“The glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter” Part 3

(Know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God) (Pro 25:17-28)

[Study Aired February 5, 2026]

Pro 25:17  Withdraw thy foot from thy neighbour’s house; lest he be weary of thee, and so hate thee.
Pro 25:18  A man that beareth false witness against his neighbour is a maul, and a sword, and a sharp arrow.
Pro 25:19  Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble is like a broken tooth, and a foot out of joint.
Pro 25:20  As he that taketh away a garment in cold weather, and as vinegar upon nitre, so is he that singeth songs to an heavy heart.
Pro 25:21  If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink:
Pro 25:22  For thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, and the LORD shall reward thee.
Pro 25:23  The north wind driveth away rain: so doth an angry countenance a backbiting tongue.
Pro 25:24  It is better to dwell in the corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman and in a wide house.
Pro 25:25  As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country.
Pro 25:26  A righteous man falling down before the wicked is as a troubled fountain, and a corrupt spring.
Pro 25:27  It is not good to eat much honey: so for men to search their own glory is not glory.
Pro 25:28  He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls.

For the most part this last section of Proverbs 25 is talking about the interactions that we have with others in this life, and the examples given reveal that our walk is our conversation and way of life at all times, whether in fellowship or at work, wherever the Lord has us we are called to “Know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God”, which is the temple that we are, going with us wherever the Lord leads us (Rom 8:14-16).

God is with us always, and so we are always from His perspective, raised in heavenly places together and therefore in the house of God. The world thinks the house of God is a place we build for God, however we know what the scriptures say regarding the things that we build versus the things that God is building within us (1Ch 29:13-15, Isa 66:1-2, Psa 127:1, Eph 2:6).

1Ch 29:13  Now therefore, our God, we thank thee, and praise thy glorious name.
1Ch 29:14  But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? for all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee.
1Ch 29:15  For we are strangers before thee, and sojourners, as were all our fathers: our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is none abiding.

Isa 66:1  Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest?
Isa 66:2  For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.

Psa 127:1  A Song of degrees for Solomon. Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.

Eph 2:6  And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

Pro 25:17  Withdraw thy foot from thy neighbour’s house; lest he be weary of thee, and so hate thee.

Our “neighbour’s house” represents their temple, where they’re working out their own salvation with fear and trembling (Php 2:12-13), or where they’re living and moving and have their being in Christ (Act 17:22-28) unaware that God is working all things according to the counsel of His own will (Eph 1:11). Paul’s approach was a gift from God as he was given the wisdom and discretion to know how to approach the men of Athens.

Act 17:22  Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars’ hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious.
Act 17:23  For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.
Act 17:24  God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;
Act 17:25  Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;
Act 17:26  And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;
Act 17:27  That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:
Act 17:28  For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.

We have no dominion over the measure of faith the Lord has given anyone (2Co 1:24, 1Jn 5:4, Rev 14:11-12), and this proverb implies that when we don’t remove our foot from someone else’s temple we can inadvertently come across as wanting to have dominion over their faith. As always, it takes God’s spirit, His discretion and wisdom, to know the right balance in all things, both with those who are unconverted, and those who are superstitious as these Athenians were. The more we grow in the mind of Christ the better equipped we will be in knowing when to remove our foot from our neighbour’s house, and when to speak, and when not to speak (1Ti 4:16, Pro 26:4-5).

When we see that everything is dependent on the faith of Christ working within us (Php 2:12-13), the discretion we show when we witness to others, will be manifest in how we “Withdraw thy foot from thy neighbour’s house; lest he be weary of thee, and so hate thee.”(Luk 9:5, Tit 3:10, 2Jn 1:9-11)

2Jn 1:9  Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.
2Jn 1:10  If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed:
2Jn 1:11  For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.

Pro 25:18  A man that beareth false witness against his neighbour is a maul, and a sword, and a sharp arrow.

Not withdrawing our foot at the appointed Godly time turns our witness into a “a false witness against his neighbour”. We are at that point becoming like Peter, “a maul, and a sword, and a sharp arrow” when using the word of God without discretion and cutting off the ear of those ‘other servants’ and thinking we are doing some great service (Luk 22:49-51). Thankfully God can repair the damaged ear for another day.

Luk 22:49  When they which were about him saw what would follow, they said unto him, Lord, shall we smite with the sword?
Luk 22:50  And one of them smote the servant of the high priest, and cut off his right ear.
Luk 22:51  And Jesus answered and said, Suffer ye thus far. And he touched his ear, and healed him.

Pro 25:19  Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble is like a broken tooth, and a foot out of joint.

We are of the generation who have no confidence in the flesh (Php 3:3) and do not know even Christ after the flesh (2Co 5:16).

Php 3:3  For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.(“whose praise is not of men, but of God” Rom 2:28-29)

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.

We are not looking to men any longer for deliverance in time of trouble, but rather are telling each other to ‘follow me as I follow Christ’, as we look to the Lord together, and resolve our differences through the multitude of counsellors, which is the way that God has ordained that we resolve conflict in the body of Christ.

Pro 11:14  Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety.

Pro 15:22  Without counsel purposes are disappointed: but in the multitude of counsellors they are established.

Pro 24:6  For by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war: and in multitude of counsellors there is safety.

The unfaithful man is you and me, our flesh, and it is Christ alone who can be Christ, and so we try the spirits in every situation to discern God’s will in any matter (1Jn 4:1), and in doing this we will do away with our trusting in the flesh which is akin to trusting in a “broken tooth, and a foot out of joint”.

You can’t eat spiritual food with a broken spiritual approach, and we can’t walk a Godly walk if we are leaning unto our own understanding, upon a foot out of joint, which is what all flesh is in God’s sight (Rom 3:10). When we acknowledge and accept our out-of-joint hip, and leg, or foot, or whatever physical infirmity God has placed upon us (2Co 12:8-10), we are then given His power to overcome by recognizing how to put our confidence in God alone.

2Co 12:8  For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.
2Co 12:9  And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
2Co 12:10  Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

Pro 25:20  As he that taketh away a garment in cold weather, and as vinegar upon nitre, so is he that singeth songs to an heavy heart.

This is an admonition to know how to behave ourselves in the house of mourning, which is what the house of God is (Ecc 7:2). The garment we take away from others is their spirit of mourning that is needful and necessary for the time that that person is being exercised with the blueness of that wound that is actually bringing healing (Pro 20:30).

There is  right way to comfort each other is what this proverb is explaining, and as we grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ (2Pe 3:18), we will grow in becoming greater comforters as a result of the comfort that God gives us in our times of sorrow (2Co 1:3-4). With Christ’s mind growing in us we will not take away others’ comfort in cold weather, and with the best of intentions sing songs to an heavy heart, whose hearts’ heaviness does not need that song at that time.

Imagine coming up to someone in their hour of great grief and saying, “oh you’ll be okay, you can get over this”, no, that’s singing a song at the wrong time, putting vinegar in baking soda (nitre) so to speak. Lord willing we will always be given greater sensitivity toward each other and learn by God’s hand how to be the proper comforters that He can turn us into, knowing that the affliction of the widow is really a parable that speaks of the entire body of Christ’s need to be sensitive to one another’s dying daily mourning process that we are going through.

Pro 25:21  If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink:
Pro 25:22  For thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, and the LORD shall reward thee.

In one instance if an enemy is having a change of heart, and bringing forth fruit meet unto repentance, they will have a hunger for the word of God, “If thine enemy be hungry”. We don’t turn away our enemy like the church wanted to turn Saul of Tarsus away, but by God changing our hearts, we are then able to give them bread to eat: and if they are thirsty, we give them water to drink: both symbols of the word of God.

God’s elect will be giving bread and water for a thousand years to the world who end up rebelling against the camp of the saints. Our love toward the world is being demonstrated by those actions of giving food and drink, sometimes very physically, or with the word of God, just as Christ loved us while we were yet in our sins (Rom 5:6-10).

Rom 5:6  For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
Rom 5:7  For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.
Rom 5:8  But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Rom 5:9  Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
Rom 5:10  For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.

In feeding our enemies we have obeyed God’s command to love our enemy, and those very actions may be the turning point for them to acknowledge that God is indeed in this place. Your kindness and love toward your enemy heaps coals upon their head, coals being the word of God that end up destroying the enemy’s false doctrines in his head, if God will permit this (1Pe 4:7-8, Heb 6:3).

1Pe 4:7  But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.
1Pe 4:8  And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.

The reward will come from the LORD, “and the LORD shall reward thee”, for such ordained actions and is explained this way in the books of Jude and James (Jud 1:23-24, Jas 5:19-20).

Jud 1:23  And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.
Jud 1:24  Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,

Jas 5:19  Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him;
Jas 5:20  Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins [that is our reward, that is our joy 1Th 2:19-20].

Pro 25:23  The north wind driveth away rain: so doth an angry countenance a backbiting tongue.

Pro 25:23 A north wind travails forth a downpour, And a clandestine tongue makes a menacing face.” (CLV),
Pro 25:23 As surely as rain blows in from the north, anger is caused by cruel words.  (CEV)

Judgement comes from the north (Jer 50:41, Psa 75:6-7), and its wind comes with driving rain that physically hurts and stings. The wind and rain in this instance typifies the damaging use of God’s word that results in unmerciful judgement, using cruel words instead of a “soft answer” (Pro 15:1, Pro 25:15).

Pro 15:1  A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.

Pro 25:15  By long forbearing is a prince persuaded, and a soft tongue breaketh the bone.

Positively, when God receives us we are received through his chastening judgement (Heb 12:6) that comes from the north and brings with it spiritual increase from God (1Co 3:6).

Psa 75:6  For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south.
Psa 75:7  But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another.(Eph 1:11, Rom 8:28)

Pro 12:18  There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword: but the tongue of the wise is health.

Pro 15:2  The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright: but the mouth of fools poureth out foolishness.

A backbiting tongue is a tongue that speaks maliciously or slanderously about someone. It is a sure way to create discord in the body of Christ and something that God considers an abomination (Pro 6:16-19)

Pro 6:16  These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:
Pro 6:17  A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,
Pro 6:18  An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,
Pro 6:19  A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.

Pro 25:24  It is better to dwell in the corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman and in a wide house.

The brawling woman in a wide house is clearly Babylon, whose ecumenical house is very broad or wide and not the narrow way that is only achieved by our communion in the upper room (Luk 22:12), the housetop where we are raised in heavenly places and resting on the corner stone Jesus Christ who God drags us to so that we can achieve that blessed spiritual rest in Him (Joh 6:44, Heb 4:10-11).

Luk 22:12  And he shall shew you a large upper room furnished: there make ready.(1Co 10:16)

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.

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

Pro 25:25  As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country.

The far country is the heavenly places that we are now blessed to be together in (Mat 25:14), and ultimately the fullness of the country that we seek is going to be realized in a moment and in the twinkling of an eye (1Co 15:52). The “good news” is the gospel of the kingdom of God, a kingdom that is now within, and one day going to be revealed to all the world both within and without (Rev 11:15).

Mat 25:14  For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods.

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

Pro 25:26  A righteous man falling downH4131 before the wicked is as a troubled fountain, and a corrupt spring.

It’s true these things ought not to be so (Jas 3:10-11), but we live by every word of God and therefore we are going to stumble or fall seven times in the wilderness (Pro 24:16) and bring forth the bitter waters of Marah (Exo 15:22-23) that need to be made sweet by the body and blood of Christ (Mar 8:24, Exo 15:25).

Jas 3:10  Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.
Jas 3:11  Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?

Exo 15:22  So Moses brought Israel from the Red sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water.
Exo 15:23  And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter: therefore the name of it was called Marah.
Exo 15:24  And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink?
Exo 15:25  And he cried unto the LORD; and the LORD shewed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them,
Exo 15:26  And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee. [this is how the waters can be made sweet within the body of Christ via the holy spirit that washes and cleanses the bride of Christ and delivers us from all our spiritual diseases].

Our prayer is that God will hold us up in His ways.

Psa 17:5  Hold up my goings in thy paths, that my footsteps slipH4131 not.

The second encampment of the Israelites was ElimH362, which symbolically represents a witness of where God is taking the elect spiritually in this life as we ‘come out of her my people’ (Exo 15:27).

H362 ‘êylim BDB Definition:
Elim = “palms”
1) second encampment of the Israelites after the Exodus
Part of Speech: noun proper locative
A Related Word by BDB/Strong’s Number: plural of H352 (From the same as H193; properly strength; hence anything strong; specifically a chief (politically); also a ram (from his strength); a pilaster (as a strong support); an oak or other strong tree: – mighty (man) lintel oak post ram tree.)

Exo 15:27  And they came to Elim, where were twelve wells of water, and threescore and ten palm trees: and they encamped there by the waters.

Pro 25:27  It is not good to eat much honey: so for men to search their own glory is not glory.
Pro 25:28  He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls.

In last week’s study we reviewed verse 16, “Hast thou found honey? eat so much as is sufficient for thee, lest thou be filled therewith, and vomit it”, which speaks about the measure of faith that we need, and being grateful for what God supplies, knowing that He knows our needs and is teaching us to be content whether we have a little or a lot (2Co 8:15, Exo 16:18, Rom 12:3, Php 4:12). Honey is the symbol for the word of God (Rev 10:10), and we are to eat such as is sufficient for us, operating in the measure of faith that the Lord gives us, lest we find ourselves with this spirit of wanting more honey to glorify our own selves in those things which God says we are to receive in the right measure (Rom 12:3-4).

Rom 12:3  For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
Rom 12:4  For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office:

God will always provide what each joint needs to supply in love (Eph 4:16), so that we learn how a many-membered body works together for the church to grow (1Co 12:18), in order that we may “know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth” (1Ti 3:15, Joh 13:35).

Together we are learning how to rule over our own individual houses, by the grace of God that teaches us to forsake ungodliness and worldly lust in this age (Tit 2:12).

Having no rule over our spirit is another way of saying the Lord is not working in our heavens, “He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls”. God’s elect are called to learn to hold fast to the crown of life that God has given unto each of us who love His daily appearing in our heavens, an appearing, or visitation, that gives us the ability to have rule over our spirits, and proper spiritual defenses, the “walls” that keep us safe (Rev 3:11-12, 2Ti 4:8).

Rev 3:11  Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.
Rev 3:12  Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.

2Ti 4:8  Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.

“A false witness shall not be unpunished” Part 2

(Pro 19:11-20)

[Study Aired September 25, 2025]

Pro 19:11  The discretion of a man deferreth his anger; and it is his glory to pass over a transgression.
Pro 19:12  The king’s wrath is as the roaring of a lion; but his favour is as dew upon the grass.
Pro 19:13  A foolish son is the calamity of his father: and the contentions of a wife are a continual dropping.
Pro 19:14  House and riches are the inheritance of fathers: and a prudent wife is from the LORD.
Pro 19:15  Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep; and an idle soul shall suffer hunger.
Pro 19:16  He that keepeth the commandment keepeth his own soul; but he that despiseth his ways shall die.
Pro 19:17  He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.
Pro 19:18  Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying.
Pro 19:19  A man of great wrath shall suffer punishment: for if thou deliver him, yet thou must do it again.
Pro 19:20  Hear counsel, and receive instruction, that thou mayest be wise in thy latter end.

The false witness within each of us is being burnt out by God’s grace and the faith of Christ, little and by little (Eph 2:8, Deu 7:22) as we mature into living by these verses (Mat 5:37, Luk 21:19), that can only be accomplished by His power, Zec 4:6).

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

Deu 7:22  And the LORD thy God will put out those nations before thee by little and little: thou mayest not consume them at once, lest the beasts of the field increase upon thee.

Mat 5:37  But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.

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

Zec 4:6  Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.

If God will grant us the patience and faith we need, then the following verses that speak about God’s vengeance (Luk 21:22) against our old man of sin will be accomplished in this life to His glory:

Luk 21:20  And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. [within us 2Th 2:2-8, Mat 24:15, Dan 9:27, Dan 11:31]
Luk 21:21  Then let them which are in Judaea (come out from being under the law by being a spiritual Jew Rom 2:28-29) flee to the mountains; [standing in the holy place (Mat 24:15) is fleeing to the mountain, fleeing to Christ and His Christ (Heb 10:25)] and let them which are in the midst of it depart out;[Rev 18:4] and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto. [our new country in earnest is Jerusalem above and we’re being told to not enter back into the law symbolized by Judea Heb 11:14-15]
Luk 21:22  For these be the days of vengeance, [vengeance is God’s against our man of sin. God will come and save us through judgement Isa 35:4] that all things which are written may be fulfilled.

God can make a way for us to apply these verses (Mat 5:37, Luk 21:19) in our day to day sojourn making a way for our yes to be yes and our no to be no, as we learn to bring every thought into subjection to Christ becoming a true witness of God.

Pro 19:11  The discretion of a man deferreth his anger; and it is his glory to pass over a transgression.

The discretion that God gives us is formed through the fiery trials that we’re put through in this life that makes it possible for us to rule over sin in our members (1Pe 4:1-2, 2Ti 2:12, Php 1:28-29), deferring our anger, overcoming evil with good (Rom 12:21). This is when our yes will be yes, and it takes these trials for us to be able to possess our souls patiently as well.

1Pe 4:1  Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin;
1Pe 4:2  That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.  (let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay)

With such a spirit of being slow to wrath, we can “pass over a transgression”, overlooking the wrong doing of others in this world to the glory of God, and being pitiful and forgiving to each other “even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you” (Eph 4:32). Christ is our example who forgave humanity of their transgressions (Luk 23:24), and suffered for the world so that in due time the world could all be redeemed by the stripes of Christ and his body (1Pe 4:17, Isa 53:5, 1Jn 4:17, Lev 16:21-22, Lev 19:9-10).

Eph 4:32  And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.

Isa 53:5  But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

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

[being bruised, and growing in boldness through the trials given (Act 16:23-25), are the tokens of our salvation in this life that bear witness that we are His workmanship]

Pro 19:12  The king’s wrath is as the roaring of a lion; but his favour is as dew upon the grass.

The prerequisite for us being able to be given the heathen as our inheritance, is described in (Psa 2:8-12), which remind us that God is no respecter of persons and we are called to rule over the heathen within us in this age first, being faithful to the end, Lord willing, so that we don’t have to experience the king’s wrath as the roaring of a lion to our destruction, but rather in measure “as dew upon the grass”, the dew representing the word of God that judges us as the grass that is positively preserved as a result of the word of God, the dew that rests upon us (Deu 32:2, Mic 5:7, Dan 4:33).

Psa 2:8  Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.
Psa 2:9  Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.
Psa 2:10  Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth.
Psa 2:11  Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.
Psa 2:12  Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little [The king’s wrath is as the roaring of a lion]. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him [but his favour is as dew upon the grass].

Deu 32:2  My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass:

Mic 5:7  And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many people as a dew from the LORD, as the showers upon the grass, that tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men.

Dan 4:33  The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles’ feathers, and his nails like birds’ claws. [the elect are represented as that dew that will in due time be upon the kingdoms of this world (Rev 11:15)]

Pro 19:13  A foolish son is the calamity^H1942 of his father: and the contentions^H4079 of a wife are a continual dropping.

Psa 57:1  To the chief Musician, Altaschith, Michtam of David, when he fled from Saul in the cave. Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities^H1942 be overpast.
Psa 57:2  I will cry unto God most high; unto God that performeth all things for me. (Heb 5:7, Eph 5:30)

H1942 calamity havvâh hav-vaw’
From H1933 (in the sense of eagerly coveting and rushing upon; by implication of falling); desire; also ruin: – calamity, iniquity, mischief, mischievous (thing), naughtiness, naughty, noisome, perverse thing, substance, very wickedness.

These verses above in Psalms (Psa 57:1-2) remind us that we all start off with these calamities within us that must be overcome by God’s mercy being extended to us as His children. It is each of us who are represented by “the contentions^H4079 of a wife are a continual dropping”. But like the calamity mentioned above, this is also burnt out of us if we are God’s elect going from being in a “wide house” which represents Babylon, the broad path that leads to destruction (Mat 7:13-14), unto the narrow, or strait way which is obtained by losing our lives with a spirit of contentment found with the cornerstone Jesus Christ who is our sufficiency in this life. This ‘Godliness with contentment’ spirit is all being represented by dwelling in the corner of the housetop, the top representing being raised in heavenly places where there is peace that passes all understanding (Eph 2:6, Php 4:7), “better to dwell in a corner of the housetop” (Pro 21:9).

Mat 7:13  Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
Mat 7:14  Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

H4079 contentions midyân mid-yawn’
A variation for H4066: – brawling, contention (-ous).

Pro 21:9  It is better to dwell in a corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman in a wide house.

Pro 19:14  House and riches are the inheritance of fathers: and a prudent wife is from the LORD.

Christ is our Olam father and we are his inheritance (Eph 1:11-14). A prudent wife represents the church, and her prudent spirit is “from the LORD”(1Co 1:29-31).

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 of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

1Co 1:29  That no flesh should glory in his presence.
1Co 1:30  But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:
1Co 1:31  That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.

Pro 19:15  Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep; and an idle soul shall suffer hunger.

This proverb is a reminder to stir up God’s spirit within and don’t neglect so great a salvation (Heb 2:3).

Heb 2:3  How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;

The end result of not being diligent is to be put into “a deep sleep”, meaning a deep spiritual sleep. We live for Christ, therefore our death, our positive version of a deep sleep is gain (Rev 11:8, Rom 6:11, Php 1:21, Mat 9:24), unlike the world without who are not at this time able to partake of the altar that quickens us (Heb 13:10).

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.

Rom 6:11  Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Php 1:21  For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

Mat 9:24  He said unto them, Give place: for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn.

Heb 13:10  We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle.

Pro 19:16  He that keepeth the commandment keepeth his own soul; but he that despiseth his ways shall die.

We despise God’s ways at first by going in the way that seems right unto us that leads to death (“he that despiseth his ways shall die”).

And it is only by the grace and the faith of Christ (Eph 2:8) that we can keep our own souls by keeping the commandments of God (Mat 19:17, Joh 14:6, Joh 6:44).

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

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 6:44  No man can come to me [unto life Joh 17:3], except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.

Pro 19:17  He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.

We are to do good unto all men, but especially unto the household of faith, those who are the poor in spirit (Gal 6:10). We are called to “continue[d] stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship and in breaking of bread and in prayers” (Act 2:42), walking in the light where we are cleansed from all sin (1Jn 1:7). But we also know that the LORD loves all of his creation, and he has another fold that he loves and wants us to know are precious to him as well (Joh 10:16). When we salute not just our own (Mat 5:47), and love everyone even as Christ loved us while we were yet sinners (Rom 5:8), then we are truly lending unto the LORD and laying up treasure in heaven for giving to those who can’t spiritually pay us back today (Mat 25:27).

Mat 5:47  And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?

Mat 25:27  Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury.

The relationship that we have with the unconverted and those who we meet every day is really like an investment in God’s eyes, treasure laid up in heaven, with ‘interest’ that will be garnished as a result of God giving us the ability to see the need to be at peace with all men, and do good unto all men, making friends with the mammon of this world (Luk 16:8-9).

Luk 16:8  And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.
Luk 16:9  And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.(1Pe 2:12)

Pro 19:18  Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying.

Think of your son as a false doctrine, a little leaven trying to leaven the whole lump of your mind. God tells us that as our Father we are going to be received through chastening and scourging (Heb 12:6), and the by-product of that is that we will cease from sinning, gaining dominion over sin in our members, that son who we are not to allow ‘our soul to spare for his crying’. On the other hand, the positive use of ‘right knowledge’ or ‘wisdom’ crying like a son, is found in these verses, (Heb 5:7, Pro 1:20-23).

Heb 5:7  Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared; (Luk 12:5)

Pro 1:20  Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets:
Pro 1:21  She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying,
Pro 1:22  How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?
Pro 1:23  Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.

Pro 19:19  A man of great wrath shall suffer punishment: for if thou deliver him, yet thou must do it again.

It is the man of sin who is “A man of great wrath” whose great wrath represents our carnal nature that can only be conquered by Christ whose positive wrath abides on us for that very purpose (Rom 1:18).

Rom 1:18  For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;

We are being told in this proverb that we are delivered in stages, “thou must do it again” [stumbling unto Christ in Babylon, and then being crushed under the stone (Mat 21:44)], a second time which is a witness of the truth that it is the son of God [the true witness] who is setting us free by God’s power in our life (Joh 8:36, Zec 4:6). A just man falls seven times but does get up at the end of the exercise (Pro 24:16).

Mat 21:44  And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.

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

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

Zec 4:6  Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.

Pro 19:20  Hear counsel, and receive instruction, that thou mayest be wise in thy latter end.

Some of the best counsel and instruction we can ever receive in this life is found in the opening verses that I mentioned, in (Mat 5:37, Luk 21:19), and if God will grant that we “receive instruction” and be persuaded of those whom he has given to us to bring that instruction, then “thou mayest be wise in thy latter end” (2Ti 3:14-17, Heb 13:17, Heb 6:7-10). We are a many membered body whose safety is found in the multitude of counsellors and by every joint that supplies in love through Christ the chief cornerstone who supports us all.

2Ti 3:14  But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;
2Ti 3:15  And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
2Ti 3:16  All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
2Ti 3:17  That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

Heb 13:17 Be persuaded by your leaders, and be deferring to them, for they are vigilant for the sake of your souls, as having to render an account, that they may be doing this with joy, and not with groaning, for this is disadvantageous for you.”[CLV]

Heb 6:7  For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God:
Heb 6:8  But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned.
Heb 6:9  But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak.
Heb 6:10  For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.

Mat 5:37  But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.

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

“A false witness shall not be unpunished” Part 1

(Pro 19:1-10)

[Study Aired September 18, 2025]

Pro 19:1  Better is the poor that walketh in his integrity, than he that is perverse in his lips, and is a fool.
Pro 19:2  Also, that the soul be without knowledge, it is not good; and he that hasteth with his feet sinneth.
Pro 19:3  The foolishness of man perverteth his way: and his heart fretteth against the LORD.
Pro 19:4  Wealth maketh many friends; but the poor is separated from his neighbour.
Pro 19:5  A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall not escape.
Pro 19:6  Many will intreat the favour of the prince: and every man is a friend to him that giveth gifts.
Pro 19:7  All the brethren of the poor do hate him: how much more do his friends go far from him? he pursueth them with words, yet they are wanting to him.
Pro 19:8  He that getteth wisdom loveth his own soul: he that keepeth understanding shall find good.
Pro 19:9  A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall perish.
Pro 19:10  Delight is not seemly for a fool; much less for a servant to have rule over princes.

The main focus of this study will be on how God plans to burn up the false witness within each of us so that through Christ we can become “witnesses of these things” (Luk 24:48, Act 5:32), ‘these things’ being the things that pertain to life (1Co 6:3, 2Pe 1:3)

Luk 24:48  And ye are witnesses of these things.

Act 5:32  And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.

1Co 6:3  Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?

2Pe 1:3  According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:

Our first verses:

Pro 19:1  Better is the poor that walketh in his integrity, than he that is perverse in his lips, and is a fool.
Pro 19:2  Also, that the soul be without knowledge, it is not good; and he that hasteth with his feet sinneth.

These first two proverbs have to do with our walk. One talks about walking with integrity and the other about sinning as we walk with haste with our feet. Whatever integrity we have is of the Lord, and when we are of a poor and contrite spirit which is a gift from God (Isa 66:2), the good fruit brought forth will be the result of God’s chastening and scourging of that fool within us so that we are no longer speaking with the perverse tongue and are now quick to hear and slow to speak, not hasting with our feet (Tit 2:12-13, Heb 12:6, Jas 1:19).

Isa 66:2  For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.

Jas 1:19  Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:

We are called to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour (2Pe 3:18), and if we are blessed to do that in this age, to be given a hunger and thirst for His righteousness (Mat 5:6), then our conversation, our walk, or way of life will become less and less hasting to go in the way that seems right to us, that leads to leaning upon our own understanding, as opposed to the one who is blessed to learn to trust God with all their hearts (Pro 3:3-7, Psa 118:27) so that our paths can be directed by Him (Rom 8:14-16).

Pro 3:3  Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:[God must accomplish this binding process as we are his workmanship to that end  Psa 118:27]
Pro 3:4  So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man.
Pro 3:5  Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
Pro 3:6  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Pro 3:7  Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.

Rom 8:14  For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
Rom 8:15  For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
Rom 8:16  The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: [Children who now have a broken and contrite heart, that is bound to the altar of God, the cross, and not bound by self-righteous iniquity and pride]

The natural inclination in our flesh to do what we want to do, must be put to death daily (1Co 9:27) in order for our lives to trust in God whole heartedly. This can only be accomplished by being tried and tested through much tribulation (Act 14:22),  so the life of Christ can be ruling and reigning in everything we set out to accomplish in His service (2Co 1:9, Rom 8:28, Isa 62:2, Isa 66:2, Psa 34:18, Psa 51:17)

Isa 66:1  Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: [which represents our hearts and minds that God can and will rule over in this age if He has determined to do this (Joh 4:23, Luk 17:10, Php 2:12-13)] where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest?[Joh 2:19, Psa 127:1, Psa 94:17]
Isa 66:2  For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.

Psa 34:18  The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.

Psa 51:17  The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

Pro 19:3  The foolishness of man perverteth his way: and his heart fretteth against the LORD.
Pro 19:4  Wealth maketh many friends; but the poor is separated from his neighbour.

Psalm 37:1-8 is the antidote for not fretting against God, which is the natural spiritual by product of one who foolishly stops trusting in Him and puts their trust in man. When we stop trusting in God we go back into the world, into keeping the law (our own righteousness of Php 3:9), the way Titus and Crescens did (2Ti 4:10, Gal 3:1-4).

Psa 37:1  A Psalm of David. Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.
Psa 37:2  For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.
Psa 37:3  Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.
Psa 37:4  Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
Psa 37:5  Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.
Psa 37:6  And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.
Psa 37:7  Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.
Psa 37:8  Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.

Php 3:9  And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

2Ti 4:10  For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia.

Gal 3:1  O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?
Gal 3:2  This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
Gal 3:3  Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?
Gal 3:4  Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain.

We are easily beset by sin (Heb 12:1), and when that law of sin in our members manifests the things that we don’t want to do and can no longer do the things that we want to do, it takes a miracle as we cry out to God to separate us from our first man Adam, typified by “his neighbour”: “but the poor is separated from his neighbour”

The “poor” in this proverb represent the elect who are separated from our rich Babylonian past where “Wealth maketh many friends”, when we thought we were rich and increased and had need of nothing, like the rich young ruler who typifies our time of being self-righteous in the churches of Babylon. The natural state of this religious beast must be destroyed by the brightness of Christ coming into our heavens (2Th 2:5-8). The reality is that judgement is on the very few elect in this age (1Pe 4:17, Mat 22:14) who are being brought to see God’s mercy and how He is-was-and-will-be faithful to deliver us from our wretchedness (Rom 7:14-25).

Heb 12:1  Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
Heb 12:2  Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Rom 7:14  For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.
Rom 7:15  For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.
Rom 7:16  If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.
Rom 7:17  Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:18  For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
Rom 7:19  For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
Rom 7:20  Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:21  I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
Rom 7:22  For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
Rom 7:23  But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
Rom 7:24  O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
Rom 7:25  I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

Pro 19:5  A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall not escape.
Pro 19:6  Many will intreat the favour of the prince: and every man is a friend to him that giveth gifts.
Pro 19:7  All the brethren of the poor do hate him: how much more do his friends go far from him? he pursueth them with words, yet they are wanting to him.

On a basic level, these verses point to human nature’s tendency to ignore the poor, the ‘nobodies’ of the world, and woo the rich or those with influence etc. As the ERV puts it, “That poor person can beg them for help. But they will not go near him”.

On a higher spiritual level these verses are speaking about Babylon again, whose gifts to one another are predicated on the lie that they are one in the Lord (Rev 11:9-10) with an ecumenical spirit which is a “false witness”, and represents our time in the harlot churches of this world (Pro 29:3) that God says won’t go unpunished. Each man, in their appointed time, will give an accounting for every idle word that God has caused us to bring forth “and he that speaketh lies shall not escape” (Mat 12:36). The more united the churches of this world become, the more hated we, ‘the poor’  will be by the many who “will make attempts to get the approval of a ruler”  [Babylon and the kings of the earth of  Rev 18:3-5], “and every man is the special friend of him who has something to give”(BBE). (Luk 23:10-12, Rev 17:14, Rev 11:9-10). As “the poor” of this proverb with “the brethren [that] do hate him”, Babylon whom we come out of, our words are not heard if God is not dragging these our Babylonian brothers and sisters to Christ. “He is pursuing words–they are not!”(YLT) They cannot hear us. (Mat 10:22, Joh 8:43, 1Jn 4:6)

Luk 23:12  And the same day Pilate and Herod were made friends together: for before they were at enmity between themselves.

Rev 11:10  And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.

Mat 10:22  And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.

Joh 8:43  Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word.

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

1Jn 4:6 We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hearby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.

Pro 19:8  He that getteth wisdom loveth his own soul: he that keepeth understanding shall find good.
Pro 19:8 The one who acquires good sense loves himself; one who safeguards understanding finds success. (NWT)

He that gets Christ, who is our wisdom (1Co 1:30), “loveth his own soul”. Christ our pearl of great price (Mat 13:45-46) is being nurtured in each other as a pearl that must increase as we decrease (Joh 3:30). Christ in us grows and matures through the irritations of this life that parallel with the grain of sand that gets into an oyster, who then covers that sand with nacre, over and over, the sand being symbolic of the much tribulation (Act 14:22) that is needed to see Christ the pearl of great price increase and be formed within each of us.

No man ever hated his own flesh, and we are the flesh and bones of Christ that we love (Eph 5:29-30). We safeguard the understanding that we have found by the grace and faith of Christ (Eph 2:8), and in doing this we find good, that good being a relationship with our Father in heaven who alone gives us the increase of His sons life within us, and through his goodness we “shall find good” that leads us unto repentance (Joh 14:21, Joh 14:6, 1Co 3:6, Rom 2:4) which leads to Life, true “success” (Mat 7:14).

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.

Joh 14:21  He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.[Joh 15:15]

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.

Pro 19:9  A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall perish.
Pro 19:10  Delight is not seemly for a fool; much less for a servant to have rule over princes.

A false witness is someone who adds to, or takes away from God’s word which we have all done in our own appointed time, and now we see and believe the admonition that anyone who does that is going to perish, “he that speaketh lies shall perish”, meaning spiritually not go unto maturity and be in that blessed and holy first resurrection (Rev 22:19).

Rev 22:19  And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

We delight in God’s word and do not want to think above what is written (1Co 4:6), being ever vigilant to keep a sound pattern of words (2Ti 1:13) that glorify God and keep us united in faith (Php 2:2), with the same mind and the same spirit, which God’s word is (Joh 6:63).

Php 2:2  Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.

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

This spiritual “delight” that we have in God’s word “is not seemly for a fool” and the fool is the Nicolaitan spirit of a “servant” who wants to “rule over princes”, controlling the laity with false doctrines, great swelling of vanity (2Pe 2:18-22).

2Pe 2:18  For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error.
2Pe 2:19  While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.
2Pe 2:20  For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.
2Pe 2:21  For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.
2Pe 2:22  But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.(1Jn 2:19, Heb 6:4-6)

1Jn 2:19  They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.
1Jn 2:20  But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things.

Heb 6:4  For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,
Heb 6:5  And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,
Heb 6:6  If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.

The gates of hell (Mat 16:18) that won’t prevail against the church are likened unto “the bars of a castle” spoken of in (Pro 18:19) that contain all the thousand thousand lies of Babylon (Rev 9:3, Rev 9:16) that make up this strong city of Babylon.

Pro 18:19  A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city: and their contentions are like the bars of a castle.

Twice in these proverbs we’ve covered today are we told that “A false witness shall not be unpunished”, along with the dire consequence for doing that which is to not escape, and to perish.

Thanks be to God we are in a process of being redeemed, and Christ alone is the faithful witness within us who is the author and finisher of this process that can only be accomplished with His faith (Rev 3:11, Rev 17:14, Rev 3:14, 1Jn 5:4).

Rev 3:11  Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.

Rev 17:14  These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.

Rev 3:14  And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;

1Jn 5:4  For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.
1Jn 5:5  Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?

Proverbs Chapter 6 – Part 2

Pro 6:16-19 “Take Heed to Thyself“

[Study Aired Dec 12, 2024]

The lesson for God’s elect in the proverbs we are going to read today is a spiritual message (Joh 6:63), that uses the construct of physical adultery which shouldn’t once be named amongst us (Eph 5:3), to elevate in our hearts and minds how detestable spiritual fornication and adultery is to our Father in heaven.

Eph 5:3 But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints;

When we read of adultery and fornication we are reading about the spiritual betrayal of God’s words, as the natural which precedes the spiritual (1Co 15:46) is used [physical adultery, fornication, covetousness] to witness in the flesh what God is telling His children to beware of in the spirit (Eph 5:5-8). When we covet the ways of this world, we are not showing love to God but rather committing spiritual fornication, or adultery (1Jn 2:15-16).

1Co 15:46 Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.

Eph 5:3 But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints;
Eph 5:4 Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.
Eph 5:5 For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
Eph 5:6 Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.
Eph 5:7 Be not ye therefore partakers with them.
Eph 5:8 For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:(Eph 2:1-4)

1Jn 2:15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
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.

The same principle is true with these “seven things that are an abomination unto him” of (Pro 6:16-19), all of which completely reside in us until Christ comes in his glory within us (Col 1:27), to destroy the man of perdition who embodies these spirits that must be destroyed by the brightness of his coming (2Th 2:8, Pro 16:4).

We don’t intentionally go around with a proud look, lying and shedding innocent blood, devising wicked imaginations, running to mischief, speaking lies, or sowing discord among the brethren, not physically at least. But what we need to ask the Lord as we examine ourselves, is how do these words apply to what is yet to be burned out of me regarding my spiritual relationship with our Father, Christ, and His body.

Only God can grant us to continue to take heed unto ourselves (Rom 2:4, Joh 6:44), watching and praying, and examining ourselves, that no root of bitterness is taking hold in our heavens (Heb 12:15-16), which roots can very quietly and deceitfully be growing without a diligent ongoing, dying daily examination of our own actions and thoughts which is what this section of the proverbs will focus on, and admonish us to do (Pro 6:20-29).

Heb 12:15 Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;
Heb 12:16 Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.

The last section of this chapter that we will look at in a future study, (Pro 6:30-35), contrasts a thief with someone who commits adultery. We steal from God when we withhold our lives from him (Mal 3:8), and committing adultery represents an unfaithfulness to the words of God, demonstrating a lack of understanding of God’s word and the value of it. If we are found guilty in this life, the punishment we will receive for robbing God of his tithe that represents our lives, is that we will need to “restore sevenfold”. That complete restoration is a symbol of the wrath of God that must be poured out upon our old man of sin via the seven last plagues if we are going to enter into the temple of God (Rev 15:8).

Rev 15:8 And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.

Pro 6:16 These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:
Pro 6:17 A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,
Pro 6:18 An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,
Pro 6:19 A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.

These first six things that the LORD hates end with a seventh that is an abomination unto him. The seventh is really the end result of all that comes out of the first six, and that seventh is to sow “discord among brethren“.

1- A proud^H7311 look

The proud waves of mankind’s hearts will be stayed by understanding (Job 26:12), and pride comes before destruction (Pro 16:18), so the Lord will give us an experience of evil to humble us thereby, called the pride of life (Ecc 1:13, 1Jn 2:16).

Job 26:12 He divideth the sea with his power, and by his understanding he smiteth through the proud.

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

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

It takes the knowledge of God to humble the proud^H7311 look of mankind, and the first king of Israel is symbolic of our proud independent hearts that think they don’t need God to rule over the kingdom of our hearts (1Sa 9:2). King Saul in that sense is ‘another Jesus’ (Isa 4:1, 2Co 11:4), and the nation’s desire and acceptance of him in likeness of the other nations around Israel with their rulers (Deu 17:14), is symbolic of the rejection of God as our sovereign Father (1Sa 10:19) who is working all things according to the counsel of His own will, which ultimately includes Him being all in all (Eph 1:11, 1Co 15:28).

Proud H7311 rûm room
A primitive root; to be high actively to rise or raise (in various applications, literally or figuratively): – bring up, exalt (self), extol, give, go up, haughty, heave (up), (be, lift up on, make on, set up on, too) high (-er, one), hold up, levy, lift (-er) up, (be) lofty, (X a-) loud, mount up, offer (up), + presumptuously, (be) promote (-ion), proud, set up, tall (-er), take (away, off, up), breed worms.
Total KJV occurrences: 189

1Sa 9:2 And he had a son, whose name was Saul, a choice young man, and a goodly: and there was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he: from his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people.

Deu 17:14 When thou art come unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, and shalt possess it, and shalt dwell therein, and shalt say, I will set a king over me, like as all the nations that are about me;

1Sa 10:19 And ye have this day rejected your God, who himself saved you out of all your adversities and your tribulations; and ye have said unto him, Nay, but set a king over us. Now therefore present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes, and by your thousands.

2- A lying^H8267 tongue

Lying ^H8267: “By implication a sham, deceit, false, vain”. These are words that sum up what God thinks of the traditions of men (Mar 7:7) that proceed forth from the mouth of the lying prophets of Babylon, which the elect are called out of (Jer 27:9-14).

Jer 27:9 Therefore hearken not ye to your prophets, nor to your diviners, nor to your dreamers, nor to your enchanters, nor to your sorcerers, which speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon:
Jer 27:10 For they prophesy a lie unto you, to remove you far from your land; and that I should drive you out, and ye should perish.
Jer 27:11 But the nations that bring their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him, those will I let remain still in their own land, saith the LORD; and they shall till it, and dwell therein.
Jer 27:12 I spake also to Zedekiah king of Judah according to all these words, saying, Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, and live.
Jer 27:13 Why will ye die, thou and thy people, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, as the LORD hath spoken against the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon?
Jer 27:14 Therefore hearken not unto the words of the prophets that speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon: for they prophesy a lie unto you.

Here is the surprising and not so surprising twist from the words of a lying tongue coming out of the false prophets of Babylon. The message we read in (Jer 27:9-14) is the very same message we read in (2Th 2:3) that tells us we must go into exile, into Babylonian captivity (Heb 6:1-2), where the man of perdition within us is being set up to fall away by the grace of God in this age, if it be His will (Heb 6:3).

2Th 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; (Heb 6:3)

Lying : H8267 sheqer sheh’-ker
From H8266; an untruth; by implication a sham (often adverbially): – without a cause, deceit (-ful), false (-hood, -ly), feignedly, liar, + lie, lying, vain (thing), wrongfully.
Total KJV occurrences: 113

Tongue: H3956 lâshôn    lâshôn    leshônâh law-shone’, law-shone’, lesh-o-naw’
From H3960; the tongue (of man or animals), used literally (as the instrument of licking, eating, or speech), and figuratively (speech, an ingot, a fork of flame, a cove of water): –    + babbler, bay, + evil speaker, language, talker, tongue, wedge.
Total KJV occurrences: 116

3- Hands that shed innocent blood

We are all guilty of the blood of Christ, so the hands “that shed innocent blood” are our own Adamic hands that must be dragged to Christ to understand this truth found in (Act 9:3-5).

Act 9:3 And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: [Christ coming into our lives]
Act 9:4 And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? [God knocks us to the earth to bring us to the abased position we all must start from (Jer 22:29)]
Act 9:5 And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.

So clearly we all shed innocent blood [the blood of Christ] without even knowing it (1Ti 1:13, 1Pe 1:13-14), and the admonition for God’s elect today is the most sobering of all admonitions regarding the shedding of innocent blood, which is what we would do if we lost our sobriety in the Lord and crucified Christ afresh (Heb 10:29, Heb 6:6, Pro 8:33, Jer 13:10).

Heb 10:29 Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified (Joh 17:17), an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?

Heb 6:4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,
Heb 6:5 And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,
Heb 6:6 If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.

Pro 8:33 Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not.

Jer 13:10 This evil people, which refuse to hear my words, which walk in the imagination of their heart, and walk after other gods, to serve them, and to worship them, shall even be as this girdle, which is good for nothing.

4- An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations

The heart is deceitful and desperately wicked above all things (Jer 17:9) and unless the Lord gives us a new heart (Eze 36:26), we will continue to devise wicked things, even unto our own destruction as was prophesied back in this verse in Genesis (Gen 6:5).

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

Eze 36:26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.

Gen 6:5 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

5- Feet that be swift in running to mischief

Our feet belong to God, and unless they are burnished in the fire of His word (Eze 1:5-7, Rev 2:18), just as the lips of Isaiah were by the angel in (Isa 6:5-7), our walk and our talk will continue to be led by our flesh and not by Christ himself who tells us that we must endure fiery trials (1Pe 4:12, 1Pe 4:1) in order to cease from sinning (Rom 8:14-16, Rom 8:9).

Eze 1:7 And their feet were straight feet; and the sole of their feet was like the sole of a calf’s foot: and they sparkled like the colour of burnished brass.

Rev 2:18 And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass; [1Jn 4:17]

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

Rom 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
Rom 8:15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
Rom 8:16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:

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

6- A false witness that speaketh lies

God’s word is not fragile in his own mouth (Psa 29:5), but in our mouths we learn that we are naturally false witnesses of those things, and speak lies until Christ enters into the picture to sanctify us (Joh 17:17) and give us the strength to bring our thoughts in line with our Father; that is what the breaking of the cedars represents in (Psa 29:5).

Psa 29:5 The voice of the LORD breaketh the cedars; yea, the LORD breaketh the cedars of Lebanon.

Through the sanctification process we’re called unto, we become the cedars of Lebanon that represent the elect of God who, in time, will have foreheads like flint (Eze 3:9), and spiritually take on the attributes that physical cedar wood points to [The wonderful properties of Cedar – Cedar Imports Australia], which typify what God can prepare our hearts to become through the fiery trials of this life that are being orchestrated by the life of Christ in His body (2Ch 1:15, Lev 14:4, Php 2:12-13, 1Pe 4:12).

2Ch 1:15 And the king made silver and gold at Jerusalem as plenteous as stones, and cedar trees made he as the sycomore trees that are in the vale for abundance.

Lev 14:4 Then shall the priest command to take for him that is to be cleansed two birds alive and clean, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop:

7- He that soweth discord among brethren

It is when we do not appreciate the singleness that is in Christ that we are one step away from sowing discord (2Co 11:3).

2Co 11:3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty^G3834, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity^G572 that is in Christ.

Subtilty G3834 πανουργία panourgia pan-oorg-ee’-ah
From G3835; adroitness, that is, (in a bad sense) trickery or sophistry: – (cunning) craftiness, subtilty.
Total KJV occurrences: 5

Above all things we are called to be unified [singleness] in Christ, which will be demonstrated by a spirit of mercy working in our hearts (Php 2:1-3), that needs to be abounding continually (2Co 11:3, Pro 6:21).

Php 2:1 If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies,
Php 2:2 Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.
Php 2:3 Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.

2Co 11:3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity^G3834 that is in Christ.

Pro 6:21 Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck.

G572 haplotēs hap-lot’-ace
From G573; singleness, that is, (subjectively) sincerity (without dissimulation or self seeking), or (objectively) generosity (copious bestowal): – bountifulness, liberal (-ity), simplicity, singleness.
Total KJV occurrences: 8

Next week Lord willing will look at the last section of Proverbs chapter six (Pro 6:20-35).

[Study Aired August 27, 2023]

Act 21:20  And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord, and said unto him, Thou seest, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe; and they are all zealous of the law:
Act 21:21  And they are informed of thee, that thou teachest all the Jews which are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the customs.
Act 21:22  What is it therefore? the multitude must needs come together: for they will hear that thou art come.
Act 21:23  Do therefore this that we say to thee: We have four men which have a vow on them;
Act 21:24  Them take, and purify thyself with them, and be at charges with them, that they may shave their heads: and all may know that those things, whereof they were informed concerning thee, are nothing; but that thou thyself also walkest orderly, and keepest the law.
Act 21:25  As touching the Gentiles which believe, we have written and concluded that they observe no such thing, save only that they keep themselves from things offered to idols, and from blood, and from strangled, and from fornication.
Act 21:26  Then Paul took the men, and the next day purifying himself with them entered into the temple, to signify the accomplishment of the days of purification, until that an offering should be offered for every one of them.
Act 21:27  And when the seven days were almost ended, the Jews which were of Asia, when they saw him in the temple, stirred up all the people, and laid hands on him,
Act 21:28  Crying out, Men of Israel, help: This is the man, that teacheth all men every where against the people, and the law, and this place: and further brought Greeks also into the temple, and hath polluted this holy place.
Act 21:29  (For they had seen before with him in the city Trophimus an Ephesian, whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the temple.)
Act 21:30  And all the city was moved, and the people ran together: and they took Paul, and drew him out of the temple: and forthwith the doors were shut.
Act 21:31  And as they went about to kill him, tidings came unto the chief captain of the band, that all Jerusalem was in an uproar.
Act 21:32  Who immediately took soldiers and centurions, and ran down unto them: and when they saw the chief captain and the soldiers, they left beating of Paul.
Act 21:33  Then the chief captain came near, and took him, and commanded him to be bound with two chains; and demanded who he was, and what he had done.
Act 21:34  And some cried one thing, some another, among the multitude: and when he could not know the certainty for the tumult, he commanded him to be carried into the castle.
Act 21:35  And when he came upon the stairs, so it was, that he was borne of the soldiers for the violence of the people.
Act 21:36  For the multitude of the people followed after, crying, Away with him.
Act 21:37  And as Paul was to be led into the castle, he said unto the chief captain, May I speak unto thee? Who said, Canst thou speak Greek?
Act 21:38  Art not thou that Egyptian, which before these days madest an uproar, and leddest out into the wilderness four thousand men that were murderers?
Act 21:39  But Paul said, I am a man which am a Jew of Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city: and, I beseech thee, suffer me to speak unto the people.
Act 21:40  And when he had given him licence, Paul stood on the stairs, and beckoned with the hand unto the people. And when there was made a great silence, he spake unto them in the Hebrew tongue, saying,

We will begin this study with the last three verses from our last study to give us some context:

Act 21:17  And when we were come to Jerusalem, [from Caesarea] the brethren received us gladly.
Act 21:18  And the day following Paul went in with us unto James; and all the elders were present.
Act 21:19  And when he had saluted them, he declared particularly what things God had wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry.

Act 21:20  And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord, and said unto him, Thou seest, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe; and they are all zealous of the law:
Act 21:21  And they are informed of thee, that thou teachest all the Jews which are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the customs.
Act 21:22  What is it therefore? the multitude must needs come together: for they will hear that thou art come.

When James tells Paul, “The multitude must needs come together; for they will hear that you are come” it is obvious that James is not speaking of unbelieving Jews “coming together” with believing Jews. James is speaking here of the “Many thousands of Jews which believe, and they are all zealous of the law.” It was the believing Jews who had been the victims of all the lies being told by other believing Jews against Paul. Their zeal for the law of Moses made them willing to consider those lies which included the lie that Paul was not walking orderly himself, and that he was teaching the Jews who were among the Gentiles to forsake the law of Moses. It was all a lie, but it was Paul’s own ‘zeal for the law’ of Moses which led him to persecute the church. He understands this, and as we will see, he acknowledges this to his accusers:

Php 3:6  Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.

Being zealous for the law of Moses is the negative application of the word ‘zeal’, and even the Jewish Christians are still hearing Moses in the synagogues every sabbath day:

Act 15:19  Wherefore my sentence [G2919: ‘krino’, judgment] is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God:
Act 15:20  But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.
Act 15:21  For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day [for the Jewish believers in Christ].

A reformation is under way. We have all experienced “the time of reformation” when the Lord begins to drag us out of the churches of Babylon.

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

We each live that experience as we are dragged out of the doctrines and customs of Babylon. Every reformation takes time, and the time required to “take down the middle wall of partition between” the Jews and the Gentiles has not yet arrived when Paul went up to Jerusalem from Caesarea here in Acts 21. The ‘taking down’ of that ‘wall of partition’ between the Jewish and Gentile believers will later be proclaimed in Paul’s epistle to the Ephesians, but it will require the destruction of the temple to make it stick with many Jewish believers.

Eph 2:14  For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;
Eph 2:15  Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;

Heb 9:8  The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was [G2192: ‘echo’, has] yet standing:

Every verb in those two verses of Ephesians two is in the aorist tense except for the “so making peace”, which is the present tense. Taking down the wall of partition between Jews and Gentiles typifies the wall of partition between the Lord’s elect and the churches of Babylon while they and their doctrines still ‘have standing’ in our lives with all their “carnal commandments [and] traditions of men.” It is very instructive that the Greek word translated as ‘was’ in Hebrews 9:8 is in the present tense, and is the word ‘echo’, which is most often translated as ‘have’ or ‘has’. The way into the holiest of all is not made known while the doctrines of “the synagogue of Satan”, the doctrines of “Babylon the great” still ‘have standing’ within our hearts and minds. Taking that wall down is a process which takes place in each individual life of the Lord’s elect in every generation of mankind since Christ. The Lord is ‘making both one.’ He is ‘breaking down the middle wall of partition between us, and He is abolishing in His flesh the enmity’ and He is making in Himself of twain one new man…” “The time of reformation” is a process we must all experience in every generation of those who come to know the Lord in ‘this present time’ (Rom 8:18).

That “wall of separation” was still firmly in place for even the believing Jews in Acts 21, including Paul, who must demonstrate that those accusing him of not “walking orderly and keeping the law” are liars, and James wants Paul to do just that in this way:

Act 21:23  Do therefore this that we say to thee: We have four men which have a vow on them;
Act 21:24  Them take, and purify thyself with them, and be at charges with them, that they may shave their heads: and all may know that those things, whereof they were informed concerning thee, are nothing; but that thou thyself also [as a Jewish believer] walkest orderly, and keepest the law.
Act 21:25  As touching the Gentiles which believe, we have written and concluded that they observe no such thing, save only that they keep themselves from things offered to idols, and from blood, and from strangled, and from fornication.

Paul had no problem with this because that was what he had been doing all along. This “wall of partition” was “the decrees of the apostles and elders at Jerusalem” we read of in Acts 15. They were also the decrees of the holy ghost (Act 15:28). Those decrees agreed that the Jews were still under the law of Moses, and the Gentile churches gladly accepted the fact that it was so and that “they observe no such thing” (Act 21:25).

Paul had circumcised Timothy soon after the Jerusalem conference, and “as they went through the cities, they delivered them the decrees for to keep that were ordained of the apostles and elders” who had decreed that the Jews were still under the law even while also decreeing that the Gentiles were not under the law.

Act 16:1  Then came he to Derbe and Lystra: and, behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timotheus, the son of a certain woman, which was a Jewess, and believed; but his father was a Greek:
Act 16:2  Which was well reported of by the brethren that were at Lystra and Iconium.
Act 16:3  Him would Paul have to go forth with him; and took and circumcised him because of the Jews which were in those quarters: for they knew all that his father was a Greek.
Act 16:4  And as they went through the cities, they delivered them the decrees for to keep, that were ordained of the apostles and elders which were at Jerusalem.

At that time there was no question whether the Jews were expected to be circumcised and keep the law. The trial at that time was whether the Gentiles had to be circumcised and keep the law of Moses. The law of Moses had decreed that anyone seeking to attach himself to the promises made to Abraham had to be physically circumcised.

The decrees of the apostles and elders at Jerusalem changed and reformed that law by decreeing that the Gentiles need not be circumcised or keep the law of Moses. Those decrees united the Jews with the Gentiles at that moment in time as the very next verse indicates:

Act 16:5  And so were the churches established in the faith, and increased in number daily.

Paul himself took a vow and shaved his own head just before going up to Jerusalem to “keep the feast” near the end of His second missionary journey:

Act 18:18  And Paul after this [the insurrection made by the Jews against Paul in Corinth, Act 18:12] tarried there yet a good while, and then took his leave of the brethren, and sailed thence into Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila; having shorn his head in Cenchrea: for he had a vow.
Act 18:19  And he came to Ephesus, and left them there: but he himself entered into the synagogue, and reasoned with the Jews.
Act 18:20  When they desired him to tarry longer time with them, he consented not;
Act 18:21  But bade them farewell, saying, I must by all means keep this feast that cometh in Jerusalem: but I will return again unto you, if God will. And he sailed from Ephesus.

The Jewish apostles were keeping the law even as they delivered the decrees of the apostles and elders which stated that the Gentiles “observe no such thing” (Act 21:25).

Act 21:26  Then Paul took the men, and the next day purifying himself with them entered into the temple, to signify the accomplishment of the days of purification, until that an offering should be offered for every one of them.

Paul did not hesitate to prove that he was ‘walking orderly and keeping the law.’ It is at this point that the unbelieving Jews in Jerusalem apprehend Paul with every intention of killing him.

Act 21:27  And when the seven days were almost ended, the Jews which were of Asia, when they saw him in the temple, stirred up all the people, and laid hands on him,
Act 21:28  Crying out, Men of Israel, help: This is the man, that teacheth all men every where against the people, and the law, and this place: and further brought Greeks also into the temple, and hath polluted this holy place.
Act 21:29  (For they had seen before with him in the city Trophimus an Ephesian, whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the temple.)

None of these accusations were true. Trophimus is one of the seven men who traveled back to Jerusalem with Paul and Luke, but Paul would never have taken a Gentile into the temple:

Act 20:4  And there accompanied him into Asia Sopater of Berea; and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus; and Gaius of Derbe, and Timotheus; and of Asia, Tychicus and Trophimus.

This is the fellow laborer whom Paul had “left sick at Miletum”, indicating that the Lord was cutting back on the many miracles, signs, and wonders which accompanied the establishment of the early church. Contrast this verse about Paul leaving Trophimus sick at Miletum, with all the verses which follow it concerning all the miracles, and signs and wonders and healings which had taken place in Christ’s ministry and in the early ministries of the apostles:

2Ti 4:20  Erastus abode at Corinth: but Trophimus have I left at Miletum sick.

Joh 2:23  Now when he [Christ] was in Jerusalem at the passover, in the feast day, many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did.

Joh 7:31  And many of the people believed on him, and said, When Christ cometh, will he do more miracles than these which this man hath done?

Joh 11:47  Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council, and said, What do we? for this man doeth many miracles.

Mat 8:16  When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick:

Mar 3:10  For he had healed many; insomuch that they pressed upon him for to touch him, as many as had plagues.

Act 2:43  And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles.

Act 5:12  And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people; (and they were all with one accord in Solomon’s porch.

Act 6:8  And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people.

Act 21:30  And all the city was moved, and the people ran together: and they took Paul, and drew him out of the temple: and forthwith the doors were shut.

“All the city” means that these are mostly unbelieving Jews who have never believed in Christ and who have never believed that the holy spirit sent Peter to the home of a Gentile Roman centurion to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. These Jews did not believe that Jesus of Nazareth struck Saul of Tarsus down and blinded him on the road to Damascus converting him to become a follower of Christ. All these Jews think they know is what the “Jews of Asia” have told them, and what those liars have told them are the lies of verses 27-29:

Act 21:27  And when the seven days were almost ended, the Jews which were of Asia, when they saw him in the temple, stirred up all the people, and laid hands on him,
Act 21:28  Crying out, Men of Israel, help: This is the man, that teacheth all men every where against the people, and the law, and this place: and further brought Greeks also into the temple, and hath polluted this holy place.
Act 21:29  (For they had seen before with him in the city Trophimus an Ephesian, whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the temple.)

Paul would not have even thought about bringing an uncircumcised Gentile into the temple. Paul was living by the decrees of the apostles and elders agreed to by those apostles and elders and the holy ghost in Acts 15:

Act 15:19  Wherefore my [James] sentence [Greek: ‘krino’, judgment] is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God:
Act 15:20  But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.
Act 15:21  For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day [To the Jewish believers in Christ].

Act 15:24  Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave no such commandment:

Act 15:28  For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things;

When James says, “For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him”, he is referring to the ministry to Jewish Christians. At this stage, the Jewish synagogues were not yet seen as ‘synagogues of Satan’ – the great harlot of Isaiah 1:21 and Revelation 17-18.

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

It is the very Jews to whom James referred as “of old time… in every city… in the synagogues… every sabbath day” who wanted the apostle Paul dead:

We now have a situation which demonstrates that even wicked men are “ordained of God [as] the minister of God to [us] for good…”

Rom 13:1  Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.
Rom 13:2  Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation [Greek: ‘krino’, judgment].
Rom 13:3  For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same:
Rom 13:4  For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.

Act 21:31  And as they went about to kill him, tidings came unto the chief captain of the band, that all Jerusalem was in an uproar.
Act 21:32  Who immediately took soldiers and centurions, and ran down unto them: and when they saw the chief captain and the soldiers, they left beating of Paul.
Act 21:33  Then the chief captain came near, and took him, and commanded him to be bound with two chains; and demanded who he was, and what he had done.
Act 21:34  And some cried one thing, some another, among the multitude: and when he could not know the certainty for the tumult, he commanded him to be carried into the castle.
Act 21:35  And when he came upon the stairs, so it was, that he was borne of the soldiers for the violence of the people.
Act 21:36  For the multitude of the people followed after, crying, Away with him.

“Away with him” had a certain finality to it for those who were “going about to kill him.” The use of the phrase “the multitude” indicates that these were, for the most part, unbelieving Jews. Still the apostle Paul asks the chief captain permission to speak to the multitude who want him dead:

Act 21:37  And as Paul was to be led into the castle, he said unto the chief captain, May I speak unto thee? Who said, Canst thou speak Greek?
Act 21:38  Art not thou that Egyptian, which before these days madest an uproar, and leddest out into the wilderness four thousand men that were murderers?

Any thinking person would notice that this chief captain’s mistaking Paul for an Egyptian demonstrates that the ethnic Jews of that day were outwardly indistinguishable from Egyptians. It can be conceded that the chief captain was referring to an Egyptian Jew, but the outward appearance of both native Jews and Egyptians is indistinguishable. Both are dark-complected middle easterners.

Act 21:39  But Paul said, I am a man which am a Jew of Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city: and, I beseech thee, suffer me to speak unto the people.

Paul spoke to the chief captain in a very respectful and humble spirit, and the chief captain was persuaded to do as he asked.

Act 21:40  And when he had given him licence, Paul stood on the stairs, and beckoned with the hand unto the people. And when there was made a great silence, he spake unto them in the Hebrew tongue, saying,

This concludes the 21^st chapter of Acts. We will wait until next Sunday to hear Paul’s witness for Christ to the Jews who want to kill him. It is very instructive for us that Paul very much wants to witness for Christ, even to those who want him dead. Paul has learned from decades of experience that most of the Jews in every city he ever visited were not receptive of the gospel. Twice he resolved to “turn to the Gentiles”, first in the synagogue of Pisidian Antioch and later in Corinth:

Act 13:46  Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you [Jews]: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.

Act 18:6  And when they opposed themselves, and blasphemed, he shook his raiment, and said unto them, Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean: from henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles.

Just as Peter preached to the Samaritans, whom Christ had originally told the apostles to avoid, Paul also continued to witness to his own people because he loved his own:

Mat 10:5  These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not:

Act 8:14  Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John:

Act 8:25  And they, when they had testified and preached the word of the Lord, returned to Jerusalem, and preached the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans.

Rom 9:1  I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost,
Rom 9:2  That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart.
Rom 9:3  For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh:

Acts 7:1-20  The Patriarchs Moved with Envy Sold Joseph into Egypt

[Study Aired January 22, 2023]

Act 7:1  Then said the high priest, Are these things so?
Act 7:2  And he said, Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken; The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran,
Act 7:3  And said unto him, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall shew thee.
Act 7:4  Then came he out of the land of the Chaldaeans, and dwelt in Charran: and from thence, when his father was dead, he removed him into this land, wherein ye now dwell.
Act 7:5  And he gave him none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on: yet he promised that he would give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child.
Act 7:6  And God spake on this wise, That his seed should sojourn in a strange land; and that they should bring them into bondage, and entreat them evil four hundred years.
Act 7:7  And the nation to whom they shall be in bondage will I judge, said God: and after that shall they come forth, and serve me in this place.
Act 7:8  And he gave him the covenant of circumcision: and so Abraham begat Isaac, and circumcised him the eighth day; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat the twelve patriarchs.
Act 7:9  And the patriarchs, moved with envy, sold Joseph into Egypt: but God was with him,
Act 7:10  And delivered him out of all his afflictions, and gave him favour and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house.
Act 7:11  Now there came a dearth over all the land of Egypt and Chanaan, and great affliction: and our fathers found no sustenance.
Act 7:12  But when Jacob heard that there was corn in Egypt, he sent out our fathers first.
Act 7:13  And at the second time Joseph was made known to his brethren; and Joseph’s kindred was made known unto Pharaoh.
Act 7:14  Then sent Joseph, and called his father Jacob to him, and all his kindred, threescore and fifteen souls.
Act 7:15  So Jacob went down into Egypt, and died, he, and our fathers,
Act 7:16  And were carried over into Sychem, and laid in the sepulchre that Abraham bought for a sum of money of the sons of Emmor the father of Sychem.
Act 7:17  But when the time of the promise drew nigh, which God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt,
Act 7:18  Till another king arose, which knew not Joseph.
Act 7:19  The same dealt subtilly with our kindred, and evil entreated our fathers, so that they cast out their young children, to the end they might not live.
Act 7:20  In which time Moses was born, and was exceeding fair, and nourished up in his father’s house three months:

Our last study ended with Stephen being dragged before the Sanhedrin on the same trumped-up charges the Sanhedrin used to condemn the Lord. Stephen ends up being the first person to literally lay down His life in defense of the gospel of Christ. Stephen was so persuasive that his opponents had to falsely accuse him of saying that Christ said He would destroy the temple:

Mat 26:59  Now the chief priests, and elders, and all the council, sought false witness against Jesus, to put him to death;
Mat 26:60  But found none: yea, though many false witnesses came, yet found they none. At the last came two false witnesses,
Mat 26:61  And said, This fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days.

Of course, there was not one word of Truth in that accusation. Here is what Christ had really said:

Joh 2:18  Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things? [Christ had just cleansed the temple]
Joh 2:19  Jesus answered and said unto them, [You] Destroy this temple [speaking of His own body], and in three days I will raise it up.

How objective was the Sanhedrin when they heard this ludicrous accusation against Christ? This was the response of the high priest:

Mat 26:62  And the high priest arose, and said unto him, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee?

Stephen’s false accusers had very little choice but to run with the same exact lie and same exact false accusation:

Act 6:12  And they stirred up the people, and the elders, and the scribes, and came upon him, and caught him, and brought him to the council,
Act 6:13  And set up false witnesses, which said, This man ceaseth not to speak blasphemous words against this holy place, and the law:
Act 6:14  For we have heard him say, that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place, and shall change the customs which Moses delivered us.
Act 6:15  And all that sat in the council, looking stedfastly on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel.

Of course, it was all a lie. Christ had said no such thing, and Stephen certainly had said no such thing. His life was centered around that physical temple because he had not yet been shown that the reformation of Christ would indeed eventually make the physical temple obsolete and unnecessary. It took the destruction of the temple to make that point clear for many Jewish Christians.

Nevertheless, the same High priest, Caiaphas, asked Stephen the exact same question He had asked Christ.

Act 7:1  Then said the high priest, Are these things so?

The high priest knew this accusation against Christ was not true when they suborned the two false witnesses. He therefore knew that Stephen was not putting these same false words into Christ’s mouth.

It was a fabricated lie then, when they pinned it on Christ, and it is simply being repeated by the false witnesses who are testifying that Stephen is teaching that Christ had said that He would destroy the temple. Here is how that false accusation played out with Christ:

Mat 26:59  Now the chief priests, and elders, and all the council, sought false witness against Jesus, to put him to death;
Mat 26:60  But found none: yea, though many false witnesses came, yet found they none. At the last came two false witnesses,
Mat 26:61  And said, This fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days.
Mat 26:62  And the high priest arose, and said unto him, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee?
Mat 26:63  But Jesus held his peace. And the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God.
Mat 26:64  Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.
Mat 26:65  Then the high priest rent his clothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy; what further need have we of witnesses? behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy.
Mat 26:66  What think ye? They answered and said, He is guilty of death.
Mat 26:67  Then did they spit in his face, and buffeted him; and others smote him with the palms of their hands,
Mat 26:68  Saying, Prophesy unto us, thou Christ, Who is he that smote thee?

When we read these words we just naturally think, “Wow, I certainly would not want to be those guys who spit in Jesus’ face and who smote Him with the palms of their hands and said Prophesy unto us, thou Christ, Who smote thee!” However, according to Christ, that is exactly what we ourselves do to the Lord every time we mistreat our brother in any way:

Mat 25:31  When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
Mat 25:32  And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
Mat 25:33  And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
Mat 25:34  Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
Mat 25:35  For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
Mat 25:36  Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
Mat 25:37  Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
Mat 25:38  When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
Mat 25:39  Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
Mat 25:40  And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
Mat 25:41  Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
Mat 25:42  For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
Mat 25:43  I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
Mat 25:44  Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
Mat 25:45  Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.

We are Christ’s spiritual body whether we fully realize that or not. If we as a ‘good Samaritan’ are granted to treat our “least… brother”, a total stranger, with love and sincere concern we are doing that to Christ. If we ‘pass by on the other side’ (Luk 10:31) and fail to minister to the needs of “the least of these [our] brothers”, we have failed to do so to Christ Himself. It is Christ Himself who informs us that if we follow in His steps we are “Jesus of Nazareth”, and when we mistreat our brother, we are persecuting Christ Himself:

Act 22:8  And I [Saul of Tarsus… signifying our own old man] answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest.

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:

If Christ is within us, we will have the same reaction to our persecution the apostles had when they were beaten with “forty stripes save one” and ordered not to speak at all in the name of Christ:

Act 5:40  And to him [Gamaliel] 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.

Christ refused to answer His false accusers simply because His time to be offered up had come, and He would never work against what His Father’s hand and what His Father’s foreknowledge had determined before to be done as we learned earlier in this same book:

Act 4:26  The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ.
Act 4:27  For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together,
Act 4:28  For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done.

Christ’s witness against His accusers was the life He lived among His accusers. It was a life of healing the blind and the lame and the sick of the very people who were now calling for His crucifixion. Christ was condemned by a kangaroo court in which He was already condemned before He was even apprehended. When the apostles were arrested shortly before Stephen was apprehended, they had told the Sanhedrin and the elders of the Jews that they had crucified the innocent Son of God. It was only on the advice of Gamaliel and because of the undeniable miracles surrounding their arrest, they were simply beaten in hopes that would deter them from continuing to accuse the Sanhedrin and the elders of Israel of murdering their own Messiah.

This discourse by Stephen will demonstrate to the leaders of the Lord’s own people that they have a long history of rejecting and killing the Lord’s prophets out of nothing more than envy.

Stephen, just like the Lord, had done nothing but heal the sick among the people and ‘serve tables’. Yet he is now the first person who will suffer the same fate His Lord suffered, and it proved the accuracy of the Lord’s own words:

Mat 10:16  Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.
Mat 10:17  But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues;
Mat 10:18  And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles.
Mat 10:19  But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak.
Mat 10:20  For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.

Mat 10:24  The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord.
Mat 10:25  It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household?

Joh 16:1  These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended.
Joh 16:2  They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.
Joh 16:3  And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me.

How true those words are! Especially since Stephen is granted the opportunity to show us all how our entire history, the life of every man, is a life of rebellion against the Lord and His Christ. Even the Lord’s Christ is rebellious before being processed through fiery judgments to become pliable in His hands. Rebellion against the Lord and His prophets is the essence of Israel’s [and our] history which Stephen recounts to the people who He considers to be the Lord’s chosen people. Remember, the gospel has never yet gone to the Gentiles, and Stephen considers physical Israel, the people before whom he is making his defense to be the Lord’s saints and His chosen nation.

With absolutely no time to prepare a defense, the holy spirit inspired Stephen to show the church council of his day exactly how much like their envious and rebellious fathers they are.

Act 7:2  And he said, Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken; The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran,
Act 7:3  And said unto him, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall shew thee.
Act 7:4  Then came he out of the land of the Chaldaeans, and dwelt in Charran: and from thence, when his father [signifying the dying of our old man] was dead, he removed him into this land, wherein ye now dwell.

Stephen is telling the Sanhedrin and us that we all must come out of Babylon, which is what ‘Ur of the Chaldeans’ symbolizes. The Sanhedrin, just like the religious leaders of our day, think they have already come out of Ur and out of Egypt. They certainly do not see themselves as that “great city where also our Lord was crucified”:

Rev 11:7  And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.
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 [The religious system of His day].

Isa 1:1  The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

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.

Here we have revealed to us who the great whore of Revelation 17 and 18 is. It is not physical “Judah and Jerusalem” alone, rather it is the religious systems of the whole world through whose offences Christ was offered up and through whose justification He was raised up:

Rom 4:25  Who was delivered [to be crucified] for [G1223, ‘dia’, through] our offences, and was raised again for [G1223: ‘dia’, through] our justification.

Act 7:5  And he gave him none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on: yet he promised that he would give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child.
Act 7:6  And God spake on this wise, That his seed should sojourn in a strange land; and that they should bring them into bondage, and entreat them evil four hundred years.

The churches of our day are as spiritually deaf and as spiritually blind as the Sanhedrin in the days of Christ and Stephen, and to them Stephen was giving them nothing more than a summary of Israel’s history. However, to those who have been given to ‘compare spiritual [types and shadows] with spiritual [realities]’ Abraham’s calling out of Ur of the Chaldeans signifies our being called out of spiritual Babylon, “the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified” (Rev 11:8).

Typifying each of us, Abraham did not immediately obey the Lord’s commandment to leave his father’s house and the country in which he lived. The fact is that we are told that it was Abraham’s father, signifying his own flesh, that took him out of Ur of the Chaldeans to go into the land of Canaan:

Gen 12:1  Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:

Instead of leaving his father’s house, it was “[his] father’s house” which took him out of Ur of the Chaldeans to go into Canaan:

Gen 11:31  And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son’s son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram’s wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there.
Gen 11:32  And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years: and Terah died in Haran.

“Terah died in Haran” tells us that we do not begin to enter into our own calling until after our old man begins to die, while still in the land of the Chaldeans, while still in Babylon. When our old man dies, then we immediately begin to come out of Babylon and into the land of promise:

Gen 12:5  And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.

Like Abraham, as Stephen pointed out, we are not given a possession in this present world, but as the spiritual seed of Abraham we, too, are promised “the [whole] world [G2889: kosmos]”:

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

This promise of ruling all the nations of the whole world is one of the “many things” to which Christ referred when He told His apostles:

Joh 16:12  I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.

According to the letter of the promise, Abraham was only to inherit from the River of Egypt to the Euphrates River:

Gen 15:18  In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:
Gen 15:19  The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites,
Gen 15:20  And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims,
Gen 15:21  And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.

Looking at the letter of those words you do not see the words “the world”. All you see is a very small country stretching from the Nile to the Euphrates rivers. Nevertheless, all flesh, the flesh of “the world,” is signified by listing ten nations in those verses.

The number ‘ten’ signifies the bankruptcy of the flesh of all men in its negative connotation:

 The Number Ten

The number four signifies the whole of whatever is under consideration:

The Number Four

The four hundred years of servitude in Egypt (4x10x10) signify the whole of our spiritual indebtedness because of the sins of our flesh:

Mat 18:23 Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants.
Mat 18:24 And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents.

It is only after the Lord begins to drag us out of this world that He also begins to give us the dominion over our flesh which we never had before:

Rom 6:14  For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

1Pe 2:11  Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;
1Pe 2:12  Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.

Act 7:7  And the nation to whom they shall be in bondage will I judge, said God: and after that shall they come forth, and serve me in this place.

We will miss the fact that Stephen thought he was witnessing to the Lord’s chosen people if we do not realize and remember that at this time the apostles were all still living with the doctrine that one must be physically circumcised and become a part of the physical nation of Israel to be saved. That doctrine prevailed all the way up to Acts 15:

Act 15:1  And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.
Act 15:2  When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question.

By the time this conference took place in Jerusalem, Peter had already been sent to the house of the Gentile Roman centurion, Cornelius, and had been told that he was not to call any man common or unclean (Act 10:15). To the apostles who heard what the Lord told Peter, that was still not a commandment for the Jews to forsake the law of Moses, and they continued to be circumcised and to offer blood offerings at the temple.

Therefore, even after this Jerusalem conference, the conclusion was that Gentile Christians need not be circumcised or offer offerings in the temple, but the Jewish Christians were still expected to do so:

Act 15:23  And they wrote letters by them after this manner; The [Jewish] apostles and elders and brethren send greeting unto the brethren which are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia:
Act 15:24  Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave no such commandment:
Act 15:25  It seemed good unto us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,
Act 15:26  Men that have hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Act 15:27  We have sent therefore Judas and Silas, who shall also tell you the same things by mouth.
Act 15:28  For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things;
Act 15:29  That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.

Acts 15 is years in the future at this point, and even after it was agreed at this conference that the Gentiles did not need to be circumcised or keep the law of Moses, it was also agreed that the Jews must continue to do so:

Act 21:24  Them take, and purify thyself with them, and be at charges with them, that they may shave their heads: and all may know that those things, whereof they were informed concerning thee, are nothing; but that thou thyself also walkest orderly, and keepest the law.
Act 21:25  As touching the Gentiles which believe, we have written and concluded that they observe no such thing, save only that they keep themselves from things offered to idols, and from blood, and from strangled, and from fornication.
Act 21:26  Then Paul took the men, and the next day purifying himself with them entered into the temple, to signify the accomplishment of the days of purification, until that an offering should be offered for every one of them.

This trial of Stephen was very soon after the death and resurrection of Christ. It was under the same high priest, Caiaphas (Act 4:6). It was long before Peter went into the house of the Gentile Roman centurion, Cornelius, where Peter admitted to Cornelius that it was ‘unlawful’ for a circumcised man to go into the house of a Gentile:

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

Stephen’s trial was long before there was yet any hint to the apostles that the gospel would ever be preached to the Gentiles. The point being that at this time the physical nation of Israel was still considered by Stephen and the apostles to be the chosen people of God, and Stephen is witnessing to his own people just as Christ had done before him:

Joh 1:10  He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.
Joh 1:11  He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

Stephen was circumcised, and still believed it was essential for salvation:

Act 15:1  And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.

Stephen is identifying with ‘his own’ nation while making his defense and showing them their own “envy” and rebellion against their own Messiah:

Act 7:8  And he gave him the covenant of circumcision: and so Abraham begat Isaac, and circumcised him the eighth day; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat the twelve patriarchs.
Act 7:9  And the patriarchs, moved with envy, sold Joseph into Egypt: but God was with him,
Act 7:10  And delivered him out of all his afflictions, and gave him favour and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house.

Stephen simply could not possibly have seen the spiritual significance of Joseph saving the Egyptians from starvation before he, through the Egyptians, saved his brothers from starvation, just as the Lord will use His elect to save apostate physical Israel and apostate Christians who claim to be spiritual Israel:

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

Stephen obviously saw the “envy” which motivated Joseph’s brothers to sell him into Egypt. Stephen knew the high priest and the Pharisees had delivered the Lord up to be crucified out of envy:

Mat 27:17  Therefore when they were gathered together, Pilate said unto them, Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ?
Mat 27:18  For he knew that for envy they had delivered him.

Mar 15:9  But Pilate answered them, saying, Will ye that I release unto you the King of the Jews?
Mar 15:10  For he knew that the chief priests had delivered him for envy.
Mar 15:11  But the chief priests moved the people, that he should rather release Barabbas unto them.

Those with whom God works are always envied and persecuted by those who envy their relationship with God. Joseph’s brothers envied his close relationship with their father Jacob. Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses out of envy over the close relationship Moses had with the Lord:

Num 12:1  And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman.
Num 12:2  And they said, Hath the LORD indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he not spoken also by us? And the LORD heard it.
Num 12:3  (Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.)

The Lord chastened Miriam and Aaron by making Miriam leprous for a week. She was healed only after Moses prayed for her.

Just a few weeks afterward, Korah and Dathan and Abiram, a man named ‘On’ and two hundred and fifty princes of the congregation, famous men of renown, all envied Moses’ and Aaron’s close relationship with God and falsely accused them of ‘lifting [themselves] up above the congregation’:

Num 16:1  Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men:
Num 16:2  And they rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown:
Num 16:3  And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the LORD?

This was a work of the Lord to demonstrate who those were whom He approved as Moses told Korah and his company of envious rebels:

Num 16:4  And when Moses heard it, he fell upon his face:
Num 16:5  And he spake unto Korah and unto all his company, saying, Even to morrow the LORD will shew who are his, and who is holy; and will cause him to come near unto him: even him whom he hath chosen will he cause to come near unto him.

Paul had read these words and knew the purpose for heresies and schisms within the body of Christ:

1Co 11:18  For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it.
1Co 11:19  For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.

While the Lord’s emphasis is on “they which are approved [being] made manifest” that manifestation also reveals those who are heretics.

Stephen continues to witness against the envy of those who are falsely accusing him:

Act 7:11  Now there came a dearth over all the land of Egypt and Chanaan, and great affliction: and our fathers found no sustenance.
Act 7:12  But when Jacob heard that there was corn in Egypt, he sent out our fathers first.

In this story, Jacob signifies our old man who must begin to die before we can embrace the Lord’s promised salvation.

Gen 50:15  And when Joseph’s brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, Joseph will peradventure hate us, and will certainly requite us all the evil which we did unto him.
Gen 50:16  And they sent a messenger unto Joseph, saying, Thy father did command before he died, saying,
Gen 50:17  So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil: and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him.
Gen 50:18  And his brethren also went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we be thy servants.
Gen 50:19  And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God?
Gen 50:20  But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.
Gen 50:21  Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them.

Joseph had told them when he first revealed himself to them seventeen years earlier that He had already forgiven them and he would nourish them, but they were not given faith in his words:

Gen 45:10  And thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen, and thou shalt be near unto me, thou, and thy children, and thy children’s children, and thy flocks, and thy herds, and all that thou hast:
Gen 45:11  And there will I nourish thee; for yet there are five years of famine; lest thou, and thy household, and all that thou hast, come to poverty.

Jacob did not believe that he and Rachel or Joseph’s brothers would ever bow down to Joseph any more than his other sons believed that they would bow down to him:

Gen 37:8  And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words.
Gen 37:9  And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.
Gen 37:10  And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?
Gen 37:11  And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying.

Act 7:13  And at the second time Joseph was made known to his brethren; and Joseph’s kindred was made known unto Pharaoh.
Act 7:14  Then sent Joseph, and called his father Jacob to him, and all his kindred, threescore and fifteen souls.
Act 7:15  So Jacob went down into Egypt, and died, he, and our fathers,

While we are in this world, signified by Egypt, we are all as spiritually dead as Jacob and his sons who all died in Egypt. In that spiritual state, we live outwardly, but we are dead spiritually.

Luk 9:59  And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.
Luk 9:60  Jesus said unto him, Let the [spiritually] dead bury their [physically] dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.

1Ti 5:6  But she that liveth in pleasure is [spiritually] dead while she liveth.

Act 7:16  And were carried over into Sychem, and laid in the sepulchre that Abraham bought for a sum of money of the sons of Emmor the father of Sychem.

We are told the Lord did not give Abraham an inheritance in Canaan, and we are told that he was a stranger and a pilgrim in the land he was promised as an inheritance:

Act 7:5 And he gave him none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on: yet he promised that he would give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child.

Heb 11:13  These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

At the same time, we are told that Abraham did own a place to bury his dead there in Canaan where he was a stranger and a pilgrim. That is all we have in this world, a place for our old man to die and be buried.

Act 7:17  But when the time of the promise drew nigh, which God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt,
Act 7:18  Till another king arose, which knew not Joseph.
Act 7:19  The same dealt subtilly with our kindred, and evil entreated our fathers, so that they cast out their young children, to the end they might not live.
Act 7:20  In which time Moses was born, and was exceeding fair, and nourished up in his father’s house three months:

We are all being born into the kingdom of God at a time of great growth in our unchosen family which is still in Egypt. When the time arrives to ‘come out of her’, then the Lord begins to send trials into our lives, and we are caused to cry out to him to deliver us from Egypt.

It is important we understand that it is while we are still in Egypt, still serving the gods of Egypt, that the Lord begins His work of deliverance in our lives. His choice of calling us is entirely of Himself and has nothing to do with us or our falsely labeled ‘free will’. Being brought out of Egypt is just an earlier stage and a less mature type of coming out of Babylon. It is also while we are in Babylon that the Lord comes to us and begins His work of salvation within us:

Mic 4:10  Be in pain, and labour to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in travail: for now shalt thou go forth out of the city, and thou shalt dwell in the field, and thou shalt go even to Babylon; there shalt thou be delivered; there the LORD shall redeem thee from the hand of thine enemies.

The Lord’s people “come out of [Babylon]”, but it is only while we are there in Babylon that He begins the process of delivering us out of her power over us:

Our deliverance out of Babylon is the seventh and last of the seven plagues which we must begin to fulfill before we will be given to begin to enter the temple of God in heaven:

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

Rev 16:17  And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.
Rev 16:18  And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.
Rev 16:19  And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.
Rev 16:20  And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.
Rev 16:21  And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.

A “great earthquake [and] a great hail” are both an integral part of the destruction of “great Babylon”, the pillar and ground of all the false doctrines of this world. This is what that ‘great earthquake and great hail’ accomplish:

Isa 28:17  Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.

We ‘grow and multiply’ in false doctrines while we are in Egypt and while we are in Babylon:

Jer 29:4  Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, unto all that are carried away captives, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem unto Babylon;
Jer 29:5  Build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them;
Jer 29:6  Take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; that ye may be increased there, and not diminished.
Jer 29:7  And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the LORD for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace.

We are not commanded to pray for Babylon or this world to be saved at this time, but we are to pray that we can live in peace while we are in this world:

1Ti 2:1  I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;
1Ti 2:2  For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. [Not that the Lord will save the world in this present time]

Joh 17:9  I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.

[Study Aired February 1, 2022]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

This is the time we lose our first love.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Gospels In Harmony – Guilty of Death

Matthew 26:57-68, Mark 14:53-65, Luke 22:54, 67-71, John 18:12-13, 18-24

[Study Aired January 25, 2022]

John 18:12 Then the band and the captain and officers of the Jews took Jesus, and bound him, 
John 18:13 And led him away to Annas first; for he was father in law to Caiaphas, which was the high priest that same year.
John 18:19 The high priest then asked Jesus of his disciples, and of his doctrine.
John 18:20 Jesus answered him, I spake openly to the world; I ever taught in the synagogue, and in the temple, whither the Jews always resort; and in secret have I said nothing.
John 18:21 Why askest thou me? ask them which heard me, what I have said unto them: behold, they know what I said.
John 18:22 And when he had thus spoken, one of the officers which stood by struck Jesus with the palm of his hand, saying, Answerest thou the high priest so?
John 18:23 Jesus answered him, If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil: but if well, why smitest thou me?
John 18:24 Now Annas had sent him bound unto Caiaphas the high priest. 
John 18:14 Now Caiaphas was he, which gave counsel to the Jews, that it was expedient that one man should die for the people.
John 18:15 And Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple: that disciple was known unto the high priest, and went in with Jesus into the palace of the high priest.
Mark 14:55 And the chief priests and all the council sought for witness against Jesus to put him to death; and found none.
Mark 14:56 For many bare false witness against him, but their witness agreed not together.
Matt 26:60 But found none: yea, though many false witnesses came yet found they none. At the last came two false witnesses saying,
Mark 14:58 We heard him say, I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands.
Mark 14:59 But neither so did their witness agree together.
Mark 14:60 And the high priest stood up in the midst, and asked Jesus, saying, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee?
Matt 26:63 But Jesus held his peace. And the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God.
Luke 22:67 And he said unto them, If I tell you, ye will not believe:
Luke 22:68 And if I also ask you, ye will not answer me, nor let me go.
Luke 22:70 Then said they all, Art thou then the Son of God? And he said unto them, Ye say that I am.
Mark 14:62 And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.
Matt 26:65 Then the high priest rent his clothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy; what further need have we of witnesses? behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy:
Mark 14:64 what think ye? And they all condemned him to be guilty of death.
Luke 22:63 And the men that held Jesus mocked him, 
Mark 14:65 And some began to spit on him, 
Luke 22:64 And when they had blindfolded him, they struck him on the face, and asked him, saying, Prophesy, who is it that smote thee?
Luke 22:65 And many other things blasphemously spake they against him.

We read in our last study how Christ was betrayed by Judas, Peter cut off the ear of the high priest’s servant and Christ healed the servant. These things represent our different positions in our process of salvation. Judas represents the time when we believe but our lack of understanding that judgment must take place in order to be saved causes us to betray Christ. Peter represents the stage in our walk that we think we will do anything to help Christ achieve saving the world but do not understand the doctrine of Christ, the doctrine of those that take the sword will perish with the sword.

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

Christ is now taken into custody and begins the process of being charged, judged and sentenced. Christ’s first phase of His ministry has come to an end, and the next phase is beginning. This phase is the process of judgment.

John 18:12 Then the band and the captain and officers of the Jews took Jesus, and bound him, 
John 18:13 And led him away to Annas first; for he was father in law to Caiaphas, which was the high priest that same year.
John 18:19 The high priest then asked Jesus of his disciples, and of his doctrine.

In all the previous attempts the leaders of the Jews and the people tried to capture Christ, he escaped.

John 8:20 These words spake Jesus in the treasury, as he taught in the temple: and no man laid hands on him; for his hour was not yet come. 

John 8:59 Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by. 

This time Christ allowed himself to be apprehended for the very purpose of his word being fulfilled proving his place as the prophet of prophets and being the son of God.

Deut 18:20-22 But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die. And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken? When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him. 

John 14:1-2 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. 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.

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

Christ now answers Annas.

John 18:20 Jesus answered him, I spake openly to the world; I ever taught in the synagogue, and in the temple, whither the Jews always resort; and in secret have I said nothing. 
John 18:21 Why askest thou me? ask them which heard me, what I have said unto them: behold, they know what I said. 
John 18:22 And when he had thus spoken, one of the officers which stood by struck Jesus with the palm of his hand, saying, Answerest thou the high priest so?
John 18:23 Jesus answered him, If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil: but if well, why smitest thou me?

Christ knew they had no witness to testify against him. Annas is trying to get Christ to say something that would convict himself.

John 18:24 Now Annas had sent him bound unto Caiaphas the high priest. 
John 18:14 Now Caiaphas was he, which gave counsel to the Jews, that it was expedient that one man should die for the people.

Since Annas could not get Christ to confess against himself, he sent him to Caiaphas. As Christ is moved to the next location Peter and another disciple follow along.

John 18:15 And Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple: that disciple was known unto the high priest, and went in with Jesus into the palace of the high priest.
Mark 14:55 And the chief priests and all the council sought for witness against Jesus to put him to death; and found none. 
Mark 14:56 For many bare false witness against him, but their witness agreed not together.
Matt 26:60 At the last came two false witnesses saying, 
Mark 14:58 We heard him say, I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands. 
Mark 14:59 But neither so did their witness agree together.

The leaders of the Jews finally have Christ where they want him but cannot find two or three witnesses that agree with each other, so the high priest Caiaphas starts to question Christ.

Mark 14:60 And the high priest stood up in the midst, and asked Jesus, saying, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee?
Matt 26:63 But Jesus held his peace. And the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God.
Luke 22:67 And he said unto them, If I tell you, ye will not believe: 
Luke 22:68 And if I also ask you, ye will not answer me, nor let me go.
Luke 22:70 Then said they all, Art thou then the Son of God? And he said unto them, Ye say that I am.
Mark 14:62 And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.
Matt 26:65 Then the high priest rent his clothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy; what further need have we of witnesses? behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy:
Mark 14:64 what think ye? And they all condemned him to be guilty of death.

The Jews earlier in Christ’s ministry tried to stone him for this very same thing. It was not time for him to be taken then.

John 10:31-40 Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me? The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God. Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken; Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God? If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not. But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him. Therefore they sought again to take him: but he escaped out of their hand, And went away again beyond Jordan into the place where John at first baptized; and there he abode.

The leaders have tried and convicted Christ even without following the law of Moses.

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

Christ now has been accused, tried and convicted and must endure the sentence to come.

Luke 22:63 And the men that held Jesus mocked him, 
Mark 14:65 And some began to spit on him, 
Luke 22:64 And when they had blindfolded him, they struck him on the face, and asked him, saying, Prophesy, who is it that smote thee?
Luke 22:65 And many other things blasphemously spake they against him.

Just a few hours before this mockery, Christ was feasting with his disciples. He was brought to his wits’ end and cried out to the Father and asked for the cup of wrath to be removed. He then acknowledged that the will of the Father must take place and gave in to His will. Next, he was betrayed by Judas and then all the disciples fled away.

We have all feasted with Christ and betrayed him. We are all guilty of accusing Christ of blasphemy. We are guilty of condemning Christ to death. When our old man sits on the throne as though he is God, we blaspheme Christ. Of course this is how it must be. We are the betrayers and accusers so the man of sin can be revealed.

2 Thess 2:3-4 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

This is still not the end of our struggle. We must completely deny Christ before we are saved. In our next study Peter, representing us, the elect of God, will demonstrate how we deny Christ.

Audio Links

Awesome Hands – part 69

“The ten commandments” part 2

November 19th, 2014

I finished up the last study with quoting Matthew and what that means concerning all that Moses and the prophets wrote about in the law.

Mat 22:36  Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
Mat 22:37  Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Mat 22:38  This is the first and great commandment.
Mat 22:39  And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Mat 22:40  On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

Anything we are going to cover with the ten commandments is going to hang on the two commandments mentioned above.

It may seem like a trivial word to mention, but the word “hang” provides as an insight on what we can conclude about the ten commandments, what they mean to us and how they apply to our Christian lives today.

Mat 22:40  OnG1722 theseG5025 twoG1417 commandmentsG1785 hangG2910 allG3650 theG3588 lawG3551 andG2532 theG3588 prophets.G4396

The Greek word G2910 is found just a few times in the Greek:

G2910

kremannumi

Total KJV Occurrences: 7

hanged, 4

Mat 18:6, Luk 23:39, Act 5:30, Act 10:39

hang, 2

Mat 22:39-40 (2), Act 28:4

hangeth, 1

Gal 3:13

Mat 18:6  But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.

Luk 23:39  And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.

Act 5:30  The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree.

Act 10:39  And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom they slew and hanged on a tree:

Act 28:4  And when the barbarians saw the venomous beast hang on his hand, they said among themselves, No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance suffereth not to live.

Gal 3:13  Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:

The ten commandments, the law and the prophets hang down from and are summed up from two commandments given to us by Jesus.

In other words, these two commandments are just as important to us, when we consider how we live these commandments out today, as the CROSS is to who Jesus was.

As we ended the study last week we had some discussion as we always do and Steven Lozo mentioned Deuteronomy 6 in connection with the study.

Deu 6:1  Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go to possess it:
Deu 6:2  That thou mightest fear the LORD thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged.
Deu 6:3  Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey.
Deu 6:4  Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:
Deu 6:5  And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
Deu 6:6  And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
Deu 6:7  And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
Deu 6:8  And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.
Deu 6:9  And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.

It should be clear that the Lord wants us to keep his commandments, statutes and judgments. When we keep them we must realize that we are talking about the same commandment no matter what the “detail” is of that angle of the commandment.

“The last ‘five’ of the ten commandments”

For example, “love God with all your heart, soul strength and mind, and love your neighbor as yourself” is the same thing as saying “thou shall not kill”.

6) You may be thinking that they can’t possibly be the same, but let us examine that idea a little closer.

Exo 20:13  Thou shalt not kill.

Here is the new man and new testament way of dealing with this commandment:

Mat 5:20  For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 5:21  Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:
Mat 5:22  But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.
Mat 5:23  Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee;
Mat 5:24  Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.

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

When you compare what eternal life IS to what the law and prophets are, you will find how it is we can enter into life aionion.

Joh 15:12  This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.

2Jn 1:5  And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another.
2Jn 1:6  And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it.

What all of these commandments simplify down to is that if you love God and your neighbor, thereby having eternal/aionios life dwelling in you, then you will NEVER murder your neighbor, you will honor your father and mother, you will not have any other gods before the One True God the Father, etc.

It is good to get down to the specifics of how we can apply these spiritual lessons to our lives today, but the “secret” hidden from the foundation of the world is that Jesus Christ encompasses all of this commandments and any of His body that He is dwelling in will have these “great” commandments LIVING in them as well.

7)  Adultery is just like the other commandments in both having a physical and outward application and also having a spiritual one.

Exo 20:14  Thou shalt not commit adultery.

Mat 5:27  Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:
Mat 5:28  But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

Jesus mentioned specific roles in Matthew 5:27 and 28, but this applies just as much to women as it does to men. More importantly, this spiritual admonition applies to those “other women not our wives” who are ALSO not the “TRUE BRIDE” of Christ.

When we lust after any church or any “body” which is not the bride of Christ, then we are committing spiritual adultery against our Husband.

Simply put, we all do this in our time, but some of us are redeemed by the Lord and brought back to Him. If you think you are not one who is guilty of committing spiritual adultery, then you are excluding yourself from needing to live out the Revelation of Jesus within you.

The fellow servants of Jesus “keep the things written therein” (Rev 1:3, Rev 22:9).

Rev 2:4  Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.
Rev 2:5  Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.

8) It may seem fairly straight forward what “thou shall not steal” means for us and it is in the physical sense. However, we know there is more than meets the eye with all of these commandments.

Exo 20:15  Thou shalt not steal.

So, how do we apply this spiritually?

Joh 10:7  Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.
Joh 10:8  All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.
Joh 10:9  I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.
Joh 10:10  The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

Anyone that came before Jesus is a thief. Anyone that doesn’t come through the door is not of the fold.

The spiritual application of not stealing is to not be a thief and a robber who speaks through a forked tongue, as they speak doctrine which was not spoken by Christ. These doctrines kill and destroy and hinder those going through to know the way, truth and life.

Luk 11:48  Truly ye bear witness that ye allow the deeds of your fathers: for they indeed killed them, and ye build their sepulchres.
Luk 11:49  Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute:
Luk 11:50  That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation;
Luk 11:51  From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation.
Luk 11:52  Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered.

9) Bearing false witness against your neighbor certainly is not showing that aionios life is dwelling in you.

Exo 20:16  Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.

As with all the commandments we have mentioned already, the physical application applies, but what does it mean to bear false witness in the spirit? To answer that, I will use a parable that Jesus gave us.

Mat 15:13  But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up.
Mat 15:14  Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.
Mat 15:15  Then answered Peter and said unto him, Declare unto us this parable.

If you already have the desire and intent in your heart to break one of these commandments physically, then you have a dirty cup on the inside which needs cleansing.

Mat 15:16  And Jesus said, Are ye also yet without understanding?
Mat 15:17  Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught?
Mat 15:18  But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.
Mat 15:19  For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:
Mat 15:20  These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.

Of course one of the best examples of bearing false witness came against Jesus Himself.

Mar 14:55  And the chief priests and all the council sought for witness against Jesus to put him to death; and found none.
Mar 14:56  For many bare false witness against him, but their witness agreed not together.

To bare false witness spiritually is to again have false doctrine which DOES NOT agree together with Jesus, His Word and His deeds/works.

If we don’t believe the words, we must believe the works because they bear fruit which can be seen and which shows us what is on the “inside of the cup”.

Joh 10:37  If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not.
Joh 10:38  But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him.

Joh 14:10  Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.
Joh 14:11  Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake.
Joh 14:12  Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

Gal 5:22  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
Gal 5:23  Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
Gal 5:24  And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
Gal 5:25  If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

10) Though shall not covet is a very important commandment that is often missed in spiritual application.

Exo 20:17  Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.

If we look at all the list of the things we are not to covet and then take those same things and apply them internally, then we are able to understand that these are spiritual GIFTS given to us by the Father.

Rom 12:3  For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
Rom 12:4  For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office:
Rom 12:5  So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.
Rom 12:6  Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;
Rom 12:7  Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching;
Rom 12:8  Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.
Rom 12:9  Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.
Rom 12:10  Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;
Rom 12:11  Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;
Rom 12:12  Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;
Rom 12:13  Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality.
Rom 12:14  Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.
Rom 12:15  Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.
Rom 12:16  Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.

I could have continued to read the rest of Romans 12, but you get the picture. The items listed above are things which we ALL BENEFIT FROM if we are one mind and one body. Isn’t that abundantly clear?

How can we covet our neighbor’s spiritual house if our neighbor is loved as we loved ourselves? We should be seeing any gifts given to any individual as gifts given to the body of Christ and to be used for the body of Christ.

If we see them in this way, then we will not covet things given to another part of the body any more than we would want more than two feet or two hands.

Why covet something that the Father has determined is to be used for the body and has also supplied adequately enough so that the body will be in a healthy balance by what is supplied?

We are the house and temple of God. When we are one with Jesus and the Father, there is no purpose or need to covet another house.

Indeed, we are cleansed BY THE WORD, which is the contrast of all the things which occupy our heart and cause us to be a lawless and disobedient people.

The laws and commandments given to us in the ten commandments were given to us because we are all first naturally lawless and disobedient people.

1Ti 1:8  But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully;
1Ti 1:9  Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,

For the “righteous new man” in us, we can take the same law and use it lawfully, knowing that when we do, we will bear much fruit and glorify the Father.

We will know we are doing all that we do to glorify the Father when we bear much fruit in our actions and works.

Joh 15:3  Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
Joh 15:4  Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in 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.
Joh 15:6  If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
Joh 15:7  If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
Joh 15:8  Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.
Joh 15:9  As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.
Joh 15:10  If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.

If we keep His commandments, then we are keeping His words, we are cleansed and we will have profit via fruit that glorifies the Father. These are the things which will remain when the fire comes to consume all it can.

Otherwise, we will suffer loss.

Jer 7:4  Trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, are these.
Jer 7:5  For if ye throughly amend your ways and your doings; if ye throughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbour;
Jer 7:6  If ye oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other gods to your hurt:
Jer 7:7  Then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, for ever and ever.
Jer 7:8  Behold, ye trust in lying words, that cannot profit.

Dear Mike,

It was news to me that the Greek word for “witness” is “martus” from which we get the English word, “martyr”. Thank you so much for sharing this!
The positive and negative application of the word witness boils down to be being either a true witness or a false witness.

Pro 14:5 A faithful witness will not lie: but a false witness will utter lies.
Pro 14:25 A true witness delivereth souls: but a deceitful witness speaketh lies.

Positive application: true witness- to bear testimony of life
G3140
martureō

From G3144; to be a witness, that is, testify (literally or figuratively): – charge, give [ evidence], bear record, have (obtain, of) good (honest) report, be well reported of, testify, give (have) testimony, (be, bear, give, obtain) witness.

Rev 3:14 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness G3144, the beginning of the creation of God;

The willingness to remain a faithful witness unto death is the deepest application of this Greek word:

Rev 2:13 I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan’s seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, G3144, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth.

G3144
martus
Total KJV Occurrences: 34
witnesses, 21
Mat_18:16, Mat_26:65, Mar_14:63, Luk_24:48, Act_1:8, Act_2:32, Act_3:15, Act_5:32, Act_6:13, Act_7:58, Act_10:39, Act_10:41, Act_13:31, 2Co_13:1, 1Th_2:10, 1Ti_5:19, 1Ti_6:12, 2Ti_2:2, Heb_10:28, Heb_12:1, Rev_11:3
witness, 8
Act_1:22, Act_26:15-16 (2), Rom_1:9, 1Th_2:5, 1Pe_5:1, Rev_1:5, Rev_3:14
martyr, 2
Act_22:20, Rev_2:13
Negative application: false witness; to bear testimony of lies
G5576
pseudomartureō

From G5575; to be an untrue testifier, that is, offer falsehood in evidence: – be a false witness.
G5575 pseudomartur From G5571 and a kindred form of G3144; a spurious witness, that is, bearer of untrue testimony: – false witness.

Pro 25:18 A man that beareth false witness against his neighbour is a maul, and a sword, and a sharp arrow.
Mat 15:19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:

Another quality of the true witness is unity and agreement bearing witness to the one Truth.

Deu 4:26 I call heaven and earth to witness H5749 against you this day, that ye shall soon utterly perish from off the land whereunto ye go over Jordan to possess it; ye shall not prolong your days upon it, but shall utterly be destroyed.

Looking at the Hebrew definition of witness one can see the basis of the “one mind” of true Christian witness:

H5749
עו
ood

A primitive root; to duplicate or repeat; by implication to protest, testify (as by reiteration); intensively to encompass, restore (as a sort of reduplication): – admonish, charge, earnestly, lift up, protest, call (take) to record, relieve, rob, solemnly, stand upright, testify, give warning, (bear, call to, give, take to) witness.
In contrast to the disunity and disagreement among false witnesses.

Mar 14:56 For many bare false witness against him, but their witness agreed not together.

Source: http:// iswasandwillbe. com/Rev_3_14__18_ Laodicea_ Part_1. php

Your sister in Christ,
M____

Thank you M____,

I appreciate how thoroughly you have treated this word. As new as this thought is to you, it will be an equal blessing to any others who are sent by our Lord to read about this word.
I am copying this to Sandi to post.

Thank you so much.
Mike