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Jer 10:14-25  It Is Not in Man That Walks to Direct His Steps

[Study Aired June 6, 2021]

Jer 10:14  Every man is brutish in his knowledge: every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them.
Jer 10:15  They are vanity, and the work of errors: in the time of their visitation they shall perish.
Jer 10:16  The portion of Jacob is not like them: for he is the former of all things; and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: The LORD of hosts is his name.
Jer 10:17  Gather up thy wares out of the land, O inhabitant of the fortress.
Jer 10:18  For thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will sling out the inhabitants of the land at this once, and will distress them, that they may find it so.
Jer 10:19  Woe is me for my hurt! my wound is grievous: but I said, Truly this is a grief, and I must bear it.
Jer 10:20  My tabernacle is spoiled, and all my cords are broken: my children are gone forth of me, and they are not: there is none to stretch forth my tent any more, and to set up my curtains.
Jer 10:21  For the pastors are become brutish, and have not sought the LORD: therefore they shall not prosper, and all their flocks shall be scattered.
Jer 10:22  Behold, the noise of the bruit is come, and a great commotion out of the north country, to make the cities of Judah desolate, and a den of dragons.
Jer 10:23  O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.
Jer 10:24  O LORD, correct me, but with judgment; not in thine anger, lest thou bring me to nothing.
Jer 10:25  Pour out thy fury upon the heathen that know thee not, and upon the families that call not on thy name: for they have eaten up Jacob, and devoured him, and consumed him, and have made his habitation desolate.

The title of this study is taken from the words of verse 23. We will come to see just how revolutionary it is to tell mankind that his will is not really his will. Such a doctrine was extremely unpopular both then and now. First we will continue where we left off with the Lord proclaiming the Truth of verse 23 in these words from our last study:

Jer 10:10  But the LORD is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation.
Jer 10:11  Thus shall ye say unto them, The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens.
Jer 10:12  He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion.
Jer 10:13  When he uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens, and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures.

The Lord said all that just to contrast Himself with who we are as “corruptible flesh and blood” (1Co 15:50).

1Co 15:50  Now this I say, brethren, that  flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

So, we continue to learn about the judgment of the Lord upon the corruptible kingdom of our old man:

Jer 10:14  Every man is brutish in his knowledge: every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them.
Jer 10:15  They are vanity, and the work of errors: in the time of their visitation they shall perish.

I was surprised to learn that the word translated as “brutish” here is most often translated as ‘burn’, ‘kindled’ or ‘put away’.

Here are the various ways this Hebrew word is translated in the King James Version of the scriptures:

Notice that all the verses listed for the two words ‘put’ and ‘away’ are all the same verses with a couple of exceptions. That is because they are all two English words being translated from one Hebrew word, in this case the Hebrew word ‘ba’ar’. In the context of this statement, what we are being told is, “Every man [has put away the Lord] in his knowledge.”  The positive application is to “put evil away from the midst of thee”:

Deu 13:5  And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; because he hath spoken to turn  you away from the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to thrust thee out of the way which the LORD thy God commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put the evil away from the midst of thee.

The word ‘evil’ is translated from the Hebrew word ‘rah’ and the words ‘put’ and ‘away’ are translated from the one Hebrew word ‘ba’ar’. That phrase appears over ten times. The most common translation for this Hebrew word ‘baar’ is ‘burn’ or ‘burned’, as the burning of wood. This Hebrew word appears three times here in Jeremiah 10. It first appeared in verse 8 of this chapter:

Jer 10:7  Who would not fear thee, O King of nations? for to thee doth it appertain: forasmuch as among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like unto thee.
Jer 10:8  But they are altogether brutish [H1197: ‘ba’ar’] and foolish: the stock [Hebrew: ‛êts, wood] is a doctrine of vanities.

Lev 6:12  And the fire upon the altar shall be burning in it; it shall not be put out: and the priest shall burn [H1197 ‘ba’ar’] wood on it every morning, and lay the burnt offering in order upon it; and he shall burn thereon the fat of the peace offerings.

The offering of Christ is burned upon the ‘wood’ of our corruptible flesh, which the Lord is in the process of ‘putting away’. In the negative context of this study, what we are being told is that “every man [has put away the Lord] in his knowledge”.

Physical idols are “falsehoods”. “Every founders… molten image” typifies every false prophet and his false doctrines. As we have established, physical idols in the Old Testament typify spiritual “idols of the heart” (Eze 14:1-9) which are false, lying doctrines of men which come between ourselves and Christ as “the stumbling block of [our] iniquity” until we are dragged out of ‘Babylon the great’ by the holy spirit:

Joh 6:44  No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me  [G1670: ‘helkuo’, ‘drag’ against one’s will (Rom 7:15: Rom 9:16)] him: and I will raise him up at the last day.

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

There is a great honor being bestowed upon every man who is being dragged out of Babylon and into “Jerusalem above, the mother of us all” (Gal 4:26). Jeremiah informs us of the blessings of that honor:

Jer 10:16  The portion of Jacob is not like them: for he is the former of all things; and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: The LORD of hosts is his name.

Our “portion” or inheritance is in the Lord. He alone “is the former of all things”. We are His inheritance, and He is our inheritance, our ‘portion’:

Deu 32:9  For the LORD’S portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance.

The statement, “Israel is the rod of His inheritance” is the Old Testament foundation for these New Testament revelations:

Eph 1:17  That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:
Eph 1:18  The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
Eph 1:19  And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,

What a wonderful revelation! His inheritance is “in [us]”, and we are also informed that we have obtained “an inheritance… in [Him]”:

Eph 1:10  That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
Eph 1:11  In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

Our inheritance is in Him, and it is all being done “after the counsel of His own will”, but it entails the judgment and the daily dying of our old man before we can receive our inheritance in Him:

Jer 10:17  Gather up thy wares out of the land, O inhabitant of the fortress.
Jer 10:18  For thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will sling out the inhabitants of the land at this once, and will distress them, that they may find it so.

2nd Samuel 22 and Psalms 18 make clear to whom “the fortress” refers. It refers to the Lord’s people, you and me, as the Lord’s wayward, rebellious people:

2Sa 22:2  And he said, The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer;

Psa 18:2  The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.

Like all of us, King David lost his first love and had to be judged and chastened and scourged to be brought back to the Lord with a whole heart as Jeremiah confirms:

Jer 10:19  Woe is me for my hurt! my wound is grievous: but I said, Truly this is a grief, and I must bear it.

What exactly is it that we must bear? It is our own judgment which is even now come upon the house, the “tabernacle” of God (1Pe 4:17):

Jer 10:20  My tabernacle is spoiled, and all my cords are broken: my children are gone forth of me, and they are not: there is none to stretch forth my tent any more, and to set up my curtains.

The “great whore” of Revelation 17 and 18 is the Lord’s own house. This great harlot is the seven churches of Asia who “all forsook” the apostle Paul and whose sins are exposed in Revelation two and three:

2Ti 1:15  This thou knowest, that all they which are in Asia be turned away from me; of whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes.

[Here is the link to the spiritual significance of the number seven:  The Number Seven]

“All they which are in Asia” would include “the seven churches of Asia” (Rev 2:1). ‘Seven’ indicates that the apostasy of the Lord’s wife was already complete when Paul penned 2nd Timothy. The apostate, Diotrephes was so well established before the death of the apostle John that he was able to cast the Lord’s true followers out of the very church established by the apostles of our Lord:

3Jn 1:9  I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not.
3Jn 1:10  Wherefore, if I come, I will remember his deeds which he doeth, prating against us with malicious words: and not content therewith, neither doth he himself receive the brethren, and forbiddeth them that would, and casteth them out of the church.

This complete and total apostasy is a theme that runs throughout the prophecies of both Isaiah and Jeremiah:

Jer 10:21  For the pastors are become brutish, and have not sought the LORD: therefore they shall not prosper, and all their flocks shall be scattered.

This is the third time in this one chapter where the word ‘brutish’ is used. It may appear to be speaking of some bad pastors, but you and I were ‘bad pastors’ when we once subscribed to all the false doctrines of the great whore.

“The pastors” are the leaders of the Lord’s people. This situation is prophesied of in Isaiah 3:1:

Isa 3:1  For, behold, the Lord, the LORD of hosts, doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water,

The ‘brutish pastors’ do not believe that “the Lord… hath taken away from [His people] the whole stay of bread and the whole stay of water” because they are the very Nicolaitan leaders who constitute these “seven women” of the first verse of the next chapter of Isaiah:

Isa 4:1  And in that day seven women [“The seven churches of Asia… all they which are in Asia”] 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.

Any woman who does not want her husband’s food or His clothing is not a faithful wife, and the Lord will not be party to such an arrangement. His definition of His love is to “chasten us to forsake ungodliness and worldly lusts” and to avenge Himself of our rebellious disrespect. He accomplishes this through wicked and evil men:

Jer 10:22  Behold, the noise of the bruit is come, and a great commotion out of the north country, to make the cities of Judah desolate, and a den of dragons.

The Hebrew word translated as ‘bruit’ is ‘shemuah’, and this is how it is translated elsewhere in the Old Testament:

It obviously means “rumor, tidings, report, news” and is speaking of  the impending chastening coming upon us.

This is a repetition of what Jeremiah said in chapter 9:

Jer 9:11  And I will make Jerusalem heaps, and a den of dragons; and I will make the cities of Judah desolate, without an inhabitant.
Jer 9:12  Who is the wise man, that may understand this? and who is he to whom the mouth of the LORD hath spoken, that he may declare it, for what the land perisheth and is burned up like a wilderness, that none passeth through?
Jer 9:13  And the LORD saith, Because they have forsaken my law which I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice, neither walked therein;

When we turn our backs on our Lord and receive the doctrines of the great whore, we are actually receiving the doctrines of the great red dragon:

Rev 13:1  And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.
Rev 13:2  And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat [Greek: ‘thronos’ throne], and great authority.

As the natural wild beasts we all are by nature, we gladly receive the doctrines of the dragon, and it is those doctrines which become his ‘den’, his dwelling place within us.

This is the prophesied event that would come upon the Lord’s own people when they turn their backs on their own spiritual husband:

Deu 32:34  Is not this laid up in store with me, and sealed up among my treasures?
Deu 32:35  To me belongeth vengeance, and recompence; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste.
Deu 32:36  For the LORD shall judge his people, and repent himself for his servants, when he seeth that their power is gone, and there is none shut up, or left.
Deu 32:37  And he shall say, Where are their gods, their rock in whom they trusted,

The book of Job demonstrates that Satan is nothing more than the Lord’s “hand” (Job 1:11-12 and 2:5-6). That being so, the Sabeans and Chaldeans were the Lord’s own sword sent by Satan, as the Lord’s hand, to try Job and reveal to Job just how self-righteous he was (Job 1:15-17 and Job 27:5-6). King David was familiar with these verses of Job and made this statement:

Psa 17:13  Arise, O LORD, disappoint him, cast him down: deliver my soul from the wicked, which is thy sword:
Psa 17:14  From men which are thy hand, O LORD, from men of the world, which have their portion in this life, and whose belly thou fillest with thy hid treasure: they are full of children, and leave the rest of their substance to their babes.

“The wicked” are the Lord’s sword and His hand which He uses to bring trials upon His elect in this present time to humble and purify us in preparation for His service as His “saviors” of all the rest of mankind. It will be ‘through our mercy that all others will receive mercy’:

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.

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.

Our next verse gives the lie to the false doctrine of free will and because the Lord has given the brutish pastors eyes that cannot see and ears that cannot hear, He has also blinded them from being able to see or hear this fact:

Jer 10:23  O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.

Jeremiah had the books of Moses, Job, Psalms, Proverbs and Isaiah to read and meditate upon. Those books all proclaim the total sovereignty of God and the fact that mankind is mere clay in the Lord’s hand, as Jeremiah clearly states in:

Jer 18:4  And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.
Jer 18:5  Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
Jer 18:6  O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.

The doctrine of the total sovereignty of God is foundational to every book of scripture. All scripture teaches that God has made all things for Himself and that He is in the process of humbling all men intending from before the beginning of the world, to drag all men to Himself.

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

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

Eph 1:10  That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
Eph 1:11  In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

It is because the Lord has given us an experience of evil to humble us by it that we are made to cry out to Him:

Jer 10:24  O LORD, correct me, but with judgment; not in thine anger, lest thou bring me to nothing.

“With judgment [and] not in [His] anger” is how the Lord always expresses His anger and His wrath, because even His wrath and His anger are “created for Himself” and for the plan and purpose He is executing. That includes the most egregious sin of all time, the death of His Son:

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

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.
Act 4:29 And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word,

Jeremiah was made to know that the Lord’s anger and His wrath are never out of control, but are always measured to accomplish the changes He is working in His creatures. It bears repeating what we were just told:

Jer 10:19 Woe is me for my hurt! my wound is grievous: but I said, Truly this is a grief, and I must bear it.

These words reveal that the Lord’s wrath is always measured and is always for our good, and it is never out of His control. This verse also applies to that wrath which we are told “fills up the wrath of God”:

Rev 15:1 And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God.

Filling up these plagues is the entrance into the temple of God. Filling up these “seven last plagues” in our own lives is passing through the fiery sword which guards the way of the Tree of Life, and we will never know life eternal without passing through the ‘fire’ of that “fiery sword” which is the Word of God.

Enduring the fiery experience of the seven last plagues is called “the patience of the saints [who] keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.

Rev 14:9 And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,
Rev 14:10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:
Rev 14:11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.
Rev 14:12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.

The blessing of God is only on those who read, hear, and keep the sayings of the prophecy of this book” including chapters 14-16; the seven last plagues:

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

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 22:7 Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.

“Truly this is a grief and [we] must bear it” (Jer 10:19)

The Lord drags us to Himself by bringing us low through great trials which cause the most stubborn carnal mind to ask, “Lord, what would you have me do?” Saul of Tarsus, who by the Lord’s chastening grace came to be the apostle Paul, is a perfect example of just how persuasive the Lord can be and is:

Act 9:1  And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest,
Act 9:2  And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.
Act 9:3  And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven:
Act 9:4  And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
Act 9:5  And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
Act 9:6  And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.

Just like Joseph’s ten brothers who wanted him dead, but instead ended up bowing down to Joseph, Saul of Tarsus was given a similar experience of bowing down to the very man he was persecuting.

What neither Saul of Tarsus nor Jeremiah understood at that time was that physical Israel was merely a type of spiritual Israel. Paul put it like this in:

Rom 2:28  For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:
Rom 2:29  But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in thespirit, and  not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

Christ was the first to reveal that physical Israel was just a type and a shadow of the true “Israel of God”.

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

Bringing that revelation to His own people almost cost Christ His life at His very first recorded message to the people of His own hometown:

Luk 4:16  And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.
Luk 4:17  And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,
Luk 4:18  The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
Luk 4:19  To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
Luk 4:20  And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.
Luk 4:21  And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.
Luk 4:22  And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, Is not this Joseph’s son?
Luk 4:23  And he said unto them, Ye will surely say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself: whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in thy country.
Luk 4:24  And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country.
Luk 4:25  But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land;
Luk 4:26  But unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow.
Luk 4:27  And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian.
Luk 4:28  And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath,
Luk 4:29  And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong.
Luk 4:30  But he passing through the midst of them went his way,

It is blasphemous to a physical Jew to tell him that God is as much a God of the Gentiles as He is of the Jews. All religious Jews believe only the letter of these words:

Deu 7:6  For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.

Here are the first two verses of Deuteronomy 7:

Deu 7:1  When the LORD thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations before thee, the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than thou;
Deu 7:2  And when the LORD thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them:

When Moses wrote those words at that time, they had nothing more than an outward letter for letter meaning, but the holy spirit reveals in the New Testament that “the letter kills, but the spirit gives life”:

2Co 3:6  Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.
2Co 3:7  But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away:
2Co 3:8  How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious?
2Co 3:9  For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory.
2Co 3:10  For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth.

Christ tells us that His words are not to be understood letter for letter, but rather His words are spirit and must therefore be understood spiritually:

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

This statement by Christ is the basis for Paul’s statement, ”Not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life” (2Co 3:6).

Christ was prophesied to be ‘like Moses’:

Deu 18:18  I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.

“Like unto thee” means that Christ would be a reformer as Moses was. It was through Moses that tabernacle worship with its priesthood and attendant daily offerings was introduced. Christ also introduced “the time of reformation”:

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

Reformers always face great resistance to their reforms. That is why both Moses and Christ were first rejected by the Lord’s own people. That is why the Lord’s own people first rejected hearing His voice:

Exo 14:10  And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid: and the children of Israel cried out unto the LORD.
Exo 14:11  And they said unto Moses, Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt?
Exo 14:12  Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness.

Just a few weeks after the Lord used Moses to lead Israel through the Red Sea, the Lord attempted to speak directly to the people, but He was again rejected with these words:

Exo 20:18  And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off.
Exo 20:19  And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.

The smoking mountain typifies our physical, carnal life of rebellion against our Lord. The thundering, lightnings, and trumpets all typify the judgments of the Lord against our ‘mountain’, and we simply cannot at first appreciate what the Lord is doing. Only Moses, typifying Christ in us, can approach the smoking, burning, dying ‘mountain’.

So, the revelation of “the things of the spirit” and the fact that all of this happened to them and it is written for our admonition”, the admonition of physical Gentiles like Naaman the Syrian and the widow of Serepta, was not revealed to the physical nation of Israel at that time.

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

As we just read, the revelation that “he is not a Jew which is one outwardly, but he is a Jew which is one inwardly” was rejected by the nation of Israel when Christ revealed it to the people of His hometown of Nazareth. He and His message of “the things of the spirit” were so unpopular with the people of His hometown of Nazareth that they attempted to murder Him for even suggesting that the gospel would go to the Gentiles.

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

We are all just as guilty of first rejecting our Lord as were the people of Nazareth. So it is by the Lord’s design that “every man’s works shall be tried by fire”, and the fire will try every man’s works of what sort it is”:

1Co 3:13  Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.

Paul is addressing these words to what the people of Nazareth would consider to be heathen Corinthians, but the Truth of Christ’s reformation is:

Gal 3:29  And if ye be Christ’s, then  are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

If we have been baptized into Christ, we are Abraham’s seed, because Abraham himself was but a type of the true “father of the faithful”. Just as Christ is “the true bread from heaven” He is also ‘the true Father of the faithful’. It is our own rebellious “old man” and any others who are not “in Christ” who are now counted as spiritual heathens.

That is the spiritual application of the last verse of this chapter:

Jer 10:25  Pour out thy fury upon the heathen that know thee not, and upon the families that call not on thy name: for they have eaten up Jacob, and devoured him, and consumed him, and have made his habitation desolate.

The Lord’s “fury” and His wrath are not just for the purpose of venting His anger with our sins. Whether it is in “this present time” or at the great white throne judgment/lake of fire/second death, the Lord’s wrath is His judgment upon the rebellious, carnal kingdom of our old man, and this is what His judgments produce within “every man”:

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

This is where we are. We are “in the way of [His] judgments… waiting for His judgments to burn away all the “wood, hay, and stubble” within the kingdom of our old man and establish Christ as our new King. “The time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God…”:

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

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

That is our study for today, and these are our verses for our next study:

Jer 11:1  The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,
Jer 11:2  Hear ye the words of this covenant, and speak unto the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem;
Jer 11:3  And say thou unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel; Cursed be the man that obeyeth not the words of this covenant,
Jer 11:4  Which I commanded your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, Obey my voice, and do them, according to all which I command you: so shall ye be my people, and I will be your God:
Jer 11:5  That I may perform the oath which I have sworn unto your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is this day. Then answered I, and said, So be it, O LORD.
Jer 11:6  Then the LORD said unto me, Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying, Hear ye the words of this covenant, and do them.
Jer 11:7  For I earnestly protested unto your fathers in the day that I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, even unto this day, rising early and protesting, saying, Obey my voice.
Jer 11:8  Yet they obeyed not, nor inclined their ear, but walked every one in the imagination of their evil heart: therefore I will bring upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do; but they did them not.
Jer 11:9  And the LORD said unto me, A conspiracy is found among the men of Judah, and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
Jer 11:10  They are turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, which refused to hear my words; and they went after other gods to serve them: the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant which I made with their fathers.
Jer 11:11  Therefore thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will bring evil upon them, which they shall not be able to escape; and though they shall cry unto me, I will not hearken unto them.
Jer 11:12. Then shall the cities of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem go, and cry unto the gods unto whom they offer incense: but they shall not save them at all in the time of their trouble.

]]> Can Those In The Lake of Fire Lose Their First Love? https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/can-those-in-the-lake-of-fire-lose-their-first-love/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=can-those-in-the-lake-of-fire-lose-their-first-love Wed, 28 Feb 2018 18:18:14 +0000 http://www.iswasandwillbe.com/?p=15778 Can Those In The Lake of Fire Lose Their First Love and Endure The Seven Last Plagues?

Hi S​____​,

It is good to hear from you.

You ask about how it is possible that the verse which tells us “All things come alike to all” (Ecc 9:2) applies to those whom remain in the sea and never know a first love of Christ or experience Babylon prior to their physical death.​

Then you go on to answer your own question by asking:

Those are all very good questions we all have at one time, and this is the answer to each of those questions if you are given to receive it and to apply the truth of this verse of scripture:

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

So the answer is, yes, they will have these same experiences in the lake of fire. They will repent, then lose their first love and experience Babylon, and everything else we go through prior to the beast being revealed within us. How that is accomplished as spirit beings is understood by simply believing “the invisible things of Him, from the creation of the world, are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made…”

We have been made to believe that those who are in the spirit realm know all things, but nothing could be further from the Truth. The revealed Truth is that “they desire to look into these things” but are not yet given to understand the things that are given to God’s elect to understand.

Here is the scripture backing up that statement:

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

If the angels, or anyone who is resurrected from the dead, already knew the truth, we would not be told they “desire to look into” these things. It is very clear that those who are resurrected into the lake of fire do not know that they must yet “lose [their] first love” because we are told by no less than Christ Himself what many will say in that day:

Mat 7:21  Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Mat 7:22  Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
Mat 7:23  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

“That day” is the day of the resurrection of the dead at the great white throne judgment. These people do not yet understand that “all things come alike to all”, or that “man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” (Ecc 9:3 and Mat 4:4)

They certainly do not know that “the invisible things of Him, from the foundation of the world, are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made” (Rom 1:20).

If we are simply given to receive the Truth of Rom 1:20, then we will know that spirit beings are capable of being spiritually hungry and spiritually thirsty “desiring to look into [these] things” (1Pe 1:12).

Hunger and thirst are also spiritual words which have nothing to do with physical water or physical food in this verse of scripture:

Mat 5:6  Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

Obviously spirits, too, can experience spiritual hunger and spiritual thirst for spiritual food and spiritual water in the very same way bodies of spirit can also experience spiritual pain and torment as these verses demonstrate:

Mat 8:29  And, behold, they [the demons] cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?

Like many of us, the demons know there is a time of torment yet to be endured even as spirit beings. According to Romans 1:20, spirits can experience anything we can experience, but they do so spiritually. They can work, rest, hunger, thirst, fear, and rejoice just as “the things that are made” of flesh and blood.

Why, then, could not spirits lose their first love and endure the seven last plagues before being dragged to the Lord just like all of the elect experience while in these clay vessels?

I hope these verses of scripture have helped you to see that “the invisible things of God are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made”.

Your brother in Christ, Mike

]]> What Do We Fall Away From? https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/what-do-we-fall-away-from/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=what-do-we-fall-away-from Thu, 29 Sep 2011 20:36:42 +0000 http://www.iswasandwillbe.com/?p=5309

Mike,

Can we prove from God’s word that the falling away is from the truths of the bible? Also, if you would, please explain when does faith come – Gal 3:25.

S____

Hi S____,

Thank you for your questions.

Your first question is “Can we prove that falling away is from the truths of the Bible?”

I simply have to confess that I am not able to even conceive what else we could fall away from. Here is a scripture which may be of some help concerning apostasy, that is, ‘falling away.’

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.

Everything mentioned in verses 4-5 are “the truths of God’s Word.” ” Once enlightened… tasted the heavenly gift… made partakers of the holy spirit… tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,” is all “the truths of God’s Word.”

What is the sure result of this falling away?

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.

“The rain” is “the truths of God’s Word.” The “thorns and briers” are lies which contradict God’s Word. The whole world believes those lies and cannot see the Truth:

Rev 12:9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

We all live these verses. When Satan is cast out of our earth, we also cast out all of his messengers. This, of course, upsets him and his messengers, and they turn on us with a vengeance. That is why we are told that the ten horns on the beast hate the whore and burn her with fire. As immature Christians, we hate those with whom we disagree, and we “burn” them with the fire of God’s word. But that fire, the Word of God, is not being used with the right spirit.

Luk 9:52 And sent messengers before his face: and they went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him.
Luk 9:53 And they did not receive him, because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem.
Luk 9:54 And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?
Luk 9:55 But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.

God’s Word must be handled with the right “manner of spirit.” Until we receive that spirit we are all guilty of “holding truth in unrighteousness.” After we have “had the testimony of Christ confirmed in [us]’ (1Co 16:6) we all “leave our first love” (Rev 2:4) and believe the lies of Babylon and “bring forth briers and thorns,” and “hold truth in unrighteousness.”

James and John had already been told to “love thine enemy”, and yet their first response upon being rejected by the Samaritan villagers, was to desire to “call down fire from heaven, and consume them.” They too, were “Holding truth in unrighteousness.”

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;

As long as we are of that spirit and are holding truth in unrighteousness, we have nothing to look forward to but “judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.”

Heb 10:26 For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,
Heb 10:27 But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.

Christ’s sacrifice for our sins entails repentance. As long as we are unrepentant, it is impossible to be renewed to repentance, until judgment and fiery indignation has consumed the lies of the briers and thorns and until that same fiery indignation has devoured the false spirits, doctrines and adversaries within us. It is only through our destruction that we will be saved.

1Co 3:15 If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
1Co 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and [that] the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
1Co 3:17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

Joh 12:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.

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

Your second question was “When does faith come?”

Faith comes to us twice. It comes when we come to our “first love”, and it comes again when Christ appears a second time, without sin unto salvation.”

Heb 9:28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

Faith first comes to us a “babes in Christ” who cannot be fed “strong meat.” We then fall prey to all the lies of Babylon, and we leave our first love for those lies. Then we must repent, and Christ comes to us a second time.

I hope this all helps you to see that what we fall away from is the truths of God’s Word. But I also hope that you see that the only thing that is impossible is to be renewed to God without repentance. It is impossible to renew an unrepentant heart. Those thorns and briers all face a fiery judgment which will devour those adversaries and false doctrines. But God can and will bring repentance to all men, specially, not exclusively, to those who now believe:

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

1Ti 4:10 For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe.

1Jn 2:2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

That is truly worthy of the title, the gospel. That is truly good news for all men.

Your brother in Christ,

Mike

]]> Revelation 2:1-7 https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/rev-2_1_7/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rev-2_1_7 Thu, 25 Dec 2008 04:00:00 +0000 http://www.iswasandwillbe.com/?p=3923 Audio Links

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Revelation 2:1-7  Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.

Updated October 25, 2023

Introduction

It is important that as we enter into this study of these next two chapters, we realize that these seven churches are the one complete church, just as the seven spirits before the throne of Christ, are the one spirit into which we are all baptized. Two of these churches seem to be above reproach, but we are always told, “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the spirit says to the [all seven] churches.”

Rev 2:29  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

As the deplorable conditions within them demonstrate, this church is the same church mentioned in chapter 12 which brings forth the “man child who is to rule the nations with a rod of iron” but cannot go with that man child up to the throne of God.

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

The reason this woman is not “caught up unto God and His throne” is important for us to understand. It is important because we are the subject in both cases. We are this woman before we are this man child. We live by every word. So we must realize that these seven churches, which are Christ’s wife, are also Christ’s fallen wife of chapters 17 and 18, and those two chapters describe how God feels about our apostasy from His word and how He is judging us for that apostasy. It is of utmost importance that we understand that all seven churches and their judgment are experienced within God’s elect. We “keep the things which are written therein”… every word.

Notice what Revelation 12:6 has in common with Revelation 17:1-3:

Rev 12:6  And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred [and] threescore days.

Rev 17:1  And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:
Rev 17:2  With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.
Rev 17:3  So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.

Both verses speak of a woman in the wilderness. She is not labeled “the great whore” in chapter 12, but we know that physical Jerusalem, the capital of Judah is called a harlot in:

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

We have seen it is Jesus Christ in His elect who opens the seven seals, which seven seals are simply the complete sealing of this book. Until Christ comes into our hearts and minds, we cannot see or hear “the things written therein.”

Demonstrating the spiritual blindness of historical Christianity, the esteemed scholar Abert Barnes, in his Barnes’ Commentary makes this statement about:

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

Here is his commentary on the phrase:

“And hear the words of this prophecy – As they shall be declared or repeated by others; or perhaps the word “hear” is used in a sense that is not uncommon, that of giving attention to; taking heed to. The general sense is, that they were to be regarded as highly favored who became acquainted in any way with what is here communicated. The writer does not say that they were blessed who understood it, or that they who read or heard it would fully understand it; but it is clearly implied, that there would be so far an understanding of its meaning as to make it a felicitous condition to have been made acquainted with it. An author could not be supposed to say that one should regard his condition as a favored one who merely heard words that he could not understand, or who had placed before him magnificent symbols that had to him no meaning. The word “prophecy” is used here in its more strict sense as denoting the disclosure of future events – a large portion of the book being of this nature. It is here synonymous with “Revelation” in Revelation 1:1.

“And keep those things which are written therein – Keep in mind those things which relate to the future; and obey those things which are required as truth and duty.” (End Quote)

We read that this opening of the seals is to be accomplished by the lamb, who takes the sealed book out of the hand of the man on the throne, which ‘lamb’ happens to be Christ in His elect.

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

1Co 2:7  But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:

2Ti 1:9  Who hath saved us, and called [us] with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,

We were “in Christ Jesus before the world began” and are therefore, in Him, the lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

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

Christ and we in Christ die for the sins of the world:

Joh 20:21  Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.

God sent Christ to suffer for and to save this world. How does that relate to Christ’s Christ?

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

So what are we to do?

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

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

What does all of this make us? It is hard to receive, but here it is:

Oba 1:21  And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD’S.

If it has been granted us to “read and hear the words of this prophecy, and to keep the things which are written” in this prophecy, and if we have been given to realize that the time is at hand to do so, then this promise by our Lord, given to us on the night of His apprehension by the Jews, has also been given to us:

Joh 16:12  I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.
Joh 16:13  Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
Joh 16:14  He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

“The spirit of Truth” is “the seven spirits before His throne.” It is the holy spirit, which is “the spirit of Truth.” It is also the holy spirit in us, which is one of the angels which had the seven vials of the wrath of God and “shows us these things” (Rev 2:8), has many things to say unto us (Joh 16:12), which will guide us into all truth and show us things to come (Joh 16:13), and receive of Christ and show it to us (Joh 16:14).

Here in the three verses of John 16:12-14, it is revealed that everything which is shown to us by “the seven spirits which are before His throne, which seven spirits are sent forth into all the world to show us the things which must shortly come to pass” is the holy spirit within each of us. Everything done by the seven angels who “show me these things” is done by the holy spirit within us. These seven messages, and everything which “the first voice which I heard, which was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter” is the holy spirit within us. ‘One of the seven angels which had the seven vials of the wrath of God which showed me the judgment of the great harlot’ is the holy spirit within me. “One of the seven angels which had the seven vials of the wrath of God, which showed me the bride the Lambs wife” is “Christ in me, the hope of glory.” All of these “show unto you” verses are actually “the spirit of Truth guiding us into all Truth… showing us things to come.”

Joh 16:13  Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, [that] shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
Joh 16:14  He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

“The spirit of Truth is come… we are now joined to Christ in one spirit… our bodies are members of Christ,” and that is how seven becomes one. The seven spirits before His throne” are one complete spirit; the seven churches are one complete church, and the seven seals are one complete sealing up of the things written therein; the seven trumpets are one warning of the death of the flesh within us all, and the seven vials of God’s wrath, is all of God’s wrath “written therein” all of which we must keep if we hope to enter into the temple of God in heaven:

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.

1Co 6:15  Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid.
1Co 6:16  What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh.
1Co 6:17  But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.

We cannot parse “those things which are written therein.”

Because this has been such a huge issue, let’s take the time to ask, “What are ‘the words of this prophecy’?” Let us also ask how many of the words of this prophecy are we to keep? The answer to those questions are in these verses:

Mat 4:4  But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

Rev 22:18  For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
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 will therefore proceed with the understanding that all of God’s Words are “the words of the book of this prophecy”, and that we are to “live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God”. That they are sealed with seven seals from the masses of mankind we know to be true simply because of these few verses:

Psa 119:160  The sum of thy word is truth; And every one of thy righteous ordinances endureth for ever. (ASV)

Isa 28:9  Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts.
Isa 28:10  For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:

Isa 28:13  But the word of the LORD was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.

That is why so very few realize that the apostle John and you and I and all of John’s fellow laborers are the seven angels in the “one spirit” of this book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ. Is all scripture “the word of the Lord?” Are all the stories which inform us of all of the lies of the Adversary to be considered as part of “the word of God?” Yes, every word has proceeded out of the mouth of God, and it was all ordained to be so “In thy book… before any of my days were.”

Psa 139:16  Thine eyes did see mine unformed substance; And in thy book they were all written, Even the days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was none of them. (ASV)

Read also this letter which deals with the question of whether the scriptures are to be considered “the word of God.”

Is Scripture the Word of God?

Of course the scriptures are the word of God, and we will “live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.”

Joh 16:13  Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

Knowing that it is only the holy spirit which “will guide me into all truth… and show me things to come;” Knowing that we are to “live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God;” and knowing that we are to “keep the things that are written therein,” we will now look at what the spirit in Christ in us says to the church of Ephesus within us.

You have left your first love… repent, and do the first works

That is right. I said “within us.” Remember that we “look behind us” to see this revelation of Jesus Christ. So when we read these words, we understand them only after we have ‘been there and done that.’

Rev 2:1  Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;
Rev 2:2  I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:
Rev 2:3  And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.
Rev 2:4  Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.
Rev 2:5  Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.
Rev 2:6  But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
Rev 2:7  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.

Remember that no one can live these words or keep the things written therein unless the Father drags us to Himself  through His own fiery Word.

Joh 6:44  No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him [Greek: drag]: and I will raise him up at the last day.
Joh 6:45  It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.

Then what? Are we now saved? Has Christ done it all on the cross and we are now secure and beyond the reach of the Adversary? Or isn’t this the very point at which God calls the Adversary over to ask him, ‘Have you considered my servant, Mike Vinson (or place your name here)?’ Could it be that you and I are required to be judged after Christ comes into our life? Could it be that we must still “endure to the end to be saved?” That is exactly what the scriptures teach:

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

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.

Is this ‘judging and chastening’ just a gentle slap on the wrist from time to time as needed, or is much more required? Here is what the scriptures teach:

Mat 3:10  And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
Mat 3:11  I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:
Mat 3:12  Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

Mat 13:40  As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.
 Mat 13:41  The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;
Mat 13:42  And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
Mat 13:43  Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Is there a single verse here which does not have a personal application for you and me? If there is, then we simply do not have “ears to hear” because this is the Truth of this matter:

Mar 9:49  For every one shall be salted with fire, and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt.

When does this take place? Is this speaking of some distant ‘day of judgment?’ Is this for someone else? Here is what the scriptures teach:

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

Do you think this is just a possibility which you and I can somehow avoid, or is judgment even now on the house of God? No, judgment cannot be avoided, and yes, judgment is already upon the house of God, and the baptism of fire has begun already in God’s elect:

1Co 3:13  Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.

Heb 12:6  For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

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

Remember last week’s study about the lamb that has been slain? “We are partakers of Christ’s sufferings.” We are the lamb of God which God is “sending into all the earth.” It is Christ in us who removes the seal from the revelation of Jesus Christ within us. Being a lamb slain is judgment, and it begins with us.

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

The Church in the Old Testament (Acts 7:38)

Job’s sufferings and the loss of all his children denote the destruction of the flesh in the seven churches. Job also tried the spirits of his so-called comforters and “found them to be liars.” As is always the case with us all when we have “left our first love”, we simply cannot, at that time, see it as such. The opposite is true. We are our most self-righteous when we have “left our first love”, and we will not recognize that fact until we “look behind ourselves to see the voice… which shows us these things.”

Job 1:1  There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.

Job 1:6  Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.
Job 1:7  And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.
Job 1:8  And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?
Job 1:9  Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?
Job 1:10  Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.
Job 1:11  But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.
Job 1:12  And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.

The Lord is the one who is calling all of the shots. Satan is merely a tool in His hand which He uses to try us. The Lord is trying us all in the fire of His words which are spirit. It is the same “one spirit” telling us about righteous Job and the hard working, righteous Ephesians:

Rev 2:2  I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:
Rev 2:3  And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.

Job was as righteous and as diligent as we are as Ephesians, and we, as Ephesians, are as perfect and upright and God fearing and as turned off toward and eschewing of evil as Job was. Our calling requires this in our training, because God is not calling mere troops to rule the kingdoms of this world. He is not even calling us to be officers in His army. Our calling requires a much more demanding training than what is needed by either troops or officers. We are our Lord’s Christ, and as such we are being prepared to become kings and priests and to rule over the kingdoms of this world. There was much talk during the presidential primaries and during the general election about being qualified to be the ruler of the greatest nation on earth. The only people who are truly qualified to rule this earth is “our Lord and His Christ.”

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.

As carnal Ephesians, our works, our labor and our patience are intact. We have not tolerated evil men, and we have even tried the spirits of false apostles and have demonstrated that they are all liars. We have been patient in our labors and have not fainted, and yet we are still lacking in one way as spiritual Ephesians within us all:

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.

Only Christ in us can humble the proud beast we all are by nature, but we must be humbled and we must repent.

Jer 3:13  Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the LORD thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the LORD.

That is the very reason why the Lord first made us all of corruptible flesh and blood:

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.

1Co 15:50  Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

Rev 2:6  But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

There has been much speculation about who are these mysterious ‘Nicolaitans,’ whose deeds we are twice told the Lord hates.

Rev 2:12  And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges;

Rev 2:14  But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.
Rev 2:15  So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.

Ephesus within us hates the deeds of the Nicolaitans, but Pergamos within us “holds fast, both the doctrine of Balaam, and the doctrine of the Nicolaitans.” I can personally vouch for the fact that it is possible to first be an Independent Pentecostal or an Independent Freewill Baptist, and then become a member of the highly structured World Wide Church of God, where the doctrine of the Nicolaitans rules supreme. Just what is this doctrine of the Nicolaitans? Here is what Strong’s Concordance has to say about this word:

So a Nikolaitan is “an adherent of Nicolaus,” and this word Nicolaitan comes from G3532 or Nicolaus. Here is what Strong’s has to say about the root of this word:

What we are being told is that Christ in us hates the doctrine of ‘Niko’ victory through conquest of the ‘laity’ or “the people.” (Victorious over the people.) Does Christ say anything to this effect elsewhere in His doctrine? As a matter of fact, Christ saw fit to deal with this spirit specifically while He was still here in the flesh:

Mat 20:20  Then came to him the mother of Zebedee’s children with her sons, worshipping him, and desiring a certain thing of him.
Mat 20:21  And he said unto her, What wilt thou? She saith unto him, Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand, and the other on the left, in thy kingdom.
Mat 20:22  But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say unto him, We are able.
Mat 20:23  And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with: but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but [it shall be given to them] for whom it is prepared of my Father.
Mat 20:24  And when the ten heard it, they were moved with indignation against the two brethren.
Mat 20:25  But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them.
Mat 20:26  But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister;
Mat 20:27  And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant:
Mat 20:28  Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

The doctrine of the Nicolaitans teaches its ministers to lord it over the Lord’s flock. Christ teaches that the greatest among us will be the one with the most servant-like spirit.

“It shall not be so among you” is the doctrine of Jesus Christ. “But whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister.”

The Tree of Life in the Midst of the Paradise of God

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

What is “the tree of life?” What and where is “the paradise of God?” With all we have learned about Christ giving this book, sealed with seven seals, to a seven-horned, seven-eyed lamb (Rev 5:6) to show to the seven angels of the seven churches, to learn that all of the sevens in the prophecy of this book are actually “joined to one spirit” should be no great surprise to find out that the “tree of life” is Christ Himself and that the paradise of God is also Christ, in whom we, His body, the angels in his right hand, dwell. Christ is our paradise.

Psa 16:11  Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

Luk 23:43  And Jesus said unto him [the thief on the cross], Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.

It is only “in Christ” that we receive any of the promises we have been given:

Gal 3:29  And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

This promise certainly includes both the promise of eating of the fruit of the tree of life and being in the middle of the paradise of God:

Rev 22:2  In the midst of the street of it [the New Jerusalem (Rev 21:9)], and on either side of the river, [was there] the tree of life, which bare twelve [manner of] fruits, [and] yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree [were] for the healing of the nations.

Rev 22:14  Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.

Christ IS “the way, the Truth, and the life:

Joh 1:4  In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

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.

Conclusion

So when we “look behind us to see the voice that is speaking to us” about the church of Ephesus within us, what have we seen that was within us? We saw that we, like Job, are in Christ’s right hand as the apple of His eye. We have seen that we have been very patient, yet hard working and careful to try the spirits of many false apostles, and we have found them to be liars. We have done many wonderful works, and yet, though we have had the patience and the good works of Job, we have also had the self- righteousness of Job. In taking pride in all the things we have done that are right, we have ended up “leaving our first love,” for which we must repent, acknowledge our iniquity and “do the first works.” This is just the first of seven churches, all of which “things written therein” we each must “keep” as we continue to be shown the revelation of Jesus Christ. Next study, Lord willing, we will be shown the things written therein about the church of Smyrna, within us as we look behind us to see the voice which is talking to us and showing us all these things.

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