Jer 49:23-39  In The Latter Days I will Bring Again the Captivity of Elam

[Study Aired September 11, 2022]

Concerning Syria/Damascus

Jer 49:23-39 Concerning Damascus. Hamath is confounded, and Arpad: for they have heard evil tidings: they are fainthearted; there is sorrow on the sea; it cannot be quiet.
Jer 49:24  Damascus is waxed feeble, and turneth herself to flee, and fear hath seized on her: anguish and sorrows have taken her, as a woman in travail.
Jer 49:25  How is the city of praise not left, the city of my joy!
Jer 49:26  Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, and all the men of war shall be cut off in that day, saith the LORD of hosts.
Jer 49:27  And I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, and it shall consume the palaces of Benhadad.

Concerning Kedar and Hazor

Jer 49:28  Concerning Kedar, and concerning the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon shall smite, thus saith the LORD; Arise ye, go up to Kedar, and spoil the men of the east.
Jer 49:29  Their tents and their flocks shall they take away: they shall take to themselves their curtains, and all their vessels, and their camels; and they shall cry unto them, Fear is on every side.
Jer 49:30  Flee, get you far off, dwell deep, O ye inhabitants of Hazor, saith the LORD; for Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath taken counsel against you, and hath conceived a purpose against you.
Jer 49:31  Arise, get you up unto the wealthy nation, that dwelleth without care, saith the LORD, which have neither gates nor bars, which dwell alone.
Jer 49:32  And their camels shall be a booty, and the multitude of their cattle a spoil: and I will scatter into all winds them that are in the utmost corners; and I will bring their calamity from all sides thereof, saith the LORD.
Jer 49:33  And Hazor shall be a dwelling for dragons, and a desolation for ever: there shall no man abide there, nor any son of man dwell in it.

Judgment against Elam

Jer 49:34  The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet against Elam in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying,
Jer 49:35  Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, the chief of their might.
Jer 49:36  And upon Elam will I bring the four winds from the four quarters of heaven, and will scatter them toward all those winds; and there shall be no nation whither the outcasts of Elam shall not come.
Jer 49:37  For I will cause Elam to be dismayed before their enemies, and before them that seek their life: and I will bring evil upon them, even my fierce anger, saith the LORD; and I will send the sword after them, till I have consumed them:
Jer 49:38  And I will set my throne in Elam, and will destroy from thence the king and the princes, saith the LORD.
Jer 49:39  But it shall come to pass in the latter days, that I will bring again the captivity of Elam, saith the LORD.

Our study today begins with the judgment of the nation of Syria:

Jer 49:23  Concerning Damascus. Hamath is confounded, and Arpad: for they have heard evil tidings: they are fainthearted; there is sorrow on the sea; it cannot be quiet.
Jer 49:24  Damascus is waxed feeble, and turneth herself to flee, and fear hath seized on her: anguish and sorrows have taken her, as a woman in travail.

These are the same words used to describe judgment throughout the Old Testament. When Job was being judged of the Lord, he said:

Job 9:28  I am afraid of all my sorrows, I know that thou wilt not hold me innocent.

When Isaiah speaks of the judgment of Babylon, he likens it to the sorrows and pain of a woman in travail:

Isa 13:8  And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames.

Syria and Damascus are being judged by the Lord, along with all nations of this earth:

Jer 49:25  How is the city of praise not left, the city of my joy!

There is no ‘my’ in the Hebrew, and Damascus certainly is not the city of the Lord’s joy. There is one Hebrew word which is translated ‘my joy’ here:

H4885
מָשׂוֹשׂ
mâśôś
maw-soce’

From H7797; delight, concretely (the cause or object) or abstractly (the feeling): – joy, mirth, rejoice.

Total KJV occurrences: 17

Damascus is called ‘the city of joy’ in the same sense that Babylon was known as:

Isa 13:19  And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees’ excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.

Damascus is ‘the city of joy’, and Babylon was ‘the glory of the kingdoms’ only from a carnal perspective. When we lose our first love and we have domineering Nicolaitans among us and we are given over to false doctrines, we still think we are “the city of praise and the city of joy”. We are as blind as the church of Laodicea and do not see ourselves as the Lord sees us:

Rev 3:14  And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;
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.
Rev 3:17  Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
Rev 3:18  I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
Rev 3:19  As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.

Jer 49:26  Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, and all the men of war shall be cut off in that day, saith the LORD of hosts.

Damascus is the capital of Syria, and this is what we are told of Israel’s relationship to Syria:

Deu 26:1  And it shall be, when thou art come in unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and possessest it, and dwellest therein;
Deu 26:2  That thou shalt take of the first of all the fruit of the earth, which thou shalt bring of thy land that the LORD thy God giveth thee, and shalt put it in a basket, and shalt go unto the place which the LORD thy God shall choose to place his name there.
Deu 26:3  And thou shalt go unto the priest that shall be in those days, and say unto him, I profess this day unto the LORD thy God, that I am come unto the country which the LORD sware unto our fathers for to give us.
Deu 26:4  And the priest shall take the basket out of thine hand, and set it down before the altar of the LORD thy God.
Deu 26:5  And thou shalt speak and say before the LORD thy God, A Syrian ready to perish was  my father, and he went down into Egypt, and sojourned there with a few, and became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous:

Once again, as Christ demonstrated in the parable of the good Samaritan, we are made to understand that all men are our brothers, and the scriptures show us how close we are and how close those ‘nations’ within us are to “our Lord and His Christ” who are symbolized by Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Israel), the patriarchs of the Old Testament, the old carnal covenant.

Gal 3:6  Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.
Gal 3:7  Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.
Gal 3:8  And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.
Gal 3:9  So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.

Abraham is an Old Testament type of our Lord Jesus Christ as Paul makes clear with these words in this same chapter which is addressed to Gentile Galatians:

Gal 3:26  For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
Gal 3:27  For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
Gal 3:28  There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
Gal 3:29  And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Being “one in Christ” does not mean that men can use women’s restrooms, or that wives can be teachers in the church or become the head of the household. What the spirit is telling us is, regardless of our state in this life, we are of the one mind of Christ, and we are all ‘accepted of God in the Beloved’:

Eph 1:6  To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us [all] accepted in the beloved.
Eph 1:7  In whom we [all] have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
Eph 1:8  Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;

Since Abraham was a Syrian who went down into Egypt, he therefore signifies our own flesh which begins a relationship with God while we are still in this world and still in our sins. Our time being dominated by the sins of our flesh is called in scripture “the eon of this world”, and we are all destined to begin our relationship with God in “the eon of this world” as Syrians in Damascus.

Eph 2:1 And you, being dead to your offenses and sins,
Eph 2:2 in which once you walked, in accord with the eon of this world, in accord with the chief of the jurisdiction of the air, the spirit now operating in the sons of stubbornness (CLV)

Abraham, who typifies us in a relationship with Christ, went from Syria into the promised land, typifying the time called our “first love”. Then he went down into Egypt where he denied his wife, his first love:

Gen 12:10  And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was grievous in the land.
Gen 12:11  And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon:
Gen 12:12  Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall say, This is his wife: and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive.
Gen 12:13  Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee.
Gen 12:14  And it came to pass, that, when Abram was come into Egypt, the Egyptians beheld the woman that she was very fair.
Gen 12:15  The princes also of Pharaoh saw her, and commended her before Pharaoh: and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house.

This scenario happens again when Abraham returns to the land of Canaan and does the same foolish thing to Abimelech the Philistine king of Gerar. By the time he denied his wife a second time, Abraham had separated himself from Lot, and he had rescued Lot from the kings of the east. Then he married Hagar and had Ishmael. He had even been given the covenant of circumcision and was promised that Sarah would also have a son. After giving Abraham that promise, the Lord appeared to him again to tell Abraham he intended to destroy Sodom. Knowing Lot lived there, Abraham interceded with the Lord to save Sodom, but he had to witness the smoke of the destruction of Sodom.

Then after all these incredible, miraculous experiences with the Lord, Abraham, typifying each of us, again fears what men can do to him, and he denies Sarah as his wife for a second time:

Gen 20:1  And Abraham journeyed from thence toward the south country, and dwelled between Kadesh and Shur, and sojourned in Gerar.
Gen 20:2  And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister: and Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah.

Abraham denying that Sarah is his wife and Abimelech taking Sarah takes place immediately after the destruction of Sodom. Ishmael is a young lad, and the Lord has promised Abraham that Sarah would have a child of her own. Sarah is in the early stages of her pregnancy with Isaac at the time Abraham is denying that she is his wife. The Lord closed the wombs of Abimelech’s household at this time:

Gen 20:17  So Abraham prayed unto God: and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maidservants; and they bare children.
Gen 20:18  For the LORD had fast closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah Abraham’s wife.

By quickly closing all the wombs of the house of Abimelech there would be no doubt that Isaac was Abraham’s son and not the son of Abimelech.

The tendency of our flesh to deny our Lord and to disobey His doctrines is very strong part of our judgment because this same scenario is played out for a third time many years later with Abraham’s son Isaac:

Gen 26:6  And Isaac dwelt in Gerar:
Gen 26:7  And the men of the place asked him of his wife; and he said, She is my sister: for he feared to say, She is my wife; lest, said he, the men of the place should kill me for Rebekah; because she was fair to look upon.
Gen 26:8  And it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out at a window, and saw, and, behold, Isaac was sporting with Rebekah his wife.
Gen 26:9  And Abimelech called Isaac, and said, Behold, of a surety she is thy wife: and how saidst thou, She is my sister? And Isaac said unto him, Because I said, Lest I die for her.
Gen 26:10  And Abimelech said, What is this thou hast done unto us? one of the people might lightly have lien with thy wife, and thou shouldest have brought guiltiness upon us.
Gen 26:11  And Abimelech charged all his people, saying, He that toucheth this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.

Chapter 25 of Genesis is the story of the birth of Esau and Jacob. This is the end of that chapter:

Gen 25:29  And Jacob sod pottage: and Esau came from the field, and he was faint:
Gen 25:30  And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom.
Gen 25:31  And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright.
Gen 25:32  And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me?
Gen 25:33  And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob.
Gen 25:34  Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright.

In this case Abimelech did not take Rebekah, but that does not excuse Isaac’s lack of faith in God at this stage of his life, nor does it justify his fear of what men could do to him.

Once again, the denying of his wife did not take place at the beginning and immature part of his life. Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah. Rebekah was barren like her mother-in-law, Sarah, before her, and Isaac had prayed to the Lord to open Rebekah’s womb.

Gen 25:20  And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padanaram, the sister to Laban the Syrian.
Gen 25:21  And Isaac intreated the LORD for his wife, because she was barren: and the LORD was intreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived.

At the time Isaac denied his wife, the twin brothers are old enough to be out hunting and preparing a meal of pottage. So, Isaac could very easily be in his late fifties or early sixties by the time he went to Gerar with his sons, Esau and Jacob, and at that time he denied that Rebekah was his wife. It all happened to him and it is all written for our admonition. All these stories about Abraham and Isaac denying their wives so late in their lives, tells us that is exactly what our flesh will do unless the Lord strengthens us to grow beyond our fear of men and our own propensity to deny our Lord when faced with being rejected by and being persecuted by this world. That is just what is in our corruptible flesh. That is what is signified by Damascus, the capital of Syria.

The spiritual lesson in these three denials of their wives by Abraham and by Isaac, the patriarchs of the Lord’s own people, is that our flesh, the flesh of the Lord’s own people today, is signified by Syria. The fact that these denials happened so late in life, and after being given so much knowledge, is revealing to us that our flesh is our most dangerous enemy, and that enemy will be with us until the day of our death. The spiritual admonition in all of this is that we must never think that we of ourselves are the master of our beastly flesh, no matter how long we have known the Lord and no matter how many truths and revelations He has shown us:

1Co 10:11  Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples [Greek: tupos, types of us (1Co 10:6)]: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.
1Co 10:12  Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.

That is why Syria and Damascus within us must be destroyed by the brightness of the coming of Christ within our heart and mind:

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:

Jer 49:27  And I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, and it shall consume the palaces of Benhadad.

From the judgment of Syria, the nation of Abraham’s (our) own flesh, we now turn our attention to the judgment of the flesh of Abraham’s son by a “bondwoman”. This is a much closer relationship than simply being of the same nation, Syria:

Jer 49:28  Concerning Kedar, and concerning the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon shall smite, thus saith the LORD; Arise ye, go up to Kedar, and spoil the men of the east.

Kedar and Hazor signify the judgment of that part of our flesh which is much closer to us than the nation of our birth, which is what Syria is. Abraham’s first son’s name was Ishmael, and Ishmael was the father of Kedar:

Gen 25:13  And these are the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, according to their generations: the firstborn of Ishmael, Nebajoth; and Kedar, and Adbeel, and Mibsam,

Kedar is Ishmael, and he and his mother were not permitted to have a part in the inheritance which was promised to Isaac, Abraham’s son by his “freewoman” wife Sarah. The holy spirit tells us plainly that these two wives of Abraham typify our own time of bondage in the flesh versus our deliverance into the inheritance of the promises of faith which were made to Abraham. Those promises made to Abraham typify the promises of “life eternal” which we are promised through “the faith of Jesus Christ”:

Gal 4:22  For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman.
Gal 4:23  But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise.
Gal 4:24  Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar.

There is not one ‘Christian’ minister in a thousand who believes that Hagar, the “bondwoman” is the spiritual mother of those who were enjoined with the covenant that God made with the descendants of Abraham and Sarah at Mount Sinai. Nevertheless, let God be true and every man a liar and let us believe:

Gal 4:24  Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar.

What is at stake if we fail to believe that the covenant made with Israel at Mount Sinai genders to bondage and “is Hagar”? This what is at stake if we refuse to hear and believe that Truth:

Gal 4:25  For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children.
Gal 4:26  But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.
Gal 4:27  For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband.
Gal 4:28  Now we [Gentile Galatians], brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise.
Gal 4:29  But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now.
Gal 4:30  Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.
Gal 4:31  So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.

It is our inheritance in Christ which is at stake. It is the honor of ruling over the kingdoms of this world and then judging angels in the lake of fire which are at risk. It is our relationship with Christ as our husband in this present time which is at risk if we are not given eyes to see that ‘Hagar answers to Jerusalem which now is and is in bondage with her children’.

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?

Jer 49:29  Their tents and their flocks shall they take away: they shall take to themselves their curtains, and all their vessels, and their camels; and they shall cry unto them, Fear is on every side.

It is the Chaldeans who will “take away… their flocks, their curtains, and all their vessels and camels.” In other words, everything we value in this world will be lost. The spiritual message of Kedar and Hazor losing everything they possess is this twice repeated admonition:

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

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

Jer 49:30  Flee, get you far off, dwell deep, O ye inhabitants of Hazor, saith the LORD; for Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath taken counsel against you, and hath conceived a purpose against you.

“Dwell deep” means ‘Hide yourselves in the rocks’ for fear of your impending judgment by the wrath of God:

Rev 6:12  And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;
Rev 6:13  And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.
Rev 6:14  And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
Rev 6:15  And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
Rev 6:16  And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
Rev 6:17  For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

This is what we first read of Hazor:

Jos 11:10  And Joshua at that time turned back, and took Hazor, and smote the king thereof with the sword: for Hazor beforetime was the head of all those kingdoms.
Jos 11:11  And they smote all the souls that were therein with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying them: there was not any left to breathe: and he burnt Hazor with fire.

Hazor was a Canaanite kingdom which is mentioned here in association with Kedar, the son of Ishmael because Ishmael’s mother, Hagar, had taken a wife for Ishmael of Egypt, the Biblical symbol of taking a wife of this world:

Gen 21:21  And he [Ishmael] dwelt in the wilderness of Paran: and his mother [Hagar] took him a wife out of the land of Egypt.

Jer 49:31  Arise, get you up unto the wealthy nation, that dwelleth without care, saith the LORD, which have neither gates nor bars, which dwell alone.

This is the commandment of the Lord to Nebuchadnezzar. The word ‘wealthy’ is not at all a good translation of the Hebrew word:

H7961
שְׁלֵוָה    שָׁלֵיו    שָׁלֵו
shâlêv  shâlêyv  shelêvâh

shaw-lave’, shaw-lave’, shel-ay-vaw’

From H7951; tranquil; (in a bad sense) careless; abstractly security: – (being) at ease, peaceable, (in) prosper (-ity), quiet (-ness), wealthy.

When we feel at ease and secure in being separated from the Lord, we are not in a good position. This Hebrew word appears in the Old Testament eight times and is translated as ‘wealthy’ only once, which is right here in this verse of Jeremiah 49:31. ‘Get you up unto the nation at ease’ is a much better sense of the Hebrew in this verse.

Jer 49:32  And their camels shall be a booty, and the multitude of their cattle a spoil: and I will scatter into all winds them that are in the utmost corners; and I will bring their calamity from all sides thereof, saith the LORD.
Jer 49:33  And Hazor shall be a dwelling for dragons, and a desolation for ever: there shall no man abide there, nor any son of man dwell in it.

The Hazorites thought their lack of wealth and their remote station in the Arabian peninsula was their safety. The lesson for us is that the only safety to be had is in the Lord:

Pro 18:10  The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe. [His doctrines]

Pro 29:25  The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe. [The Lord’s words]

Next, we are told of the judgment on Elam:

Jer 49:34  The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet against Elam in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying,
Jer 49:35  Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, the chief of their might.

Elam is mentioned in connection with “the bow” several times in scripture, and he is listed as the firstborn son of Shem, the son of Noah. Asshur, the father of the Assyrians was the brother of Elam:

Gen 10:22  The children of Shem; Elam, and Asshur, and Arphaxad, and Lud, and Aram.

Elam is not mentioned again until we find the “king of Elam” fighting with the king of Sodom and Gomorrah and the other cities of the plains around the Dead Sea or “the salt sea”.

Gen 14:1  And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations;
Gen 14:2  That these made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar.

The Elamites were known for being good archers as noted by Isaiah when he described how Sennacherib took the cities of Judah:

2Ki 18:13  Now in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah did Sennacherib king of Assyria come up against all the fenced cities of Judah, and took them.

It was about this judgment of Judah under King Hezekiah that Isaiah made this statement concerning Elam:

Isa 22:6  And Elam bare the quiver with chariots of men and horsemen, and Kir uncovered the shield.

Elam, being the older brother of Asshur, the father of the Assyrians and the Syrians of whom Abraham came, is therefore just another symbol of the flesh of our own people, and therefore it is just another symbol of our own flesh which the Lord is judging:

Jer 49:36  And upon Elam will I bring the four winds from the four quarters of heaven, and will scatter them toward all those winds; and there shall be no nation whither the outcasts of Elam shall not come.

Being “scattered… toward… the four winds from the four quarters of heaven” is always used as a type of our judgment. It is repeated as being scattered unto all nations and scattered among the heathen:

Psa 44:11  Thou hast given us like sheep appointed for meat; and hast scattered us among the heathen.

Being judged and scattered is contrasted with being gathered from all nations and turning our captivity when we repent of our sins and seek the Lord with a whole heart:

Deu 30:1  And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath driven thee,
Deu 30:2  And shalt return unto the LORD thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul;
Deu 30:3  That then the LORD thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath scattered thee.

Every time the Lord mentions “bringing again the captivity” of these Gentile nations like Moab and Ammon, what we are being told is that the Lord is not only the Lord of physical Israel, but He is also the Lord of all Gentiles:

Jer 48:47  Yet will I bring again the captivity of Moab in the latter days, saith the LORD. Thus far is the judgment of Moab.

Jer 49:6  And afterward I will bring again the captivity of the children of Ammon, saith the LORD.

These are the same words the Lord uses in reference to the salvation of His own people:

Jer 31:23  Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; As yet they shall use this speech in the land of Judah and in the cities thereof, when I shall bring again their captivity; The LORD bless thee, O habitation of justice, and mountain of holiness.

As the Lord told the people of Nazareth, the woman at the well, and as He told Peter and Paul, surely, we are not to call any man common or unclean:

Act 10:28  And he said unto them, Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean.

Elam, the firstborn of Shem and the father of so many Gentile nations, is no exception to these words of the apostle Peter. No man is to be considered as being unable to have a relationship with Christ and His Father.

Jer 49:37  For I will cause Elam to be dismayed before their enemies, and before them that seek their life: and I will bring evil upon them, even my fierce anger, saith the LORD; and I will send the sword after them, till I have consumed them:
Jer 49:38  And I will set my throne in Elam, and will destroy from thence the king and the princes, saith the LORD.
Jer 49:39  But it shall come to pass in the latter days, that I will bring again the captivity of Elam, saith the LORD.

The Lord will judge “every man”, and through that judgment “every man” will then “be saved; yet so as by fire”:

1Co 3:13  Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.
1Co 3:14  If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
1Co 3:15  If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

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

[Study Aired February 1, 2022]

John 18:15 And Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple: that disciple was known unto the high priest, and went in with Jesus into the palace of the high priest.
Mark 14:55 And the chief priests and all the council sought for witness against Jesus to put him to death; and found none.
John 18:16 But Peter stood at the door without. Then went out that other disciple, which was known unto the high priest, and spake unto her that kept the door, and brought in Peter. 
Luke 22:55 And when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the hall, 
John 18:25 Simon Peter stood and warmed himself.
Luke 22:55 and when they were set down together, Peter sat down among them.
Mark 14:66 And as Peter was beneath in the palace, 
Luke 22:56 a certain maid beheld him as he sat by the fire, 
John 18:17 Then saith the damsel that kept the door unto Peter, Art not thou also one of this man’s disciples?
Mark 14:67 And she looked upon him, and said, And thou also wast with Jesus of Nazareth,
Matt 26:69 Jesus of Galilee.
Mark 14:68 But he denied, saying, I know not, neither understand I what thou sayest. And he went out into the porch; and the cock crew.
Matt 26:71 And when he was gone out into the porch,
John 18:18 And the servants and officers stood there, who had made a fire of coals; for it was cold: and they warmed themselves: and Peter stood with them, and warmed himself.
Matt 26:71 another maid saw him, and said unto them that were there, This fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth.
Matt 26:72 And again he denied with an oath, I do not know the man. 
Luke 22:59 And about the space of one hour after another confidently affirmed, 
John 18:25 They said therefore unto him, Art not thou also one of his disciples?
John 18:26 One of the servants of the high priest, being his kinsman whose ear Peter cut off, saith, Did not I see thee in the garden with him?
Luke 22:59 Of a truth this fellow also was with him: for he is a Galilaean. 
Luke 22:60 And Peter said, Man, I know not what thou sayest.
Matt 26:74 Then began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man. 
Mark 14:72 And the second time the cock crew.
Luke 22:61 And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter.
Mark 14:72 And Peter called to mind the word that Jesus said unto him, Before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice.
Luke 22:62 And Peter went out, and wept bitterly. 

In our last study Christ was taken before Annas and Caiaphas. In their minds Christ blasphemed the name of the Lord and should be put to death.

Mark 14:55 And the chief priests and all the council sought for witness against Jesus to put him to death; and found none. 
Mark 14:56 For many bare false witness against him, but their witness agreed not together. 
Matt 26:60 At the last came two false witnesses saying, 
Mark 14:58 We heard him say, I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands. 
Mark 14:59 But neither so did their witness agree together.
Mark 14:60 And the high priest stood up in the midst, and asked Jesus, saying, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee?
Matt 26:63 But Jesus held his peace. And the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God.
Luke 22:67 And he said unto them, If I tell you, ye will not believe: 
Luke 22:68 And if I also ask you, ye will not answer me, nor let me go.
Luke 22:70 Then said they all, Art thou then the Son of God? And he said unto them, Ye say that I am.
Mark 14:62 And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.
Matt 26:65 Then the high priest rent his clothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy; what further need have we of witnesses? behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy:
Mark 14:64 what think ye? And they all condemned him to be guilty of death.

Even though they did not follow the law of Moses and have two or three witnesses establish the matter, they had no problem using the sentence given to Moses about the sin of blaspheming the name of the Lord.

Deut 19:15 One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established.

Lev 24:16 And he that blasphemeth the name of the LORD, he shall surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone him: as well the stranger, as he that is born in the land, when he blasphemeth the name of the LORD, shall be put to death.

Tonight our story continues with Peter’s actions fulfilling the Lord’s prophecy of denial.

Matt 26:34 Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this night, before the cock crow, thou (Peter) shalt deny me thrice.
John 18:15 And Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple: that disciple was known unto the high priest, and went in with Jesus into the palace of the high priest.
Mark 14:55 And the chief priests and all the council sought for witness against Jesus to put him to death; and found none.
John 18:16 But Peter stood at the door without. Then went out that other disciple, which was known unto the high priest, and spake unto her that kept the door, and brought in Peter. 
Luke 22:55 And when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the hall, 
John 18:25 Simon Peter stood and warmed himself.
Luke 22:55 and when they were set down together, Peter sat down among them.
Mark 14:66 And as Peter was beneath in the palace, 

Moments earlier Peter and the disciples were ready to fight until the death to protect Christ in the garden. Christ denied them that opportunity by reminding them of His doctrine and that the scriptures must be fulfilled concerning Him.

Matt 26:51-56 And, behold, one of them which were with Jesus stretched out his hand, and drew his sword, and struck a servant of the high priest’s, and smote off his ear. Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword. Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be? In that same hour said Jesus to the multitudes, Are ye come out as against a thief with swords and staves for to take me? I sat daily with you teaching in the temple, and ye laid no hold on me. But all this was done, that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples forsook him, and fled. 

Next, Peter is recognized as a disciple of Christ and the fulfillment of Christ’s prophecy concerning denial begins.

Luke 22:56 a certain maid beheld him as he sat by the fire, 
John 18:17 Then saith the damsel that kept the door unto Peter, Art not thou also one of this man’s disciples?
Mark 14:67 And she looked upon him, and said, And thou also wast with Jesus of Nazareth,
Matt 26:69 Jesus of Galilee.
Mark 14:68 But he denied, saying, I know not, neither understand I what thou sayest. And he went out into the porch; and the cock crew.

Peter is a type and shadow of when we first deny Christ. We do this when we hear the truth and deny it is the truth. An example would be hearing the message that Christ is the savior of all but deny that all will be saved. The fulfillment continues.

Matt 26:71 And when he was gone out into the porch,
John 18:18 And the servants and officers stood there, who had made a fire of coals; for it was cold: and they warmed themselves: and Peter stood with them, and warmed himself.
Matt 26:71 another maid saw him, and said unto them that were there, This fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth.
Matt 26:72 And again he denied with an oath, I do not know the man.

This time Peter denied with an oath with his claim of not knowing Christ. We do the same thing when we are exposed to more truths but deny these truths because they do not fit into our belief that everyone is in control of their salvation. Now comes the final denial of Christ’s prophecy.

Luke 22:59 And about the space of one hour after another confidently affirmed,
John 18:25 They said therefore unto him, Art not thou also one of his disciples?
John 18:26 One of the servants of the high priest, being his kinsman whose ear Peter cut off, saith, Did not I see thee in the garden with him?
Luke 22:59 Of a truth this fellow also was with him: for he is a Galilaean. 
Luke 22:60 And Peter said, Man, I know not what thou sayest.
Matt 26:74 Then began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man.

Peter curses and swears denying he is a disciple of Christ shouting he does not know the man. We have all been there when we were fully into the doctrines of the world. We are in total denial at this point in our walk.

Mark 14:72 And the second time the cock crew.
Luke 22:61 And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter.
Mark 14:72 And Peter called to mind the word that Jesus said unto him, Before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice.
Luke 22:62 And Peter went out, and wept bitterly. 

The prophecy “Before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice” is now fulfilled. We are a witness against ourselves and the process of spiritual completion through judgment now begins. This is a necessary part of the process of salvation. Peter walked with Christ for 3½ years. He saw miracles performed and even performed miracles. He believed Christ’s teachings, and yet he still denied that he knew him. All this had to happen so the scriptures would be fulfilled concerning Christ.

Luke 22:37 For I say unto you, that this that is written must yet be accomplished in me, And he was reckoned among the transgressors: for the things concerning me have an end.

This is the time we lose our first love.

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

We are as carnal as the world in this state. We are told we do not live by bread alone but by every word of God.

Luke 4:4 And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.

The problem at this time in our walk is that the true bread has been taken away, and we have been set up to eat our own bread.

Isa 4:1 And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach.

Our old man has not yet been converted and can only deny Christ. Until the holy spirit is sent to us, we remain in denial. Our only hope is the promise of Christ sending the Comforter.

Luke 6:46 And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?

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

Hi Mike,

In view of what you have been telling me, I have been wondering if there is any point in going to Church.

W____

Hi again W____,
You say:

… I have been wondering if there is any point in going to Church?

Christ has promised us that if we are faithful to Him and His doctrine, we would be put out of their synagogues.

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.

Christ Himself was rejected by the priests and Pharisees of His day, and we are to be “as He is… in this world:”

1Jn 4:17 Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.

Years ago, as I began to see the doctrine of our Lord and how it so differed from the doctrine of the Pentecostal church I was reared in, I attempted to share what I was seeing with my minister and with others in the church. I learned at an early age that church doctrine will almost always trump the word of God. In less than two years time I was asked not to open my mouth in three separate churches.
I was in effect “put out of the synagogue”, just as my Lord had told me I would be. The scriptures teach that “all things are ours” and that “all things come alike to all”.

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;
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.

So all who follow Christ will stand up for His doctrine and will, in time, be “put out of the synagogue”.

Luk 4:29 And rose up [ the people in the synagogue], and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong.

Those who do not take a stand with Christ and His doctrine are simply denying their Lord who was put out of the synagogue for His doctrine.

Mat 10:33 But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.

Just dare to stand on Christ’s Words, and you will soon come to know the meaning of this verse of scripture:

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.

Our ‘crucifixion’ is not necessarily physical, as our Lord’s was. Our ‘crucifixion’ is spiritual. It is our ‘death’ to the doctrines of what the scriptures call ‘Babylon the great, the mother of harlots and of the abominations of the world’. That is how Paul can say “… nevertheless I live”. Our ‘crucifixion’ is our daily dying (1Co 15:31) to all the things of this life to which we just naturally cling, whatever that might be. It is our attachment to the things of this life which keeps us separated from the doctrines of our Lord.

Mat 10:32 Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.
Mat 10:33 But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.
Mat 10:34 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.
Mat 10:35 For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.
Mat 10:36 And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household.
Mat 10:37 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
Mat 10:38 And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.
Mat 10:39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.
Rev 17:5 And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
Rev 17:6 And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.

“The woman” throughout scripture always typifies the church. It is, was and always will be the church which will be the first to insist upon the crucifixion of Christ and His Christ.

Isa 1:21 How is the faithful city [ Jerusalem] become an harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers.
Rev 11:8 And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.
Act 3:13 The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye [ His own church] delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go.
Act 3:14 But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you;
Act 3:15 And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses.

“Where also our Lord was crucified”. What does that mean? It means you and me, when we were in the church and not following Christ. It means the church which killed Christ two thousand years ago, and it means the church which, to this very day, would kill Christ if He were here today teaching us to “Love thine enemies… resist not evil”, etc. You and I ‘kill and deny’ the Prince of Life when we refuse to “come out of” Babylon The Great, and prefer instead to be accepted by the churches and people of this world.

Rev 18:4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.

What you do at this point is between you and the Lord, but you are in my prayers, and I am praying that the Lord will strengthen you to face the battle which must be waged by all who are granted the privilege to follow our Lord.

Luk 14:26 If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.
Luk 14:27 And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.
Luk 14:28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?
Act 14:22 Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.

Christ is our husband, and He will not play ‘second fiddle’ to anything or anyone in our lives. Count the cost, because it requires our life, but if we are granted to follow in His steps and endure the crucifixion of our Lord, the rewards will be well worth it:

1Co 2:9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
1Co 2:10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
Rev 2:26 And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:
Rev 2:27 And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.
Rev 2:28 And I will give him the morning star.
Rev 19:9 And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.
Rev 20:6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

We ‘will be hated of all men’, but our names will be in His ‘book of remembrance’ and His ‘book of life’, and that is worth far more than being well spoken of by all men.

Mal 3:16 Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name.
Mal 3:17 And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.
Mal 3:18 Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.
Luk 6:26 Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets.

But as the law of Moses serves to lead us to Christ, so too, the churches serve the function of introducing us to Christ. It is usually in the orthodox church setting as children we learn such basics as the Lord’s prayer, the ten commandments, God is love and other rudiments that are often the starting point of our Christian walk.

Gal 3:24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Chris t, that we might be justified by faith.
Gal 3:25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.

Your brother in prayer,
Mike>

Hi Mike,

Again it happens to me that you answered someone else’s question, and I also get answer to a question I have.
A couple I know lost their baby in the womb about nine weeks ago. I do not know them well, but I felt very sorry for their loss. This week they talked about the loss of their son, and I listened. There also was another person standing there, and he said…”and then there are some people who say “That was the will of God”” in a very negative kind of way. The guy who lost his son said that he did believe there was a God, but now he did not believe anything anymore.
I had so much to say to these two guys, but I didn’t even know where to start at that point. I said nothing, and somehow it bothered me inside; kept me thinking “did I deny my Lord”?
I was reading the letter and the answer in let him remain ignorant.

1Co 14:37  If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord.
1Co 14:38  But if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant.

They did not ask me anything, they already had their mind made up. Mike, Isa 1Co 14:38 a principle which can be used always? When people have their minds made up, is it better to say nothing even if it is insulting to our Lord? I know, and you undoubtetly know, what comes of discussions with our brothers and sisters who are not likeminded – if in the earth or in the sea – strife. If they don’t ask, they are not interested, and that tells us God is not dragging them at this point. People who are dragged are feeling lost and are having many questions and are looking for answers and have been given a love for the Truth. That’s what comes first in that dragging process, right?
These little things also teach me patience; that now is not the time to speak in many cases; that Mat 27:14 And he answered him to never a word…. even if they don’t marvel about it, but are just plain ignorant. They will not understand a word you say, because they are not asking. And because they are not asking, you know they are not looking.
I had a phone call yesterday from that friend with whom I had had a long conversation. We talked some, and he told me he has been reading the website, and that he hardly could stop reading. I recognize myself in that I also could not stop reading. He would like me to go on a fishing trip with him and talk with me. I’m going, and I hope he will be in an asking mood, not in a telling one.
Do you also remember I told you about one of my former best friends who is elder in the church I used to go to. They went to a sermon not so long ago, and the minister said in that sermon that Judas was predestinated to betray our Lord. They realized that that is also what I have been telling them, and they have been searching and want to talk with me.
I don’t know what will happen; if the Lord will give me words to speak, or maybe answer them never a word. That is all depending on the dragging of the Father.

Your brother in Christ
R____

Hi R____,
This is very instructive because it demonstrates when we should not speak.
But you ask me:

Mike, Isa 1Co 14:38 a principle which can be used always? When people have their minds made up, is it better to say nothing even if it is insulting to our Lord?

The answer to that question is that it is a principle which can always be applied when you are speaking in a group such as you describe, where the people do not know you, who may never see you again, and are not particularly interested in getting to know you. But where it does not apply is when you are in a group of friends with whom you plan to spend time, and who think they know you and who have known you for an extended period of time, and yet they are not even aware that you believe in God or Christ. In that case you have denied Christ, because you have a person thinking he knows you, and you are “Jesus Christ whom he is persecuting” and he isn’t even aware of it because you haven’t even bothered to say “yes, I am a king”, while you were being beaten and scourged by either that person or that group of people.
We are specifically told that we are not to cast our pearls before swine, ‘lest they turn and rend you’.

Mat 7:6 Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.

You say:

A couple I know lost their baby in the womb about nine weeks ago. I do not know them well, but I felt very sorry for their loss.

That certainly does not sound like you have a close personal relationship with this couple, and I too, would commiserate with even a total stranger if they were to share such an experience with me. But I would not attempt to share my pearls with that person, especially if they told me that they did not even believe in God. If, in the course of time I came to know that man and woman better, if Christ is in me, that is who they are going to get to know. I am sure you feel the same way.
What this all demonstrates is that Christ was telling us the truth when He said that the holy spirit would do our premeditating for us, and would give us the words to speak in that hour. In other words, if Christ is in us, He will be thinking of His Father’s words long before He is delivered up to be persecuted.

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.

Christ also said “let the [ spiritually] dead bury their dead.” Now if we also are told “the dead know not anything”, why would we even attempt to deny their total ignorance. “He that is ignorant let him remain ignorant.”
I hope that answers your question asking if this is a principle that can always be applied. The holy spirit, which really is God’s Word (Joh 6:63), Christ within us, will give us the words to speak “in that same hour.”
But that is “when they deliver you up” and they are pounding on you for answers which they have no interest in hearing. Christ never once in His recorded career went by night to seek out a Pharisee or Sadducee to try to convert that man. Nicodemus came to Christ by night to inquire of the Truth, and other Pharisees came to tempt Him, but He never once tried to deal with them unless they came tempting him. In every case, Christ never denied His Father, and He shut their mouths with the wisdom of His Words. He is still doing the same thing in us. He will give us the words and the wisdom we need at the hour we need it.

Your brother in Christ,
Mike

Hi Mike,

I am a little lost here. Being in school has challenged so many things for me, and I don’t know if I should address them or leave it! It is a bit overwhelming to try and get this work done and get good grades (for the purpose of a good job to help our financial survival), but communicate with truth. I can’t really come to a conclusion for this particular problem.
I am in a Race, Ethnicity and Diversity class. The teacher is politically very liberal, not a christian and of other sexual orientation. The class is all about social engineering and political correctness. It’s been just an awful class to get through. I had to write a research paper on a social issue which was the women civil rights movement. Of course my findings on the reasearch didn’t support the views of the political left. The instructor had no choice but to give me a good grade because I followed the rubric he gave me to a “T”, but he wrote the longest commentary about my beliefs as a Christian and challenged my views about God, women and men and child rearing.
My question is: should I let this go, or take the time to rebut. I am so overloaded with life now that the thought of taking the time to restate where my views are founded seems daunting. I feel that if I don’t I’ve not stood up for Christ, and if I do I am wasting my time with someone who only wants to argue with me.
I have no doubt that you will have some scripture for me to help me through this!!

Your Sister in Christ,
C____

Hi C____,
Yes, I certainly do have have some scriptures to share with you.
We both know that we should not be guilty of “denying our Lord.”

Mat 10:32 Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.
Mat 10:33 But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.
Mat 10:37 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
Mat 10:38 And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.

You have not denied our Lord. From what you have told me in this e- mail, you have stated your convictions, and you got a good grade for doing so. If this were someone who claimed to be a believer, then there would be the need for a second witness.

Mat 18:15  Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.
Mat 18:16  But if he will not hear [ thee, then] take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.
Mat 18:17  And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell [ it] unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.

But this teacher makes no such claim and is not rooted in the Word of God. Let him remain ignorant:

1Co 14:37  If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord.
1Co 14:38  But if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant.

Your teacher is a liberal, non- Christian, homosexual. Let him remain ignorant, and do not be intimidated by him. God is your Father. He sees you, and you are “the apple of his eye.”

Zec 2:7  Deliver thyself, O Zion, that dwellest with the daughter of Babylon.
Zec 2:8  For thus saith the LORD of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye.

So to answer your question directly, from what you have said in this e- mail, let this go. Unless your grade is directly affected by not responding, let this go. We are not sent but to the spiritually lost sheep of the house of Israel, and this is not the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

Mat 10:5 These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into [ any] city of the Samaritans enter ye not:
Mat 10:6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
Mat 15:24 But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

When this man comes and bows at your feet, then you will answer him and then he will listen.

1Co 4:5  Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.
Rev 3:9  Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.

When the Lord enters this man, then is the time to “judge those who are within”.

1Co 5:12  For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within?

After the Lord humbles this world, then we will witness to them. Christ Himself answered not a word to Pilate except to confess that He was a King.

Mat 27:11  And Jesus stood before the governor [ Pilate]: and the governor asked him, saying, Art thou the King of the Jews? And Jesus said unto him, Thou sayest.
Mat 27:12  And when he was accused of the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing.
Mat 27:13  Then said Pilate unto him, Hearest thou not how many things they witness against thee?
Mat 27:14  And he answered him to never a word; insomuch that the governor marvelled greatly.

I hope these verses give you some direction in dealing with your teacher.

Rev 22:11  He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.

I will be praying that God will strengthen you and give you the patience to endure this time of trial.

Your brother in Christ,
Mike

Mike,

What do you believe the purpose of Abraham’s Egypt trip when he first got to Canaan was all about? Do you think it was to increase his faith or to show how GOD can bring blessings out of our trip to Egypt? It was obviously a scary trip for Abraham because he was so afraid that he committed skulduggery when it came to his relationship about who Sarah was to him. I have a bunch of my own theories but nothing scriptural.

K____

Hi K____,

Thank you for your question.

You ask what is the meaning of Abraham’s trip into Egypt after first coming into the promised land.

Gen 12:10  And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was grievous in the land.
Gen 12:11  And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon:
Gen 12:12  Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall say, This is his wife: and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive.
Gen 12:13  Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee.
Gen 12:14  And it came to pass, that, when Abram was come into Egypt, the Egyptians beheld the woman that she  was very fair.
Gen 12:15  The princes also of Pharaoh saw her, and commended her before Pharaoh: and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house.
Gen 12:16  And he entreated Abram well for her sake: and he had sheep, and oxen, and he asses, and menservants, and maidservants, and she asses, and camels.
Gen 12:17  And the LORD plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai Abram’s wife.
Gen 12:18  And Pharaoh called Abram, and said, What is this that thou hast done unto me? why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife?
Gen 12:19  Why saidst thou, She is my sister? so I might have taken her to me to wife: now therefore behold thy wife, take her, and go thy way.
Gen 12:20  And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him: and they sent him away, and his wife, and all that he had.

The very first thing we need to realize is that all of this happened to Abraham, and it is written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the age have come. It is all typical of each of us.

1Co 10:11  Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples [ Greek, tupos, type]: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

What is happening here is exactly the same thing Abraham had done before, this time while still in the promised land, when he does the same exact thing with Abimelech, the king of Gerar. This is after Abraham has separated from Lot, has saved Lot and the king and all the people of Sodom from the kings of the east. Even after all of that, Abraham is afraid of the king of Gerar and again denies his wife.

Gen 20:1  And Abraham journeyed from thence [ From the “plains of Mamre” after the destruction of Sodom] toward the south country, and dwelled between Kadesh and Shur, and sojourned in Gerar.
Gen 20:2  And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister: and Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah.
Gen 20:3  But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, Behold, thou art but a dead man, for the woman which thou hast taken; for she is a man’s wife.
Gen 20:4  But Abimelech had not come near her: and he said, Lord, wilt thou slay also a righteous nation?
Gen 20:5  Said he not unto me, She is my sister? and she, even she herself said, He is my brother: in the integrity of my heart and innocency of my hands have I done this.
Gen 20:6  And God said unto him in a dream, Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for I also withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore suffered I thee not to touch her.
Gen 20:7  Now therefore restore the man his wife; for he [ is] a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live: and if thou restore her not, know thou that thou shalt surely die, thou, and all that are thine.
Gen 20:8  Therefore Abimelech rose early in the morning, and called all his servants, and told all these things in their ears: and the men were sore afraid.
Gen 20:9  Then Abimelech called Abraham, and said unto him, What hast thou done unto us? and what have I offended thee, that thou hast brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? thou hast done deeds unto me that ought not to be done.
Gen 20:10  And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What sawest thou, that thou hast done this thing?
Gen 20:11  And Abraham said, Because I thought, Surely the fear of God [ is] not in this place; and they will slay me for my wife’s sake.
Gen 20:12  And yet indeed [ she is] my sister; she [ is] the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife.
Gen 20:13  And it came to pass, when God caused me to wander from my father’s house, that I said unto her, This [ is] thy kindness which thou shalt shew unto me; at every place whither we shall come, say of me, He [ is] my brother.
Gen 20:14  And Abimelech took sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and womenservants, and gave [ them] unto Abraham, and restored him Sarah his wife.

The same sin is repeated for the third time by Isaac with the Abimelech of His day, when Isaac fears the king of Gerar and denies that Rebecca is his wife.

Gen 26:1  And there was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gerar.
Gen 26:2  And the LORD appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of:
Gen 26:3  Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father;
Gen 26:4  And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;
Gen 26:5  Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.
Gen 26:6  And Isaac dwelt in Gerar:
Gen 26:7  And the men of the place asked him of his wife; and he said, She is my sister: for he feared to say, She is my wife; lest, [ said he], the men of the place should kill me for Rebekah; because she was fair to look upon.
Gen 26:8  And it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out at a window, and saw, and, behold, Isaac was sporting with Rebekah his wife.
Gen 26:9  And Abimelech called Isaac, and said, Behold, of a surety she is thy wife: and how saidst thou, She is my sister? And Isaac said unto him, Because I said, Lest I die for her.
Gen 26:10  And Abimelech said, What is this thou hast done unto us? one of the people might lightly have lien with thy wife, and thou shouldest have brought guiltiness upon us.
Gen 26:11  And Abimelech charged all his people, saying, He that toucheth this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.

The fact that this sin is thrice repeated with the patriarchs Abraham and Isaac is very significant indeed. The love of a man for his wife is a type of a man’s love of Christ and His Words.

Eph 5:25  Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
Eph 5:26  That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
Eph 5:27  That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
Eph 5:28  So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.

“He that loves his wife loves himself.” But who are we to spiritually see ourselves as being? We are to see ourselves as part of the body of Christ, speaking the words of Christ:

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:

There are so many types and shadows of you and me in this story of Abraham and Isaac denying their wives, that it would take a whole book to cover them all. But Christ best sums up the meaning of this thrice repeated sin in this statement:

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

“For My sake” means for the sake of My Words, and for the sake of standing up for, and being true to, the words of Christ.

Mat 13:21  Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.

Who do you know who will stand for these words of our Lord in these days of living in fear of another terrorist attack?

Mat 26:52  Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.

Who do you know who believes and stands for the truth in these verses of God’s Words?

Isa 45:7  I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.

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

Pro 16:4  The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.

Who do you know who is not offended by these words of God’s Word?

Rom 9:15  For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
Rom 9:16  So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.

Denying one’s wife is in type denying Christ and His Words, in an attempt to save ourselves from the uncircumcised Egyptians of what is called the secular world and from the uncircumcised Philistines who being in the promised land, symbolize the church to which the Truths of Christ become a curse on both the house of Pharaoh and the very life of Abimelech.

The ark of God, when captured by the Philistines, represents this same story. In the hands of the spiritually uncircumcised, the Truth becomes a curse that plagues them and their land. just as the wives of Abraham and Isaac were to the Pagan kings who took their wives unto themselves.

The “famine in the land” tells us that this was to symbolize the tendency that is innate to our flesh to relax and become careless when things are going our way, and we have just come into the promised land, or we have just been used of God to destroy the kings of the east, and have just witnessed the destruction of Sodom. That is when “a famine in the land” will plague us all, and we will find it essential that we be brought through the entire process of being humbled by “an experience of evil” three times. Three is the number which signifies the process of judgment, and that process must be “endured to the end.” (See the studies on Numbers In Scripture on iswasandwillbe. com).

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.

Luk 6:46  And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?

Luk 21:19  In your patience possess ye your souls.

I do hope this helps you to see why we are three times reminded that we all tend to deny our wives to save our own lives. Spiritual truth is always counterintuitive to the natural man, and cannot be received by the natural man, even though he may consider himself a spiritual man. It is the ability to receive and live by what seems to be the impossible commandments of our Lord which tell us where we are in Christ and His Words. Like the apostle Peter, we all lack this ability before we are given the strength of God’s spirit to die for the words of Christ.

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

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.

Abraham, Isaac, Peter and you and I, will all three times deny our Lord and His Words, before we are given to be willing to die with Him on His cross. That is simply the process of the revelation of Jesus Christ within us all. That is the spiritual significance of why the patriarchs three times denied their wives.

Your brother in Christ,

Mike

H____ wrote:
Hi Mike:
Thanks so much for responding.
You see learning in the process that all of what I have learned from the pulpit and all my years as a Christian was in error is a hard pill to swallow. Was it all a wasted of time? I have spent a lot of money on maintaining tapes, cd’s and over a thousand books in my library; filling myself up with knowledge; taking courses and equipping myself. I did seek. I was reading a book or two a week for many many years. I had the best of teachers from Christendom. Then it was Dr Dallas Willard who turned me around. What I did learn from him was that the christian life was being transformed by Christ and that comes from dying to the flesh and allowing Him to live in me. If I do it, I will fail. He didn’t preach hell and damnation. He didn’t preach a bunch of do’s and don’ts. Then a few years later, I then got a book called Pagan Christianity by Frank Viola. Great book on the pagan practices of Christianity. It really opened my eyes.
Then it was another guy (can’t remember his name) that stated eternal hell was a false doctrine and then all would be saved followed that. This blew me away. Then I landed on your site and another’s. I have been studying on taking all these new truths in daily, spending hours a day without fail. I am blessed being in the music business so I do have free time and a flexible schedule that allows me time to spend in this.
I then shared these truths with a few at church who seemed to be open. They have taken it in as well. I was so blessed that God has used me; that He would choose to use me is great. It is not me I know. I shared with my wife who ate it up. It took awhile, but she took it all in. Now she being raised in the church all of her life sees it as Babylon. She was a tither when I wasn’t. I did bring it up to her years ago and let it lie giving it to the Lord to change her. And she came around less than 8 months ago. She saw the error in it after I shared more deeply of the tithe. She saw misuse of the funds in church. I think that did it. When she found out that her hard- earned money was giving the pastor and his wife a great salary while people were in great need and weren’t helped in the church, she hasn’t tithed since.
We are human and still in the flesh and no man is perfect. I just eat the meat andbspit out the bones. Hopefully God will point out the bones to me to spit out and not swallow. I want truth. I want His truth not man’s.
It seems in a way we are this generation’s prophets. I am using the term “prophet” not in the way it is used today by the self- proclaimed prophets. I have received mailings of those that want money and they will send you all these courses or tapes on how to develop your gift in prophecy and get more anointed, etc.
We are today’s prophets bringing God’s truth to many if possible. The church today is apostate, and we are the few. Yes, I know there is no way that we can know if we are elect or not. I hope I am and will endure to the end. And pride has no place in our lives. It is by God’s doing and not because we earned it or that we have more smarts, etc. Like I said, to be used by the Lord is great enough. I am joyful about that.
I do have a question or two. Jesus claimed that you would be hated of all men and be persecuted. So I take it He is talking about the church and the world as well, right? And this is because what we have been shown by God the heresy to today’s church; the myth of free- will, tithing, not believing in the trinity, the origin of evil and Satan, false doctrine of hell and eternal torment, that all will be saved, etc.
We are thrown out because of what we proclaim. So we should speak out when asked, but most of us won’t get that  chance because the few have left the buildings of men. I still attend just in case someone is of the few. And so far because I have been there, some have been coming out. But Jesus said the world will hate you. But did the world hate Jesus? They did come to Him for healing in multitudes. Pilate didn’t condemn Jesus. He had Him crucified because of the pressure from the Sanhedrin. But Pilate, who represented the world, didn’t seem to hate the Lord, right? So why would the unbelieving world hate us?
I don’t know if I can take much more of the false teaching there in the building, but when the opportunity arrives – I do speak out but in the spirit of love. I don’t argue. But I do raise the truth in the form of questions. I know most of what I say falls on deaf ears. But there is a few that say things to me like ” that was a great point you made.” I give it in spoonfuls.
Thanks so much for everything. And if I think of another question I will ask you.  I know I have a few.
Blessings, H____

Good morning H____,
Knowing that our belief is at the expense of those who do not believe should give us a certain appreciation for Babylon that only a mature child of God can express:

Rom 9:3  For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh:

It is a sobering, humbling thing to live and witness how God makes a person’s light turn to darkness.
You are right about learning from Babylon. We should never look at our time there as wasted. God does not waste time. What we do is what we are caused to do. It is a waste from the point of view of the flesh, but it is all needed from the point of view of God’s sovereign work. As I said above, we need to come to appreciate the function of Babylon in the scheme of the revelation of Jesus Christ. Indeed Christ is a very dark road to those who cannot see that it is He who is working all things after the counsel of His own will:

Psa 139:7  Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
Psa 139:8  If I ascend up into heaven, thou [ art] there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou [ art there].
Psa 139:9  [ If] I take the wings of the morning, [ and] dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;
Psa 139:10  Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.
Psa 139:11 If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me.

The night is like light to God because it is but a creation of His, and it is but a tool in His hand. Satan cannot move without God giving him permission and directions. This all amounts to darkness and light being the same to God:

Psa 139:12  Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.

Bring that verse up in your Sunday school class if you dare. This chapter begins with God knowing and even “understanding David’s thoughts and Joseph’s brothers thoughts and your thoughts and my thoughts “from afar.” In other words, God knows our thoughts before we ever have them. How is that even possible if he is not the cause of all things:

Psa 139:1 <To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.> O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known [ me].
Psa 139:2  Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off.
Psa 139:3  Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted [ with] all my ways.
Psa 139:4  For [ there is] not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether.
Psa 139:5  Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me.
Psa 139:6  Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.
Pro 16:1  The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD.

So every sin and mistake we make serves to show us just how incapable we are of ourselves. And every beastly act of mankind serves to demonstrate that it was God who “marred the vessel of clay in His own hand” for the purpose of disposing of that clay vessel to make it anew ‘as seems fit to the potter to make it.’

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

Babylon is God’s creation, and it serves us well. Babylon is those who come so close to Christ that they are healed of many of their diseases and are taught of Him and eat of his loaves and fishes and “believe on him” and yet want to kill him. Babylon is our brothers in Christ who can carry and bear for us the vessels of the temple and yet cannot touch any holy thing. It is a humiliating calling that all of Joseph’s brothers and Moses’s and Aaron’s first cousin, a fellow Levite, naturally resented:

Num 18:1  And the LORD said unto Aaron, Thou and thy sons and thy father’s house with thee shall bear the iniquity of the sanctuary: and thou and thy sons with thee shall bear the iniquity of your priesthood.
Num 18:2  And thy brethren also of the tribe of Levi, the tribe of thy father, bring thou with thee, that they may be joined unto thee, and minister unto thee: but thou and thy sons with thee [ shall minister] before the tabernacle of witness.
Num 18:3  And they shall keep thy charge, and the charge of all the tabernacle: only they shall not come nigh the vessels of the sanctuary and the altar, that neither they, nor ye also, die.
Num 18:4  And they shall be joined unto thee, and keep the charge of the tabernacle of the congregation, for all the service of the tabernacle: and a stranger shall not come nigh unto you.
Num 18:5  And ye shall keep the charge of the sanctuary, and the charge of the altar: that there be no wrath any more upon the children of Israel.
Num 18:6  And I, behold, I have taken your brethren the Levites from among the children of Israel: to you they are given as a gift for the LORD, to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation .
Num 18:7  Therefore thou and thy sons with thee shall keep your priest’s office for every thing of the altar, and within the vail; and ye shall serve: I have given your priest’s office unto you as a service of gift: a nd the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.

Now that is the answer to your question about what is the world. Yes, Pilate did not want to kill Christ, but Babylon, God’s own people, those who claim that they are the spiritual seed of Abraham, those who have come out of Egypt and have crossed the Red Sea and have endured the trials of the wilderness and have followed Christ and are hungry for His parables and “believe on Christ,” still want Him dead, simply because they cannot go all the way with Him to the cross. Babylon is our brothers in Christ. Judas is one of our closest brothers. “To you they are given as a gift for the LORD, to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation.” But thou and thy sons with thee shall keep your priest’s office for every thing of the altar, and within the vail… and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.”  Which is just another way of saying that their light becomes darkness.
Here is this same admonition in New Testament spiritual words:

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.
Tit 3:10 A man that is an heretick after the first and second admonition reject;

Coming out of Babylon has as more to do with keeping false doctrines out of our spiritual house than it does with staying away from a physical building. Nevertheless we are commanded not to bid them godspeed or we are guilty of their evil deed. We are never to be seen as approving of what is being said in Babylon.

1Co 10:20  But I [ say], that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils.
1Co 10:21  Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table, and of the table of devils.

Oh yes, Paul did indeed go into the synagogue. But he never lasted very long because he was there “as a testimony against them.”

Mat 10:18  And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles.

You ask: “Why would the world hate us?” Just try telling any man on the street that he ought not be participating in the affairs of this age, that he ought to be loving his enemies even if those enemies are Arabs, and you will very soon see that there is no real difference between your brothers in Christ and the world. That is why Babylon is called ‘the world.’ Christ did not call His disciples out of Rome. He called them out of Israel, God’s people, and this is what He tells them:

Joh 15:19  If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.

There is a letter on the site and a video entitled What Is The World. Check them out. You will see that Babylon is God’s people who are of the world, and that in New Testament terms the phrase ‘the world’ includes and generally means the apostate church.

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.

“The world” in this verse, is not referring to the local sports stadium. It is a reference to the local church. You and I both know that no denomination is going to tolerate hearing the truth of God’s Word. The synagogues of old were much more designed for general discussion than are the very strictly structured organizations of orthodox Christianity. None of the apostles were regular attendees at the local synagogues as quiet ‘pew warmers’ just hoping for an opportunity to be asked about Christ. If Peter had waited for the man at the gate called beautiful to ask him about Christ, the man would never have been healed. I have no doubt that the man had already heard about Christ, but Peter, under the inspiration of the holy spirit, took this opportunity to bring Christ into the conversation and use this man, so well known by so many, as a witness to the power of the resurrected Christ.
At our last conference I told the attendees that I felt that I have perhaps overemphasized the fact that Peter tells us to be ready to answer any who asks of us a reason for the joy that lies within us.

1Pe 3:15  But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and [ be] ready always to [ give] an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:

What really needs to be emphasized about that verse is “with meekness and fear.” There is no room for pride in the service of our Lord. It is all of Him, or it is counterproductive.
Being told to be ready to answer a question is not the same as saying that you must always wait for a question before you ever bring up the subject of Christ. Following Peter’s own example at the gate called beautiful, we should also be ready to take advantage of any excuse to declare our faith in the resurrected Son of God. We are not to just “sit there like a bump on a log” while others discuss Christ in our presence and never say a word just because a question was not posed to us directly. No, we ought not cast our pearls before swine, but there is no scripture that I can think of which says that we are to assume that everyone we meet are swine who will reject our witness and our testimony of Jesus Christ:

Rev 19:10  And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See [ thou do it] not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

You are right, we are today’s prophets who speak to men to edification, exhortation and comfort:

1Co 14:3  But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort.

I hope this has answered your questions, and I hope you can see that we don’t need to wait until a question is specifically directed toward us before we take the opportunity to be witnesses for our Lord. I feel that I have indeed overemphasized the need to grown in grace and know whereof we speak. It is true that we ought not try to force what we have learned down the throats of babes who are not even interested. It is also true though that we are to be zealous in a good thing:

Gal 4:18  But it is good to be zealously affected always in a good thing, and not only when I am present with you.
Tit 2:14  Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
Rev 3:19  As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
Mat 5:14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

Mike

“They went out from us” because they are not of us. ‘Denying Christ and His Father’ does not mean to deny him like Peter did. What Peter did was but a shadow and type of what we do whenever we claim to know Christ, yet we don’t love our brother. That is how ‘they’ deny the Father and the Son. In other words ‘antichrist’ will use the name of Christ and loudly proclaim Christ and thereby deceive more. just look at this verse:

Mat 24:5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

Now look at this verse:

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.

So when we get the sum of God’s Word, this is what we have:

Mat 24:5 For many [antichrist] shall come [are already in the world] in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

So there are “many” who claim to know Christ who are in reality denying Him and His Father. How are they doing this?

Tit 1:16 They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.

Luk 6:46 And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?

What is it that undergirds all true works of God? What is it that reveals an antichrist quicker than anything else?

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?

Which is why both Christ and John give us this same litmus test:

Mat 5:43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
Mat 5:44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
Mat 5:45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good [Christ is available to us all], and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust [The Word of God is also right there for us all. But not all who claim to keep it, really keep it].
Mat 5:46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
Mat 5:47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more [than others]? do not even the publicans so?

So we are right back where we started. Many preach the gospel in the name of Christ. But when we apply the litmus test of love, here is what is manifested:

Tit 1:16 They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.

“They went out from us”, but they always deny this and claim that we went out from them. So the only way to make it clear is to expose them Biblically. And that Biblical exposure is their “works” which Paul calls “fruit”.

Tit 3:14 And let ours also learn to maintain good works for necessary uses, that they be not unfruitful.

Of course Paul learned this from his Lord who told us how we can detect any fraud:

Mat 7:15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
Mat 7:16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
Mat 7:17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
Mat 7:18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
Mat 7:19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
Mat 7:20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
Mat 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Mat 7:22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
Mat 7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
Mat 7:24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
Mat 7:25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
Mat 7:26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
Mat 7:27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

“These sayings of Mine” are Christ’s doctrine. Good fruit and good doctrine cannot be separated. Evil fruit and evil doctrine cannot be separated. Nevertheless, many will say “we have done many wonderful works in thy name” thinking that loving those who love them is ‘good works’. However, good works are manifested only in the sum of “these sayings of mine.” Truly ‘good works’ are manifested only in those who do what cannot be done naturally. The litmus test of love is not whether you can love your friends, family or a total stranger and all the help you give them. That kind of “good works” just makes you feel good about yourself. The real litmus test of love is can you:

Mat 5:44 Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

1Co 11:28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.

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