[Study Aired December 15, 2022]

 2Ki 14:1  In the second year of Joash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel reigned Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah. 
2Ki 14:2  He was twenty and five years old when he began to reign, and reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem.
2Ki 14:3  And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, yet not like David his father: he did according to all things as Joash his father did. 
2Ki 14:4  Howbeit the high places were not taken away: as yet the people did sacrifice and burnt incense on the high places. 
2Ki 14:5  And it came to pass, as soon as the kingdom was confirmed in his hand, that he slew his servants which had slain the king his father. 
2Ki 14:6  But the children of the murderers he slew not: according unto that which is written in the book of the law of Moses, wherein the LORD commanded, saying, The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, nor the children be put to death for the fathers; but every man shall be put to death for his own sin. 
2Ki 14:7  He slew of Edom in the valley of salt ten thousand, and took Selah by war, and called the name of it Joktheel unto this day. 
2Ki 14:8  Then Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash, the son of Jehoahaz son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, Come, let us look one another in the face. 
2Ki 14:9  And Jehoash the king of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, Give thy daughter to my son to wife: and there passed by a wild beast that was in Lebanon, and trode down the thistle. 
2Ki 14:10  Thou hast indeed smitten Edom, and thine heart hath lifted thee up: glory of this, and tarry at home: for why shouldest thou meddle to thy hurt, that thou shouldest fall, even thou, and Judah with thee? 
2Ki 14:11  But Amaziah would not hear. Therefore Jehoash king of Israel went up; and he and Amaziah king of Judah looked one another in the face at Bethshemesh, which belongeth to Judah. 
2Ki 14:12  And Judah was put to the worse before Israel; and they fled every man to their tents.
2Ki 14:13  And Jehoash king of Israel took Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Jehoash the son of Ahaziah, at Bethshemesh, and came to Jerusalem, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem from the gate of Ephraim unto the corner gate, four hundred cubits. 
2Ki 14:14  And he took all the gold and silver, and all the vessels that were found in the house of the LORD, and in the treasures of the king’s house, and hostages, and returned to Samaria.
2Ki 14:15  Now the rest of the acts of Jehoash which he did, and his might, and how he fought with Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? 
2Ki 14:16  And Jehoash slept with his fathers, and was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel; and Jeroboam his son reigned in his stead. 
2Ki 14:17  And Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah lived after the death of Jehoash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel fifteen years. 
2Ki 14:18  And the rest of the acts of Amaziah, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?  

The last verse of chapter 13 of 2 Kings reads: 

2Ki 13:25  And Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz took again out of the hand of Benhadad the son of Hazael the cities, which he had taken out of the hand of Jehoahaz his father by war. Three times did Joash beat him, and recovered the cities of Israel.

These actions typify for us the life-long battle against our flesh of which Christ said of even himself there is no good thing (Mar 10:18). All the good works in Christ’s life were attributed to His Father, just as we should give all glory to God for whatever growth or increase that is given us by God through Christ (Joh 5:30, Joh 15:5, 1Co 3:6). Both Christ, when He was in this marred vessel of clay, and His body, the church (Col 1:24), come to understand the source of our strength and who it is that is doing the work within us, bringing us to say wholeheartedly that we are unprofitable servants who have done that which is expected of us, being His workmanship (Luk 17:10, Eph 2:10).

Mar 10:18  Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God. 

Joh 5:30  I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me. 

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

1Co 3:6  I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.

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: [Eph 5:30] 

Luk 17:10  So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.

Eph 2:11  Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; 

These scriptures above are ‘good’ to consider in light of this section of kings where we learn of many of the wonderful works of King Amaziah; works that demonstrated a zealousness toward God, but in the end King Amaziah was proud and led the people into idolatrous practices which led to Judah being defeated by Israel. The “high places” that “were not removed” (vs 4) represent the hardest of all things to overcome within our beastly nature, “the pride of life” spoken of in 1 John 2:16, but also the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes, none of which is of the Father. (For more on this topic see the study on 2Ki 13:1-13  “And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers”)

1Jn 2:16  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

It is only by God’s grace and the faith of Christ that we will rule over and ultimately conquer that spirit of pride, going onto perfection on the third day having been blessed to learn obedience in this life by the things that we suffered (Heb 5:8, 1Jn 4:17), giving us the ability through Christ to forsake ungodliness and worldly lusts in this age (Luk 13:32, Tit 2:11-12).

Heb 5:8  Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; 
Heb 5:9  And being made perfect, [Luk 13:32] he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him; [Heb 5:8, 1Jn 4:17]

Tit 2:11  For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, 
Tit 2:12  Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

This section of kings we are studying now is primarily about the pride-filled heart of king Amaziah whose life and all the details in it were written for our sakes (1Co 10:11) to help us understand the miracle of our calling and the continual need to be dragged to Christ in order to become more than conquerors through Him (Joh 6:44).

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

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

Tonight we will also read some parallel verses from 2 Chronicles (2Ch 25:1-26) to hopefully give us a richer view of this section of 2 Kings.

2Ki 14:1  In the second year of Joash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel reigned Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah.
2Ki 14:2  He was twenty and five years old when he began to reign, and reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem.
2Ki 14:3  And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, yet not like David his father: he did according to all things as Joash his father did.

As with last week’s study, we have some opening numbers to consider which set the tone for the verses that follow. 

Firstly, it is “In the second year of Joash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel” that we learn that Joash’s son Amaziah became king over Judah. Israel is the nation that will witness (2) against Amaziah who began to reign over Judah when he was (25), and he reigned for 29 years. 

Also, King Amaziah was not as wholehearted and devoted as King David was, who is a type of Christ. In the positive view of those numbers, we see the witness of grace and judgment that was upon Amaziah and the nation of Judah [25+29=54]. Those numbers add up to 54 which again represents judgment which comes about as a result of God’s grace (5+4=9). 

Amaziah’s pride prevented him from being affected by the warnings both he and his father Joash received which led to their deaths (2Ch 24:18-22, 2Ch 25:15-16). This hardness of heart we see in both father and son resulted in the “high places” not being taken away (Joash: 2Ki 14:4, Amaziah: 2Ki 13:11, Jeroboam: 1Ki 13:33). Their pride-filled lives ended up negatively affecting so many other people who rejected God’s knowledge and were drawn away after the idol of their hearts (Pro 3:11-18, Pro 29:1-2). 

Pro 3:11  My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction: 
Pro 3:12  For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth. 
Pro 3:13  Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding. 
Pro 3:14  For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold. 
Pro 3:15  She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her. 
Pro 3:16  Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honour. 
Pro 3:17  Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. 
Pro 3:18  She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her [Joh 8:31-32]. 

Pro 29:1  He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy. 
Pro 29:2  When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.

2Ki 14:4  Howbeit the high places were not taken away: as yet the people did sacrifice and burnt incense on the high places. 
2Ki 14:5  And it came to pass, as soon as the kingdom was confirmed in his hand, that he slew his servants which had slain the king his father. 
2Ki 14:6  But the children of the murderers he slew not: according unto that which is written in the book of the law of Moses, wherein the LORD commanded, saying, The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, nor the children be put to death for the fathers; but every man shall be put to death for his own sin.

These verses demonstrate that Amaziah was given early on to be a law-abiding king, able to obey the law of Moses, and yet in the end, his heart was revealed to be ‘not like that of king David’ seeing “the high places were not taken away“ [and] “the people did sacrifice and burnt incense on the high places.” So even though he knew and followed through and “did as it is written in the law in the book of Moses, where the LORD commanded, saying, The fathers shall not die for the children, neither shall the children die for the fathers, but every man shall die for his own sin“, which is a type and shadow of how we are to deal with false doctrine that can manifest within the body of Christ [Act 10:34, Gal 6:7, Mat 18:15]. In the same breath Amaziah had an unconverted carnal heart that said the people (within and outwardly) should be able to continue in “sacrifices and burn incense on the high places“. This all reveals the double-mindedness of Amaziah and the pride of life which can prevent us from doing what the LORD commands us to do as we sow to our flesh that will lead to its ruin (Act 10:34, Gal 6:7, Luk 6:46-49).

Act 10:34  Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: 

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

Luk 6:46  And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?
Luk 6:47  Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like: 
Luk 6:48  He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.
Luk 6:49  But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great. [All mankind will experience this fall of Babylon within themselves at their appointed time.]

2Ki 14:7  He slew of Edom in the valley of salt ten thousand, and took Selah by war, and called the name of it Joktheel unto this day. 
2Ki 14:8  Then Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash, the son of Jehoahaz son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, Come, let us look one another in the face. 
2Ki 14:9  And Jehoash the king of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, Give thy daughter to my son to wife: and there passed by a wild beast that was in Lebanon, and trode down the thistle. 

2Ch 25:5  Moreover Amaziah gathered Judah together, and made them captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, according to the houses of their fathers, throughout all Judah and Benjamin: and he numbered them from twenty years old and above, and found them three hundred thousand choice men, able to go forth to war, that could handle spear and shield. 
2Ch 25:6  He hired also an hundred thousand mighty men of valour out of Israel for an hundred talents of silver.
2Ch 25:7  But there came a man of God to him, saying, O king, let not the army of Israel go with thee; for the LORD is not with Israel, to wit, with all the children of Ephraim. 
2Ch 25:8  But if thou wilt go, do it, be strong for the battle: God shall make thee fall before the enemy: for God hath power to help, and to cast down. 
2Ch 25:9  And Amaziah said to the man of God, But what shall we do for the hundred talents which I have given to the army of Israel? And the man of God answered, The LORD is able to give thee much more than this. 
2Ch 25:10  Then Amaziah separated them, to wit, the army that was come to him out of Ephraim, to go home again: wherefore their anger was greatly kindled against Judah, and they returned home in great anger.
2Ch 25:11  And Amaziah strengthened himself, and led forth his people, and went to the valley of salt, and smote of the children of Seir ten thousand. 
2Ch 25:12  And other ten thousand left alive did the children of Judah carry away captive, and brought them unto the top of the rock, and cast them down from the top of the rock, that they all were broken in pieces.
2Ch 25:13  But the soldiers of the army which Amaziah sent back, that they should not go with him to battle, fell upon the cities of Judah, from Samaria even unto Bethhoron, and smote three thousand of them, and took much spoil.
2Ch 25:14  Now it came to pass, after that Amaziah was come from the slaughter of the Edomites, that he brought the gods of the children of Seir, and set them up to be his gods, and bowed down himself before them, and burned incense unto them. 
2Ch 25:15  Wherefore the anger of the LORD was kindled against Amaziah, and he sent unto him a prophet, which said unto him, Why hast thou sought after the gods of the people, which could not deliver their own people out of thine hand? 
2Ch 25:16  And it came to pass, as he talked with him, that the king said unto him, Art thou made of the king’s counsel? forbear; why shouldest thou be smitten? Then the prophet forbare, and said, I know that God hath determined to destroy thee, because thou hast done this, and hast not hearkened unto my counsel. 
2Ch 25:17  Then Amaziah king of Judah took advice, and sent to Joash, the son of Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, Come, let us see one another in the face. 
2Ch 25:18  And Joash king of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, Give thy daughter to my son to wife: and there passed by a wild beast that was in Lebanon, and trode down the thistle.

Here we read of the exploits of king Amaziah who, “slew of Edom in the valley of salt ten thousand, and took Selah by war, and called the name of it Joktheel unto this day.” This battle symbolizes for us the process of judgment we must go through in order to rule over our flesh which is only the first part of the battle, and not the issue of the pride of life that king Amaziah never does conquer in his heavens. This victory of Amaziah who “smote of the children of Seir ten thousand” is symbolic of our completely or wholly (4 tens) ruling over our fleshly pulls in this life that war against us (10 x 10 x 10 x 10=10,000]. It is akin to running with men, but not the greater enemy of pride that is the far more powerful enemy at the gate of our hearts which can only be conquered through Christ (Jer 12:5).

Seir H8165 hairy or shaggy; patriarch of the Horites, the inhabitants of Edom before the descendants of Esau, the Edomites (BDB)

Jer 12:5  If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with horses? and if in the land of peace, wherein thou trustedst, they wearied thee, then how wilt thou do in the swelling of Jordan?

After this victory it becomes very apparent that Amaziah was pride-filled, and his confidence in his flesh brought him to send “messengers to Jehoash, the son of Jehoahaz son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, Come, let us look one another in the face“, which is saying ‘let’s go to war against one another’.

However, the king of Israel sent back a warning to King Amaziah in a parable, yet he did not take heed. In the parable Amaziah was seen as proudly wanting the spoils of war, “give[ing] your daughter to my son as a wife“, and Jehoash would have nothing to do with it, warning King Amaziah that a wild animal of Lebanon was going to come and trampled down the ‘thorn’, which ‘thorn’ represents Amaziah who would be crushed by King Jehoash.

“The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, Give thy daughter to my son to wife: and there passed by a wild beast that was in Lebanon, and trode down the thistle.”

The ‘thistle in Lebanon’ is connected to king Amaziah’s pride, and other verses in God’s word related to a ‘thistle’ or ‘thornbush’ or ‘bramble’ help us understand what king Amaziah’s motive was.

This story in Judges 9:1-21 gives us a parallel synopsis of what was going on in the mind of King Amaziah, who was going to be destroyed for want of people and for not ruling with the fear of God within him. He is likened to a thornbush which in biblical parlance is not an example of a good leader as shown in the book of Judges where ‘Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal’ was no different in his drive in wanting to rule over the people (Pro 14:28, Eze 28:24).

Pro 14:28  In the multitude of people is the king’s honour: but in the want of people is the destruction of the prince.

This section of Judges demonstrates how flesh wants to rule without Christ in the picture, and it is all about men who are as trees that, without Christ, come under the wrong leadership every time. Jotham, who is a type of the elect, flees from his brother Abimelech and goes to Beer^H876, which represents the elect going into the wilderness where we are given living water from God that sustains us.

Num 21:16  And from thence they went to Beer^H876: that is the well whereof the LORD spake unto Moses, Gather the people together, and I will give them water.

Jdg 9:21  And Jotham ran away, and fled, and went to Beer^H876, and dwelt there, for fear of Abimelech his brother.

H876  The same as H875; Beer, a place in the Desert, also one in Palestine: – Beer.  

H875  From H874; a pit; especially a well: – pit, well. (Gen 21:19) 

H874 A primitive root; to dig; by analogy to engrave; figuratively to explain: – declare, (make) plain (-ly). (Deu 1:5, Hab 2:2, Deu 27:8)

Jdg 9:1  And Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem unto his mother’s brethren, and communed with them, and with all the family of the house of his mother’s father, saying, 
Jdg 9:2  Speak, I pray you, in the ears of all the men of Shechem, Whether is better for you, either that all the sons of Jerubbaal, which are threescore and ten persons, reign over you, or that one reign over you? remember also that I am your bone and your flesh. 
Jdg 9:3  And his mother’s brethren spake of him in the ears of all the men of Shechem all these words: and their hearts inclined to follow Abimelech; for they said, He is our brother. [On the other hand, Christ tells us who our brother and sister and mother are (Mat 12:50)]
Jdg 9:4  And they gave him threescore and ten pieces of silver out of the house of Baalberith, wherewith Abimelech hired vain and light persons, which followed him. 
Jdg 9:5  And he went unto his father’s house at Ophrah, and slew his brethren the sons of Jerubbaal, being threescore and ten persons, upon one stone: notwithstanding yet Jotham the youngest son of Jerubbaal was left; for he hid himself.
Jdg 9:6  And all the men of Shechem gathered together, and all the house of Millo, and went, and made Abimelech king, by the plain of the pillar that was in Shechem. 
Jdg 9:7  And when they told it to Jotham, he went and stood in the top of mount Gerizim, and lifted up his voice, and cried, and said unto them, Hearken unto me, ye men of Shechem, that God may hearken unto you.

Jotham gives a warning with this parable to warn the nation of Israel and Abimelech (Jdg 9:8-20) just as King Jehoash of Israel did with the parable that he sent to King Amaziah of Judah to warn him! (2Ki 14:9)

Jdg 9:8  The trees went forth on a time to anoint a king over them; and they said unto the olive tree, Reign thou over us. 
Jdg 9:9  But the olive tree said unto them, Should I leave my fatness, wherewith by me they honour God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees? 
Jdg 9:10  And the trees said to the fig tree, Come thou, and reign over us. 
Jdg 9:11  But the fig tree said unto them, Should I forsake my sweetness, and my good fruit, and go to be promoted over the trees?
Jdg 9:12  Then said the trees unto the vine, Come thou, and reign over us. 
Jdg 9:13  And the vine said unto them, Should I leave my wine, which cheereth God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees?
Jdg 9:14  Then said all the trees unto the bramble, Come thou, and reign over us. 
Jdg 9:15  And the bramble said unto the trees, If in truth ye anoint me king over you, then come and put your trust in my shadow: and if not, let fire come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon. 
Jdg 9:16  Now therefore, if ye have done truly and sincerely, in that ye have made Abimelech king, and if ye have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house, and have done unto him according to the deserving of his hands;
Jdg 9:17  (For my father fought for you, and adventured his life far, and delivered you out of the hand of Midian: 
Jdg 9:18  And ye are risen up against my father’s house this day, and have slain his sons, threescore and ten persons, upon one stone, and have made Abimelech, the son of his maidservant, king over the men of Shechem, because he is your brother) 
Jdg 9:19  If ye then have dealt truly and sincerely with Jerubbaal and with his house this day, then rejoice ye in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you: 
Jdg 9:20  But if not, let fire come out from Abimelech, and devour the men of Shechem, and the house of Millo; and let fire come out from the men of Shechem, and from the house of Millo, and devour Abimelech. 
Jdg 9:21  And Jotham ran away, and fled, and went to Beer^H876, and dwelt there, for fear of Abimelech his brother.

2Ki 14:10  Thou hast indeed smitten Edom, and thine heart hath lifted thee up: glory of this, and tarry at home: for why shouldest thou meddle to thy hurt, that thou shouldest fall, even thou, and Judah with thee? 
2Ki 14:11  But Amaziah would not hear. Therefore Jehoash king of Israel went up; and he and Amaziah king of Judah looked one another in the face at Bethshemesh, which belongeth to Judah. 
2Ki 14:12  And Judah was put to the worse before Israel; and they fled every man to their tents.

This story is written for our admonition to show us what calamity we bring upon ourselves that also affects those in our company when we glory in those things God does through us, as though we had something to do with it (1Co 4:7, 1Co 5:6-8)! Such was the case with Amaziah whose glorying in past accomplishments blinded him to the warning being given to him by King Jehoash. The theme of pride continues to become pronounced in the life of Amaziah whose pride was going to end up being the death of him.

1Co 4:7  For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?

1Co 5:6  Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? 
1Co 5:7  Purge out therefore the old leaven, [pride in this case] that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened [like a humble child who can inherit the kingdom of God]. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: 
1Co 5:8  Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. 

2Ki 14:13 King Jehoash of Israel captured King Amaziah of Judah, son of Jehoash son of Ahaziah, in Beth Shemesh. He attacked Jerusalem and broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the Gate of Ephraim to the Corner Gate – a distance of about six hundred feet. [NET]

King Jehoash captures King Amaziah of Judah attacking Jerusalem and breaking down the wall of Jerusalem from the Gate of Ephraim to the Corner Gate, symbolizes for us the end of king Amaziah’s fleshly reign in Jerusalem below. The wall, which represents what protects us spiritually, along with “the Gate of Ephraim to the Corner Gate” are coming down and the symbolic number of “six hundred feet” is used seeing this has to do with judgment of flesh.

2Ki 14:14  And he took all the gold and silver, and all the vessels that were found in the house of the LORD, and in the treasures of the king’s house, and hostages, and returned to Samaria. 
2Ki 14:15  Now the rest of the acts of Jehoash which he did, and his might, and how he fought with Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? 
2Ki 14:16  And Jehoash slept with his fathers, and was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel; and Jeroboam his son reigned in his stead. 

The taking away of “all the gold and silver, and all the vessels that were found in the house of the LORD, and in the treasures of the king’s house, and hostages, and returned to Samaria” tells us that even to this day there is no stay of bread or water in Babylon (Isa 3:1). There will be a few who are taken out of this house of lies, symbolized by the words “and  hostages“, to go through a process of judgment that will purify them in this life (Jer 52:30).

From Mike’s study in Jeremiah (Jer 52:18-34 Everything in the Lord’s Temple is Now Also in Babylon):

“Jer 52:30  In the three and twentieth year of Nebuchadrezzar Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive of the Jews seven hundred forty and five persons: all the persons were four thousand and six hundred.

This three-step process of fulfilling the prophecy of Jeremiah telling the Lord’s people that they would be carried away to Babylon signifies the process of being judged which they are now enduring.

Lest we think this has no personal application we need to remember that it is our own old man who is at this very moment enduring the judgments of God upon his own rebellious kingdom within us:

1Pe 4:12  Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:
1Pe 4:13  But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.

1Pe 4:17  For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?
1Pe 4:18  And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?
1Pe 4:19  Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.

All of these events which Judah and Jerusalem endured because of their own wickedness and backsliding happened to them and they are written to let us know that the Lord is at this very moment judging us in this present time, and He is keeping our souls in His service as a faithful Creator, and as a loving husband who simply wants us to repent of our unfaithful ways and return humbly to Him:”

**** End Quote ***

2Ki 14:17  King Amaziah son of Joash of Judah lived for fifteen years after the death of King Jehoash son of Jehoahaz of Israel. 
2Ki 14:18  The rest of the events of Amaziah’s reign are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah.

It is at the point of King Joash’s death (King of Israel) that we are told that King Amaziah lived for fifteen more years. King Amaziah’s life is symbolic of our captivity prior to understanding the life of Christ, and with God’s gold and silver wrapped around the idols of our hearts. It will take King Jehoash’s attack described this way, “He attacked Jerusalem and broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the Gate of Ephraim to the Corner Gate – a distance of about six hundred feet” to symbolically show just the beginning of sorrows in our lives (Mat 24:8). The latter end of King Amaziah’s life goes on for fifteen years after the death of King Joash as a symbol of how Christ had to die in order for us to go on to perfection on the third day which is accomplished by a process of judgment which is accompanied by grace through faith (3×5=15). 

As was stated at the start of the study, this is the only way that we are going to overcome pride as we go through our seven falls in the wilderness, represented by these kings of Judah and Israel, a little good and mostly bad. They demonstrate stages that we all must go through in our spiritual journey to perfection on the third day (1Co 10:11, Psa 12:6, Pro 24:16, Pro 16:18) to help us understand the miracle of our calling and the continual need to be dragged to Christ in order to become more than conquerors through Him (Joh 6:44).

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

Psa 12:6  The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. 

Pro 24:16  For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief. 

Pro 16:18  Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall. 

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

Isa 30:19-25 Our Eyes Can Now See Our Teachers - Discussion

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Isa 30:19-25 Our Eyes Can Now See Our Teachers

Isa 30:19  For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem: thou shalt weep no more: he will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; when he shall hear it, he will answer thee.
Isa 30:20  And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction, yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner any more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers:
Isa 30:21  And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.
Isa 30:22  Ye shall defile also the covering of thy graven images of silver, and the ornament of thy molten images of gold: thou shalt cast them away as a menstruous cloth; thou shalt say unto it, Get thee hence.
Isa 30:23  Then shall he give the rain of thy seed, that thou shalt sow the ground withal; and bread of the increase of the earth, and it shall be fat and plenteous: in that day shall thy cattle feed in large pastures.
Isa 30:24  The oxen likewise and the young asses that ear the ground shall eat clean provender, which hath been winnowed with the shovel and with the fan.
Isa 30:25  And there shall be upon every high mountain, and upon every high hill, rivers and streams of waters in the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall.

Before we begin our study today it will help to remind ourselves who the holy spirit considers to be "the people [who] dwell in Zion at Jerusalem". Let us let God be true and every man a liar. We need to know what the scriptures mean when they speak of 'circumcision', 'a Jew', 'the seed of Abraham', 'the son of the free woman' and 'the Israel of God'. Since the "times of reformation" all those words and phrases have taken on an entirely new spiritual meaning.

Heb 9:10  Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation.

Here are a few verses concerning the significance of "the time of reformation", which, if we are given to receive it, will make our study today to take on so much more significance for each of us individually:

Rom 2:27  And shall not uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfil the law, judge thee, who by the letter and circumcision dost transgress the law?
Rom 2:28  For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:
Rom 2:29  But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

Not one Christian in a million believes, "He is not a Jew which is one outwardly." The Christian world proclaims the physical Jews are still the Lord's chosen people, while the scriptures declare they are not even Jews, and they are not circumcised, except for those who are in Christ.

We are told "Zion [is] at Jerusalem", but where is Jerusalem since "the times of reformation"? This is what the scriptures teach is now 'Jerusalem':

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, 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.

We are told "cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman".  To whom is Paul referring as "the son of the bondwoman"? The answer of the holy spirit is:

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.

The holy spirit, through the apostle Paul, informs us that "Jerusalem which now is" is "the son of the bondwoman" and "is in bondage with her children". We are told:

Gal 4:28  Now we, brethren [Gentile Galatians], as Isaac was, are the children of promise.

The Gentiles who believe in Christ are now called the children of promise "as Isaac was". These are then called, "Jerusalem above, the mother of us all."

All of this is telling us that we, in Christ, are now "the Israel of God":

Gal 6:15  Certainly, it doesn't matter whether a person is circumcised or not. Rather, what matters is being a new creation.
Gal 6:16  Peace and mercy will come to rest on all those who conform to this principle. They are the Israel of God. (GWV)

With all of this in mind we can now begin our study and know who is "Zion at Jerusalem":

Isa 30:19  For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem: thou shalt weep no more: he will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; when he shall hear it, he will answer thee.

This verse gives us a simple statement of truth without telling us when, "You shall weep no more." Spiritually we can, in Christ, rejoice even now as we are enduring the most excruciating persecutions. For example

Act 5:40  And to him [Gamaliel - vs 34] they agreed: and when they had called the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.
Act 5:41  And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.

The Lord is indeed gracious to us when we pray to Him. He hears and answers every prayer that accords with His will:

Dan 4:35  And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?

Christ told us to always pray 'thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven':

Luk 11:2  And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.

The apostle John tells us that when we pray in this manner, the Lord will hear our every prayer:

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

If our sincere prayer is only to seek and want what is the Lord's will, then all of our prayers will be answered, because we were informed in Dan 4:35 "He does according to His will... and none can stay His hand [and] he [is] very gracious unto us] at the voice of [our] cry; when he shall hear it, he will [always] answer [us] according to His will".

Isa 30:20  And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction, yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner any more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers:

It is the Lord who gives us "the bread of adversity", and Christ made that very clear. This is what He came to do in our lives:

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.

That is "the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction", and both Isaiah and Matthew inform us that it is the Lord who came to bring us that trial for our own good. "Yet shall not [our] teachers be removed into a corner any more, but [our spiritual] eyes shall see [our] teachers".

This is what Christ Himself said of His teachers:

Joh 17:16  They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
Joh 17:17  Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
Joh 17:18  As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.
Joh 17:19  And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.
Joh 17:20  Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;

So there it is! That is what this prophecy is telling us, and I repeat:

Isa 30:20  And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction, yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner any more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers:

Our spiritual eyes spiritually see Christ in each other as we are told:

2Co 5:15  And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.
2Co 5:16  Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more.
2Co 5:17  Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

To say that we know no man, not even Christ, after the flesh is a revolutionary statement. This is what we are being told by these verses:

Mat 25:40  And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

Act 22:8  And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest.

In other words, in spiritual terms we should understand that as Christ is in this world, the light of the world, being sent to save this world, bringing His Father's Word to a lost world, in any way Christ serves His Father, "so are we in this world". But is that really what the scriptures teach? The answer is, "Yes that is exactly what the scriptures teach."

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.

The message of this verse is exactly what Christ told Thomas and Philip:

Joh 14:1  Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
Joh 14:2  In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
Joh 14:3  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
Joh 14:4  And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.
Joh 14:5  Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?
Joh 14:6  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Joh 14:7  If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.
Joh 14:8  Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.
Joh 14:9  Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?

If we know Christ, then we also know His Father, and from that point on we know and "have seen" Christ and His Father. That is a spiritual statement, and it is speaking of spiritual eyesight which can and does see Christ spiritually wherever He now abides.

Now we can begin to 'see' and understand how the things of the spirit are clearly seen, being understood by the things which are made. Christ tells us how we are able to "see" our teachers, and we should 'see' our teachers only with spiritual eyes. Christ is no longer a physical man who has a physical body. 'Christ' is now spiritually 'seen' within the lives of all of those who spiritually are "His flesh and His bones":

Act 22:8  And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest.

2Co 5:16  Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more.
2Co 5:17  Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

"All things are become new" means 'all things are now to be seen through the eyes of the spirit'.  Even Christ Himself is now to be seen in those who make up His body:

Eph 5:29  For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:
Eph 5:30  For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.

We no longer 'see' Christ "after the flesh", and yet, "we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones." To the natural man those words are contradictory foolishness.

1Co 2:13  Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
1Co 2:14  But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

How does the holy spirit go about "comparing spiritual things with spiritual"? It does so, "not in the words which man's wisdom teaches", but it does use words which sound as if they are speaking of physical things. "The body of Christ" sounds to the natural man as if it is speaking of the physical body of a man who physically walked this earth over two thousand years ago. But those with "spiritual discernment" know that 'Christ's body, His flesh and His bones" are all now to be understood as "His body... which is the church":

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:

The physical words "my flesh" convey a spiritual truth. That spiritual message is that our physical bodies are but the mere tabernacles of the spiritual body of Christ. "The things of the spirit" are expressed using words which have a primarily physical meaning, but the mind of Christ within us gives us spiritual eyes and spiritual ears which discern a spiritual message which is foolishness to the natural mind.

2Co 4:7  But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.

Let's read it again:

1Co 2:13  Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
1Co 2:14  But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

"Not in words which man's wisdom teaches" is not saying that the things of the spirit are not expressed in words which men understand in their carnal "letter" meaning. What it means is that man's wisdom understands only the primary carnal meaning of the words which the spirit uses to express to us "the things of the spirit". That is the meaning of "the holy spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things, with spiritual".

If I tell you, as Paul tells us all, "I fill up in my [physical] body what is behind of the afflictions of Christ", I am not making the spirit into letter. The mind of Christ knows that all men must be natural before they can become spiritual, and again, the mind of Christ tells us that the secret which has been hidden from the ages is that Christ, a spirit, is temporarily dwelling in "vessels of clay".

2Co 4:7  But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.

Col 1:26  Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:
Col 1:27  To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:
Col 1:28  Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:
Col 1:29  Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.

The words "Christ in you" mean exactly what they say. Christ, through His Father's spirit, lives within us. However, the natural man cannot see one man living within another man, just as Nicodemus could not conceive of being "born again".  The words "every man" also mean just what they say inwardly, but not at this time, outwardly.

Christ's conversation with Nicodemus is a perfect example of how "the holy spirit teaches comparing spiritual things with spiritual". Here is the holy spirit through Christ teaching Nicodemus by 'comparing spiritual things with spiritual':

Joh 3:1  There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:
Joh 3:2  The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.
Joh 3:3  Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
Joh 3:4  Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?
Joh 3:5  Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
Joh 3:6  That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Joh 3:7  Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
Joh 3:8  The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.
Joh 3:9  Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?

'Water' in this instance typifies the 'waters' on which the harlot sits:

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

We must all be born into "the first man Adam" before we can be born into "the last Adam". We must all be naturally born before we can be 'born of the spirit'.

1Co 15:44  It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
1Co 15:45  And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
1Co 15:46  Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.

"That was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural, and afterward that which is spiritual" is the meaning of "Except a man be born of water and of spirit, he cannot inherit the kingdom of God". It has nothing at all to do with being physically baptized in physical water. Christ is comparing spiritual things to spiritual in teaching Nicodemus.

The natural man asks, "How can these things be?" Let's consider that question. This what we are told of our present standing with Christ:

1Jn 3:2  Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

How is it possible to tell us "now are we the sons of God" and at the same time tell us "it does not yet appear what we shall be"? Here is how that must be at this present time and in this present age:

Eph 1:11  In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
Eph 1:12  That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
Eph 1:13  In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
Eph 1:14  Which is the earnest [Greek: down payment of a future fullness] of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

So yes, we are now sons of God but only in "earnest", only in down payment form, with the great hope of "the redemption of the purchased possession" at a later time:

Rom 8:24  For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?
Rom 8:25  But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.

Christ was speaking words which Nicodemus heard, but he did not and could not understand anything Christ said to him. Everything Christ spoke to Nicodemus was "for [our] sakes".

Mat 13:10  And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
Mat 13:11  He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
Mat 13:12  For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
Mat 13:13  Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
Mat 13:14  And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:

"Hearing you shall hear, and not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive". That was why Christ taught the multitudes in parables. Christ's parables contains a spiritual message which the natural man simply 'cannot receive because they are foolishness to the natural man' (1Co 2:14).

Isa 30:21  And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.

Christ explains to us: "it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given." And that is the message of this verse. Our ears hear a word behind us saying, "This is the way, walk ye in it..." and in Christ we "acknowledge Him... in all our ways... when we turn to the right hand and to the left." In Christ all we want is "thy will be done".

Pro 3:6  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Mat 6:10  Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

Is that not the exact same message which was given to John as he was given to reveal Christ to us:

Rev 1:10  I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,
Rev 1:11  Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.
Rev 1:12  And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks;
Rev 1:13  And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.

Christ is in the midst of His church. Seven simply means His complete church. (A link to the study on the number seven is here) He tells us "this is the way walk you in it" when He tells us:

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

As we begin to 'see and hear and keep the things written therein' this is what we do:

Isa 30:22  Ye shall defile also the covering of thy graven images of silver, and the ornament of thy molten images of gold: thou shalt cast them away as a menstruous cloth; thou shalt say unto it, Get thee hence.

We are made aware of this inevitable end in the second chapter of this prophecy:

Isa 2:20  In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats;

The things to which we have in the past returned over and over and over again, finally, in the Lord's mercy become repugnant to the new man who is being formed within us. We are at long last given to begin to reign over our graven images which spiritually symbolize our own carnal-minded flesh, with all the false doctrines to which we spiritually bowed down in worship for so many years. We tell them "get thee hence", and we cast them out of the temple of God, which temple we are:

1Co 3:16  Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
1Co 3:17  If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

As we begin to clean up our spiritual house and rid the Lord's temple of all the idols with which we defiled His temple for so long, the Lord begins to send us so much more of His life-giving words, symbolized by refreshing, life-sustaining rain:

Isa 30:23  Then shall he give the rain of thy seed, that thou shalt sow the ground withal; and bread of the increase of the earth, and it shall be fat and plenteous: in that day shall thy cattle feed in large pastures.

Our 'cattle' are the Lord's cattle. Our flocks are His flock of whom we are told:

Act 20:28  Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.

1Pe 5:2  Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;

Peter was given every incentive to write these words after the Lord's thrice repeated admonition to Peter for our sakes:

Joh 21:15  So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.
Joh 21:16  He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep.
Joh 21:17  He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.

Isa 30:24  The oxen likewise and the young asses that ear the ground shall eat clean provender, which hath been winnowed with the shovel and with the fan.

We are the Lord's oxen, and we are His young asses that plow His ground, and as such we are spiritually fed "clean provender". In other words the food the Lord give us is not defiled with false lying doctrine. It is "winnowed with the shovel and with the fan" and all the chaff is driven away.

Mat 3:12  Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

"Feed my lambs [and] my sheep... clean provender". It is in service to our brothers and sisters that we most profit and that we grow spiritually. Just ask any of our teachers.

Pro 14:4  Where no oxen are, the crib is clean: but much increase is by the strength of the ox. [By Christ in us]

We are that ox by which comes "much increase" in the Lord's service, and we will reap what we sow in His service:

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

Gal 6:7  Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
Gal 6:8  For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.

Isa 30:25  And there shall be upon every high mountain, and upon every high hill, rivers and streams of waters in the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall.

It sounds gruesome, but "the great slaughter, when the towers fall" is spiritually speaking of the fall of the high towers of our old man. No flesh will glory in His presence, and the Lord will give no quarter to the wild beast within us.

Isa 2:11  The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day.

Isa 2:17  And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low: and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day.

The loftiness and pride of our old man is the fall of our towers. Our pride and our towers fall in that day when "the Lord alone is exalted".

It will be our new man, Christ in us, who alone will exalt the Lord in that day. There is no place for our old man in the day when the Lord alone is exalted.

In our next study we will learn the valuable lesson that The Lord's Voice Is Heard With The Flame Of A Devouring Fire.

Isa 30:26  Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the LORD bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound.
Isa 30:27  Behold, the name of the LORD cometh from far, burning with his anger, and the burden thereof is heavy: his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue as a devouring fire:
Isa 30:28  And his breath, as an overflowing stream, shall reach to the midst of the neck, to sift the nations with the sieve of vanity: and there shall be a bridle in the jaws of the people, causing them to err.
Isa 30:29  Ye shall have a song, as in the night when a holy solemnity is kept; and gladness of heart, as when one goeth with a pipe to come into the mountain of the LORD, to the mighty One of Israel.
Isa 30:30  And the LORD shall cause his glorious voice to be heard, and shall shew the lighting down of his arm, with the indignation of his anger, and with the flame of a devouring fire, with scattering, and tempest, and hailstones.
Isa 30:31  For through the voice of the LORD shall the Assyrian be beaten down, which smote with a rod.
Isa 30:32  And in every place where the grounded staff shall pass, which the LORD shall lay upon him, it shall be with tabrets and harps: and in battles of shaking will he fight with it.
Isa 30:33  For Tophet is ordained of old; yea, for the king it is prepared; he hath made it deep and large: the pile thereof is fire and much wood; the breath of the LORD, like a stream of brimstone, doth kindle it.

Isa 21:11-17 They Fled From The Grievousness of War

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Isa 21:11-17 They Fled From The Grievousness of War

Isa 21:11  The burden of Dumah. He calleth to me out of Seir, Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?
Isa 21:12  The watchman said, The morning cometh, and also the night: if ye will enquire, enquire ye: return, come.
Isa 21:13  The burden upon Arabia. In the forest in Arabia shall ye lodge, O ye travelling companies of Dedanim.
Isa 21:14  The inhabitants of the land of Tema brought water to him that was thirsty, they prevented with their bread him that fled.
Isa 21:15  For they fled from the swords, from the drawn sword, and from the bent bow, and from the grievousness of war.
Isa 21:16  For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Within a year, according to the years of an hireling, and all the glory of Kedar shall fail:
Isa 21:17  And the residue of the number of archers, the mighty men of the children of Kedar, shall be diminished: for the LORD God of Israel hath spoken it.

We have two "burdens" here. The burden of Dumah, and the burden of Arabia. Both are the historical enemies of the Lord's people, even though both are also "the seed of Abraham". Both Dumah and Arabia were conquered, along with Israel, by the king of Babylon. In the first ten verses of this chapter we saw that Babylon, the Assyrians, who are "the rod of [the Lord's] indignation", must also be judged and be punished for her sins. Now we are learning what happens when Babylon falls, and what happens to all of Israel's enemies who are conquered by Babylon. Those nations who oppose the Lord's people and yet they are also "the seed of Abraham", are symbolized in these verses by Dumah and Arabia.

In our last study we saw that the holy spirit inspired the apostle John, in the book of Revelation, to twice record these words concerning the fall of the great harlot:

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

Rev 18:2  And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.

As we learned, those words were first recorded here in Isaiah 21:

Isa 21:9  And, behold, here cometh a chariot of men, with a couple of horsemen. And he answered and said, Babylon is fallen, is fallen; and all the graven images of her gods he hath broken unto the ground.

It is obvious that the "foul spirits" of the book of Revelation are the same as "the graven images" of Isaiah 21. Both are symbols of all the false doctrines of "Babylon the great, the mother of harlots and of the abominations of the earth" (Rev 17:5). All three references, Isaiah 21 and Revelation 14 and Revelation 18, speak of the wrath of God which is being poured out upon this great spiritual harlot.

The Lord's wrath is occasioned by the fornication of His own wife. Her 'fornication' is likened to "the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird", and it is no less an authority than our Lord Himself who informs us that these unclean "birds", which​ "catch away the Word", are "the wicked one" with all of his lies and false doctrines, to whom His wife has given  her ears, and has given "habitation" in her heart, while turning her back on her covenant with Him and His doctrines.

Christ explains the meaning of the prophecy of the judgment of Babylon in the parable of the sower in:

Mat 13:4  And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:

In verse 19 He tells us what "the fowls" of verse 4 symbolize:

Mat 13:19  When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.

The fall of this great harlot is first revealed to us through the literal fall of the physical city of Babylon which had became the capital of the Assyrian Empire in the days of Isaiah.

These are the words of the "watchman" in the last two verses we covered in our last study:

Isa 21:9  And, behold, here cometh a chariot of men, with a couple of horsemen. And he answered and said, Babylon is fallen, is fallen; and all the graven images of her gods he hath broken unto the ground.
Isa 21:10  O my threshing, and the corn of my floor: that which I have heard of the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, have I declared unto you.

The fall of Babylon, however, both here and in Revelation 18,​ does not take place in a vacuum. As we saw earlier in this same chapter, Isaiah was made to walk naked before Israel to depict the fall of those whom Israel had trusted to save them from His judgments. Isaiah was made to walk bare foot and naked to demonstrate that her lovers, her allies, Egypt and Ethiopia, whom she had hoped would help to save her, would both be "led away" as captives before the king of Assyria.

Isa 20:1  In the year that Tartan came unto Ashdod, (when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him,) and fought against Ashdod, and took it;
Isa 20:2  At the same time spake the LORD by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, Go and loose the sackcloth from off thy loins, and put off thy shoe from thy foot. And he did so, walking naked and barefoot.
Isa 20:3  And the LORD said, Like as my servant Isaiah hath walked naked and barefoot three years for a sign and wonder upon Egypt and upon Ethiopia;
Isa 20:4  So shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptians prisoners, and the Ethiopians captives, young and old, naked and barefoot, even with their buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt.
Isa 20:5  And they shall be afraid and ashamed of Ethiopia their expectation, and of Egypt their glory.
Isa 20:6  And the inhabitant of this isle [God's own people, Judah and Jerusalem] shall say in that day, Behold, such is our expectation, whither we flee for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria: and how shall we escape?

Isaiah, as a type of us, lived by every word that proceeded out of the mouth of God concerning all the Lord was doing with Israel and her heathen lovers. It was he who first experienced the shame of the fall of Israel's allies, Ethiopia and Egypt. Then the very next thing we were shown was that Isaiah also felt the agony of the fall of Babylon:

Isa 21:2  A grievous vision is declared unto me; the treacherous dealer dealeth treacherously, and the spoiler spoileth. Go up, O Elam: besiege, O Media; all the sighing thereof have I made to cease.
Isa 21:3  Therefore are my loins filled with pain: pangs have taken hold upon me, as the pangs of a woman that travaileth: I was bowed down at the hearing of it; I was dismayed at the seeing of it.
Isa 21:4  My heart panted, fearfulness affrighted me: the night of my pleasure hath he turned into fear unto me.

Why did the Lord require His prophets to experience the humiliation of Israel's enemies? The obvious answer is that He did so to demonstrate that Israel had become her own enemy. Israel had refused the love of her own husband and was now as estranged from her own husband as were the heathen Babylonians. In doing this,​ she had become the very harlot whose name would later be used as the symbol of the whore she had become. It is Judah and Jerusalem; it is Israel, the type of the Lord's own people, His own "seven churches" who have become 'Babylon, the great whore' of Revelation 17-18.

It is the seven churches of Revelation 2-3 who have turned their backs on their own husband, Christ, and have lost their first love (Rev 2:4).

It is these seven churches who house the very throne of Satan; they cast a stumbling block before the Lord's own people, and through all their false doctrines they are spiritually feeding God's flock "things offered unto idols,​ and they are committing spiritual fornication in doing so. It is the Lord's own churches that "hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans" and are bearing rule over the Lord's flock (Rev 2:13-15).

It is the Lord's own unfaithful wife who allows the doctrines of Jezebel to seduce His people to serve her false gods and to experience "the depths of Satan" (Rev 2:20-24).

It is the Lord's own unfaithful, apostate people who "have a name that they live and are [in reality spiritually] dead" (Rev 3:1).

It is Christ's own apostate wife who "sayest, [of herself] I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; [when the Truth is that she] knowest not that [she is] wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked" (Rev 3:17).

Are not those the very words of the "adulterous woman" of:

Pro 30:20  Such is the way of an adulterous woman; she eateth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith, I have done no wickedness.

In the first chapter of his prophecy,​ Isaiah tells us that Jerusalem is the Old Testament type of this very same "Mystery, Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots and of abominations of the earth" (Rev 17:1-5). It is God's own people, His own apostate church​,​ which has become the harlot of Revelation 17-18:

Isa 1:9  Except the LORD of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah.
Isa 1:10  Hear the word of the LORD, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah.

Isa 1:21  How is the faithful city become an harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers.

These are the very words used to describe "that great city... Babylon the Great the mother of harlots":

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

Isaiah 1 tells us that "the great city... where also our Lord was crucified... is... become an harlot... as Sodom".

All of that being true, the fall of Jerusalem and her allies in Isaiah's day is a physical type and shadow of the spiritual fall of Babylon the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth:

Rev 17:1  And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:
Rev 17:2  With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.
Rev 17:3  So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
Rev 17:4  And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:
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 fall of physical Babylon many years after this prophecy is just a later type of the original prophecy of the bruising of the serpent's head, just as so many men down through the years typified Christ, as "the seed of the woman".

Gen 3:13  And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
Gen 3:14  And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:
Gen 3:15  And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

Abel's death typifies the undeserved death of Christ (the seed of the woman). The attempt by Pharaoh to destroy all Hebrew male babies, including Moses, typifies the attempt by "the seed of the serpent" to destroy "the seed of the woman". King Saul's attempt to destroy David is just another later version of this same ongoing message, and so it is with this story of the attempt by the leaders and people of Jerusalem to destroy those prophets who wanted to be obedient to the Lord in the Old Testament. This theme carries over into the New Testament in the story of Herod's destruction of all the male infants two years old and younger in Bethlehem in his attempt to destroy the seed of the woman.

Jerusalem in the Old Testament and Babylon the great in the New Testament book of Revelation, are both types of God's people who are popular in this world simply because they are of this world and therefore the world loves them:

Mat 5:10  Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 5:11  Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
Mat 5:12  Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

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.

1Jn 3:1  Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.

The religions of this world, Babylon the Great, will tolerate her own harlot daughters, be they Jewish or Muslim, long before they will tolerate those who insist on following in the steps of our Lord:

1Pe 2:21  For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:

What is the example Christ left for us which caused Him so much suffering? The two things for which Christ was most often condemned were the fact that He did not observe days, months, times and years as commanded by the law of Moses, and He professed to be the Son of God. The weekly sabbath was the most prominent and most often observed of the Jewish holy days, and Christ went out of His way to "[break] the Sabbath". He refused to prepare His meals for the Sabbath in advance as Moses had commanded (Exo 16:5), and He told the man at the pool of Bethesda to "pick up [his] bed" contrary to the law (Exo 20:10 and Jer 17:21). That is the example He set for us:

Mat 12:1  At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat.
Mat 12:2  But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day.
Mat 12:3  But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him;
Mat 12:4  How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests?
Mat 12:5  Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless?
Mat 12:6  But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple.
Mat 12:7  But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless.
Mat 12:8  For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.

Joh 5:8  Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.
Joh 5:9  And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath.
Joh 5:10  The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the sabbath day: it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed.

Christ never once denied that He had broken the sabbath. Instead he appealed to David who had done that "which was not lawful for him", and He appealed to the priests who "profane the Sabbath and are guiltless", even though neither He nor any of His disciples were priests of the tribe of Levi. That is the example Christ left for us, and those are the actions, along with professing to be the Son of God, which got him crucified:

Joh 5:16  And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the sabbath day.
Joh 5:17  But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.
Joh 5:18  Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.

When we refuse to go along with our religious leaders and we place being faithful to the example of Christ above the traditions of men,​ then we,​ too,​ will be "persecuted [by the Lord's own people just as Isaiah and Jeremiah] were before [us]":

Mat 5:11  Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
Mat 5:12  Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

Look at what happened to Jeremiah for being faithful to the Lord's Words:

Jer 38:6  Then took they Jeremiah, and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah the son of Hammelech, that was in the court of the prison: and they let down Jeremiah with cords. And in the dungeon there was no water, but mire: so Jeremiah sunk in the mire.

God's elect are hated by His own people more than they are by the avowed enemies of the Lord's people. It will be those who claim Christ who will persecute His elect. That is what Christ Himself has already told us would be the case:

Zec 13:6  And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.

Mat 10:36  And a man's foes shall be they of his own household.

So when we read of all the 'burden[s]' of Isaiah:

Isa 13:1  The burden of Babylon, which Isaiah the son of Amoz did see.

Isa 15:1  The burden of Moab. Because in the night Ar of Moab is laid waste, and brought to silence; because in the night Kir of Moab is laid waste, and brought to silence;

Isa 17:1  The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.

Isa 19:1  The burden of Egypt. Behold, the LORD rideth upon a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it.

Isa 21:1  The burden of the desert of the sea. As whirlwinds in the south pass through; so it cometh from the desert, from a terrible land.

Isa 21:11  The burden of Dumah. He calleth to me out of Seir, Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?

Isa 21:13  The burden upon Arabia. In the forest in Arabia shall ye lodge, O ye travelling companies of Dedanim.

Isa 22:1  The burden of the valley of vision. What aileth thee now, that thou art wholly gone up to the housetops?

Isa 23:1  The burden of Tyre. Howl, ye ships of Tarshish; for it is laid waste, so that there is no house, no entering in: from the land of Chittim it is revealed to them.

All of these burdens are for us, and these burdens must first be revealed within us.

So when we read:

Isa 21:11  The burden of Dumah. He calleth to me out of Seir, Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?
Isa 21:12  The watchman said, The morning cometh, and also the night: if ye will enquire, enquire ye: return, come.

Dumah is Edumea, and Edumean is Edom. Edom is Esau, Israel's twin brother who sold his birthright for a bowl of pottage, and therefore he symbolizes our flesh which does not value the things of the spirit. He does not value the things of promise. But every symbol of our flesh, the first man, Adam, Cain, Nimrod, Pharaoh, King Saul, and even Judas, the betrayer of our Lord, will "each in his own order... enquire... return [and] come" to the Lord:

Isa 45:23  I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.

Rom 14:11  For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.

Php 2:10  That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;

The 'Dedanim' are the descendants of Dedan,​ the grandson of Abraham by his wife Katurah, whom he married after the death of Sarah.

Gen 25:2  And she bare him Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah.
Gen 25:3  And Jokshan begat Sheba, and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were Asshurim, and Letushim, and Leummim.
Gen 25:4  And the sons of Midian; Ephah, and Epher, and Hanoch, and Abida, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah.
Gen 25:5  And Abraham gave all that he had unto Isaac.
Gen 25:6  But unto the sons of the concubines, which Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts, and sent them away from Isaac his son, while he yet lived, eastward, unto the east country.

The descendants of Ishmael, and all the other descendants of Abraham's children by Keturah and "the concubines", one and all symbolize our own rejected flesh. Our flesh will be rejected,​ and yet we ourselves will be saved, "yet so as by fire" (1Co 3:13-16). The kingdom of our old man will be judged by the Lord, and when we are judged by "the swords", by the words of God, we will return to the Lord. Before that day arrives, however,​ we all 'flee from [His] swords, from [His] drawn sword, and from [His] bent bow, and from the grievousness of war [against Him and His Words]. It is we who must "live by every word which proceeds out of the mouth of God". The Dedanim, and the inhabitants of the land of Tema, a son of Esau, are both types of our own religious, apostate "seed of Abraham", within us, who attempt to help us as we flee from the Lord's swords, and His drawn bow, but no one will escape the Lord's wrath "in that day".

Isa 21:13  The burden upon Arabia. In the forest in Arabia shall ye lodge, O ye travelling companies of Dedanim.
Isa 21:14  The inhabitants of the land of Tema brought water to him that was thirsty, they prevented with their bread him that fled.
Isa 21:15  For they fled from the swords, from the drawn sword, and from the bent bow, and from the grievousness of war.

Nebuchanezzar was a heathen king who​m​ the Lord calls "My servant Nebuchadnezzar", because he was used of the Lord to punish the Lord's own whoring wife:

Jer 25:9  Behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, saith the LORD, and Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants thereof, and against all these nations round about, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, and an hissing, and perpetual desolations.

Jer 27:6  And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant; and the beasts of the field have I given him also to serve him.

It is the Lord Himself who has given "the beasts of the field", our own flesh, the task of serving Babylon. These words concerning "the burden upon Arabia" are Christ's words in the Old Testament telling us the same thing He tells us in the New Testament:

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.

Isa 21:16  For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Within a year, according to the years of an hireling, and all the glory of Kedar shall fail:
Isa 21:17  And the residue of the number of archers, the mighty men of the children of Kedar, shall be diminished: for the LORD God of Israel hath spoken it.

"Within a year, according to the years of an hireling... all the glory of Kedar shall fail" means that the fulfillment of this prophecy is imminent. It is the same message Christ gives us when he tells us:

Mat 24:32  Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:
Mat 24:33  So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
Mat 24:34  Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
Mat 24:35  Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

​The reason we are reading this admonition here in Isaiah​ 21, is that we all attempt to save "the children of Kedar" within us. We go ahead and give His water and His food to those who are fleeing from the Lord's servant, Babylon. We want Ishmael within us to be spared (Gen 17:18). Outwardly we attempt to drag our friends and family out of Babylon, and when we do that His sword, His words, the very words we are using to attempt to quench their thirst and fill their bellies, will be trampled underfoot, and they will turn and rend us just as we trampled upon the Truth when we first heard it before we were dragged to the Lord by the sword of His Word.

However, in time He has determined that we will all, each in his own order (1Co 15:23), be judged by the fire of His Words, and when that day arrives we will "learn righteousness":

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.

Next week we will see just how blind we once were, all the while thinking we could see clearly.

Isa 22:1  The burden of the valley of vision. What aileth thee now, that thou art wholly gone up to the housetops?
Isa 22:2  Thou that art full of stirs, a tumultuous city, a joyous city: thy slain men are not slain with the sword, nor dead in battle.
Isa 22:3  All thy rulers are fled together, they are bound by the archers: all that are found in thee are bound together, which have fled from far.
Isa 22:4  Therefore said I, Look away from me; I will weep bitterly, labour not to comfort me, because of the spoiling of the daughter of my people.
Isa 22:5  For it is a day of trouble, and of treading down, and of perplexity by the Lord GOD of hosts in the valley of vision, breaking down the walls, and of crying to the mountains.
Isa 22:6  And Elam bare the quiver with chariots of men and horsemen, and Kir uncovered the shield.
Isa 22:7  And it shall come to pass, that thy choicest valleys shall be full of chariots, and the horsemen shall set themselves in array at the gate.
Isa 22:8  And he discovered the covering of Judah, and thou didst look in that day to the armour of the house of the forest.

Gen 3:1 Now the serpent [Hebrew: nachash] was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

The Hebrew word for serpent here is nachash, and this word connects to other things in the scriptures like dust (earth), rods, poison, a rock, a broken hedge, a wall, and the sea (Gen 3:14, Exo 4:2-3, Psa 58:4, Pro 30:19, Ecc 10:8, Amo 5:19, Amo 9:3). The only metal connected to the word nachash aids our understanding of God’s purpose with this creature:

Num 21:6 And the LORD sent fiery [Hebrew: saraph] serpents [Hebrew: nachash] among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.

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

God told Moses to make a ‘fiery serpent’ or ‘saraph‘ to which ‘the [complaining and impatient] church in the wilderness’ could look for their healing or life when the poisonous snakes, which God sent, bit them (Num 21:4-9, Act 7:38). Moses made a nachash of brass which also tells us how these two Hebrew words (saraph and nachash) are connected. Jesus explained that this event ultimately points to Him dying to His own flesh (represented by the nachash of brass) to be risen up as the ‘firstfruit’ and showing or giving us the way to spirit life (Joh 3:13-17, 1Co 15:20, Gal 3:13). The link with brass is very significant in the way this serpent appeared to Adam and Eve in the garden. Shining brass has the appearance of gold, and spiritually it represents the spiritual delusions which appeal to the flesh – the heart of our problem. This serpent appeared as a shining light to impress “the children of the night” (those who live according to the principles which rule ‘flesh and blood’). The “children of the night” are open to his false enlightenment (Psa 10:9-10, Pro 12:12 a). This serpent is always properly discerned by ‘the children of the [true] light’ of Christ who are the ‘seraphims… in and around the throne’ of God who can handle the “live coals” of God (Isa 6:1-6, Rev 4:6, 1Th 5:5, Joh 1:9, Eph 1:18, 1Jn 2:8). It was indeed the “lesser light” which God appointed “to rule the night” or darkness (Gen 1:16, 3:1-5, Act 26:18, Isa 45:7):

2Co 11:14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.

The lesser light, which is represented by the moon, has no light at all. This subtle and evil serpent never had the true light or the spirit life of God, but was an evil murderer and liar from the beginning (Joh 8:44, 1Jn 3:8). The rule or guidance of the “lesser light” over all flesh is also temporary as King Hezekiah also demonstrated when he destroyed this ‘serpent of brass’ which Moses made:

2Ki 18:3 And he [Hezekiah] did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that David his father did.
2Ki 18:4 He removed the high places, and brake the images, and cut down the groves, and brake in pieces the brasen serpent that Moses had made: for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it: and he [Hezekiah] called it Nehushtan [‘a thing of brass’ = worthless].

The scriptures cannot contradict itself as they cannot be broken (Joh 10:35). This serpent was never, as many propagate, a good spiritual creature that fell in sin by his own unscriptural ‘free’ will. Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28, for example, are used by many to ‘prove’ this lie. These chapters are addressed to the kings of Babylon and Tyre respectively, who are used as symbols for our own natural high-mindedness which will eventually lead to dethronement and the grave (Eze 28:3-10, Isa 14:13-15). All symbols in those two chapters are spiritually referring to the first Adam and all those who were given carnal minds by God, including this serpent. The natural Eden symbolizes carnal ‘pleasure’, or pleasing of oneself, where all carnality takes its first steps in the process of becoming like God (Gen 2:8, Gen 4:16, Eze 28:13, Eze 31:1-9). God made everything “good” or ‘perfect’ for the purpose He wants to use it (Gen 1:4,10,12,18,21,25,31; Eze 28:12,15). However, we know the very best of the physical world, including flesh and blood, can never be ‘perfect’ or enter God’s spiritual kingdom – they are all dung and burned “without the camp” (1Co 1:29, 1Co 15:50, Exo 29:14, Php 3:8). Although physical or carnal things are in essence representing evil, mankind also serves as a ‘messenger’ of God, albeit an evil angel/cherub/seraph. God is the “Father of spirits” and all the actions of all in His creation are under His direction or ‘cover’ (Heb 12:9, Eph 1:11, Eze 28:14). If we cannot see the inward spiritual application of all the physical kings mentioned in Scripture and where their kingdoms are, then we have also not been given the eyes to see who the King of those kings is, and where His kingdom is:

Luk 17:20 And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:
Luk 17:21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

The first Adam was a type and shadow of the ‘son of the morning’ – the negative application of the ‘morning star’ (Luk 3:38, Rom 5:14, Rev 1:8, Rev 2:28, Rev 22:16). Jesus is indeed the only true ‘son of the morning’ and the only “bright and morning star”, and no other creature can make claims to that position:

Rev 2:28 And I will give him [the spiritual overcomer] the morning star.

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

Satan was never a good angel, and He never had a proper name ‘Lucifer’ which, for example, the King James and the Latin Vulgate translations have ‘christened’ as such. Yet this error of a ‘fallen’ angel has taken a massive stronghold in the minds of many. Satan or devils ‘falling’ from heaven is very confusing and impossible for the natural mind to understand. Evil and carnal things cannot “fall” because they occupy the lowest point in God’s creation – it is called ‘death’ or ‘the pit’ (Rom 8:6, Psa 30:3, Rev 9:2). Many are also confused when they read in the Scriptures that Satan and other evil spirits operate (even making war) in the heavens:

Rev 12:7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
Rev 12:8 And [the dragon and his angels] prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
Rev 12:9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

Job 1:6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.

Satan and his angels deceive the whole [carnal] world and its heavens. This domain of deception and spiritual blindness is the initial spiritual position of Adam and his generation from the hand of the Potter (Eze 18:4, Rom 8:20, Psa 51:5). From birth our thinking and our wisdom are ‘earthly, sensual, devilish’ (Gen 2:7, 1Co 15:48-49, Jas 3:15-16). This domain is not surrendered without a ‘war in heaven’. Everyone who hears and stands for the words of truth (symbolised also by Michael and his angels) knows about this war on an intimate level (Mat 13:18-23). The parable of the sower shows the spiritual war (of words) will be won by those who fight on the side of the Word of truth, Jesus Christ. The natural man has not been equipped with spiritual weapons to make war or resist the devil. That is why the first man Adam and his generation cannot ‘stand’ against the deception or ‘rule’ of the serpent. To resist this “old serpent” takes the ‘faith of Jesus Christ’, and that only came in the ‘last Adam’ by God’s original design, “before the foundation of the world” (Joh 17:24, 1Pe 1:19-21). Only by this last Adam can we submit to God:

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

1Pe 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
1Pe 5:9 Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.

Rom 3:22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:

We only overcome Satan’s wiles with spiritual weapons supplied by God through His Word which is His spirit (Joh 6:63):

2Co 10:3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:
2Co 10:4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
2Co 10:5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

Eph 6:11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles [Greek: ‘methodeia‘ – cunningness, trickery, deceit, craftiness] of the devil.
Eph 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

The residents of the city of Capernaum in Galilee (a type of spiritual Babylon in us), were also high-minded when they saw the physical miracles in their ‘region and shadow of death’ (Mat 4:13-25). All will see that all fleshly things link with death:

Luk 10:15 And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be thrust down to hell [Greek: hades = grave].

God looks at the hearts (the invisible heavens), and a new heart (new heaven) is what He is working toward. A changed heart is scriptural talk of how Satan ‘falls’ from heaven (2Co 5:17, Eze 11:19, Rom 12:1-2). This is how we use the ‘Name of Jesus’ to cast out devils as we abide in or do His doctrine:

Joh 8:31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
Joh 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

This ‘new heaven’ comes through a humbling process of fiery judgment:

Rev 12:3 And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.
Rev 12:4 And his tail drew the third [the number three symbolizes the process of judgment] part of the stars [messengers/angels] of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.

At one time Jesus sent out seventy disciples, and when they returned with joy, they reported to Jesus that they have subjected devils (‘the dragon and his angels’) in His Name. Jesus affirmed them and acknowledged what they did when they proclaimed the truth of His Word:

Luk 10:17 And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils [Greek: daimonion] are subject unto us through thy name.

Luk 10:18 And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.
Luk 10:19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions [false doctrines], and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

The subjection of Satan and his angels [Greek: daimonion] is indeed wonderful to experience, but Jesus gives a warning about that, too. This ‘fall from heaven’ of Satan is not a historic event, but should be happening daily until the end (1Co 15:31, Act 17:10-13, Act 14:22, Php 3:10-15, Rev 17:14). This links with being seated with Christ in heaven and knowing His mind which is also not a once-off occasion (1Co 2:16):

Luk 10:20 Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice [now in the present], because your names are written [this verb ‘written’ is grapho and is in the Greek aorist tense] in heaven.

Eph 2:6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together [this verbal phrase ‘sit together’ is sugkathizo and is in the Greek aorist tense] in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

‘Names written in heaven’ is not only referring to having His mind and His ‘seat’, but it is also referring to the spiritual gift called “faith of Jesus Christ” by which we grow through trials (Eph 2:8, Rom 3:21, Gal 2:16, Gal 3:22). Through tried faith the fasting and praying is done when we ‘loose the bands’ or ‘bind on earth’. The so-called ‘binding’ of Satan has no scriptural foundation. Fasting is when we are being starved of evil and false doctrines by replacing them with the true doctrine of Christ. Then we rejoice in the trials because the trials are God’s way of giving us our ‘seat’ in heaven (Mat 6:16-18, Mat 9:14-15):

Isa 58:6 Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?
Isa 58:7 Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?

Mat 18:18 Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Luk 10:33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,
Luk 10:34 And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.

It is all done in heaven first before it is done on earth (Mat 6:10). Because God caused or worked all things in our heavens first, this enables us to work out our own salvation as we bind the spiritual wounds left by false teachings with His Word and true doctrine, also in others (Php 1:27, Php 3:20, 1Ti 4:12, Heb 13:5, Jas 3:15, 1Pe 3:1):

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

God will eventually destroy Satan in the lake of fire, and that is where all those with a carnal mind will be saved through God’s fiery words (Isa 65:25, Jer 5:14, Rom 8:6, 1Co 3:13-15). Satan, like all in the first man Adam, has a carnal mind which is death (Rom 8:6). All death will be “swallowed up in victory”, even taken up in the spiritual life of Jesus Christ (1Co 15:54-55). There will certainly be “no more death”:

Rev 20:10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever [for the eons of the eons].

Rev 21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

That is why the last Adam was appointed by God to destroy ALL the works of the devil when they have concluded their purposes eventually:

1Jn 3:8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

—————————-

[Detailed studies and emails written by Mike Vinson relating to this foundational theme in Scripture concerning the subtle serpent can be found at https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/frequently-asked-questions/ under the heading called ‘Satan’. Other themes referred to in this study are also available on the www.iswasandwillbe.com website, including:]

The beasts ‘in the midst… and round about the throne’ of God:

Animals In Scripture – “The Four Beasts Around God’s Throne”

The salvation of all God’s spiritual beings:

Will Satan and his Angels be Saved?

The spiritual meaning of brass (copper):

“Base Metals In Scripture – Copper (Carnal Babes In Christ)” – Part 1

“Base Metals In Scripture – Copper (The Best Flesh Has To Offer – The Judgment Of The Flesh) – Part 2

“Base Metals In Scripture – Copper (The Necessity Of Copper In Bringing Us To Christ)” – Part 3

Hello Mike

Concerning your e- mail and article about your understanding of the Godhead; I have read it and believe I grasp your view, although I’m not sure I agree with you. Even as you wrote, I am willing to have my understanding change if I am wrong. I wouldn’t believe in the Trinity simply because tradition threatened me with hell- fire if I didn’t.

Have you ever considered William Law’s understanding of the Trinity? It seems to make sense to me. Although this section deals with man created in the image of God, I believe it gives an understanding of the Trinity as he saw it.

I’ll quote:

“Nothing can so fully, and justly show us the true nature of our Fall, as the nature and manner of our Redemption. These things have such a necessary correspondence, as cannot be denied, but by a mind utterly indisposed to receive conviction.”

So let’s consider what Law says concerning the original of man in the image of God.

“Man was created by God after His own Image, and in His own Likeness, as a living mirror of the Divine Nature; where Father, Son and Holy Ghost, each brought forth their own nature in a creaturely manner. As the who is begotten of the Father, is the brightness of the Father’s glory, and the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Father and the Son, as an amiable moving Life of both; so it was in this created image of the holy trinity. In it the Father’s nature generated the nature of the Son, and the Holy Ghost proceeds from them both, as an amiable moving life of both. This was the likeness or Image of God, in which the first man was created, a true offspring of God, in whom the Divine Birth sprung up as in the Deity, where Father, Son and Holy Ghost saw themselves in a creaturely manner. In the Divine nature the Father cannot possibly be separated from the Son, nor the Holy Ghost from both, or either of them.

But such separation could and did come to pass in the trinity become creaturely, or in the created living image of the trinity.”

I understand this to mean that man, because of his likeness to God, could commune with God. Man’s soul in the likeness of God generated a life that was as God’s Life.

This seems correct to me, because man’s soul is constantly generating or giving forth a birth of some life. Now this life is either good or evil, depending on the state of his soul; whether it be good or evil. (So it seems to me.)

Now let’s consider what happened to the state of his soul after the fall, according to Law.

“Now by his transgression this image of the Holy Trinity was broken; the generation or birth of the Son or Word, and the proceeding of the Holy Ghost in him, were at an end; in the day that he sinned, in that day he died this death. And therefore what was he as to his soul? It was something that was deprived of that birth, which was the brightness of it’s glory, and which should be that in it, which the Son of God is to the Father; it wanted that Spirit which was it’s amiable life, and which was to be that to it, which the Holy Ghost is to the Father and Son….. This was the state of the soul after the fall, when the birth of the Son of God and the proceeding of the Holy Ghost, were no more to be found or felt in it.

Now it is a plain, manifest doctrine of the holy scriptures that man by the fall is in such a condition, that there was no help or remedy for him….. but by the Son of God’s becoming Incarnate, taking the fallen nature upon him. If this alone could be the remedy, does not this enough show us the disease? Does not this speak plainly enough, what it was that man had lost by his fall, namely, the birth of the Son of God in his soul and the procession of the Holy Ghost; and therefore it was that only the Son of God in so mysterious a manner, could be his Redeemer. If he had lost less, a less power could have redeemed him….. But since it is an open, undeniable doctrine of the Gospel, that there can be no salvation for mankind, but in the name and in the power of the Son of God, by His being united to the fallen nature, and so raising his own birth and life in it; is it not sufficiently shown us, that what was lost by the fall, was the birth of the Son of God in the soul?

It is said that we must be born again from above, born of God, born of the spirit; for this is expressly telling us what birth we have lost, and is only saying that the first birth is to be restored, or that divine birth is to arise, or to be brought again into us, as at the first, when the living image of the Holy Trinity was brought forth in us. – The Grounds and Reasons of Christian Regeneration“

I just want to add something here – I believe, if I am not mistaken, that you say that Christ is the Holy Spirit. But is this necessarily the case, though? It is true that Christ equates the coming of the Holy Spirit with His coming to them; but does this mean He is the Holy Spirit? Is it not merely the case that as the Holy Spirit can only proceed from Christ (and the Father, I know!) that He (the Holy Spirit) can only come to them when Christ comes to them? This seems right to me.

“When it is known that the triune nature of God was brought forth in the creation of man, that it was lost in his fall, that it is restored in his redemption, a never- failing light arises in all scripture, from Genesis to Revelation.

The doctrine of the Holy Trinity is wholly practical; it is revealed to us, to discover our high original, and the greatness of our fall, to show us the deep and profound operation of the triune God in the recovery of the divine life in our souls…. for as everything that is in us, whether it be heaven or hell, rises up in by a birth, and is generated in us by the will- spirit of our souls, which kindles itself either in heaven or in hell; so this mystery of a triune Deity manifesting itself, as a Father creating, as a Son or Word regenerating, as a Holy Spirit sanctifying us, is not to entertain our speculation with dry, metaphysical distinctions of the Deity, but to show us from what a height and depth we are fallen, and to excite such a prayer and faith…… after this triune fountain of all good, as may help to generate and bring forth in us that first image of the Holy Trinity in which we were created, and which must be born in us before we can enter into the state of the blessed…… No person has fitness, nor any pretense, nor any ground from scripture, to think, or say anything of the Trinity, till such time as he stands in the state of the penitent returning prodigal, weary of his own sinful shameful nature; and desiring to renounce the world, the flesh and the devil, and then he is first permitted to be baptized in the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost; this is the first time the Gospel teaches, or calls anyone to the acknowledgment of the Holy Trinity. – An Appeal to all who Doubt the Truths of the Gospel”

I also cannot see how Christ, the Son of God, if a created being, is able to dwell in all his creatures. All creation was created in and through Christ, and all creation must have Christ in it if it is to have any glory or perfection. I hope you believe that I have no intention of arguing with you or anyone; I merely want to know what the truth is, and I feel that William Law has explained the nature of the Trinity better than anyone I have ever read.

I also remember you mentioning something about Adam and Eve – how God creates through Christ, as Adam creates through Eve (I can’t remember exactly, so forgive me if I have gotten it wrong), as somehow proving that Christ is an inferior created being to the Father.

Consider the teaching of Jacob Boehme on this subject:

“God created His Image and Likeness in a single man. Adam was a man and also a woman;…. for God did not in the beginning make man and woman; He did not create them at the same time, because the life in which the two properties of masculine and feminine are united in one, constitutes man in the Image of God…. after the manner of the Father’s and Son’s property, which together are one God, not divided; for perfect love is not found in one property, but in the two, one entering into the other. – Man in the Image of the Heavenly (Treasures from the writings of Jacob Boehme)“

Please let me know what you think of all this, whether you agree or disagree.

K____

Hi K___,

It is good to hear from you again. Please weigh what I say against the scriptures, and don’t allow ‘scholarship,’ name recognition, or the fact that someone has been so helpful in the past, to keep you from “trying the spirits.”

How do we ‘try the spirits?’

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.

‘Trying the spirits’ has to do with whether we should “believe” what we are being taught. I say all this with the greatest respect and appreciation for men like Andrew Jukes, William Law, and Jacob Boehme. But I never forget the need to “try the spirits.”

I am not ‘trying’ these men when I do this. One thing I am convinced of by Christ Himself is that we are not judged by what we produce. Rather we are judged by what we do with what we are given, as demonstrated in the parable of the talents.

What I mean by that is that God did not reveal to Andrew Jukes that “we are the circumcision” (Php 3:3). Andrew Jukes did not see nor fully comprehend the truth that “He is NOT a Jew which is one outwardly” (Rom 2:27-29). He did not fully understand that we “were [ past tense] Gentiles,” but now in Christ we “are made near [ to the] commonwealth of Israel [ and are now] fellowcitzens in the commonwealth of Israel” (Eph 2:11-19). Jukes did not see that the “Jerusalem that now is, is in bondage with her children … and we [ Gentile Galatians ] are the children of the free woman” (Gal 4:21-31)

Not being given this knowledge, Mr Jukes draws the erroneous conclusion that “Paul’s letters are ‘Katurah’. They ‘smell sweet,’ but they will never be allowed to inherit the promises given to Abraham because they were not born of Isaac.” (from ‘Types In Genesis’).

As much respect as I have for Mr Jukes, on this point he is dead wrong. “We, as Isaac, ARE children of promise.” “Israel [ Isaac’s descendants] have not obtained that which he sought after, but the election [ Gentiles in Christ] have obtained it.” “Now if ye [ Gentile Galatians] be in Christ THEN are ye Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise.” Mr Jukes missed all that. I do not hold that against him. I simply ‘try the spirits to see whether they be of God.’

Now I point all that out about Andrew Jukes so that you will see where I am coming from when I answer your question about William Law. Mr. Law obviously believes in the unscriptural doctrine of the ‘fall of man.’ Neither Christ nor any of his apostles ever mention “the fall.”

The reason is that all the New Covenant writers understood that:

Rom 8:20 For the creature was made [ right from the hand of the Creator] subject to vanity, not willingly [ not by choice, not by a ‘fall’], but by reason of him [ God, not by Adam’s fabled ‘free will’- Read After The Counsel of His Own Will] who hath subjected the same in hope,

This is what is meant when we read:

Gen 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
Gen 3:19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. [ Adam was mere dust from the ‘get- go.’]

This is what we are being told when we read:

Gen 2:25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
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:

Do you realize how few people believe these words? The whole Christian world believes that “He created man in His image” means that man was made perfect and immortal, and then he fell. The Truth of the scriptures is:

Rom 8:20 For the creature was made [ right from the hand of the Creator] subject to vanity, not willingly [ here is the Truth, it wasn’t by Adam’s ‘free choice,’ or his will], but by reason of him [ God Himself] who hath subjected the same in hope [ God’s original plan was for Adam to disobey Him and come to see his corruptible nature and his need for a Savior. So God had already provided this Savior, before he ever created naked, dusty Adam.]

Here are the scriptures for the statement in brackets:

Rev 13:8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
1Co 2:7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:
Eph 1:4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
2Ti 1:9 Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,
Tit 1:2 In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;
1Pe 1:19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:
1Pe 1:20 Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,

Please take the time to read After The Counsel of His Own Will to see how God really worked out the events in the garden of Eden as well as all events of all time. God’s dealings with Adam were no different than they were with Pharaoh or you or me. They are “all … after the counsel of HIS OWN will” (Eph 1:11). We, like Adam, make many ‘choices.’ But to say that these choices are ‘free’ from the influences of God is to say that Joseph’s brothers decided “of their own free will” to sell Joseph into slavery. There is no denying that they decided to make that choice. Was that choice free? Not according to Joseph:

Gen 50:20 But as for you [ Joseph’s brothers], ye thought evil against me; but God meant it [ their evil thoughts and choices] unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.

This verse explains the reason “God meant” for Eve to eat of the forbidden fruit. “God meant” for Adam to become aware of the fact that he was created in a form [ naked and out of the ground] that needed a Savior. The twin false doctrines of ‘free will’ and ‘the fall of man’ both deny the scriptural fact that Adam was “made [ by God] subject to vanity, not willingly [ not by choice], but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope [‘After the counsel of His own will’].”

Understanding The Shadows Of The Old Covenant

This brings us to the crux of William Law’s misunderstanding about “the image of God.” What Mr. Law and the entirety of christendom have missed is the fact that nothing in the old covenant is the fullness of Truth. Everything in the ‘law’, the first five books of the Bible, and the prophets was mere ‘shadow.’ A ‘shadow’ by definition is something that is blocking the light. Indeed in reality, a shadow is the lack of light.

Allow Christ to demonstrate the Truth of this principle. He has just fed 5000 people with five loaves and two fishes. When the people follow Christ across the sea in hopes of another free meal, Christ tells them that a free meal is really all they are after. In response the people, or one of their representatives, quotes word for word Exo 16:4.

Exo 16:4 Then said the LORD unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no.

Now let’s read John and see if the people were telling the truth about what that scripture said:

Joh 6:31 Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.

And what is Christ’s response to having His own words thrown back at Him? Pay close attention; they are very instructive if you want to understand the function of the old covenant. Here is Christ’s response to His own old covenant words:

Joh 6:32 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.

Christ flatly contradicted His own words in ‘the law:’

Exo 16:4 Then said the LORD unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you;

How could He possibly do this? Here is how, and here is why:

Heb 10:1 For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things

Everything in ‘the law’ was a mere shadow of the Truth. That ‘Truth,’ that ‘true bread,’ those “good things to come” were one and all Christ! Everything else was something that blocked the true light. The manna was not the “true bread.” It was a shadow of the true. Now we can understand the depth of this statement:

Joh 1:17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

So when God says in ‘the law’ that He “created man in His own image,” what He is really saying is that He created a mere shadow of the true image of God. Adam was a mere type and a mere shadow of the true ‘Adam.’ Adam himself is called “the son of God.”

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

But this was true only ‘in type.’ It was true only in ‘shadow.’

But Paul reveals to us that Adam was nothing more than a type of the true ‘Son of God:’

1Co 15:43 It is sown [ God is the ‘sower’] in dishonour [ naked and of the ground]; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power:
1Co 15:44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
1Co 15:45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul [ a ‘living soul,’ is a ‘body of this death’ – Rom 7:24]; the last Adam [ the true ‘Son of God’] was made a quickening spirit.
1Co 15:46 Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual [ and eternal], but that which is natural [ and dying]; and afterward that which is spiritual.
1Co 15:47 The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.

The false doctrine of ‘the fall’ is based upon the serpent’s lie “You shall not surely die.” It was the serpent who told Adam that he was created perfect and immortal and in no need of a Savior.

The Truth of the scriptures is:

Psa 51:5 Behold, I was shapen [ by the hand of the creator] in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.

David understood that it is God who creates evil:

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

These scriptures are not for the “carnal [ Christian] babes” of 1Co 3:1-3. This is meaty Truth. But it is the Truth.

Rom 8:20 For the creature was made [ right from the hand of the Creator] subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,

Here is how man was made: 1) Of dust and 2) Naked. What is God telling us when He reveals these details to us?

Here is what that means:

1) Dust:

1Co 15:47 The first man is of the earth, [ dust] earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.
1Co 15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
Gen 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground,
Psa 51:5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity.

‘Flesh’ equates in the scriptures with ‘corruption.’ The Lord God “formed man of the [ corruptible] dust of the ground.”

2) Naked:

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:
Gen 2:25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and [ just like Laodicea] were not ashamed.
Rev 16:15 Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
Rev 17:16 And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.

Nakedness in the scriptures is equated with sin:

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 appea r; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.

Laodicea’s nakedness is in sharp contrast with the robes of “white linen … which is the righteousness of the saints.”

Rev 19:8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.

Adam was not created dressed in white linen. It was God Himself who brought Adam and Eve into this world ‘naked.’

If you want a thorough understanding of this subject, read the article on the Law and the Offerings on the web page. God reveals in these offerings how He wants us to view the sacrifice of Christ. That is why we are told that God gave Israel both a ‘sin offering,’ for what man IS, right from the hand of his Creator, before he ever does anything good or sinful, then, besides the ‘sin offering,’ for what we are, Israel was also given a ‘transgression offering,’ for what we DO.

I could go on to point out that in ‘the [ shadowy] law’, the Lord told Israel that if a man has a field and digs a pit in that field that the owner of the field is responsible for any harm that befalls the beast of his neighbor that might accidentally fall into that pit. This is merely a shadow of the fact that it is God who Christ tells us owns ‘the field,’ (“the field is the world” Mat 13:38). This shadowy law of Moses reveals the fact that God assumes responsibility for everything that happens in His ‘field,’ and that before he ever created man he had made provision for all the sins that He knew were to be committed. That provision was Christ, and He was “slain from the foundation of the world.”

This false doctrine of ‘the fall’ has the whole Christian world wanting to ‘go back’ to Eden. It has the whole world deceived into believing that we were originally immortal; that we cannot lose that immortality even if we must burn in hell for all eternity with no purpose or goal in view other than the continued suffering of most of mankind. God tells us that we must “love our enemies,” but He Himself will hate and torment our loved ones in hell forever?

God is not ‘going back’ to anything. He never intended to ‘go back.’ He is right on schedule with plan A. Here is plan A, and it has no room for ‘the fall of man’:

1Co 15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
1Co 15:23 But every man in his own order: [ The ‘order’ laid out “before the foundation of the world”] Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.
1Co 15:24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.
1Co 15:25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
1Co 15:26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
1Ti 4:10 For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially [ Not exclusively] of those that believe.
1Jn 2:2 And he is [ not ‘could be,’ but “is”] the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

God did not say, “In the day that you eat thereof you shall surely die. Here is what He did say: “Yet from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you are not to be eating from it, for in the day you eat from it, to die shall you be dying” (Gen 2:17- CV). Adam was ‘to die‘ before he ever ate of that tree. That is why he ate of the tree. He ate because he was weak. He was weak because he was of the earth. He was of the earth because God made him that way.

Here is what Joh has to say of all the things that we experience in this world:

1Jn 2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

All sins are within these three classes of sin: 1) The lust of the flesh, 2) The lust of the eyes, and 3) The pride of life.

Now notice what this ‘shadow’ of the ‘image of God’ did before she (Eve) ever touched the forbidden fruit:

Gen 3:6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food [the lust of the flesh], and that it was pleasant to the eyes [the lust of the eyes], and a tree to be desired to make one wise [the pride of life], she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
Gen 3:7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and [ then, and not were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

Eve, and Adam through Eve, committed every sin mentioned in 1Jn 2:16 before she ever touched the tree that would open her eyes to see that she had been created in a sinful naked condition. Mr. Law simply was not given eyes to see this plain Biblical Truth.

This entire experience is nothing but an old covenant type and shadow of “the law… bringing us to Christ.”

Rom 7:7 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.

God intended for the “first man Adam” to come to see that he had been “shapen in iniquity.” The law of Moses accomplishes that task, and it was typified in the garden by the ‘tree of the knowledge of good and evil.’

For an in depth study of this subject, read The Law of Moses Versus The Law of The Spirit on the web page.

A Mind Utterly Indisposed To Receive Conviction

To give a direct answer to your question: “Have you ever considered William Law’s understanding of the Trinity,” the answer is yes, I have.

The doctrine of the trinity is based on the doctrine of the ‘fall of man.’ Without believing in a triune man, there would be no doctrine of the ‘trinity’ of the Godhead.

Here are Mr Law’s words: “Nothing can so fully, and justly show us the true nature of our Fall, as the nature and manner of our Redemption. These things have such a necessary correspondence, as cannot be denied, but by a mind utterly indisposed to receive conviction.”

Now with that statement before us, let’s go to what the scriptures actually say about what happened to Adam:

Rom 8:20 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly[ Not by his own ‘free’ will], but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,

And about the Godhead:

Rom 1:20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
1Co 8:6 But to us there is but one God, the Father [ not ‘One God the trinity], of whom are all things, and we in him; and [ besides God there is also “the beginning of His creation” (Rev 3:17)] one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.

Go back and re- read that trinity paper. Critique it for me using the scriptures. I welcome such help.

You say this below:

I just want to add something here – I believe, if I am not mistaken, that you say that Christ is the Holy Spirit. But is this necessarily the case, though. It is true that Christ equates the coming of the Holy Spirit, with His coming to them; but does this mean He is the Holy Spirit? Is it not merely the case that as the Holy Spirit can only proceed from Christ (and the Father, I know!) that He (the Holy Spirit) can only come to them when Christ comes to them? This seems right to me.

I agree with you in one sense, insofar as God’s (the Father’s) spirit is not really Christ. When Christ was revealing the coming of the “parakleetos, which is the Holy Spirit,” He said, “the Father will take of mine and give to you”. Then He goes to all the trouble to explain what He means by “take of Mine.” “Because all the Father has [ He is speaking specifically of this ‘parakleetos’, this Comforter] He has given to Me [ Did the Father give Christ another third of the Godhead?], therefore I said that He will take of mine and give to you.” God the Father gave all he has to Christ, who in turn gives God’s spirit to us. But spirit is what God, the Father is, and it is not a person.

This “gift” under discussion by our Lord is the Holy Spirit. It is not a ‘personality’ but the very makeup of God the Father.

Joh 4:24 God is Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

I left off the indefinite article ‘a’ because it does not appear in the original. God is not ‘A’ spirit, but ‘IS’ SPIRIT. It is in His spirit that all things in heaven and on earth, ‘live and move and have their being’ (Act 17:28).

It has been the ‘good pleasure’ of the Father, to give all that He has to the Son.

Joh 16:15 All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew [ it] unto you.
1Co 15:27 For he [ the Father] hath put all things under his [ the Son’s] feet. But when he [ the Father] saith all things are put under him [ the Son], it is manifest that he [ the Father] is excepted, which did put all things under him [ the Son].
1Co 15:28 And when all things shall be subdued unto him [ the Son], then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him [ the Father] that put all things under him, that God [ the Father] may be all in all.

Does this sound like the Son is ‘co- equal ‘ with the Father. Christ is “equal with God” only because the Father says He is “equal.” He is not inherently ‘equal.’

Col 1:19 For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;
Col 1:20 And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.

This “all things under His feet,” is cited from Psalms :

Psa 8:6 Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:

Without explanation, Paul applies this verse from the Psalms to Christ. But read this verse in its context:

Psa 8:4 What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?
Psa 8:5 For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.
Psa 8:6 Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:

Paul takes a verse of scripture that talks of “man” and applies it to Christ. All the writers of the New Testament do this without explanation. To understand this principle used by every writer of the New Testament, read ‘Rightly Dividing The Word.” But I am digressing.

I did not say “Christ is the Holy Spirit” as you say. I quote 1Jn 2:1, which says Christ is the ‘parakleetos.’ I do not say that; John says that. All I do is point that out. Here is what I did say:

If the Holy Ghost, the hagios pneuma, which is the Comforter, the parakleetos, is really Christ in us, then there should be a scripture that calls Christ the parakleetos. It so happens that there is just such a scripture. But you would never know it by simply reading your King James Bible or for that matter, using your Strong’s concordance which is keyed to our King James English. If one uses Strong’s, one will see the four places where parakleetos appears in Joh 14, 15 and 16. These scriptures certainly reveal Christ as the parakleetos, as we have shown. You would need to use an Englishman’s Greek Concordance (Wigram’s) or America’s Online Bible to find the only other appearance of this Greek word in all of the scriptures. It’s not translated “comforter” there. Remember as you read this that, according to Joh 14:26, The Comforter (parakleetos)…is the Holy Ghost… The scripture before us is the First Epistle of John, chapter two verse one. My little children, these things I write unto you that you sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate (parakleetos – not even capitalized here in the KJV) with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous: There it is once again stated straight out. The sum of God’s Word tells us that Jesus Christ was given all His Father has which includes the parakleetos, “the Comforter which is the Holy Ghost.”

I can see how the first sentence of this paragraph could be construed to say that I said that Christ is the Holy Spirit. But to do so is the same thing as accusing Christ of claiming to be God the Father just because He claimed to be the Son of God. That last sentence is simply pointing to the verse I have just quoted. By the way, as I believe I point out in the Trinity article, Christ never claimed to be the son of the Holy Spirit in spite of the fact that we are told that he was conceived “of the Holy Spirit.”

Mat 1:18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.
Luk 1:35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. [ Because it was God’s spirit that conceived Christ]

You make this statement below:

I understand this to mean that man because of his likeness to God, could commune with God. Man’s soul in the likeness of God generated a life that was as God’s Life.

This seems correct to me because man’s soul is constantly generating or giving forth a birth of some life. Now this life is either good or evil depending on the state of his soul; whether it be good or evil. ( So it seems to me)

Now lets consider what happened to the state of his soul after the fall, according to Law.

Paul tells us what ‘man’s soul’ generates, and he tells us why it is so:

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

There it is. The first Adam was made a living soul, but the last Adam was made a quickening spirit’. According to this formula a ‘living soul’ is nothing more than “the body of this death.” “To die you shall be dying” (Concordant Version).

And why is this so?

Rom 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

Adam was created under the “law of sin and death” (Psa 51:5). He simply had no knowledge of that fact until he ate of the forbidden fruit. The ‘law,’ just as the ‘tree of the knowledge of good and evil,’ is not sin; it simply shows us that we are sin:

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

Paul tells us that the church at Corinth was…:

1Co 1:2 …sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:

Yet in his next breath he tells us that they are “yet carnal.”

1Co 3:1 And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.
1Co 3:2 I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.
1Co 3:3 For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?
1Co 3:4 For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?

In four verses Paul tells these Corinthian Christians that they are ‘carnal’ four times. And what does he tell us about being carnally minded?

Rom 8:6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

Christ, on the other hand, is the ‘tree of life:’

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

Adam was never even tempted to partake of the ‘tree of life’ and yet the self- contradicting doctrine of the ‘fall of man’ teaches us that Adam once had life and then because of another false doctrine called ‘free moral agency,’ Adam, who we are told could have obeyed God ‘of his own free will,’ choose instead to rebel against God and eat of the forbidden fruit. Such doctrine would have you to believe that because God asked Adam “Where are you?” that God did this because He didn’t have a clue where Adam was.

This, of course, was not the case. God knew exactly where Adam was. And the fact that God told Adam not to eat of the forbidden fruit, does not mean that He did not know what Adam was going to do. He did know exactly what Adam was going to do. He had already prepared the sacrifice for the sin that He already knew Adam was about to commit.

God even knew exactly how many hairs were on Adam’s head. While every minister of Christ admits to this scriptural fact, they deny that He would ever dare to know what thoughts were in that head. What utter foolishness. God is not telling us that He knows how many hairs are on our heads so that we will know that He knows how many hairs are on our heads. He tells us this fact so that we will be aware of His omniscience of all things, especially the thoughts in our heads:

Psa 94:11 The LORD knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity.

How does God know that the thoughts of man are vanity?

Rom 8:20 For the creature was made [ right from the hand of the Creator] subject to vanity, not willingly [ not by choice], but by reason of him [ God, not by Adams fabled ‘free will’] who subjected the same in hope.

Anyone who knows that something evil is about to happen and does nothing to prevent that evil is as responsible for that evil as the person who commits the evil. But God not only doesn’t prevent the evil, He tells us that He creates it!

Isa 45:6 That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else [ No ‘free’ will,. independent of God’s will].
Isa 45:7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.
Pro 16:4 The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.
Eph 1:9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
Eph 1:10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
Eph 1:11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

Notice the similarities between what Joseph tells his brothers about their evil deed against him and what Paul tells us here about the “mystery of [ God’s] will” in Eph 1:10-11.

Eph 1:10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things [ meaning all men] in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
Eph 1:11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
Gen 50:20 But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it [ Your evil thoughts and deeds] unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.

This verse of scripture, is the most concise statement in scripture explaining the reason for all the evil we will ever witness

You ask this question:

I also cannot see how Christ, the Son of God, if a created being, is able to dwell in all his creatures. All creation was created in and through Christ, and all creation must have Christ in it if it is to have any glory or perfection. I hope you believe that I have no intention of arguing with you or anyone; I merely want to know what the truth is, and I feel that William Law has explained the nature of the Trinity better than anyone I have ever read.

For a better and more in- depth understanding of what I have referred to, you can look up these two books of William Law’s on the Internet and see whether you agree or disagree with him.

I too, “merely want to know the Truth.” But I know that though we may not see everything alike, we will agree that we must ‘try the spirits,’ not with either my writings or Law’s writings. We ‘try the spirits’ against the Word of God and the Truth, both titles given to Christ. I am not intending to cast Mr. Law in a bad light. But Christ’s explanation of the Holy Spirit is better than Mr. Law’s.

Joh 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
Joh 16:14 He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.
Joh 16:15 All things [ even God’s Spirit] that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

I don’t see what the connection is between being a created being and being therefore “[ un] able to dwell in all of His creatures”. Are you saying that if Christ is truly “the beginning of the creation of God” (Rev 3:14) that therefore “All things that the Father hath are mine,” cannot be? Is that not the equivalent of saying that ‘If Eve came forth of Adam, then it is not possible for all men to come forth of a woman.’ Christ is no longer flesh. Like His Father he is now capable of being in all of us. Being a ‘created’ spirit in no way impinges on that oneness with His Father. In fact Christ tells us that this is also true for us:

Joh 17:21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, [ art] in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
Joh 14:20 At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.

This is not what I say, this is what John is telling us. Paul tells us the same truth in 1Co 11 where he is explaining our relationship with Christ, and how it parallels Christ’s relationship with The Father:

1Co 11:3 But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.
1Co 11:8 For the man is not of the woman; but the woman of the man.
1Co 11:9 Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man.
1Co 11:12 For as the woman is of the man, even so is the man also by the woman; but all things of God.

These are the “things that are made” referenced in Rom 1:20, by which we comprehend the Godhead. The man and his wife are the scriptural types of the “invisible things of him from the creation of the world.” Paul is not speaking of the unscriptural triune forms of such substances as water or gas. All such efforts to teach the unfounded doctrine of the ‘trinity’ are without scriptural basis:

Where in all of scripture is there so much as an allusion to such a contradictory doctrine as a three- person Godhead?

Finally you paraphrase what I said about 1Co 11:

I also remember you mentioning something about Adam and Eve – how God creates through Christ, as Adam creates through Eve (I can’t remember exactly, so forgive me if I have gotten it wrong), as somehow proving that Christ is an inferior created being to the Father.

Certainly I forgive you. I didn’t say that ‘Adam creates through Eve’ I simply point out the verse in 1Co 11 where Paul tells us that as God brings all into existence through Christ, the submissive ‘out- from- the- Father’ part of His creation, even so all men come through a woman, the weaker ideally submissive part of a marriage between two people of the opposite sex. It is the two sexes that are scriptural example of “the things that are made” referred to by Paul in Rom 1:20. I repeat, I simply point out that if there is any Truth to what Paul tells us about how to understand the Godhead, then there can be no truth to the trinity doctrine. Here is how he says we are to comprehend the Godhead:

Rom 1:20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
Gal 4:4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman [ sinful flesh], made under the law [ the “church in the wilderness”]…

So when Paul tells us that Christ was “made to be sin for us …”

1Co 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

He is not talking about Christ being crucified; he is referring to His flesh. According to the law of the offerings, we are sin simply by virtue of our birth in Adam. Once again:

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

Getting back to the purpose for marriage as it relates to our understanding of the Godhead, do you think I am misunderstanding Paul? Here are his own words concerning the lessons of married life:

Eph 5:22 Wives [ husbands], submit yourselves unto your own husbands [ Christ], as unto the Lord.
Eph 5:23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.
Eph 5:24 Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.
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.
Eph 5:29 For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:
Eph 5:30 For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.
Eph 5:31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two [ not three] shall be one flesh.
Eph 5:32 This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church. [ And according to 1Co 11, Christ and “His God.”

I dare say that even Law would be hard pressed to show how the tri nity is typical of a married couple! And while I respect Mr. Law and most of his writings, I cannot concede that 1+1+1=1.

To me “there is but one God, the Father, of whom is all things [ including the “one Lord”] and one Lord, Jesus Christ by whom are all things [ just as all men come into this world by a woman].

Finally you say:

All creation was created in and through Christ, and all creation must have Christ in it if it is to have any glory or perfection.

I could not agree more. As I said before, I don’t see what Christ being created has to do with this. Here is how Christ intends to use His ‘created Wife:’

Eph 2:6 and raised us up with him, and made us to sit with him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus:
Eph 2:7 that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus:
Eph 3:8 Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, was this grace given, to preach unto the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;
Eph 3:9 and to make all men see what is the dispensation of the mystery which for ages hath been hid in God who created all things;
Eph 3:10 to the intent that now unto the principalities and the powers in the heavenly places might be made known through the church the manifold wisdom of God,
1Pe 2:9 But ye are a elect race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that ye may show forth the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:[ not ‘out of light into darkness back into light, as ‘the fall’ teaches]
Psa 68:35 O God, thou art terrible out of thy holy places: The God of Israel, he giveth strength and power unto his people. Blessed be God.

And finally, one of my favorite scriptures:

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.

If Christ can do all this for those who come ‘out of’ Him, why could not God do the same for that which we are told “proceeded out from the Father” and is “the beginning of the creation of God?”

You asked what I thought. I have shown you the scriptures that lead me to these conclusions. I know that I speak with conviction, but one scripture to the contrary would, and has dished me up a nourishing plate of ‘crow.’ I apologize for the length of this e- mail. I hope I have expressed my thoughts in a spirit that has not offended you.

Your brother in Christ,

Mike

K___ wrote: Hello Mike, Thanks for inviting me to write back. Concerning your e- mail and article about your understanding of the Godhead; I have read it and believe I grasp your view, although I’m not sure I agree with you. Even as you wrote, I am willing to have my understanding change if I am wrong. I wouldn’t believe in the Trinity simply because tradition threatened me with hell- fire if I didn’t. Have you ever considered William Law’s understanding of the Trinity? It seems to make sense to me. Although this section deals with man created in the image of God, I believe it gives an understanding of the Trinity as he saw it. (Italics mine) I’ll quote:

“Nothing can so fully, and justly show us the true nature of our Fall, as the nature and manner of our Redemption. These things have such a necessary correspondence, as cannot be denied, but by a mind utterly indisposed to receive conviction.”

 So let’s consider what Law says concerning the original of man in the image of God. 

“Man was created by God after His own Image, and in His own Likeness, as a living mirror of the Divine Nature; where Father, Son and Holy Ghost, each brought forth their own nature in a creaturely manner. As the who is begotten of the Father, is the brightness of the Father’s glory, and the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Father and the Son, as an amiable moving Life of both; so it was in this created image of the holy trinity. In it the Father’s nature generated the nature of the Son, and the Holy Ghost proceeds from them both, as an amiable moving life of both. This was the likeness or Image of God, in which the first man was created, a true offspring of God, in whom the Divine Birth sprung up as in the Deity, where Father, Son and Holy Ghost saw themselves in a creaturely manner. In the Divine nature the Father cannot possibly be separated from the Son, nor the Holy Ghost from both, or either of them.

 I understand this to mean that man because of his likeness to God, could commune with God. Man’s soul in the likeness of God generated a life that was as God’s Life. This seems correct to me because man’s soul is constantly generating or giving forth a birth of some life. Now this life is either good or evil depending on the state of his soul; whether it be good or evil. ( So it seems to me) Now lets consider what happened to the state of his soul after the fall, according to Law. 

“Now by his transgression this image of the Holy Trinity was broken; the generation or birth of the Son or Word, and the proceeding of the Holy Ghost in him, were at an end; in the day that he sinned, in that day he died this death. And therefore what was he as to his soul? It was something that was deprived of that birth, which was the brightness of it’s glory, and which should be that in it, which the Son of God is to the Father; it wanted that Spirit which was it’s amiable life, and which was to be that to it, which the Holy Ghost is to the Father and Son….. This was the state of the soul after the fall, when the birth of the Son of God and the proceeding of the Holy Ghost, were no more to be found or felt in it.””Now it is a plain, manifest doctrine of the holy scriptures that man by the fall is in such a condition, that there was no help or remedy for him….. but by the Son of God’s becoming Incarnate, taking the fallen nature upon him. If this alone could be the remedy, does not this enough show us the disease? Does not this speak plainly enough, what it was that man had lost by his fall, namely, the birth of the Son of God in his soul and the procession of the Holy Ghost; and therefore it was that only the Son of God in so mysterious a manner, could be his Redeemer. If he had lost less, a less power could have redeemed him….. But since it is an open, undeniable doctrine of the Gospel, that there can be no salvation for mankind, but in the name and in the power of the Son of God, by His being united to the fallen nature, and so raising his own birth and life in it; is it not sufficiently shown us, that what was lost by the fall, was the birth of the Son of God in the soul?”
“It is said that we must be born again from above, born of God, born of the spirit; for this is expressly telling us what birth we have lost, and is only saying that the first birth is to be restored, or that divine birth is to arise, or to be brought again into us, as at the first, when the living image of the Holy Trinity was brought forth in us.” – The Grounds and Reasons of Christian Regeneration.

 I just want to add something here – I believe, if I am not mistaken, that you say that Christ is the Holy Spirit. But is this necessarily the case, though. It is true that Christ equates the coming of the Holy Spirit, with His coming to them; but does this mean He is the Holy Spirit? Is it not merely the case that as the Holy Spirit can only proceed from Christ (and the Father, I know!) that He (the Holy Spirit) can only come to them when Christ comes to them? This seems right to me. 

“When it is known that the triune nature of God was brought forth in the creation of man, that it was lost in his fall, that it is restored in his redemption, a never- failing light arises in all scripture, from Genesis to Revelation.”

“The doctrine of the Holy Trinity is wholly practical; it is revealed to us, to discover our high original, and the greatness of our fall, to show us the deep and profound operation of the triune God in the recovery of the divine life in our souls…. for as everything that is in us, whether it be heaven or hell, rises up in by a birth, and is generated in us by the will- spirit of our souls, which kindles itself either in heaven or in hell; so this mystery of a triune Deity manifesting itself, as a Father creating, as a Son or Word regenerating, as a Holy Spirit sanctifying us, is not to entertain our speculation with dry, metaphysical distinctions of the Deity, but to show us from what a height and depth we are fallen, and to excite such a prayer and faith…… after this triune fountain of all good, as may help to generate and bring forth in us that first image of the Holy Trinity in which we were created, and which must be born in us before we can enter into the state of the blessed…… No person has fitness, nor any pretense, nor any ground from scripture, to think, or say anything of the Trinity, till such time as he stands in the state of the penitent returning prodigal, weary of his own sinful shameful nature; and desiring to renounce the world, the flesh and the devil, and then he is first permitted to be baptized in the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost; this is the first time the Gospel teaches, or calls anyone to the acknowledgement of the Holy Trinity.” – An Appeal to all who Doubt the Truths of the Gospel

I also cannot see how Christ, the Son of God, if a created being, is able to dwell in all his creatures. All creation was created in and through Christ, and all creation must have Christ in it if it is to have any glory or perfection. I hope you believe that I have no intention of arguing with you or anyone; I merely want to know what the truth is, and I feel that William Law has explained the nature of the Trinity better than anyone I have ever read. For a better and more in- depth understanding of what I have referred to, you can look up these two books of William Law’s on the internet and see whether you agree or disagree with him. I also remember you mentioning something about Adam and Eve – how God creates through Christ, as Adam creates through Eve (I can’t remember exactly, so forgive me if I have gotten it wrong), as somehow proving that Christ is an inferior created being to the Father. Consider the teaching of Jacob Boehme on this subject: 

“God created His Image and Likeness in a single man. Adam was a man and also a woman;…. for God did not in the beginning make man and woman; He did not create them at the same time, because the life in which the two properties of masculine and feminine are united in one, constitutes man in the Image of God…. after the manner of the Father’s and Son’s property, which together are one God, not divided; for perfect love is not found in one property, but in the two, one entering into the other”. – Man in the Image of the Heavenly (Treasures from the writings of Jacob Boehme)

Please let me know what you think of all this, whether you agree or disagree. Yours sincerely, K____ 

Hi K____,
It is good to hear from you again.

Just weigh what I say against the scriptures and don’t allow ‘scholarship,’ name recognition or the fact that someone has been so helpful in the past, to keep you from “trying the spirits.”
 How do we ‘try the spirits?’

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.

‘Trying the spirits’ has to do with whether we should “believe” what we are being taught. I say all this with the greatest respect and appreciation for men like Andrew Jukes, William Law and Jacob Boehme. But I never forget the need to “try the spirits.”
When I do this I am not ‘trying’ these men. One thing I am convinced of by Christ Himself is that we are not judged by what we produce. Rather we are judged by what we do with what we are given, as demonstrated in the parable of the talents.
What I mean by that is that God did not reveal to Andrew Jukes that “we are the circumcision” (Phil. 3:3). Andrew Jukes did not see nor fully comprehend the truth that “He is NOT a Jew which is one outwardly” (Rom.2:27-29). He did not fully understand that we “were [ past tense] Gentiles,” but now in Christ we “are made near [ to the] commonwealth of Israel [ and are now] fellowcitzens in the commonwealth of Israel” (Eph. 2:11-19). Jukes did not see that the “Jerusalem that now is, is in bondage with her children… and we [ Gentile Galatians] are the  children of the free woman” (Gal. 4:21-31)

Not being given this knowledge, Mr Jukes draws the erroneous conclusion that “Paul’s letters are ‘Katurah’.

They ‘smell sweet,’ but they will never be allowed to inherit the promises given to Abraham, because they were not born of Isaac.” (from Types In Genesis).

As much respect as I have for Mr Jukes, on this point he is dead wrong.” We, as Isaac, ARE children of promise.”  “Israel [ Isaac’s descendants] have not obtained that which he sought after, but the election [ Gentiles in Christ] have obtained it.” ” Now if ye be in Christ THEN are ye Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise.” Mr. Jukes missed all that. I do not hold that against him; I simply ‘try the spirits, to see whether they be of God.’

Now I point all that out about Andrew Jukes so that you will see where I am coming from when I answer your question about William Law. Mr. Law obviously believes in the unscriptural doctrine of the ‘fall of man.’  Neither Christ nor any of his apostles ever mention “the fall.”
The reason is that all the New Covenant writers understood that: 

Rom 8:20  For the creature was made [ right from the hand of the Creator] subject to vanity, not willingly [ not by choice], but by reason of him [ God, not by Adams fabled ‘free will’- Read ‘After The Counsel Of His Own Will] who hath subjected the same in hope,

This is what is meant when we read:

Gen 2:7  And the LORD God formed man of  the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
Gen 3:19  In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of  it  wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

This is what we are being told when we read:

Gen 2:25  And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
 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:

Do you realize how few people believe these words. The whole Christian world believes that “He created man in His image” means that man was made perfect and immortal, and then he fell. The Truth of the scriptures is:

Rom 8:20  For the creature was made [ right from the hand of the Creator] subject to vanity, not willingly [ here is the Truth, it wasn’t by Adam’s ‘free choice,’ or his will], but by reason of him [ God Himself] who hath subjected the same in hope [ God’s original plan was for Adam to disobey Him and come to see his corruptible nature and his need for a Savior. So God had already provided this Savior, before he ever created Adam.]

Here are the scriptures for the statement above in brackets:

Rev 13:8  And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
1Co 2:7  But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:
Eph 1:4  According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
2Ti 1:9  Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,
Tit 1:2  In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;
1Pe 1:19  But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:
1Pe 1:20  Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,

Please take the time to read ‘A fter The Counsel Of His Own Will’ to see how God really worked out the events in the garden of Eden as well as all events of all time. God’s dealings with Adam were no different than they were with Pharaoh or you or me. They are “all… after the counsel of HIS OWN will” (Eph.1:11). Like Adam we make many ‘choices.’ But to say that these choices are ‘free’ from the influences of God is to say that Joseph’s brothers decided “of their own free will” to sell Joseph into slavery. There is no denying that they decided to make that choice. Was that choice free? Not according to Joseph:

Gen 50:20  But as for you [ Joseph’s brothers], ye thought evil against me; but God meant it [ their evil thoughts and choices] unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.

This verse explains the reason “God meant” for Eve to eat of the forbidden fruit. “God meant” for Adam to become aware of the fact that he was created in a form [ naked and out of the ground] that needed a Savior. The twin false doctrines of ‘free will’ and ‘the fall of man’ both deny the scriptural fact that Adam was “made [ by God] subject to vanity, not willingly [ not by choice], but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope [‘After the counsel of His own will’].”
This brings us to the crux of William Law’s misunderstanding about “the image of God.” What Mr. Law and the entirety of Christendom have missed is the fact that nothing in the old covenant is the fulness of Truth. Everything in the ‘law,’ the first five books of the Bible and the prophets was mere ‘shadow.’  A ‘shadow’ by definition is something that is blocking the light. No, indeed, a shadow is in reality the lack of light.
Allow Christ to demonstrate the Truth of this principle. He has just fed 5000 people with 5 loaves and 2 fishes. When the people follow Christ across the sea in hopes of another free meal, Christ tells them that that is really all they are after. In response the people, or one of their representatives, quotes word for word Exo 16 :4.

Exo 16:4  Then said the LORD unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no

Now let’s read John and see if the people were telling the truth about what that scripture said:

Joh 6:31  Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.

And what is Christ’s response to having His own words thrown back at Him?  Pay close attention as they are very instructive if you want to understand the function of the old covenant. Here is Christ’s incredible response:

Joh 6:32  Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.

Christ flatly contradicted His own words in ‘the law:’

Exo 16:4  Then said the LORD unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you;

How could He possibly do this? Here is how, and here is why.

Heb 10:1  For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things…

Everything in ‘the law’ was a mere shadow of the Truth. That ‘Truth,’ that ‘true bread,’ those “good things to come,” were one and all Christ! Everything else was something that blocked the true light. The manna was not the “true bread.” It was a shadow of the true. Now we can understand the depth of this statement:

Joh 1:17  For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

So when God says in ‘the law’ that He “created man in His own image,” what He is really saying is that He created a mere shadow of the true image of God. Adam himself is called “the son of God”

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

But Paul reveals to us that Adam was nothing more than a type of the true ‘Son of God.’:

1Co 15:43  It is sown [ God is the ‘sower’] in dishonour [ naked and of the ground]; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power:
1Co 15:44  It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
1Co 15:45  And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul [ a ‘living soul,’ is a ‘body of this death]; the last Adam [ the true ‘Son of God’] was made a quickening spirit.
1Co 15:46  Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual [ and eternal], but that which is natural [ and dying]; and afterward that which is spiritual.
1Co 15:47  The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.

The false doctrine of ‘the fall’ is based upon the serpent’s lie, “You shall not surely die.” It was the serpent who told Adam that he was created perfect and in no need of a Savior. The Truth of the scriptures is:

Psa 51:5  Behold, I was shapen [ by the hand of the creator] in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.

David understood that it is God who creates evil:

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

These scriptures are not for the “carnal [ Christian] babes” of I Cor. 3:1-3. This is meaty Truth. But it is the Truth.

Rom 8:20  For the creature was made [ right from the hand of the Creator] subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,

Here is how man was made:  1) of dust and 2) naked. What is God telling us when He reveals these details to us?
Here is what that means:
1) Dust:

1Co 15:47  The first man is of the earth, [ dust] earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.

1 Co 15:50  Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption
.
Gen 2:7  And the LORD God formed man of  the dust of the ground,
Psa 51:5  Behold, I was shapen in iniquity

‘Flesh’ equates in the scriptures with ‘corruption.’  The Lord God “formed man of the [ corruptible] dust of the ground.”
2) Naked:

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:

Gen 2:25  And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and [ just like Laodicea] were not ashamed.
Rev 16:15  Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
Rev 17:16  And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. 

Nakedness in the scriptures is equated with sin:

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 appea r; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.

Laodicea’s nakedness is in sharp contrast with the robes of  “white linen… which is the righteousness of the saints.”

Rev 19:8  And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.

Adam was not created by God dressed in white linen. It was God Himself who brought Adam and Eve into this world ‘naked.’

If you want a thorough understanding of this subject, read the law and the offerings as revealed in Leviticus. God reveals in these offerings how He wants us to view the sacrifice of Christ. That is why we are told that God gave Israel both a ‘sin offering’ for what man IS right from the hand of his Creator, before he ever does anything good or sinful. Then, besides the ‘sin offering’ for what we ARE, Israel was also given a ‘transgression offering’ for what we DO.

I could go on to point out that in ‘the [ shadowy] law’, the Lord told Israel that if a man has a field and digs a pit in that field, that the owner of the field is responsible for any harm that befalls the beast of his neighbor that might accidently fall into that pit. This is merely a shadow of the fact that Christ tells us that it is God who owns ‘the field,’ (“the field is the world” Matt. 13:38). This shadowy law of Moses reveals the fact that God assumes responsibility for everything that happens in His ‘field’ and that before he ever created man, he had made provision for all the sins that he knew were to be committed. That provision was Christ, and He was “slain from the foundation of the world.”
This false doctrine of ‘the fall’ has the whole Christian world wanting to ‘go back’ to Eden. It has the whole world deceived into believing that we were originally immortal; that we cannot lose that immortality even if we must burn in hell for all eternity with no purpose or goal in view other than the continued suffering of most of mankind. Christendom tells us that we must “love our enemies,” but God Himself will hate and torment our loved ones in hell forever.
God is not ‘going back’ to anything. He never intended to ‘go back.’ He is right on schedule with plan A. Here is plan A, and it has no room for ‘the fall of man’:

1Co 15:22  For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
1Co 15:23  But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.
1Co 15:24  Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.
1Co 15:25  For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
1Co 15:26  The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
1Ti 4:10  For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially [ Not exclusively] of those that believe.
1Jn 2:2  And he is [ not could be but “is”] the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

God did not say “In the day that you eat thereof you shall surely die. Here is what He did say: “Yet from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you are not to be eating from it, for in the day you eat from it, to die shall you be dying” (Gen. 2:17- CV). Adam was “to die‘ before he ever ate of that tree. That is why he ate of the tree. He ate because he was weak. He was weak because he was of the earth. He was of the earth because God made him that way.
Here is what John has to say of  all the things that we experience in this world:

1Jn 2:16  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

All sins are within these three classes of sin:  1) The lust of the flesh, 2) the lust of the eyes and 3) the pride of life.
Now notice what this ‘shadow’ of the ‘image of God’ did before she ever touched the forbidden fruit:

Gen 3:6  And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food [ the lust of the flesh], and that it was pleasant to the eyes [ the lust of the eyes], and a tree to be desired to make one wise [ the pride of life], she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
Gen 3:7  And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

Eve, and Adam through Eve, committed every sin mentioned in 1 Jn 2:16, before she ever touched the tree that would open her eyes to see that she had been created in a sinful naked condition. Mr. Law simply was not given eyes to see this plain Biblical Truth.
This entire experience is nothing but an old covenant type and shadow of “the law… bringing us to Christ.”

Rom 7:7  What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.

God intended for the “first man Adam” to come to see that he had been “shapen in iniquity.” The law of Moses accomplishes that
that task, and it was typified in the garden by the ‘tree of the knowledge of good and evil.’

For an in- depth study of this subject, read ‘The Law of Moses Versus The Law of The Spirit,’ on the web page.
To give a direct answer to your question: “Have you ever considered William Law’s understanding of the Trinity,” the answer is yes, I have. The doctrine of the trinity is based upon the doctrine of the ‘fall of man.’

Here are Mr Law’s words:”Nothing can so fully, and justly show us the true nature of our Fall, as the nature and manner of our Redemption. These things have such a necessary correspondence, as cannot be denied, but by a mind utterly indisposed to receive conviction.”
Now with that statement before us, let’s go to what the scriptures actually say about what happened to Adam:

Rom 8:20  For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly [ Not by his own free will], but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,

And about the Godhead:

Rom 1:20  For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, [ even] his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
1Co 8:6  But to us there is but one God, the Father [ not ‘One God the trinity], of whom are all things, and we in him; and [ besides God there is also “the beginning of His creation” (Rev. 3:17)] one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.

Go back and re- read that trinity paper. Critique it for me using the scriptures. I welcome such help.
You say this below:

 I just want to add something here – I believe, if I am not mistaken, that you say that Christ is the Holy Spirit. But is this necessarily the case, though. It is true that Christ equates the coming of the Holy Spirit, with His coming to them; but does this mean He is the Holy Spirit? Is it not merely the case that as the Holy Spirit can only proc eed from Christ (and the Father, I know!) that He (the Holy Spirit) can only come to them when Christ comes to them? This seems right to me.

I agree with you in one sense, insofar as God’s (the Father’s) spirit is not really Christ. When Christ was revealing the coming of the “Parakleetos, which is the Holy Spirit,” He said “the Father will take of mine and give to you.” Then He goes to all the trouble to explain what He means by “take of Mine.” “Because all the Father has [ He is speaking specifically of this ‘Parakleetos’, this Comforter] He has given to Me [ Did the Father give Christ another third of the Godhead?], therefore I said that He will take of mine and give to you.”
This “gift” under  discussion by our Lord is the Holy Spirit. It is not a personality but the very makeup of God the Father.

Joh 4:24  God is Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

I left off the indefinite article ‘a’ because it does not appear in the original. God is not “A” spirit. God IS SPIRIT. It is in His spirit that all things in heaven and on earth live and move and have their being.
It has been the ‘good pleasure’ of the Father to give all that He has to the Son.

1Co 15:27  For he [ the Father] hath put all things under his [ the Son’s] feet. But when he [ the Father] saith all things are put under him [ the Son], it is manifest that he [ the Father] is excepted, which did put all things under him.
1Co 15:28  And when all things shall be subdued unto him [ the Son], then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him [ the Father] that put all things under him, that God [ the Father] may be all in all.

This “all things under His feet” is cited from Psalms :

Psa 8:6  Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:

Paul, without explanation, applies this verse of the Psalms to Christ.  But read this verse in its context:

Psa 8:4  What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?
Psa 8:5  For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.
Psa 8:6  Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:

Paul takes a verse of  scripture that talks of “man” and applies it to Christ. All the writers of the New Testament do this without explanation. To understand this principle used by every writer of the New Testament read ‘Rightly Dividing  The Word.” But I am digressing.
I did not say “Christ is the Holy Spirit,” as you say. I quote 1 Jn 2:1, which says Christ is the ‘Parakleetos.’  I do not say that. John says that. All I do is point that out. Here is what I did say:

If the Holy Ghost, the hagios pneuma, which is the Comforter, the parakleetos, is really Christ in us, then there should be a scripture that calls Christ the parakleetos. It so happens that there is just such a scripture. But you would never know it by simply reading your King James Bible or for that matter, using your Strong’s concordance which is keyed to our King James English. If one uses Strong’s, one will see the four places where parakleetos appears in Joh 14, 15 and 16. These scriptures certainly reveal Christ as the parakleetos, as we have shown. You would need to use an Englishman’s Greek Concordance (Wigram’s) or America’s Online Bible to find the only other appearance of this Greek word in all of the scriptures. It’s not translated Comforter there. Remember as you read this that, according to Joh 14:26, The Comforter (parakleetos )…is the Holy Ghost… The scripture before us is the First Epistle of John, chapter two verse one. My little children, these things I write unto you that you sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate (parakleetos – not even capitalized here in the KJV) with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous: There it is once again stated straight out. Jesus Christ is the parakleetos, the Comforter which is the Holy Ghost.

I can see how the first sentence of this paragraph could be construed to say that I said that Christ is the Holy Spirit. But to do so is the same thing as accusing Christ of claiming to be God the Father just because He claimed to be the Son of God. That last sentence is simply pointing to the verse I have just quoted. By the way, as I believe I point out in the Trinity article, Christ never claimed to be the son of the Holy Spirit in spite of the fact that we are told that he was conceived “of the Holy  Spirit.”

Mat 1:18  Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.

Luk 1:35  And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

You make this statement below:

I understand this to mean that man because of his likeness to God, could commune with God. Man’s soul in the likeness of God generated a life that was as God’s Life. This seems correct to me because man’s soul is constantly generating or giving forth a birth of some life. Now this life is either good or evil depending on the state of his soul; whether it be good or evil. ( So it seems to me) Now lets consider what happened to the state of his soul after the fall, according to Law.

Paul tells us what ‘man’s soul’ generates:

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

There it is. The first Adam was made a living soul, but the last Adam was made a quickening spirit’ According to this formula, a ‘living soul’ is nothing more than “the body of this death.” “To die you shall be dying” (Concordant Version).  

Paul tells us that the church at Corinth was:

1Co 1:2   ... sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:

Yet in his next breath he tells us that they are “yet carnal.’

1Co 3:1  And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.
1Co 3:2  I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.
1Co 3:3  For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?
1Co 3:4  For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?

In four verses Paul tells these Corinthian Christians that they are carnal four times. And what does he tell us about being carnally minded?

Rom 8:6  For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

Christ, on the other hand, is the ‘tree of life:’

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

Adam was never even tempted to partake of the ‘tree of life,’ and yet the self contradicting doctrine of  the ‘fall of man’ teaches us that Adam once had life and then because of another false doctrine called ‘free moral agency,’ Adam, who we are told could have obeyed God ‘of his own free will,’ chose instead to rebel against God and eat of the forbidden fruit. Such doctrine would have you to believe that because God asked Adam “Where are you?” that God did this because He didn’t have a clue where Adam was.
Of course this was not the case. God knew exactly where Adam was. And the fact that God told Adam not to eat of the forbidden fruit does not mean that He did not know what Adam was going to do. He did know exactly what Adam was going to do. He had already prepared the sacrifice for the sin that He already knew Adam was about to commit.
God even knew exactly how many hairs were on Adam’s head. While every minister of Christ admits to this scriptural fact, they deny that He would ever dare to know what thoughts were in that head. What utter foolishness. God is not telling us that He knows how many hairs are on our heads so that we will know that He knows how many hairs are on our heads. He tells us this fact so that we will be aware of His omniscience of all things, especially the thoughts in our heads:

Psa 94:11  The LORD knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity.

How does God know that the thoughts of man are vanity?

Rom 8:20  For the creature was made [ right from the hand of the Creator] subject to vanity, not willingly [ not by choice], but by reason of him [ God, not by Adams fabled ‘free will’] who subjected the same in hope.

Anyone who knows that something evil is about to happen and does nothing to prevent that evil, is as responsible for that evil as the person who commits the evil. But God not only doesn’t prevent the evil, He creates it!

Isa 45:6  That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else.
Isa 45:7  I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.
Pro 16:4  The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.
Eph 1:9  Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
Eph 1:10  That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
Eph 1:11  In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

Notice the similarities between what Joseph tells his brothers about their evil deed against him, and what Paul tells us here about the “mystery of [ God’s] will” in Eph. 1 :10-11.

Gen. 50:20  But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive
Eph 1:10  That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things [ meaning all men] in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
Eph 1:11  In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

You ask this question:

I also cannot see how Christ, the Son of God, if a created being, is able to dwell in all his creatures. All creation was created in and through Christ, and all creation must have Christ in it if it is to have any glory or perfection. I hope you believe that I have no intention of arguing with you or anyone; I merely want to know what the truth is, and I feel that William Law has explained the nature of the Trinity better than anyone I have ever read. For a better and more in- depth understanding of what I have referred to, you can look up these two books of William Law’s on the internet and see whether you agree or disagree with him.

I, too, “merely want to know the Truth.” But I know that, though we may not see everything alike, we will agree that we must ‘try the spirits’ but not with either my  writings or Law’s writings. We ‘try the spirits’ against the Word of God and the Truth, both titles given to Christ. I am not intending to cast Mr. Law in a bad light. But Christ’s explanation of the Holy Spirit is better than Mr. Law’s.

Joh 16:13  Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
Joh 16:14  He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.
Joh 16:15  All things [ even God’s Spirit] that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

I don’t see what the connection between being a created being and being therefore “[ un] able to dwell in all of His creatures” is. Are you saying that if Christ is truly “the beginning of the creation of God” (Rev.3:14) that therefore “All things that the Father hath are mine” cannot be? Is that not the equivalent of saying ‘If Eve came forth of Adam, then it is not possible for all men to come forth of a woman.’
That is not what I said; that is what Paul said in I Cor. 11 when he was explaining our relationship with Christ, and how it parallels Christ’s relationship with The Father.

1Co 11:3  But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman [ is] the man; and the head of Christ [ is] God.
1Co 11:8  For the man is not of the woman; but the woman of the man.
1Co 11:9  Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man.
1Co 11:12  For as the woman is of the man, even so is the man also by the woman; but all things of God.

Finally you paraphrase what I said about I Cor. 11:  

I also remember you mentioning something about Adam and Eve – how God creates through Christ, as Adam creates through Eve (I can’t remember exactly, so forgive me if I have gotten it wrong), as somehow proving that Christ is an inferior created being to the Father.

Certainly I forgive you. I simply point out that if there is any Truth to what Paul tells us about how to understand the God- head then there can be no truth to the trinity doctrine. Here is how he says we are to comprehend the Godhead:

Rom 1:20  For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, e ven his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

This accords with Paul’s point in I Cor11:

1Co 11:3  But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.
1Co 11:8  For the man [ God] is not of the woman; but the woman [ Christ] of the man [ God].
1Co 11:9  Neither was the man [ God] created for the woman [ man]; but the woman [ Christ] for the man [ God].
1Co 11:12  For as the woman [ the church] is of the man [ Christ], even so is the man [ Christ] also by the woman [ the church]; but all things of God.
Gal 4:4  But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman [ sinful flesh], made under the law [ the “church in the wilderness”]…

So when Paul tells us that Christ was “made to be sin for us …”

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

He is not talking about Christ being crucified; he is referring to His flesh. According to the law of the offerings, we are sin simply by virtue of our birth in Adam.

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

Getting back to the purpose for marriage as it relates to our understanding of the Godhead, do you think I am misunderstanding Paul? Here are his own words concerning the lessons of married life: 

Eph 5:22  Wives [ husbands], submit yourselves unto your own husbands [ Christ], as unto the Lord. Eph 5:23  For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.
Eph 5:24  Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.
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. Eph 5:29  For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:
Eph 5:30  For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.
Eph 5:31  For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.
Eph 5:32  This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.

I dare say that even Mr. Law would be hard pressed to show how the tri nity is typical of a married couple!

And while I respect Mr. Law and most of his writings, I cannot concede that 1+1+1=2.
To me “there is but one God, the Father, of whom is all things [ including the one Lord] and one Lord, Jesus Christ by whom are all things [ just as all men come into this world by a woman].

You say: ” All creation was created in and through Christ, and all creation must have Christ in it if it is to have any glory or perfection.”

I could not agree more. As I said before I don’t see what Christ being created has to do with this.

Here is how Christ intends to use His created ‘Wife:’

Eph 2:6 and raised us up with him, and made us to sit with him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus: Eph 2:7 that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus:

Eph 3:8 Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, was this grace given, to preach unto the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; Eph 3:9 and to make all men see what is the dispensation of the mystery which for ages hath been hid in God who created all things; Eph 3:10 to the intent that now unto the principalities and the powers in the heavenly places might be made known through the church the manifold wisdom of God, 1Pe 2:9 But ye are a elect race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that ye may show forth the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:[ not ‘out of light into darkness back into light, as ‘the fall’ teaches] Psa 68:35 O God, thou art terrible out of thy holy places: The God of Israel, he giveth strength and power unto his people. Blessed be God.

If Christ can do all this for those who come out of Him, why could not God do the same for that which we are told “proceeded out from the Father” and is “the beginning of the creation of God?”

I apologize for the length of this e- mail. I hope I have expressed my thoughts in a spirit that has not offended you.
Your brother in Christ,
Mike