is the subject of this "proverb against the king of Babylon" who at first occupies and dwells within the kingdom of God within each of us.

This is what the Lord has devised for this dying beast which in this chapter is called "the king of Babylon" within us:

Isa 14:9  Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.

Just so we are all aware, the Hebrew word which has been translated as 'hell' in the King James here in Isa 14:9, is:

H7585
שְׁאֹל שְׁאוֹל
she'ôl    she'ôl
sheh-ole', sheh-ole'
From H7592; hades or the world of the dead (as if a subterranian retreat), including its accessories and inmates: - grave, hell, pit.

This is the exact same word which is much more properly translated as 'grave' just two verses later in verse 11.

The truth is:

Ecc 9:5  For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.
Ecc 9:6  Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun.

The figurative language in these verses has the dead leaders of mankind speaking to the dying beast within us all. But look at what these dead leaders ask "the king of Babylon" within us.

Isa 14:10  All they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? art thou become like unto us?
Isa 14:11  Thy pomp is brought down to the grave [H7585: sheol], and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee.

These are not words being directed to a spirit being of any kind or of any rank. Clearly these words are being addressed to a physically dead human leader, who has the capacity of going "down to the grave" and being under spread and covered with worms.

So much for the false doctrine which teaches that this chapter describes the fall of Satan from the heavens as the result of a rebellion by Satan and his angels. This false doctrine claims that Satan's rebellion was the fruit and result of Satan's supposed 'free will', which caught God completely by surprise, requiring God to create an ever-burning hell to house Satan and his angels along with all men who choose to go there with Satan and be tormented for all eternity rather than repent of their sins against their loving heavenly Father. How utterly absurd!

As we will see even more clearly in our next study, 'sheol' cannot literally speak. These questions which sheol symbolically poses to the dead king of Babylon are not questions which can be posed to a spirit being, but they are rather questions which are posed to mere men who "say in [their] hearts, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God":

Isa 14:12  How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
Isa 14:13  For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
Isa 14:14  I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
Isa 14:15  Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
Isa 14:16  They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;
Isa 14:17  That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?
Isa 14:18  All the kings of the nations, even all of them, lie in glory, every one in his own house.
Isa 14:19  But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, and as the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcase trodden under feet.
Isa 14:20  Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial, because thou hast destroyed thy land, and slain thy people: the seed of evildoers shall never be renowned.
Isa 14:21  Prepare slaughter for his children for the iniquity of their fathers; that they do not rise, nor possess the land, nor fill the face of the world with cities.
Isa 14:22  For I will rise up against them, saith the LORD of hosts, and cut off from Babylon the name, and remnant, and son, and nephew, saith the LORD.

Audio Links

Awesome Hands – part 72

“The judgments” part C

January 14th, 2015

In our previous two studies, we covered the start of what the Lord called His judgments, which started at Exodus 21:1.

In today’s study, we are going to start with chapter 22 and during the next few studies we will cover thievery, seduction, bestiality, witchcraft, worshipping of false gods and oppression as it is spoken about in this same chapter.

What we will see, Lord willing, is that the Lord has laid out for us in the great commandment and the one alike to it, the guidelines we must follow in order to achieve these things.

Neighbor and brother

We know that we cannot possibly Love God if we do not love our brethren and this is just as true if we are unable to love our neighbor how it is prescribed to Love according to scripture.

1Jn 4:19  We love him, because he first loved us.

1Jn 4:20  If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?

1Jn 4:21  And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.

Mar 12:29  And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:

Mar 12:30  And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.

Mar 12:31  And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

Here is what Strong’s Concordance defines a neighbor as being.

G4139

plēsion

play-see’-on

Neuter of a derivative of πέλας pelas (near); (adverb) close by; as noun, a neighbor, that is, fellow (as man, countryman, Christian or friend): – near, neighbour.

Thayer’s defines the same word as:

G4139

plēsion

Thayer Definition:

1) a neighbour

1a) a friend

1b) any other person, and where two are concerned, the other (thy fellow man, thy neighbour), according to the Jews, any member of the Hebrew nation and commonwealth

1c) according to Christ, any other man irrespective of nation or religion with whom we live or whom we chance to meet

Part of Speech: adverb

A Related Word by Thayer’s/Strong’s Number: neuter of a derivative of pelas (near)

Citing in TDNT: 6:311, 872

There is one verse which translates the same Greek word as “near”:

Joh 4:1  When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John,

Joh 4:2  (Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples,)

Joh 4:3  He left Judaea, and departed again into Galilee.

Joh 4:4  And he must needs go through Samaria.

Joh 4:5  Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near (G4139) to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.

Joh 4:6  Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour.

Joh 4:7  There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink.

Joh 4:8  (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.)

Joh 4:9  Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.

How our brother is connected to us just the same as our neighbor is connected to us, but the way in which a “brother” is connected to us is that they are much more near to us than a neighbor is. A brother is of our own household.

Gal 6:10  As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.

How to Love your neighbor according to God’s OT judgments

I laid out this premise so that we could start off Exodus 22 with the mindset of who our neighbor is for which we are to love.

Often times, things are going to happen to us in the world which will cause us to become angry, bitter, rude, short tempered, etc., but it is how we REACT to those things which are really the SPIRITUAL admonitions we can gain from what we will read in Exodus 22 and the judgments given to us there.

Exo 22:1  If a man shall steal an ox, or a sheep, and kill it, or sell it; he shall restore five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep.

Stealing and ox or sheep point us to the severity of a theft. Stealing an Ox is not an easy thing to do nor is it easy to hide.

There may not be someone who readily would buy an Ox right away and it isn’t something that could be done easily like picking up a smaller animal. Likewise, sheep are loud and they do not readily follow someone else’s voice.

So the intent in this sort of theft involves some thinking and premeditation. Still, those are not as serious as the next example we read about someone committing burglary.

Exo 22:2  If a thief be found breaking up, and be smitten that he die, there shall no blood be shed for him.

Exo 22:3  If the sun be risen upon him, there shall be blood shed for him; for he should make full restitution; if he have nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft.

Exo 22:4  If the theft be certainly found in his hand alive, whether it be ox, or ass, or sheep; he shall restore double.

If a thief breaks in at night, this could show all sorts of premeditation and also include the concept of wanting to do more than just steal. The night is a perfect time to cover your activities and affords the thief the ability to possibly commit other crimes during the night like murder.

Most likely, the homeowners are going to be home possibly with children, so the crime of breaking and entering at night affords the home owner to NOT be guilty of murder if a thief dies at night while in the act.

However, that same judgment does not apply to a thief that commits this crime during the day. “If the sun be upon him” tells us a lot about the intent of the thief.

A lot of times, burglary during the day is an act of convenience and chance of the home owner NOT being home. If the owner is home, the owner would be guilty of murder because we just read, “there shall be blood shed for him”. In Mosaic law, to be guilty of blood was to also be guilty of murder, which we covered in a previous study.

So, you can see that the punishment met the type of crime i.e. the JUDGMENT met the type of crime and judged accordingly.

Likewise, the spiritual lesson for us is that there are going to be a range of severity of sins committed against us. We should be willing to deal with that sin by forgiving as the Lord makes it possible in our hearts and minds, but we also know that the Lord tells us that vengeance is His.

Depending on the severity of the situation we are dealing with, the Lord will cause the offender to REAP their SOWING.

A minute ago I quoted out of Galatians, and here are a few more verses about doing good to all men ESPECIALLY those of the household of Faith.

How are we to DO GOOD to all men?

Gal 6:7  Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

Gal 6:8  For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.

Gal 6:9  And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

Gal 6:10  As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.

Often times, my mind leads me to thinking about reaping and sowing in the context of it being a NEGATIVE aspect of reaping, but really the focus of the verses we just read is rather to think about and focus on the POSITIVE aspect of SOWING TO THE SPIRIT so that we reap LIFE.

When you consider this, what we are being told about à DOING GOOD ßto all men is telling us to REAP to the Spirit by how we JUDGE the situation in front of us.

This directly plays into the judgments we are covering in Exodus. There are ranges of crime being given to us to show us that there are a range of JUDGMENTS that meet the crime so to speak.

However, what we should always be focused on when judging a matter is whether we are reaping to the flesh by benefiting our old man and his carnal mind i.e. “VENGENCE is MINE!,” or are we reaping to the Spirit so that we can REAP LIFE in Jesus Christ.

Mike has said many times that there are two men being talked about in all of scripture and that is very true. What I will join to that is that with these two men come two MINDS. We want to REAP to the mindset that is Godly Judgment and not one of self-righteousness.

Rest assured that each situation we find ourselves in during our lives is going to afford us the opportunity to exercise both of these minds.

Do what is expedient.

Exo 22:5  If a man shall cause a field or vineyard to be eaten, and shall put in his beast, and shall feed in another man’s field; of the best of his own field, and of the best of his own vineyard, shall he make restitution.

Exo 22:6  If fire break out, and catch in thorns, so that the stacks of corn, or the standing corn, or the field, be consumed therewith; he that kindled the fire shall surely make restitution.

Exo 22:7  If a man shall deliver unto his neighbour money or stuff to keep, and it be stolen out of the man’s house; if the thief be found, let him pay double.

Exo 22:8  If the thief be not found, then the master of the house shall be brought unto the judges, to see whether he have put his hand unto his neighbour’s goods.

These examples show us what being expedient is all about. If we love our neighbors as ourselves, then we will want to make right what was wronged. On the flip side of that coin, we will allow room for the neighbor who has trespassed against us, to make restitution to us.

For us today as Christians, we will be seeking to save someone from death (wages of sin = death) by showing them the proper way to make restitution i.e we want to convert a sinner form the error of his way by providing Truth about the matter through word and deed/example

Jas 5:15  And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.

Jas 5:16  Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

If it isn’t apparent that these Exodus judgment examples DO apply to us, look who is the example of who it is who is LIKE US.

Jas 5:17  Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.

Jas 5:18  And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.

Jas 5:19  Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him;

Jas 5:20  Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.

If you convert a SINNER from the error of his way, then you are saving him from DEATH. Notice, we aren’t strictly speaking about someone who is MERELY our brethren of the household of Faith. If we were, James wouldn’t be pointing out a different group of people earlier in this chapter.

Jas 5:1  Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.

Jas 5:4  Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth.

Jas 5:5  Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter.

Jas 5:6  Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.

Who is it  that are labourers who have reaped down the fields of the rich men? Their HIRE, their wage is to be given what their fair share is.

In other words, we have been wronged by the REAPING of another’s field. They have SOWN something that is not rightfully reaped by them but BY US.

In plain English, they have been caused to sin against us in some way which they are not immediately reaping, but the ones who have been wronged are reaping that wrongness.

… and this all happens because the Lord has caused it to be such …. “and He doth not resist you”.

Notice it is nourishment for their hearts to live in this pleasurable mindset and existence, but the Lord calls this a day of slaughter.

What then are we told to think about this? How are we to react to this when we experience the exercising of both good and evil we must ALL endure by our actions and thoughts and the actions and thoughts of others?

Jas 5:7  Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.

Jas 5:8  Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.

We are to be content with what the Lord is doing so that His fruit can come forth from the earth! This is where our heart should be and that is speaking directly of our mindset.

This should give us more insight to what we see the Lord working in His judgments in Exodus 22.

Exo 22:9  For all manner of trespass, whether it be for ox, for ass, for sheep, for raiment, or for any manner of lost thing, which another challengeth to be his, the cause of both parties shall come before the judges; and whom the judges shall condemn, he shall pay double unto his neighbour.

Exo 22:10  If a man deliver unto his neighbour an ass, or an ox, or a sheep, or any beast, to keep; and it die, or be hurt, or driven away, no man seeing it:

Exo 22:11  Then shall an oath of the LORD be between them both, that he hath not put his hand unto his neighbour’s goods; and the owner of it shall accept thereof, and he shall not make it good.

In our walks today, we know that we are not to swear, foreswear or make an oath. Our answer should be yay, yay or nay, nay.

This biblical principle can be seen in that both of the parties involved would have made an oath of the Lord between them and THAT would have been good enough to settle the matter.

For us, that is exactly where our hearts should be. We know that the Lord and His promises towards US is that everyone reaps what they sow and it is NOT our place to decide to take matters in our own hands.

Look at how James 5 concludes what we read earlier about establishing your heart.

Jas 5:9  Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door.

Jas 5:10  Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience.

Jas 5:11  Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.

Jas 5:12  But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation.

So then we must be willing to live out what we say we are, Christians, like Christ.

Why then do we look at what happens to us in our everyday lives and look at it as being from the Lord and for our benefit instead of wanting to CONDEMN and not forgive others?

Isn’t so that we ourselves, who owe a great debt, can also be FORIGIVEN by the Lord for our actions and deeds?

If we do not fully LIVE in our conversations / walks the Way, Truth and Life we have been shown, then we fall into condemnation i.e. hypocrisy.

G5272

hupokrisis

Total KJV Occurrences: 7

hypocrisy, 4

Mat_23:28, Mar_12:15, Luk_12:1, 1Ti_4:2

condemnation, 1

Jam_5:12

dissimulation, 1

Gal_2:12-13 (2)

hypocrisies, 1

1Pe_2:1

I am going to end this study with some examples of what we don’t want to be guilty of as the Lord wills.

These are the reasons most are not “converted from their ways to save a sinner from the error of his way.” If they do not see it in the person who is supposed to be like Jesus Christ, then they are not going to BELIEVE it to be possible and their Faith will be made weak and be overthrown.

Mat 23:28  Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.

Mar 12:14  And when they were come, they say unto him, Master, we know that thou art true, and carest for no man: for thou regardest not the person of men, but teachest the way of God in truth: Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not?

Mar 12:15  Shall we give, or shall we not give? But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said unto them, Why tempt ye me? bring me a penny, that I may see it.

Luk 12:1  In the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

1Ti 4:1  Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;

1Ti 4:2  Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;

Gal 2:11  But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed.

Gal 2:12  For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision.

Gal 2:13  And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation.

What all these verses tell us is that we should be LIVING out the doctrine of Christ and setting the example of our Faith to others.

As with the “judgments” being given to Israel in Exodus 22, we must show proper Godly judgment in all situations realizing why it is we are in the situation to begin with.

In the next study, we are going to continue to learn from the remaining judgments in this chapter how it is we are to do this in a practical way.

The foundation of earthy man was built on sand as God made it from “the dust of the ground”, which is a temporary dwelling for all in the first Adam (Gen 2:7, Mat 7:26-27). This Adam was given a body of sin and death which reflects the spiritual condition of “the wicked” on whom God will “rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest” because flesh in whatever form cannot enter the Lord’s holy temple (Rom 6:6, Rom 7:24, 1Co 15:50):

Psa 11:3 If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?
Psa 11:4 The LORD is in his holy temple, the LORD’S throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men.
Psa 11:5 The LORD trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth.
Psa 11:6 Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup.

God’s righteous judgment will destroy “the wicked first man Adam” which is indeed a “horrible tempest” for him. The symbolic cup of our old man is first filled with all forms of iniquity from his creation when he was made “subject to vanity” and corruption “by reason of Him who has subjected the same in hope”:

Psa 51:5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.

Rom 8:20 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,
Rom 8:21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.

The punishments of Adam, Eve and the serpent as written down in Genesis 3 not only give us a type of the true spiritual judgment which will destroy all carnal minds, but it also gives us three different perspectives and also important aspects of this foundational theme of judgment. We already touched on a few of these aspects in our previous two discussions.

The natural man does neither accept, nor does he understand, the purpose of God’s judgments, and he thinks he can somehow avoid it by his own good works (Isa 28:15, Jer 25:27-29, Jer 49:12). This self-righteousness is represented by the fig leaves used by Adam and Eve as a covering for their nakedness, and also in the offering of the fruit of the ground by their firstborn son, Cain:

Pro 28:5 Evil men understand not judgment: but they that seek the LORD understand all things.

God’s judgments are connected to His righteousness and mercy. Only through a process of judgment can anyone be taught the righteousness of God. It is not instantaneous as many falsely propagate (Psa 9:8, Psa 19:9, Psa 98:9, Isa 26:9).
Although God is causing every thought and action of His creatures, they still need to give an account of them. This accounting is seen by the natural man as if he is expected to inform or report to God about things of which God was supposedly unaware. The natural mind cannot see that God wrote all our thoughts and actions, both good and evil, in His book long before we were born in the flesh, and He is ‘working’ in us from start to finish (Php 2:12-13):

Psa 139:16 (CEV) but with your own eyes you saw my body being formed. Even before I was born, you had written in your book everything I would do.

God’s judgment is His “strange work” of saving grace which comes through His wrath on the old man in us (Isa 28:15-29). This wrath is therefore poured out on all ungodliness and worldly lusts in “all [who] have sinned” (Rom 3:23, Eph 2:1-3, Rev 14:7-11). This wrath of God has an appointed time period and only lasts until His goal is achieved, which is salvation:

1Th 5:9 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ.

God’s judgment brings about His righteousness to all, which includes all evil angelic creatures, also Satan, that old serpent. Satan’s carnal ‘meal’ is symbolized by dust, and this dust is turned into brimstone when God brings spiritual healing and purification through His fiery Word (Heb 12:29, Jer 5:14, Jer 23:29). This word ‘brimstone’ supplies the spiritual meaning of how this serpent, and all other serpents or seraphs around the throne of God, will eat dust “all the days” of their lives (Gen 3:14, Isa 6:1-3):

Isa 34:9 And the streams thereof shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become burning pitch.

Rev 20:10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone [Greek: theion from the base theos which means God-like = His spiritual image], where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented [Greek: basanizo – to test for purity] day and night for ever and ever [the eons of the eons].

God’s judgment reveals the impassable distinction between the light and the darkness and the “great gulf fixed” between the children of light and the children of darkness (Gen 1:2-3, Luk 16:26). This also reveals how we first start off as children of darkness to eventually be translated into His true Light, Jesus Christ, who is the exact or “express image” of the “Father of lights” (Eph 5:8, 1Th 5:5, Jas 1:17):

Heb 1:2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
Heb 1:3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
Heb 1:4 Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.

God’s judgment also reveals to us that the froward mind-set of carnality always thinks God is changing His mind because of the thoughts and actions of His creatures. The thoughts and actions of creatures are never the cause of anything, especially changing the plan and purposes of God. God is the only Cause, or Creator, of both good and evil in every aspect and operation of this creation (Isa 45:7). God also approaches the carnal mind on the level He deceives it, and that is also revealed in the way the Scriptures are written (Eze 14:1-10, Jer 4:10, 1Ki 22:22, 2Th 2:11, Isa 46:10):

Psa 18:26 b …. with the froward thou wilt shew thyself froward.

Jas 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness [inconstancy; fickleness; unsteadiness], neither shadow of turning.

Heb 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.

Judgment clarifies that all in the first Adam are appointed by God to first experience this state of spiritual death, before the final judgment is brought on us when this eon of death is completely destroyed. ALL death (all carnal minds) will be destroyed and consumed by the life and mind of Christ. With everything God does He has a good purpose (an end goal) in mind and that also applies to judgment. This truth brings so much comfort and joy (1Pe 4:12-14):

Heb 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

1Co 15:26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

We naturally do not honor God’s spiritual order as we do not wait on God but walk ‘uncovered’ in the flesh as Eve did when she “prophesied with her head uncovered” and in the process “dishonored her head” (Adam) when she addressed the serpent instead of Adam (Gen 3:1-5, 1Co 11:3-5). Eve represents our own flesh and carnal reasoning when we naturally do not listen to His commandments and think we can help God through our own zealousness and false sincerity, as Abraham did who listened to Sarah’s wrong advice when she thought that the promised seed will come through Hagar. This is also typified in the sacrifice which king Saul offered in his disobedience and impatience. King David’s ignorance in the way the ark of God was supposed to be moved, and Saul (later Paul) persecuting the church helps us to see why judgment is so important for us to see the right perspectives (Psa 27:14, 2Co 11:3, 1Co 11:3, Gen 16:1-3, 1Sa 13:7-9, 1Ch 13, Act 9:5).

Eve’s punishment included “sorrow and conception” and this is a type of the real spiritual process of conception in and through Christ and His body (Rom 8:21-25, Rom 11:30-31):

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 6:4 If then ye have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church.

Continuing with this theme of judgment mentioned as a type in Genesis chapter 3, we see that the punishment of Adam in the garden of Eden also confirms all these truths and also adds more insight to this foundational theme in Genesis:

Gen 3:17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened [listened or obeyed] unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
Gen 3:18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
Gen 3:19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

It is not recorded in Scripture that Eve spoke to Adam to eat of the tree, but only that she gave him of the tree, and he also ate. That is how Adam “hearkened unto the voice” of Eve:

Gen 3:12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.

The word ‘voice’ is not limited to audible words, but also to following another person’s walk or directives. We follow either the spirit of God through listening to His Word and also doing what He said, or we follow the “voice” of strangers in their words and their actions (Mat 7:24-27, Gal 2:20, Eph 2:2-3, Gal 5:19-23, Jas 2:18-26, Rev 1:3):

Joh 10:4 And when he [the good shepherd] putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.
Joh 10:5 And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.

Eve was “beguiled by the serpent” as she followed the ‘voice’ of the serpent and Adam also followed that same ‘voice’ revealed in his actions (2Co 11:3). Adam was initially unaware of many things, including his own status and nakedness. Like Eve, he also had no clue what good and evil were, among all the other earthy things in and around them. Again it appears to the natural mind that God was now redirecting or changing His plan with the ground (“cursed is the ground”). Anything earthy, including the ground, was made marred and corrupt from the hand of the Potter (Jer 18:4, Rom 8:20, 1Co 15:42-43, Rom 9:21). Everything “of the ground” refers to temporary and carnal things. This also is reflected in the outward things which God created within the six days of the physical creation. Nothing in this physical creation is ‘good’ in itself, but only good for the purpose God will use it, including all evil (Gen 50:20, Isa 5:20, Pro 16:4):

Gen 1:31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

This godly principle that evil and darkness were there (inwardly and outwardly) long before we become aware of it, is also typified in the other punishments of Adam:

… in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

Thorns and thistles were all created on the third day of the six day creation but were revealed to Adam and Eve now for the first time. “All things are full of labour” as the sensual perceptions of mankind always find ‘new’ knowledge which is actually only new to the carnal observer (Ecc 1:18):

Ecc 1:8 All things are full of labour; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.
Ecc 1:9 The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.
Ecc 1:10 Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us.

The “thorns and thistles” also refer to spiritual perspectives in the natural heart of our first man, which the judgments of God mercifully reveal to us as being false doctrines in a reprobate mind (Rom 1:28). This is when we are limited to a spiritual diet of herbs and we are spiritually weak with immature or untested knowledge (1Co 8:1, 1Th 5:19-21, 1Co 14:29, 1Jn 4:1, Rom 12:1, Heb 10:24-25, Pro 27:17):

Rom 14:2 For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs.

Being in this weak state spiritually, we ‘sweat’ as we cannot judge properly and do our works in the flesh to gain healing and salvation for flesh and spirit through natural means:

Gal 3:10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.

1Co 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

Through His judgments these thorns and thistles/briars are burned out of us progressively until the day death is totally destroyed in us:

Jer 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

Heb 6:8 But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned.

Jos 23:13 Know for a certainty that the LORD your God will no more drive out any of these nations from before you; but they shall be snares and traps unto you, and scourges in your sides, and thorns in your eyes, until ye perish from off this good land which the LORD your God hath given you.

Adam’s returning to dust was preordained by God because flesh and blood will never, and has never been in the spiritual kingdom of God. The body of flesh is “the body of this death” and that is also how “sin entered into the world”:

Rom 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

Rom 6:6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.

Rom 7:24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?

Next week, God willing, we will continue our discussion in this foundational theme of judgment as typified in Genesis.

[The writer may be reached at glgroenewald@gmail .com for questions or comments.]

[Detailed studies and emails written relating to these foundational themes in Scripture are available on the www. iswasandwillbe. com website, including:
The Head of Christ is God
The Sum of Thy Word
What is Life Aionois?
After the Counsel of His Own Will

Hi Mike,

I have no doubt that Christ’s flesh was made sin. I would greatly appreciate hearing your explanation of Joh 6:50-56 where in verse 53 Jesus states that “… unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves.” Some would say that if Christ’s flesh was “made sin” it would make no sense to eat His flesh. I think I know the answer but I would like to hear your explanation.
Thank you for your time.
G____

Hi G____,
Thank you for your question.
You say:

I would greatly appreciate hearing your explanation of Joh 6:50-56 where in verse 53 Jesus states that “… unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves.” Some would say that if Christ’s flesh was “made sin” it would make no sense to eat His flesh.

Here is that verse for your consideration:

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.

I will just add that when you say “some would say…” you are speaking of the masses of Christianity who would also disagree with Christ who told us that He, meaning His flesh, was neither good nor perfected.

Mat 19:17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.
Luk 13:32 And he said unto them, Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.

By tracing Christ’s genealogy, Luke demonstrates for us that Christ was a son of the first Adam just as much as He was the Son of God.

Luk 3:38 Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God.

Anyone who says otherwise is labeled by the scriptures an “antichrist”.

1Jn 4:3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

Most of the Christian world denies that Christ’s flesh was “sinful flesh”, in spite of the plain scriptural assertion that it was just that:

2Co 5:21 For he hath made him… sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

The words ‘to be’ are not in the Greek. The scriptures declare that Christ was “made of a woman, made under the law… for the lawless… made sin”. That is what flesh is. It is corruption. It misses the mark of the perfected spiritual body which comes only through the death of our ‘earthy, first man Adam’.

1Co 15:45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
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.
1Co 15:48 As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.
1Co 15:49 And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
1Co 15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

Christ insisted that all of His disciples drink of the cup of which He drank:

Mar 10:38 But Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what ye ask: can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?
Mar 10:39 And they said unto him, We can. And Jesus said unto them, Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of; and with the baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized:
Mat 26:27 And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all [ twelve, Judas was there] of it;
Mat 26:28 For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

“For this is my blood”. There it is. Christ was “made sin”, and we “drink of it”. It is you and I, as well as Judas, the Jews and the Romans, who have killed our Savior and are guilty of His blood. Until we acknowledge this, we are all just like Job and his miserable comforters, all pointing their fingers at each other and never acknowledging that it is God who is working all things after the counsel of His own will” (Eph 1:11).
Until we understand this Truth, we will never fully understand the function of sin and death in the work of salvation. We will never understand how serpents and beasts can be all around the throne of God.

Isa 6:1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.
Isa 6:2 Above it stood the seraphims [ Hebrew, fiery serpents]: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.
Isa 6:3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.
Rev 4:6 And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind.

Here is the URL which explains what these seraphim are:
http:// www. iswasandwillbe. com/ What_ Are_ The_ Seraphims_ Of_ Isaiah_ Six. php
… and this is the URL which explains who the cherubims of Rev 4 are:
http:// www. iswasandwillbe. com/Rev_4_6__7_ The_ Four_ Beasts_ Part_5. php

When we understand that the serpent is an integral part of the work of God, then we can begin to get a handle on God’s sovereignty. There will be no one ruling in the kingdom of God who thinks that Satan is a loose cannon with whom God is contending. Satan, as the book of Job demonstrates, is nothing more or less than a tool in the hand of the Almighty God who is working all things after the counsel of His own will.
When we see and acknowledge this, then we will understand what it means to ‘look upon the serpent’ and be saved from our poisoned condition of being in a body of sinful flesh.

Num 21:8 And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.
Num 21:9 And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.
Joh 3:14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:
Joh 3:15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

Why in this world is Christ alluding to the raising up of the serpent in the wilderness as a type of His flesh being raised up?
‘Beholding the serpent’ was not looking to the serpent for healing or salvation. Rather it is simply acknowledging that we are all guilty of His death, guilty of sin and of being the son of that serpent. Until that is done we cannot be healed of our poisoned condition of being in this corruptible flesh and being the seed of that serpent, the devil.

Num 21:7 Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray unto the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people.
Joh 8:44 Ye [ all of us] are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

Christ’s flesh is the bread from heaven which is broken for us:

1Co 11:23 For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread:
1Co 11:24 And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.

In eating Christ’s body and drinking His blood we are acknowledging that it is we who are of our father the devil, and that as such, it is we who have betrayed and slain our own Savior.
The fact that Christ’s flesh was sinful flesh like ours, in no way denies that He is the sacrifice for our sins. How else could He be our “sin offering” unless “He made Him sin”?
Being made sin and committing a trespass are two separate things. That is why God gave Israel a sin offering and a trespass offering. The sin offering is for what we are by nature, and the trespass offering is for what we do in that sinful body we are.

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:

Read this URL to see the difference in these two offerings:
http:// www. iswasandwillbe. com/ The_ Spiritual_ Significance_ Of_ The_ Sin_ Offering_ Part_ Two. php

Peter actually thought he could avoid being guilty of such a dastardly sin, but in the end he acknowledged that he had not only forsaken His Lord but actually cursed and swore that He didn’t even know the man. And indeed, until he saw himself for what he really was, he did not know the Christ of scripture who tells us plainly that His flesh was no better than ours, and that He too, had to go through death before He could be perfected.

Heb 2:14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;
Luk 22:33 And he said unto him, Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison, and to death.
Luk 22:34 And he said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me.
Mat 26:73 And after a while came unto him they that stood by, and said to Peter, Surely thou also art one of them; for thy speech bewrayeth thee.
Mat 26:74 Then began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man. And immediately the cock crew.
Mat 26:75 And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly.

All who say that they have never denied and blasphemed the name of God, will in their own appointed time “go out and weep bitterly”, and will acknowledge that they have indeed shed the blood of their own Creator and Savior.
Christ’s flesh was “the same” as the children’s flesh. If it were anything else then He could not know what we endure in this “body of death”. But He does know because “He made Him sin, who knew no sin”.
I hope all of this helps you to understand that, yes indeed, we do drink His blood and eat His body which was made sin, and that it is only through acknowledging that Truth that we “know God and Jesus Christ whom He has sent” and thereby have “life eternal”.

Joh 17:3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

It is few indeed who know the only true God and Jesus Christ who He has sent.
Your brother in the Christ,
Mike

[Posted Jun 26, 2012]

[Audio added September 11, 2021]

Hi Mike,

I have no doubt that Christ’s flesh was made sin. I would greatly appreciate hearing your explanation of Joh 6:50-56 where in verse 53 Jesus states that “… unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves.” Some would say that if Christ’s flesh was “made sin” it would make no sense to eat His flesh. I think I know the answer but I would like to hear your explanation.

Thank you for your time,

G____

Hi G____,

Thank you for your question.

You say:

I would greatly appreciate hearing your explanation of Joh 6:50-56 where in verse 53 Jesus states that “… unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves.” Some would say that if Christ’s flesh was “made sin” it would make no sense to eat His flesh.

Here is that verse for our consideration:

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.

This is just another way of Christ making this statement to the Pharisees who thought they could see very clearly:

Joh 9:39 And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and t hat they which see might be made blind.
Joh 9:40 And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also?
Joh 9:41 Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.

These Pharisees could not acknowledge that they were spiritually blind. “Therefore their sin remained.” Likewise, until we acknowledge that we betrayed and crucified our Lord, we have neither eaten His flesh nor drunk his blood. But when we acknowledge that it is we who have betrayed our Lord, and it is we who have crucified Him, then, and only then, will we “have no sin”.

That is the very reason Christ insisted that all of His disciples “drink His blood”.

Mat 26:27 And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;
Mat 26:28 For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many [including you and me] for the remission of sins.

When you say “some would say…” you are speaking of the masses of Christianity who would also disagree with Christ who told us that He, meaning His flesh, was neither good nor perfected.

Mat 19:17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.

Luk 13:32 And he said unto them, Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.

By tracing Christ’s genealogy, Luke demonstrates for us that Christ was a son of the first Adam just as much as He was the Son of God.

Luk 3:38 Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God.

Anyone who says otherwise is labeled by the scriptures as an “antichrist”.

1Jn 4:3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

Most of the Christian world denies that Christ’s flesh was “sinful flesh”, in spite of the plain scriptural assertion that it was just that:

2Co 5:21 For he hath made him [to be] sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

The words ‘to be‘ are not in the Greek. The scriptures declare that Christ was “made of a woman, made under the law… for the lawless… made sin”. That is what flesh is. It is corruption. It misses the mark of the perfected spiritual body which comes only through the death of our ‘earthy, first man Adam’.

1Co 15:45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
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.
1Co 15:48 As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.
1Co 15:49 And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
1Co 15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

Christ insisted that all of His disciples drink of the cup from which He drank:

Mar 10:38 But Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what ye ask: can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?
Mar 10:39 And they said unto him, We can. And Jesus said unto them, Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of; and with the baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized:

Mat 26:27 And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all [ twelve, Judas was there] of it;
Mat 26:28 For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

“For this is my blood”. There it is! Christ was “made sin” and we “drink of it”. It is you and I, as well as Judas, the Jews, and the Romans, who have killed our Savior and are guilty of His blood. Until we acknowledge this, we are all just like Job and his miserable comforters, all pointing their fingers at each other but never acknowledging that it is God who is “working all things after the counsel of His own will” (Eph 1:11).

Until we understand this Truth, we will never fully understand the function of sin and death in the work of salvation. We will never understand how serpents and beasts can be all around the throne of God.

Isa 6:1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.
Isa 6:2 Above it stood the seraphims [Hebrew: śârâph, fiery serpents]: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.
Isa 6:3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.

Rev 4:6 And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind.

I cannot take the time in this email, but here is the URL which explains what these seraphim are:

What are the Seraphims

and this is the URL which explains who are the cherubim of Revelation 4:

Rev 4:6-7 – Part 5

When we understand that the serpent is an integral part of the work of God, then we can begin to get a handle on God’s sovereignty. There will be no one ruling in the kingdom of God who thinks that Satan is a loose cannon with whom God is contending. Satan, as the book of Job demonstrates, is nothing more or less than a tool in the hand of the Almighty God who is working all things after the counsel of His own will.

When we see and acknowledge this, then we will understand what it means to ‘look upon the serpent’ and be saved from our poisoned condition of being in a body of sinful flesh.

Num 21:8 And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.
Num 21:9 And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.

Joh 3:14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:
Joh 3:15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

Why in this world is Christ alluding to the raising up of the serpent in the wilderness as a type of His flesh being raised up?

‘Beholding the serpent’ was not looking to the serpent for healing or salvation. Rather it is simply acknowledging that we are all guilty of His death, guilty of sin and of being the son of that serpent. Until that is done we cannot be healed of our poisoned condition of being in this corruptible flesh and being the seed of that serpent, the devil.

Num 21:7 Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray unto the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people.

Joh 8:44 Ye [all of us] are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

Christ’s flesh is the bread from heaven which is broken for us:

1Co 11:23 For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread:
1Co 11:24 And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.

In eating Christ’s body and drinking His blood, we are acknowledging that we are of our father the devil, and that as such, it is we who have betrayed and slain our own Savior.

The fact that Christ’s flesh was sinful flesh like ours in no way denies that He is the sacrifice for our sins. How else could He be our “sin offering” unless “He made Him sin”?

2Co 5:21 For he hath made him [to be] sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

The words “to be” are in brackets because they are not in the Greek. Being “made sin”, and committing a trespass are two separate things. That is why God gave Israel a sin offering and a trespass offering. The sin offering is for what we are by nature, and the trespass offering is for what we do in that sinful body which we are.

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:

Read this URL to see the difference in these two offerings:

The Sin Offering

Peter actually thought he could avoid being guilty of such a dastardly sin, but in the end he acknowledged that he had not only forsaken His Lord but actually cursed and swore that He didn’t even know the man. Indeed, until he saw himself for what he really was, he did not know the Christ of scripture who tells us plainly that His flesh was no better than ours, and that He, too, had to go through death before He could be perfected.

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

Luk 22:33 And he said unto him, Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison, and to death.
Luk 22:34 And he said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me.

Mat 26:73 And after a while came unto him they that stood by, and said to Peter, Surely thou also art one of them; for thy speech bewrayeth thee.
Mat 26:74 Then began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man. And immediately the cock crew.
Mat 26:75 And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly.

All who say that they have never denied and blasphemed the name of God, will in their own appointed time “go out and weep bitterly” and will acknowledge that they have indeed shed the blood of their own Creator and Savior. We have all eaten His flesh, and we have all drunk His blood. Until we acknowledge that we have done this, we are not fit to be in His kingdom.

Christ’s flesh was “the same” as the children’s flesh. If it were anything else, then He could not know what we endure in this “body of death”. But He does know what we endure because “He made Him sin, who knew no sin”.

I hope all of this helps you to understand that, yes indeed, we do drink His blood and eat His body which was made sin, and that it is only through acknowledging that Truth that we “know God and Jesus Christ whom He has sent” and thereby have “life eternal”.

Joh 17:3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

It is few indeed who know the only true God and Jesus Christ whom He has sent.

Your brother in the Christ,

Mike

Video Links

Study Aired June 17, 2012

Job 19:15 They that dwell in mine house, and my maids, count me for a stranger: I am an alien in their sight.
Job 19:16 I called my servant, and he gave me no answer; I intreated him with my mouth.
Job 19:17 My breath is strange to my wife, though I intreated for the children’s sake of mine own body.
Job 19:18 Yea, young children despised me; I arose, and they spake against me.
Job 19:19 All my inward friends abhorred me: and they whom I loved are turned against me.
Job 19:20 My bone cleaveth to my skin and to my flesh, and I am escaped with the skin of my teeth.
Job 19:21 Have pity upon me, have pity upon me, O ye my friends; for the hand of God hath touched me.
Job 19:22 Why do ye persecute me as God, and are not satisfied with my flesh?
Job 19:23 Oh that my words were now written! oh that they were printed in a book!
Job 19:24 That they were graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock for ever!
Job 19:25 For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:
Job 19:26 And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God:
Job 19:27 Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me.
Job 19:28 But ye should say, Why persecute we him, seeing the root of the matter is found in me?

Introduction

In this study we will hear the most impassioned plea from Job for pity from people who have no pity. Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar were willing to condemn Job as an extreme sinner, based solely on the fact that Job was enduring a trial which was worse than anything they had yet endured. Job had been universally highly esteemed by all, and now he is universally greatly despised by even his closest friends and family members and even his own servants in his own house. Even his wife considers ‘his breath [ to be] strange’.
As the Old Testament type of our “old… first man Adam”, Job continues his plea for mercy against Bildad’s continued false accusations. Job, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar are all Edomites, and Edom is Esau, the type and shadow of our anointed, yet rejected old man even though he is born of the same mother and father as Jacob, who is the type and symbol of God’s accepted anointed.

Gen 36:8 Thus dwelt Esau in mount Seir: Esau is Edom.

What this tells us is that Job is not the early type of our old man when he first comes into this world. Rather Job and his miserable comforters are a much later type of our rejected old man as a brother in Babylon, who is convinced that he already knows God, when in truth he is still desirous of destroying God’s elect while thinking he is doing God service:

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

Neither Job nor his comforters know God, but they are all fully convinced that they do and that they are speaking in His behalf.

Job 12:1 And Job answered and said,
Job 12:2 No doubt but ye [ think] are the people, and wisdom shall die with you.
Job 12:3 But I have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you: yea, who knoweth not such things as these?
Job 12:4 I am as one mocked of his neighbour, who calleth upon God, and he answereth him: the just upright man is laughed to scorn.

When we are being judged, it appears that God is on the side of our accusers, and while we are being ‘mocked by our accusing neighbors, it appears to us that God has them to mock us, but He also appears to answer their prayers. Even our closest friends and family members see our trials as “the savor of death unto death”.

Job 19:15 They that dwell in mine house, and my maids, count me for a stranger: I am an alien in their sight.

Our very presence, if we are being “crucified with Christ” (Gal 2:20), causes “all men” to hate us.

Mat 10:17 But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues;
Mat 10:18 And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles.
Mat 10:19 But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak.
Mat 10:20 For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.
Mat 10:21 And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death.
Mat 10:22 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.

“All men” speaks of “men” as those who do not know God and His Son. “Men” in scripture stands in contrast to God’s anointed elect who are “hated of all men”. Just how universal is this hatred of the anointed of Christ?

Job 19:16 I called my servant, and he gave me no answer; I intreated him with my mouth.
Job 19:17 My breath is strange to my wife, though I intreated for the children’s sake of mine own body.

If Job’s wife typifies Babylon, then our trials prove to her that we are stricken of God. The “day of our visitation”, our being judged and our suffering, emboldens her to consider us a stranger. Thus the gulf between God’s elect and Babylon grows until it cannot be spanned.

Job 19:18 Yea, young children despised me; I arose, and they spake against me.

Even Babylon’s most immature hate those who are being judged at this time. Nevertheless our judgment at this time prepares us to become their judges in the next age.

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.

Job 19:19 All my inward friends abhorred me: and they whom I loved are turned against me.

Is it possible to make a more universal expression of the disdain that is poured out upon those with whom our Lord is working to purify them in this age, and to prepare them to rule over the world and then later over angels? “All men… speak against” God’s despised anointed. But it ‘turns to us for a testimony’ if we are indeed God’s anointed. It is God’s anointed whose trials make them despised by a world which sees physical blessings as proof of spiritual obedience and divine favor. If Christ is in us, then we are God’s anointed who are despised by this world. Babylon, on the other hand, is God’s rejected anointed who are typified by the anointed but rejected King Saul, Saul of Tarsus, and by Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar.

Luk 6:22 Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake.
Luk 6:23 Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets.
Luk 21:12 But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name’s sake.
Luk 21:13 And it shall turn to you for a testimony.
1Pe 3:16 Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ.

The “all men” are those whom Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar typify. It is “all men” to whom we, if indeed Christ is living His life in us, are nothing less than a putrid smell of death, while we are the sweet smell of life to those in whom Christ dwells.

2Co 2:14 But thanks be to God, the One always leading us in triumph in Christ, and the One revealing through us the odor of the knowledge of Him in every place.
2Co 2:15 For we are a sweet smell to God because of Christ in those being saved, and in those being lost;
2Co 2:16 to the one, an odor of death unto death, and to the other, an odor of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things?
2Co 2:17 For we are not as the many, peddling the Word of God; but as of sincerity, but as of God. We speak in Christ, in the sight of God. (LITV)

“The many, peddling the Word of God” and “all men” are symbolized by Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar. To them we are the smell of death, but to those in whom Christ dwells we “reveal… the [ sweet] odor of the knowledge of [ Christ] in every place”.

Job 19:20 My bone cleaveth to my skin and to my flesh, and I am escaped with the skin of my teeth.

“Escaping with the skin of [ our] teeth” is just another way of saying “the righteous [ are] scarcely… saved”.

1Pe 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?
1Pe 4:18 And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?

It is also another way of saying we ‘die daily… are crucified with Christ… offer [ our] bodies as a living sacrifice, and lose our lives to find them.’

Mat 10:39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.
Rom 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
1Co 15:31 I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.
Gal 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

Job lives through this ordeal and receives double what he had before his trial, as the Old Testament type of our enduring the fiery trials of this age and coming through “the body of this death” to become the overcomers who will be redeemed first through that “blessed and holy… first resurrection”, to rule and reign with Christ.

Job 42:10 And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before.

“Turned the captivity” is Old Testament terminology for repenting and turning to God and being delivered out of the captivity of the devil and his ways.

2Ti 2:25 In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;
2Ti 2:26 And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.

Satan’s “will” is defined in this book of Job as God’s own hand.

Job 1:8 And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?
Job 1:9 Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?
Job 1:10 Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.
Job 1:11 But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.
Job 1:12 And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.
Job 2:4 And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life.
Job 2:5 But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face.
Job 2:6 And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life.

So Satan is nothing more than an instrument in the hands of Him who is “working all things after the counsel of His own will”.

Eph 1:11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

If we are granted to deeply believe Eph 1:11, we will not be holding others or ourselves responsible for either the good or the evil we are caused to perform in these vessels of clay.
But Job’s understanding of God’s sovereignty is as limited as ours first is, so He begs for just a little compassion from those who were once His “inward friends”.

Job 19:21 Have pity upon me, have pity upon me, O ye my friends; for the hand of God hath touched me.

Job did not blame Satan for anything. He knew that all that Satan performs in this world is nothing less than “the hand of God” (Job 1:11 and 2:5). But he does not yet see who or what are those he calls his friends.

Job 19:22 Why do ye persecute me as God, and are not satisfied with my flesh?

He calls them his “friends” but they are “miserable… friends”, who use his severe trial as an occasion to condemn him, instead of attempting to comfort him, as if Job were responsible for his own fate. “Why do you persecute me as God?” Job knew what was “the hand of God”. We all wonder why those who witness us in our suffering are not satisfied with that physical suffering alone; “satisfied with [ the suffering of] my flesh?” Why do we all just naturally kick our brothers when “the hand of God has touched [ them]”?

Job 19:23 Oh that my words were now written! oh that they were printed in a book!
Job 19:24 That they were graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock for ever!

God has certainly granted Job this request. We are studying what is one of the most puzzling books ever written. These are Job’s words, and they are his story “printed in a book” for all men to read, and by which we all ought be admonished to deal generously and mercifully with our brothers who are suffering.

Job 19:25 For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:

This is one of the earliest references in scripture to a resurrection from among the dead. It is sad to realize that there is great controversy among many scholars about whether the word “redeemer” refers to Christ, a man of whom Job had no personal knowledge, or whether Job is simply expressing a desire to be delivered from his present distress. Job has made it clear in this very chapter that he has no hope for deliverance in this life.

Job 19:8 He hath fenced up my way that I cannot pass, and he hath set darkness in my paths.
Job 19:9 He hath stripped me of my glory, and taken the crown from my head.
Job 19:10 He hath destroyed me on every side, and I am gone: and mine hope hath he removed like a tree.
Job 19:11 He hath also kindled his wrath against me, and he counteth me unto him as one of his enemies.

“He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth” tells us spiritually that Christ will subdue our old man, but these words also have a ‘will be’ application which has given hope to all of mankind who have been given to read and rejoice with Job, in the hope that these words have given to everyone who has ever been granted to read and believe these words. Job is one of the oldest Old Testament types of God’s elect who are suffering in and are rejected by this world and the harlot who sits upon the waters of the world of mankind.

Rev 17:15 And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.

Job typifies us while we are in those ‘waters’, but in the process of “coming out of her” (Rev 18:4). Job 19:25 gives us hope even “while we are yet sinners” (Eph 2:1-3).

Job 19:26 And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God:

Most of the literal translations understand this verse to say “from my flesh… from out of my flesh… without my flesh”, etc. Here are several examples of the various ways this verse is translated to mean “without my flesh”, which is much more in line with these New Testament verses concerning the resurrection of the dead:

Joh 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
1Co 15:44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
1Co 15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

Here is how several of the literal translations, and even some which are not literal, translate this verse:
(CLV) And behind my skin I will stand erect, And from my flesh I shall perceive Eloah,
(Darby) And if after my skin this shall be destroyed, yet from out of my flesh shall I see God;
(JPS) And when after my skin this is destroyed, then without my flesh shall I see God;
(LITV) and after my skin has been struck off from my flesh, yet this, I shall see God,
(Rotherham) And, though, after my skin is struck off, this followeth, yet, apart from my flesh, shall I see GOD:
(RV) And after my skin hath been thus destroyed, yet from my flesh shall I see God:
(YLT) And after my skin hath compassed this body , Then from my flesh I see God:

If indeed this verse refers to the resurrection the dead, then there can be no doubt about how it should be translated because:

Joh 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
1Co 15:44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
1Co 15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

The word translated ‘in’ as “in my flesh” in the King James, is this Hebrew word with its Strong’s definition:

H4480
min minn y minne y
min, min- nee’, min- nay’
For H4482; properly a part of; hence (prepositionally), from or out of in many senses: – above, after, among, at, because of, by (reason of), from (among), in, X neither, X nor, (out) of, over, since, X then, through, X whether, with.

“… Yet in my flesh I shall see God”, is not the best translation for this verse, nevertheless, as was the case for many other Old Testament patriarchs, prophets and others, Job did “see God… in [ his] flesh”, with worms still in his skin.

Job 7:5 My flesh is clothed with worms and clods of dust; my skin is broken, and become loathsome.
Job 42:5 I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee.

Here are but a few of those who ‘in their flesh, saw God’.

Gen 18:1 And the LORD [ Hebrew – Yahweh] appeared unto him [ Abraham and Sarah] in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day;
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.
Jdg 13:22 And Manoah said unto his wife, We shall surely die, because we have seen God.

Of course none of those who ‘saw God’ anywhere in the Old Testament ever saw the form or ever heard the voice of God the Father.

Joh 1:18 No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
Joh 5:37 And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape.

Christ came to “reveal… the Father”.

Mat 11:27 All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.

In so doing, Christ also revealed to us that He Himself was the “I Am” of the Old Testament, who the Jews all thought was the Father Himself:

Exo 3:14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.
Joh 8:58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.

So it is Jesus Himself who is talking with and dealing with Satan on behalf of His Father, working in the life of Job, for our admonition.

Job 19:27 Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me.

Seeing Christ is to see Him and His Father:

Joh 14:8 Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.
Joh 14:9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?

‘Seeing’ God is to know Him:

Joh 14:7 If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.

And to “know God… is life eternal”.

Joh 17:3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

What cannot be seen or heard by those who have not yet been given to accept Christ, who is the Truth, is that Job, and all who “saw God” in the Old Testament did so only “for our admonition”, simply because they were not even ministering to themselves but unto us:

1Co 10:11 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.
1Pe 1:9 Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.
1Pe 1:10 Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you:
1Pe 1:11 Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.
1Pe 1:12 Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.

It behooved Christ “to be made like… His brothers” so he could be “a merciful and faithful high priest… with… the same… flesh… as the children of Abraham”.

Heb 2:17 Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.
Heb 2:14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;
Heb 2:15 And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
Heb 2:16 For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham.

“It behooves” us to “judge righteous judgment” and be merciful in judgment, because “with what judgment we judge we shall be judged”. As Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar we simply do not have it in us to do so.

Mat 7:2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
Mat 7:3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
Mat 7:4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?
Mat 7:5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.

As with Job’s friends, we know nothing of examining ourselves. We have no “eyes within”. Like Christ’s carnal disciples, and like Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar, all we can see are the sins of others. God’s elect have “eyes within” and are therefore concerned with what is within the cup, instead of what is without, or in other’s cups.

Rev 4:8 And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.

Job 19:28 But ye should say, Why persecute we him, seeing the root of the matter is found in me?

“You should say, Why persecute we him” because those who “are full of eyes within”, know that judgment and vengeance belong to God, and that they should be looking at the “beam in their own eye” first, and let God deal with “the matter” within others.

Job 19:29 Be ye afraid of the sword: for wrath bringeth the punishments of the sword, that ye may know there is a judgment.

“For wrath brings punishments of the sword” tells us that “the wrath of man works not the righteousness of God”.

Jas 1:20 For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.

The self- righteousness that is “the works of the law” is “the wrath of man [ which] works not the righteousness of God”, and bring us into judgment:

Rom 4:15 Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression.

So the law, the law of Moses, which is nothing more or less than what “the Gentiles do by nature”, is for the lawless and is not made for a righteous man”.

1Ti 1:9 Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,

“… That you may know there is a judgment”, is why Christ came into this world:

Joh 9:39 And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.
Joh 9:40 And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also?
Joh 9:41 Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.

At this point in our story, both Job and His friends think they “see” who God is. In Truth they do not know God and are spiritually as blind as a bat. But it is only for blessed Job, that the fire of Christ’s judgment is already kindled.

Luk 12:49 I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I, if it be already kindled?

So while we are careful to clean the inside of the cup first, and while we are careful to be merciful and patient with the sins of others, we must never allow the permissive spirit of “agreement in the essentials of the doctrines of Christ, and tolerance in the non essentials”, to ever creep within our own hearts or within the body of the Christ. The body of Christ ” knows there is a judgment” and knows that judgment must begin at the house of God”

1Co 2:15 But he t hat is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.
1Co 5:3 For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed,
1Pe 4:17 For the time is come that j udgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

God’s house is both within us and it is a corporate house which comprises the entire family of God, the church. Judgment begins within the cup of our own individual lives as well as the “man who has done this deed” who must be judged within the church which is His body.
It is by “judging those that are within”, that we “try the spirits” and remain of “one mind” and avoid the schizophrenia of the 40,000 denominations of Christendom.

1Co 5:12 For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within?
1Jn 4:1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
1Jn 4:2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:
1Jn 4:3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.
1Jn 4:4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.
1Jn 4:5 They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.
1Jn 4:6 We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby [ by trying the spirits] know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.

Next week, if the Lord wills, we will see that God destroys and causes Him to “fly away as a dream, and shall not be found”.

Job 20:1 Then answered Zophar the Naamathite, and said,
Job 20:2 Therefore do my thoughts cause me to answer, and for this I make haste.
Job 20:3 I have heard the check of my reproach, and the spirit of my understanding causeth me to answer.
Job 20:4 Knowest thou not this of old, since man was placed upon earth,
Job 20:5 That the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment?
Job 20:6 Though his excellency mount up to the heavens, and his head reach unto the clouds;
Job 20:7 Yet he shall perish for ever like his own dung: they which have seen him shall say, Where is he?
Job 20:8 He shall fly away as a dream, and shall not be found: yea, he shall be chased away as a vision of the night.
Job 20:9 The eye also which saw him shall see him no more; neither shall his place any more behold him.
Job 20:10 His children shall seek to please the poor, and his hands shall restore their goods.
Job 20:11 His bones are full of the sin of his youth, which shall lie down with him in the dust.
Job 20:12 Though wickedness be sweet in his mouth, though he hide it under his tongue;
Job 20:13 Though he spare it, and forsake it not; but keep it still within his mouth:
Job 20:14 Yet his meat in his bowels is turned, it is the gall of asps within him.
Job 20:15 He hath swallowed down riches, and he shall vomit them up again: God shall cast them out of his belly.

Dear Mike

How are you doing? If you could help me out with these two verses, Mat 27:52-53, it would be well appreciated. I take it that these two verses are not to be taken literally. And if not, what does it mean, if you could answer it without it taking up to much of your time. Looking forward to hearing from you. May God bless you and your family

Your brother in Christ Jesus,

K____

Hi K____,

These verses are just as literal as the resurrection of Lazarus of Bethany, the brother of Mary and Martha. All of these resurrections were, like Lazarus, resurrections to physical life. Christ had also resurrected the daughter of Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue (Mar 5:22-41). There were also a few resurrections in the Old Testament. They were all resurrections to physical life. Christ alone is “the firstfruits of them that slept.” “The firstfruits of them that slept” were none of the others I have listed above.

1Co 15:20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that slept.

Yes, there really was an earthquake when Christ died.

Mat 27:50 Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.
Mat 27:51 And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;
Mat 27:52 And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,
Mat 27:53 And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.

Christ was in the tomb and was resurrected from the tomb and death before the other saints who had recently died were resurrected and went into the city to testify to the reality of Christ as the son of God.

And yes, the tearing of the temple veil from top to bottom was to reveal to us that in Christ there is no longer a wall of separation between us and our God. It tells us also that we are now in the “time of reformation.” We are no longer under the law of Moses. Be sure to read The Law of Moses Versus The Law of The Spirit

The resurrection of Lazarus, the resurrection of Christ and the resurrection of all those saints all happened in the same seven day period. It was all a very powerful testimony of who Christ was. He really is the resurrected son of God.

I am quick to repeat that all of these resurrections, except the resurrection of Christ, were to natural flesh and blood bodies. Neither Lazarus nor any of the saints that were resurrected after His resurrection, walked through any walls appearing in rooms with “locked doors.” All but Christ had to live out life in their resurrected natural bodies and die again, “not having received the promises… that they without us should not be made perfect.”

Heb 11:35 Women received their dead raised to life again:
Heb 11:13 These all [ even these resurrected dead] died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
Heb 11:39 And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:
Heb 11:40 God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.

I hope this answers your questions,

Mike

Often times since being given the faith of Christ that I have now been given, I am asked a question that tends to boggle folks’ minds when answered with the Word of God. “So, what happens when we die?”

Oh, the dreaded “D” word! Not damn or dang, but death. Dying, the inevitable truth that we all will face, is what drives all fear. Many a man has met this stone cold truth, but one Son of man and of God stood in death’s grip and was laughingly yanked away.

In fact, we all are dying from the womb and indeed die daily, physically. The difference between dying now physically to the world or spiritually to the new man, is what sets a part those who NOW are the Sons of God versus those who are coming along at their appointed time later.

During this study, we will all delve deeper into the dwelling place of the Lord in a way that, Lord willing, awakens a little more of Christ in us all as He increases and we decrease.

Ecc 9:5 – For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.

Ecc 12:7 – Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.
Ecc 12:8 – Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity.
Ecc 12:9 – And moreover, because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he gave good heed, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs.
Ecc 12:10 – The preacher sought to find out acceptable words: and that which was written was upright, even words of truth.

Taken by Surprise

When something as profound as the Light and Truth step into what you thought was “your life”, you are granted to see that you indeed have been awakened to this Truth that was already so. Simply stated, you now understand and know that to be the case. You were awakened, born again, given Life, shown the way, breathed into with the Spirit of God because BEFORE this time, you were DEAD already.

His Word awakens that which was dead, lives, yet is dying.

How does this all happen and what am I talking about? The first Adam is the beginning so it’s good to start there.

Of course, we have Adam who is known as coming from the dust of the ground, mixed with a little breath, who became a living soul, but let’s take our adventure to a time earlier than that… say, the foundation of the world?

Gen 2:7 – And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

Rev 13:8 – And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

Mat 13:34 – All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them:
Mat 13:35 – That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.

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:

Joh 1:1 – In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Joh 1:2 – The same was in the beginning with God.
Joh 1:3 – All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

So what “things” are we talking about here? The dead know nothing or ‘no thing’. The KJV says the dead know not anything. Yet, we know that Christ says Himself that all things are ours.

How does this all come together with the answer I give to people who ask me what happens after we die? Well, our body dies, and the Spirit given to us from God goes back to Him.

The complete answer though is much more hopeful! After death, we are awakened! Some of us, those that are blessed of God Himself, are told to inherit the kingdom of God NOW as we are breathed into with the Spirit of God while others waken unto judgment in the second death. Double whammy!

Confused? Things being uttered hard to understand? Let the Lord guide us all!

Hear Him Roar

In this study, we are going to be covering a lot of Ecclesiastes, and along the reading, we will begin to see a pattern form.

Here we have a “son of David”, and we know who Christ typifies – David. Keeping this in mind, let us see what the Lord has in store for us.

Ecc 1:1 – The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
Ecc 1:2 – Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.
Ecc 1:3 – What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun (Christ)?
Ecc 1:4 – One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever.
Ecc 1:5 – The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose.
Ecc 1:6 – The wind (Spirit) goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits.
Ecc 1:7 – All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again.
Ecc 1:8 – All things are full of labour; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.
Ecc 1:9 – The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.
Ecc 1:10 – Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us.
Ecc 1:11 – There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after.

We have just read a comparison of basically, “what goes around comes around”. In this comparison though, we can see a pattern if we are given eyes to see and ears to hear it.

Out of the sum of what mankind is able to accomplish under the sun, it all equals vanity. That is very interesting. The next verse starts to reveal to us how this information was gathered by the author.

Ecc 1:12 – I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem.

Up until this point we have read a few verses alluding to the truth that all of mankind’s thoughts and actions are vanity. Now, we have a preacher who has identified himself as a preacher and king over Israel in Jerusalem.

I, the preacher, was king of Israel in Jerusalem. Aren’t we going to be kings and priests? Israel is God’s people but who is the true Jew? In relation to the “king being on the throne”, do we see a head and body scenario forming yet? Finally, where is Jerusalem? Where is the Jerusalem that our walk has us looking for?

All of these questions start to paint a scriptural picture for us. The one qualified to talk about this topic has the credentials as given to him of God. These credentials are nothing less than:

Heb 12:11 – Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.

Heb 5:14 – But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

How does that discernment fit into this question of death?

Ecc 1:13 – And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven: this sore travail hath God given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith.
Ecc 1:14 – I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit.
Ecc 1:15 – That which is crooked cannot be made straight: and that which is wanting cannot be numbered. (who can attest to the truth of this concerning our flesh)
Ecc 1:16 – I communed with mine own heart, saying, Lo, I am come to great estate, and have gotten more wisdom than all they that have been before me in Jerusalem: yea, my heart had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.
Ecc 1:17 – And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit.
Ecc 1:18 – For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.

Tying this all together, we have now read a template that we are going to focus on in regards to death, dying and what this whole subject is all about.

We all know we are going to die, but what happens afterward is a great mystery. This mystery is one I hope is opened up to us today a little bit more.

All Things versus No Thing

Ecc 9:5 – For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.

All those living know one thing – we will die. What is the reward of the living? We know that the dead know not anything but what does that mean? On the surface, it seems pretty common, but let’s wipe away a little surface mud and see what’s beneath.

Job 30:23 – For I know that thou wilt bring me to death, and to the house appointed for all living.

Dan 4:17 – This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men.

Death is the house of the living? How true this is if you can see it. Those who are living in this “present and evil age” for“this present and evil age” will continue to do so until they go to the dust that they were formed from.

However, there is a huge difference happening in those who realize they are walking among the “living dead”.

Rom 7:24 – O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?

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

I am asked what happens after we die? Immediately, my mind asks which death the questioner is referring to? I know instinctively that the questioner is asking about physical death, but what was Christ’s point in resurrecting and continuing on to the rest of His ministry if DEATH were the focal point of life?

Death is the enemy. Death is a tool. Death will be done away with and is already fading until its ultimate destruction. Death will be swallowed up in victory, but is that out there somewhere waiting for its time to happen? No! It is NOW!

As a child of God, I should be endeavoring to learn more than the schoolmaster alone can teach me, and who is the schoolmaster?

Gal 3:24 – Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
Gal 3:25 – But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.
Gal 3:26 – For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

The schoolmaster, the law, is no longer the dominator because a greater thing has entered the race – Faith! The schoolmaster is simply there to bring us to Christ, because the schoolmaster is only a form of that which will destroy the flesh – Faith. The schoolmaster is the law which keeps our lawless and disobedient flesh in check.

1Ti 1:9 – Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,

Colossians is used to bring this point home:

Col 1:20 – And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.

Remember, the focus we are looking at right now is what are all things versus no thing which is what the dead know. Do you see how the Holy Spirit inspired this link to be made? All things in earth (carnal mind/ flesh/ physical) versus things in heaven (mind of Christ/ new man/ spiritual) are all reconciled to Christ. Christ did it all in ONE body! Son of man and Son of God….

Col 1:21 – And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled
Col 1:22 – In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:
Col 1:23 – If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;
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:
Col 1:25 – Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God;
Col 1:26 – Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:
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:
Col 1:28 – Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:

This hope of glory is why I sit here today sharing with you all what it is the Lord has given me to share. When asked what happens when we die. The answer that can be accurately given is – life happens.

Life through Death

Joh 12:24 – Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
Joh 12:25 – He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.
Joh 12:26 – If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.

And just where is Christ? If we are going to minister to Christ, then where are we going when we follow Him because we obviously must be WITH Christ to serve Him, no? Well, how can we follow Christ to where He is? The answer lies in the cup.

Mat 26:39 – And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.
Mat 26:40 – And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour?
Mat 26:41 – Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

I’ve always thought it spiritually interesting that Christ’s disciples are dead… er, ‘sleeping’ when Christ comes to them. In type and shadow, Peter is sleeping (or dead), and Christ SPEAKS! Here is another example that gives a little more detail:

Mat 26:37 – And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee (Zebadee means “my gift” and he was a fisherman), and began to be sorrowful and very heavy.
Mat 26:38 – Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.
Mat 26:39 – And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.
Mat 26:40 – And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour?
Mat 26:41 – Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
Mat 26:42 – He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.
Mat 26:43 – And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy. (they cannot see)
Mat 26:44 – And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words.
Mat 26:45 – Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the HOUR IS AT HAND, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.
Mat 26:46 – Rise, let us be going: behold, he is at hand that doth betray me.

Truly, Christ was only accompanied by the Father during the time of “the cup”. Do you believe our experience while drinking this cup will be any different?

Luk 22:17 – And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves:
Luk 22:18 – For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come.
Luk 22:19 – And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.
Luk 22:20 – Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.

Now, we have seen that if a grain of wheat fall to the ground and die, then it brings forth fruit – life. We have also just read that as Christ was going through this extreme suffering, His disciples were sleeping.

It isn’t until Christ comes a third time that He then tells His disciples to “sleep on” or continue sleeping. The first two times Christ came to His disciples, He reprimanded them for sleeping on the watch. Why is it that this happened the first two times but the third time is different?

As we have all come to understand, anytime something is told to us two or three times in scripture, then there is a point being brought home.

A large point being made here is the disciples were sleeping because:

Mat 26:43 – And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy.

I am starting to see a connection here, “their eyes were heavy.” Christ goes away and does the same thing and comes back and then says, “Sleep on now, and take your rest, the hour is at hand.” Whoa! Where have we seen this?

This phrase sounds a lot like, “the time is at hand”. Does anyone recognize this anywhere else?

Rom 13:11 – And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.
Rom 13:12 – The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.

1Jn 2:18 – Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.

Rev 14:15 – And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.

2Ti 4:6 – For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.
2Ti 4:7 – I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:

Keeping the Faith (start of part 2)

Up to this point, we have read a lot of things pertaining to death and dying but the title of this study is, “The Dead Know Not Anything” “so when are we going to touch upon that subject, Steven?”

Well, we have been the whole time, and in part two of this study I hope that this will be brought out a little bit more as the Lord wills.

Earlier, we read that Paul kept the faith, and earlier than that we read that the schoolmaster is no longer needed when faith comes. So, how does faith have anything to do with death, and what does any of this have to do with the “dead not knowing anything?”

Rom 4:1 – What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found?
Rom 4:2 – For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God.
Rom 4:3 – For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.
Rom 4:4 – Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.
Rom 4:5 – But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.

Rom 4:13 – For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.

Col 2:11 – In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:
Col 2:12 – Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.

1Pe 1:20 – Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,
1Pe 1:21 – Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.

It is at the start of our “buried with Him, rising with Him through faith” that we start our walk. Let the dead bury the dead. See, we are already dead in trespasses when we come to the cross, when we come to this point.

Eph 2:1 – And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
Eph 2:2 – Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:

Col 2:13 – And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;

When we come to this point, we are already spiritually dead. However, when we are buried in His baptism, we are given life in Him via resurrected life.

What do we do with this life? Well, we die daily to our flesh with this new life and mind.

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.
1Co 15:29 – Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?
1Co 15:30 – And why stand we in jeopardy every hour?
1Co 15:31 – I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.

Wait a second! Christ is going to destroy death, and I die daily, so when will Christ destroy death? It is when death has worked its purpose. For you and I and any other saint in Christ, this time is NOW.

Rom 6:3 – Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
Rom 6:4 – Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
Rom 6:5 – For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:

What does His resurrection mean? It means we are as He is in this world, now. We die daily, THUS we are REBORN daily in His resurrection. His name. His image…but how do we get from A to Z?

We are dead, are dying and will die.

What I am saying is that we are in a place now where the Lord starts His process in us so that we now are awakened to it; thus, we will be told to die again.

We are said we are DEAD in our transgressions. Christ comes to us and drags us to the Father after he comes to us while we are asleep and says…RISE. We are born into life by dying, and being dead we are free from the law. But, we are then told to DIE DAILY now, while the hour is at hand. Whew!

Can you see how the flesh rebels? How does this all happen?

“I thought we were talking about what happens after we die, Steven?”

I am talking about what happens after you die because some of us brothers and sisters are living it NOW! Some of us, Lord willing, have been called out of her…some of us are being called out of her and are being chosen to be Faithful until the end to overcome.

Some of us have the Word of God LIVING and BREATHING eternal LIFE into us. We know the Word of God for what the Lord has given us and what has been given to us is that we are to JUDGE OURSEVLES NOW.

Did I say judge OTHERS now? Nope. However, when judgment happens and the Spirit within the temple of God stirs from the north to the south again, then you will have that beam removed so that the spec that you see in your brother’s eye can easily be removed with LOVE.

Mar 12:29 – And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel(who is a Jew?); The Lord our God is one Lord:
Mar 12:30 – And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.
Mar 12:31 – And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

Joh 15:12 – This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
Joh 15:13 – Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

Gal 5:14 – For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

1Jn 3:11 – For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.
1Jn 3:12 – Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous.
1Jn 3:13 – Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you.
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.
1Jn 3:16 – Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.(we abide in death by dying daily and live by example)

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.
1Jn 5:4 – For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. (it is Christ’s faith because He alone has overcome the WORLD…He LIVES in US though, amen)
1Jn 5:5 – Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?
1Jn 5:6 – This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth.

Christ is here to destroy His flesh. Christ is here to destroy His body to bring life to it through purging it, burning it up with the fire of the Word of God. The Word of God says love God ABOVE EVERYTHING ELSE. Love here is a verb. It’s an action. We KEEP it. We LIVE it!

2Jn 1:6 – And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it.
2Jn 1:7 – For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.
2Jn 1:8 – Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward.
2Jn 1:9 – Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, (what we have been talking about all along) hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.
2Jn 1:10 – If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed:
2Jn 1:11 – For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.

I am not sure how it can be any clearer than that.

“Wait a minute, Steven. What about someone wanting to rape your wife and kill you and your family? What about someone wanting to rob and beat you?”

What about…. what Christ said about LOVING your ENEMIES?

I am not saying this will be easily understood, but loving my enemies is two-fold. There are those that would kill me for being Christian if I didn’t renounce it, but there are also those who are my enemies simply because, “how can two walk together unless they agree”. The person is not my enemy, but the Spirit within them is!

The world within them is the same world within me that Christ has overcome. So, if Christ is in me and not them at this present TIME, then I must let them know that the doctrine they bring is NOT WELCOME in my HOUSE.

“Steven, you are so cold…so mean, so cold-hearted!”

At that, I will tell you – eat, drink and be merry.

Eat, Drink and be Merry

I recently read an article on a website that states that the book of Ecclesiastes doesn’t belong in the bible because the author of it is too morbid, too depressed and too uninformed, because surely we are not equal to the beasts of the field which all go to the same place, the grave.

Interestingly, the very thing that this author was complaining about is EXACTLY what the writer was inspired to convey when penning this:

Ecc 8:15 – Then I commended mirth, because a man hath no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry: for that shall abide with him of his labour the days of his life, which God giveth him under the sun.

Luk 12:19 – And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.
Luk 12:20 – But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?
Luk 12:21 – So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

It is also mentioned in Ecclesiastes that all that is given to man under the sun is a GIFT. Amazingly, we are brought back to where we find the title of this study. For the purpose of context and to hear the surrounding verses, I will read/offer Ecc 9 so that we can get a feel of the importance of the dead knowing nothing.

Ecc 9:1 – For all this I considered in my heart even to declare all this, that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God: no man knoweth either love or hatred by all that is before them.
Ecc 9:2 – All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath.
Ecc 9:3 – This is an evil among all things that are one under the sun, that there is one event unto all: yea, also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead.
Ecc 9:4 – For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion.
Ecc 9:5 – For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.
Ecc 9:6 – Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun.
Ecc 9:7 – Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God now accepteth thy works.
Ecc 9:8 – Let thy garments be always white; and let thy head lack no ointment.
Ecc 9:9 – Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity, which he hath given thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity: for that is thy portion in this life, and in thy labour which thou takest under the sun.
Ecc 9:10 – Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.
Ecc 9:11 – I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.
Ecc 9:12 – For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them.
Ecc 9:13 – This wisdom have I seen also under the sun, and it seemed great unto me:
Ecc 9:14 – There was a little city, and few men within it; and there came a great king against it, and besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it:
Ecc 9:15 – Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city; yet no man remembered that same poor man.
Ecc 9:16 – Then said I, Wisdom is better than strength: nevertheless the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard.
Ecc 9:17 – The words of wise men are heard in quiet more than the cry of him that ruleth among fools.
Ecc 9:18 – Wisdom is better than weapons of war: but one sinner destroyeth much good.

The natural man says “right on, I should be able to live my life the way I want”, but the spiritual new man vomits such things out of his mouth.

Rev 3:15 – I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
Rev 3:16 – So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.

Where is the line in the sand for any of us if we are dead? What is the doctrine that is so ingrained in your beliefs that you cannot go BACK to the Word of God and re-examine what the Word of God, Christ in YOU, has to say about the matter? The time is at hand, but a Pharisee or a Sadducee can’t recognize the time they’re in.

They’re stiff-necked in their mind. The Sadducee in us says there is no resurrection, admitting that Christ has not come in the flesh. We just went over that, yet we are given over to delusion from the Lord, and not one will be able to conquer that great divide.

When you are dead, YOU KNOW NOTHING! This applies both physically and SPIRITUALLY. When you are spiritually dead, you are deceived and don’t know it.

What happens when we die? I have an atheist friend who said to me that when you die that’s it; you’re just dead and well, he was partly right.

The dead know not anything. However, there is a resurrection of the just and the unjust and Christ is the resurrection. I die daily, yet Christ lives in me.

On the flip side, most Christians I know think we go to heaven or hell right away when we die, but how can that be?

What happens when we die physically?

Ecc 12:7 – Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.

Luk 23:46 – And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.

Joh 19:30 – When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.

Heb 9:27 – And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

Wait, I die daily? Daily judgment? I thought it was only once? I am to judge my DAYS and everything therein? What kind of Faith is that? It is the Faith of Christ.

Rom 14:5 – One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.

1Pe 4:17 – For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

If I die daily, how is it I care about the things that are in the world? The lusts of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life? If I am daily dead, what do I care about? I know nothing.

Alas, it is only given to a few to understand that the things that we are hated for, or rather Christ is hated for within us, are the same things that we have FREELY BEEN GIVEN TO UNDERSTAND.

1Co 3:21 – Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours;
1Co 3:22 – Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours;
1Co 3:23 – And ye are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s.

The old Adam in me hates the quickening Spirit there also. The old man Adam in others hates that same Christ within me. Christ is the Word of God. We bare His name on our foreheads and others hate the coat of many colors we wear along with it.

When we are given these things to understand then we are told we are going to be purged with the Word of God.

Eze 11:19 – And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh:
Eze 11:20 – That they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.

Eze 36:25 – Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.
Eze 36:26 – A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.

Dying Daily to Live

When this happens, when we are given to see and hear the truth regarding this, thus starts the life-long process of being purged and dying daily. Just like a newborn, we start on milk and continue through to food, but we can’t learn everything all at once nor can we be cleansed all at once. It would kill us.

As this happens more and more in our lives, we will start to see fruit produced in us because if what you have is of Christ, then so then will the works of God be there. The works of God, His righteousness will be seen by everything within and without.

2Co 4:10 – Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.
2Co 4:11 – For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.
2Co 4:12 – So then death worketh in us, but life in you.
2Co 4:13 – We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak;
2Co 4:14 – Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you.
2Co 4:15 – For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.
2Co 4:16 – For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.

What part of the perishing of the outward man must we keep back for ourselves once the works of God are being manifest in our lives?

Luk 18:18 – And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
Luk 18:19 – And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God.
Luk 18:20 – Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother.
Luk 18:21 – And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up.
Luk 18:22 – Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.
Luk 18:23 – And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich.
Luk 18:24 – And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!

How hardly shall we, who start in our youth, coming behind in no gift, called to be Saints, enter into the kingdom of God if we treasure such riches!

Mat 6:19 – Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
Mat 6:20 – But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
Mat 6:21 – For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Luk 12:33 – Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth.
Luk 12:34 – For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

What do you have to sell? Judge now or be judged later. If you hold anything back, there will be no difference in the resurrection. It will be counted as loss.

Act 5:1 – But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession,
Act 5:2 – And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
Act 5:3 – But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?
Act 5:4 – Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.
Act 5:5 – And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things.
Act 5:6 – And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him.
Act 5:7 – And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in.
Act 5:8 – And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much.
Act 5:9 – Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out.
Act 5:10 – Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband.

Conclusion

Things of Old

Ecc 12:1 – Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;
Ecc 12:2 – While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain:
Ecc 12:3 – In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows be darkened,
Ecc 12:4 – And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of musick shall be brought low;
Ecc 12:5 – Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets:
Ecc 12:6 – Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern.
Ecc 12:7 – Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.

Things New

Ecc 12:8 – Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity.
Ecc 12:9 – And moreover, because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he gave good heed, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs.
Ecc 12:10 – The preacher sought to find out acceptable words: and that which was written was upright, even words of truth.
Ecc 12:11 – The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd.
Ecc 12:12 – And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh.
Ecc 12:13 – Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
Ecc 12:14 – For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.

Joh 11:26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?

The reason this verse is hard to understand is that the whole orthodox Christian world cannot see that:

Joh 6:63 I t is the spirit that quickeneth [ gives life]; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

The whole orthodox Christian world believes that we will be given spiritual bodies of flesh and bone. This, of course, is an oxymoron. Here is the Truth from the mouth of the Truth:

Joh 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Joh 3:7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
Joh 3:8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

The flesh recoils at such unfleshly words and twist the words of scripture to mix flesh and spirit and come up with and eternal glorified spiritual body that can be seen and touched. And as the doctrine goes, since Christ ate and drank with the disciple after the resurrection, we will still be able to enjoy a good steak. How childish and carnal. Such a doctrine pits Christ’s words to Nicodemus in Joh 3 against Christ’s words elsewhere. But there is no contradiction except in the minds of the carnal. The fact that spirit can be manifest as flesh does not make it flesh. Did the Lord and the two angels that ate the fatted calf and the bread with Abraham really need that? Was that not for Abraham’s benefit? Did Christ really need the “piece of a fish and a honey comb, to quench His hunger? Or was He not also eating simply to make the point: ” These [ the piece of fish and of an honeycomb] are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.”

Luk 24:41 And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat?
Luk 24:42 And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb.
Luk 24:43 And he took it, and did eat before them.
Luk 24:44 And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.
Luk 24:45 Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,

Read the paper on Rightly Dividing The Word. That paper demonstrates that most of the scriptures quoted in the New Testament are what the Dallas Theological Seminary and all other seminaries, would say were taken out of context.

That was the direct result of “Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures.” When Christ raised Lazarus from the dead, He did not give Lazarus life, any more than you and I were alive at our birth. Lazarus was put right back into the same old body he was born into. Christ told one disciples: Let the [ spiritually] dead bury their [ physically and spiritually] dead.”

Mat 8:21 And another of his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.
Mat 8:22 But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead.

Here is Paul’s perspective on this “living soul,” physical existence we have “in Adam:”

Rom 7:24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?

Paul, obviously understood what Christ meant when He said:

Joh 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh [ being ‘in Adam’] profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

I doubt seriously that Mary had any idea what Christ meant by his question:

Joh 11:26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?

No one was even converted yet. Here understanding of scripture had not yet been given. But it certainly had been given to the writer of Hebrews. and when he, made this statement:

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.

Paul knew that Christ’s “body of this death,” could no more, ” inherit the kingdom of heaven,” than could ours. “The flesh [ even of Christ] profits nothing.” Physical death is not the subject of Heb 9:27! We, in Adam, are appointed to spiritual death. Until we see this we cannot be judged. And since:

1Pe 4:17 … The time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

It is imperative that we understand what Christ meant when he asked Mary:

Joh 11:26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?

This was a spiritual statement which Christ was making by asked Mary, not so much for her benefit as for ours.

Joh 11:41 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me.
Joh 11:42 And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.

I hope you now have a better understanding of what Jesus was doing in asking Mary that question. He certainly was not speaking of physical death or physical life. Neither is Heb 9:27.