The Fowl of the Air – Part 2

[Study Aired April 19, 2026]

God’s elect know the difference between gifts of the spirit and fruits of the spirit. You may heal the sick and cast out devils without having Christ living His life in you (Luk 10:8, 9, 17).

Luk 10:8  And into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you:
Luk 10:9  And heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.

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

Christ sent out the seventy two by two long before He said this to Peter:

Luk 22:31  And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:
Luk 22:32  But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.

You may truthfully prophesy what will happen in the future, and not have Christ living His life within you:

Deu 13:1  If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder,
Deu 13:2  And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them;
Deu 13:3  Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

How do we know whether we truly love the Lord?

1Jn 5:2  By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.
1Jn 5:3  For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.

However you cannot and you will not have “the fruits of the spirit” governing your life if Christ is not living His life within you. You will not and cannot love your enemy without Christ being in you.

Christ warns us not to follow after signs, miracles and wonders right here in Matthew 24:

Mat 24:24  For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs [G4592: ‘Semeion’, miracles] and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.

Right after telling us that false Christs and prophets shall show great miracles and great wonders, Christ makes this statement:

Mat 24:25  Behold, I have told you before.
Mat 24:26  Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.

“Secret chamber” would certainly include a ‘secret rapture’, and according to Christ we are to “believe it not” because this is what it will actually be like when He does appear again:

Mat 24:27  For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
Mat 24:28  For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.

“I have told you before” is old English for ‘I am telling you in advance’ not to fall for any variation of the false ‘secret rapture’ doctrines nor any variation of a ‘place of safety’ theory. There is nothing ‘secret’ about being caught up to be with Christ in the air. That event will be “as the lightning shineth from the east even unto the west.”

Luk 17:23  And they shall say to you, See here; or, see there: go not after them, nor follow them.
Luk 17:24  For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day.

Look at what precedes this statement:

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

What Christ is telling His elect is that if they are granted to remain vigilant and diligent to the end, and to serve as the flesh and bones of Christ’s “earthly tabernacle” in this present wicked age, then they will be glorified with Christ at the time of His appearing to rule the kingdoms of this world for one thousand years, before judging angels and the souls of men in something called the great white throne judgment/lake of fire/ second death (Rev 20:7-15).

Rom 8:18  For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
Rom 8:19  For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.
Rom 8:20  For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,
Rom 8:21  Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
Rom 8:22  For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.
Rom 8:23  And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.

I get so many letters asking me, “How does one know they are God’s elect? How do you know you are going to be saved and be in the first resurrection?” The answer to the first question is that God gives you the faith that you are indeed His elect. The answer to the second question is that you don’t know you will be in the first resurrection to the point of being able to take your election for granted. That’s why The Lord admonishes us to ‘be vigilant, be sober.’

1Pe 5:8  Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

Be on your guard every moment. Christ tells us that if the good man of the house had known what hour the thief was coming, he would not have allowed his house to be broken into:

Luk 12:39  And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through.
Luk 12:40  Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not.

The whole point of Christ telling us that we are to stay vigilant and “ready” is so we will always be on our toes. The apostle Paul gives us the same admonition:

1Co 10:12  Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.

The Lord does not want us to ever become complacent and take our salvation for granted. Completely rid your heart and mind of the ‘once in grace always in grace’ false doctrine. Realize that there is a great and pressing need for vigilance. That spirit of vigilance is all part of God’s plan. Replace that false doctrine with this doctrine:

Php 3:8  Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,
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:
Php 3:10  That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;
Php 3:11  If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.
Php 3:12  Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.
Php 3:13  Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
Php 3:14  I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Continuing with Christ’s words “which are spirit” in Matthew 24:

Mat 24:28 For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.

I’ve entitled this study the ‘fowl of the air’ because of these eagles. They are unclean birds, and they eat the carnal meat which cannot inherit the kingdom of God, as Christ clearly states:

Joh 12:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
Joh 12:25 He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.

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

It is our rebellious, carnal-minded old man who is “devoured up” by the eagles and the fowls of the air:

Pro 30:17  The eye that mocketh at his father, and despiseth to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and the young eagles shall eat it.

Luk 17:36  Two men [our old and new man] shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
Luk 17:37  And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.

We must be willing to give up the life of our carnal-minded old man. We must come to see that “the man of sin, the son of perdition” is our own carnal-minded old man who has all his life been deceived by all the lies of all the false ministers of the churches of Babylon. That is the negative application of what these eagles, “the fowls of the air” do:

Mar 4:3  Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow:
Mar 4:4  And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up.

Christ tells us the fowls “devour [us] up” at that stage of our walk when the seed of God’s Truth ‘falls by the way side.’

Mat 13:3  And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;
Mat 13:4  And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls [Eagles over a carcass] came and devoured them up:

Eagles eat dying dead meat. That ‘death’ and dying is at this time a process we must endure to the end. It is “through death” that a new man is conceived:

Joh 12:24  Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die [become a carcass], it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
Joh 12:25  He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.

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

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

The Truth is counterintuitive to our natural carnal mind.  We cannot just naturally connect the death of our old man with the life of our new man. Nevertheless, we are commanded to offer ourselves up to the Lord as a “living sacrifice… dying daily”:

Rom 12:1  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
Rom 12:2  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Paul sets us the same ‘dying daily’ example which Christ left for us to follow:

1Co 15:31  I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.

We are “crucified with Christ… daily.”

Gal 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

Our dying old man is dead meat for those unclean “birds of the air.” The positive application of “where the carcass is there will the eagles be gathered together” is that as the adversary devours up our old man, Christ is coming into our lives. As we die to the flesh, we are giving up the flesh, but it is not a pleasant thing to do. We don’t give up the flesh willingly. It takes a catastrophe in our lives to drag us to Christ:

Joh 6:44  No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw [G1670: ‘helkuo’, drag] him: and I will raise him up at the last day.

That is the positive application to ‘the fowls of the air… devouring us up.” For the few who the Lord opens their spiritually blinded eyes to see the dying of our carnal-minded old man and being devoured by these eagles is essential to the birth of the new man who is even now being formed out of the same lump of clay:

Rom 9:20  Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?
Rom 9:21  Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel [our ‘new man’] unto honour, and another [our carnal minded old man] unto dishonour?
Rom 9:22  What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: [Our old man]
Rom 9:23  And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, [our new man] which he had afore prepared unto glory,

Exo 19:4 Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself.

The Lord is patient and merciful toward us and “endures with much longsuffering” the rebellions and the disobedience of our carnal-minded old man. In time, if we are granted to abide in His Word, “of the same lump” of this same “earthen vessel” He begins to form a new man which will in time truly be made into His likeness and His image. While He is in the process of transforming us into His image, He Himself dwells within us as “earthen vessels”:

2Co 4:7  But we have this treasure [“Christ in us the hope of glory”, (Col 1:27)] in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.

It’s through this dying to the flesh that God brings us to himself. I’m going to repeat John 12:25.

Joh 12:25 He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.

King David used the positive application of the word ‘eagles’ to eulogize the death of the Lord’s rejected anointed King Saul:

2Sa 1:23 Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in their death they were not divided: they were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions.

In their death, they were not divided. Jonathan could not bring himself to leave his father, and yet he actually helped David just as our flesh, “the same lump”, actually helps us to become a new man. As Jonathan who could not separate himself from his father, we, too, are in these clay vessels, our flesh, which cannot inherit the kingdom of God and is not discarded until physical death. May the Lord grant us to be willing to die daily to our old man as our new man increases within us.

The story of Jonathan’s love for David, yet dying with his rejected father, King Saul, “…happened to him and [it is] written for our admonition” (1Co 10:11). We must realize that it was God who created Babylon. It is God who calls Nebuchadnezzar His servant:

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

Jer 27:5  I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are upon the ground, by my great power and by my outstretched arm, and have given it unto whom it seemed meet unto me.
Jer 27:6  And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant; and the beasts of the field have I given him also to serve him.

God is the one who is responsible for all things; he ‘works all things after the counsel of his own will” (Eph 1:11). Our wicked old man is nothing more than the Lord’s servant to bring us to the Lord.

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

That is what “the fowls of the air” generally represent, especially unclean fowl like vultures and eagles. They signify all the false doctrines of our heavens which “devour us up.”

The ‘eagles’ of Matthew 24, just like Nebuchadnezzar, are the Lord’s servants. Matthew 13:4 and 19, tell us what these “fowls of the air signify”, and 1 Corinthians 5:5 tells us exactly what they do:

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

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

1Co 5:5 To deliver such an one unto Satan [“The prince of the power of the air”, (Eph 2:2)] for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

Eph 2:2  Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:

These ‘fowls’ are false doctrines. The ministers who preach them are the adversary’s false ministers who come to us as an angel of light (2Co 11:14-15) and then “devour [us] up” (Mat 13:4). Another way scripture expresses this process is the story of the earth opening up and swallowing Korah (Num 16:28-33). The earth opening up and swallowing Korah is simply a type of us being swallowed up by the false doctrines of the churches of this world, signified by the earth, the ground:

Jer 22:29  O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD.

We are dying daily to that earth, the world. The story of Korah signifies the people of God who are brought up out of Egypt but who are not doing the things which the Lord tells us to do (Luk 6:46). We are spiritually being devoured by the birds of the air. That’s what these eagles, the Lord’s servants, do in His service when He is using them to judge us.

When Joseph interpreted Pharaoh’s baker’s dream he demonstrated the spiritual significance of ‘the birds of the air.’

Gen 40:16 When the chief baker saw that the interpretation [of the butler’s dream] was good, he said unto Joseph, I also was in my dream, and, behold, I had three white baskets on my head:
Gen 40:17 And in the uppermost basket there was of all manner of bakemeats for Pharaoh; and the birds did eat them out of the basket upon my head.
Gen 40:18 And Joseph answered and said, This is the interpretation thereof: The three baskets are three days:
Gen 40:19 Yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thy head from off thee, and shall hang thee on a tree; and the birds shall eat thy flesh from off thee.
Gen 40:20 And it came to pass the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, that he made a feast unto all his servants: and he lifted up the head of the chief butler and of the chief baker among his servants.
Gen 40:21 And he restored the chief butler unto his butlership again; and he gave the cup into Pharaoh’s hand:
Gen 40:22 But he hanged the chief baker: as Joseph had interpreted to them.
Gen 40:23 Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph, but forgat him.

These birds ate the baker’s flesh; they destroyed his flesh. Where did Joseph get the idea that this is what this meant?

Joseph knew what “the fowls of the air” ate, and the Lord gave Joseph to know what it meant when the baker told him that ‘the birds did eat the bakemeats, meant for Pharaoh’, out of the uppermost basket on the baker’s head. Pharaoh was prophesied to hang the chief baker who would then be eaten by the fowls of the air, and that is exactly what happened.

The creatures of the sea, the fowls of the air, and the earth itself are all scriptural types of mankind, and they all typify the Lord’s people:

Jer 22:29  O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD.

Most of mankind are not God’s elect in “this present time.”

Rom 8:18  For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
Rom 8:19  For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.

The minds of God’s anointed, like King Saul who was God’s rejected anointed, are first filled with the doctrines of the fowls of the air. That is where fowls live. They live in the heavens of our earth. They were not created on the sixth day with the beasts of the earth. The fowls of the air were created on the fifth day so that all of the spirit beings were created just ahead of men, the day before, to serve as the Lord’s servants to provide the foil against which the Lord would show His elect what He is doing with His creatures. It was on the sixth day that mankind, who the Lord refers to as “earth, earth, earth” (Jer 22:29), was created as the incomplete image of his Creator. It is at this point the Lord begins His sovereign work with mankind, showing us our relationship with our God. Mankind was created on the sixth day because Adam was the unfinished and the not yet completed son of God.

Lam 4:19 Our persecutors are swifter than the eagles of the heaven: they pursued us upon the mountains, they laid wait for us in the wilderness.

It is in the wilderness that we are persecuted. We are persecuted by those who are swifter than eagles.

Mat 13:31 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven [Christ in us, (Col 1:27)] is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field:
Mat 13:32 Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.

This is the parable of the mustard seed. What are all the parables? All the parables are about the kingdom of God within us from now until Christ appears. The principles revealed in the Lord’s parables will still be applicable to His saints when that day arrives. The heavens of the kingdom of God must be “purified” (Heb 9:23) because they are full of the false doctrines of the fowls of the air.

Heb 9:23  It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. [Christ’s sacrifice for you and me is much better than the blood of animals]

Rev 12:14 And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.

This is “the fowls of the air” again, the unclean fowl doing what they are ordained to do with the Lord’s people. We read back in Exodus where God said, I brought you (Israel) up out of Egypt on eagles’ wings:

Exo 19:4  Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself.

When God brought them out, he said, “I brought you unto Myself.” God did not take Israel directly from Egypt into the promised land. He took them ‘on eagles’ wings… into the wilderness” for 40 years. What happened in the wilderness? The woman that brought forth the manchild was given eagles wings to go “into the wilderness”. Her “manchild” son was caught up and seated with Christ in the heavens, but she herself was given two wings of an eagle and was taken into the wilderness. The great whore of Revelation seventeen is also “in the wilderness”, because she is the woman of Revelation 12 who brings forth the manchild:

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. [Eph 2:6]
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 17:3  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.

Just 50 days after leaving Egypt ‘on eagles’ wings’ Israel, God’s own people who eventually “brought forth a manchild” named Jesus Christ, also committed spiritual fornication against her husband by making a golden calf and proclaiming it as ‘thy gods which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt’:

Exo 32:3  And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron.
Exo 32:4  And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.

That is the beginning of the history of Israel in the wilderness. They continued to complain and rebel against their own God for the next forty years. It all signifies the function of the great whore of Revelation 17. This “great whore” is not just any whore. This is the Lord’s own unfaithful wife who “brought forth a manchild” and then was given the wings of an eagle to fly into the wilderness where, just as the Lord sustained His unfaithful wife, Israel, this woman is also “nourished” while the Lord deals with her “in the wilderness”.

Rev 12:14  And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.

This ‘time, times and half a time’ is the same amount of time as the time spent by the two witnesses in the streets of that great city, which ‘city’ is what the great whore is called:

Rev 11:3 And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.

The two witnesses witness for Christ and against the works of that great city for a time, times and half a time. In the streets of that great city the two witnesses are witnessing for Christ and against this very woman of Revelation 12 who appears in the very next chapter. The two witnesses are going to speak for a 1,260 days against this woman which is the same time the woman spends being nourished from the face of the serpent there in the wilderness.  A time, times and half a time is the same as 1260 days, and the woman who brings forth the manchild is the same woman as the great whore of Revelation 17-18. In both chapters 17 and 18 she is referred to as “that great city”:

Rev 17:18  And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.

Rev 18:9  And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning,
Rev 18:10  Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.

It is all the same time, it is just hidden so that 1,260 days tells us that this is the time of our witnessing to the people of God, and this is the time of their hearing us witness. It is the same period of time. What happens during this time?

Num 14:22 Because all those men which have seen my glory, and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now these ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice;
Num 14:23 Surely they shall not see the land which I sware unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoked me see it:
Num 14:24 But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and hath followed me fully, him will I bring into the land whereinto he went; and his seed shall possess it.

Notice what is in this ‘great city’ which was taken into the wilderness on eagles’ wings:

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

What are the fowls of the air? They signify the false ministers who are the purveyors of all the  false doctrines of that great adulterous woman.

We will conclude this study with a few admonitions about the work of these ‘fowls’:

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

Matthew 13:19 explains that.

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

1Jn 4:1  Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

The Fowl of The Air

[Study Aired April 12, 2026]

What is signified by “the fowls of the air?”

This study concerns the prophecy of Matthew 24, specifically verse 28:

Mat 24:28  For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.

I take this title from the Lord’s words in Mark 4:

Mar 4:4  And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up.

What is Christ telling us when He makes this statement concerning such an obvious truth about what eagles do?

We’re going to answer that question in this study. The spiritual significance of flesh being consumed by the fowls of the air will take up most of our Bible study because our carnal-minded flesh is just naturally and by default subject to all the lies, false doctrines and deceptions with which “the prince of the powers of the air” (Eph 2:2) has deceived the whole world (Rev 12:9).

Christ’s first words to His disciples makes this clear:

Mat 24:1 And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple.
Mat 24:2 And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.

When you read the Bible, you see the words in front of you and think of the temple that they were standing in front of and how huge the stones are. They are huge stones, and it is a wonder how they actually got those stones there. What’s in your mind is the physical, but, I am telling you as Christ tells you later in this chapter, “Let him that reads understand.” When you hear ‘There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down” this is not talking about the stones of the temple to you or me as God’s elect. This is talking about what’s in our lives. If we don’t see these spiritual truths behind these physical letters, then we are not getting anything out of what Christ says later in this chapter.

Let me go back to make this point.

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

These are the stones in the temple that we need to be thinking of.

Mat 24:3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world (age- Greek: aion)?

I want you to notice that this is not addressed to the multitudes. The Matthew 24 prophecy, according to the gospel of Mark, was addressed privately to just four of the Lord’s apostles:

Mar 13:3  And as he sat upon the mount of Olives over against the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately,
Mar 13:4  Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled?
Mar 13:5  And Jesus answering them began to say, Take heed lest any man deceive you:
Mar 13:6  For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

This prophecy was originally addressed to but four of the apostles and notice that in Mark’s account the first words out of Christ’s mouth is a warning against the work of ‘eagles eating carcasses’ and function of ‘the birds of the air.’ What you are about to hear is something that a few people got to hear at the time it was first revealed. What is being said here, once again, is talking about the end of my age and your age, not the end of someone else’s age. It has to be applied personally and inwardly.

Mat 24:4-5 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

If you think Christ was speaking to these four disciples about events 2,000 years in the future then please explain this verse to me:

Mat 24:34  Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.

There are many people who come in Jesus Christ’s name and who teach about Jesus Christ and who do many wonderful works in the name of Jesus Christ, but they don’t have one bit of use for the words of Jesus Christ.

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

This is who Jesus Christ is talking about here. He’s not talking about the occasional person who claims to be ‘Jesus Christ’ like Sun Yung Moon. He’s talking about “many” people, and many means the majority. Most people will come in Christ’s name, saying that He is Christ and will deceive most people; in other words, the Christian religion. Let’s just call things what they are.

Mat 24:6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

Once again, let me say it again so we can stay focused: Christ intended for us to apply all of this inwardly. Realize that this is talking to all of us including me. I, Mike Vinson, have been deceived; Mike Vinson was taken into the Babylonian system of the Christian religion that claims to know Christ and does many wonderful works in his name. Mike Vinson was deceived, he was one of the many deceived, and if you don’t see that these words also apply to you, then you are probably going to go to church every Sunday thinking you are not deceived.

Mat 24:7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
Mat 24:8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
Mat 24:9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.

“They shall deliver you up… and shall kill you.” Why would “all nations” hate a dead man? It is after you begin to die to the flesh that you begin to be hated. They will ‘deliver you up to be afflicted’ and will kill you. That’s good! That’s the best thing that happens to you when you begin to die.

Mat 24:10-11 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.

Who is he talking about here? Heathen people? No, the many people who are deceived thinking they know Christ. That’s what we are talking about. Christ is talking about people who have been called, who have accepted him, who come in His name, do many wonderful works and deceive people. At that point, many are offended and betray one another and hate one another.

Mat 24:12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.

This is many coming in Christ’s name, saying they are following Christ, using Christ’s name, claiming they love Christ’s name and doctrine and they deceive many, most, the majority. That’s the litmus test right there, because God is love. While you can talk love all day, it is hard to live love, it is hard to turn the other cheek. You can’t do it. It takes Jesus Christ in you to do it. This is what separates the called from the chosen, this verse:

Mat 24:13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

Nobody is saved right now. We are in the process of being converted, but being converted is not saved. “He that endures to the end shall be saved.” When they are resurrected, they are saved. You are converted, you are living a good Christian life, but read Ezekiel 3, and it will come right out and tell you, no matter how good a life you live, if you turn your back on it at the end, all your good works account for nothing. No matter how evil you have been, if you turn from your evil works, all your evil works count for nothing. It is what you do at the end that counts. The workers that came in at the last hour received their wages before the people who had been there working all day, doing the same works as the other people.

If you have the love of Christ, you are not the least bit perturbed at what God does. All things are of God to you. He could give the house away, and you would say “Amen, Father!”

Mat 24:14  And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
Mat 24:15  When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)

What does Matthew 24:14 mean to you? Does it mean that the churches of Babylon have to get the gospel preached in Europe, Asia, Africa and South America and the whole world? That’s been done for years. The gospel has been preached in all the continents of all the world for many years. If you still think that nations and kingdoms of Matthew 24 are outward nations, then you are apt to also think of the abomination of desolation is also outward and it will take place in some outward temple in some outward nation. That is how the whole world thinks of this prophecy. The churches of this world teach that Matthew 24 and the book of Revelation are both speaking of ‘end time events.’ They teach that all these things are yet future and are ‘out there’ somewhere in Europe or in the middle east. Most Christian ministers teach that the abomination of desolation will occur in a future temple yet to be built in Jerusalem. If indeed that is what you believe, then you don’t understand verse 15 at all:

Mat 24:15  When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)

“Whoso reads, let him understand” reveals that very few will understand what “the abomination that maketh desolate” means. “Whoso readeth let him understand” is telling us that only those who are “given ears that hear, and eyes that see” will understand. It is all to be understood as a message to the spirit within those who are given the spirit. God is spirit, and all that we see and touch is His way of getting through to us what is going on in the powers and principalities we are really wrestling against. These verses tell us about how the Lord communicates with His spirit within us:

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

1Co 2:12  Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
1Co 2:13  Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. [spiritual words]
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.

The Greek actually reads “comparing spiritual with spiritual.” The word ‘things’ is added by the translators.

What did Christ tell us about His words:

Joh 6:63  It is the spirit that quickeneth [G2227: ‘zoopoieo’, to make alive]. ; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life [G2222: ‘Zoe’, life].

With the understanding that the Lord’s words “are spirit” let’s ask, “What does the holy place mean?” “The holy place” is you; it is your heart and your mind; that is ‘the holy place.’ We are very clearly informed that spiritually speaking, which is what Christ tells us His Words are, “you are the temple of God.” The holy place is “the holy of holies” in the second room of the temple. It is the last room into which only the high priest was permitted to enter, and that was only once in the year on the day of atonement:

Heb 9:7  But into the second went the high priest alone once every year [On the day of atonement, Lev 16:16-17], not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people:

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.

Paul repeats this revolutionary Truth three chapters later in this same epistle and then again in his second epistle to this church:

1Co 6:19  What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

2Co 6:16  And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

What is ‘the abomination of desolation?’ It is “the beast… the man of sin [you and me] the son of perdition [our dying old man] who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sits in the temple of God [“which temple ye are”], showing himself that he is God.” “The abomination that makes desolate” is you and me ruling in our own lives; it is our ‘beast’ within, empowered by the great red dragon, (Rev 13:2) having you and me for lunch, eating the dust that we are. That is the abomination of desolation. If you are given to see that “ye are the temple of God” and that you are also the man of sin sitting on God’s own throne within His own dwelling place, His own temple, then you can also see clearly that when Christ speaks of the gospel of the kingdom being preached in all the nations, this is also an inward statement speaking of all the powers and principalities within you, and within me, within each of us. Then you will see that beast, that man of sin, sitting on the throne in your heart, doing what he wants and never having lost a battle:

Rev 13:2  And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.

Rev 13:4  And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?

Once you see the inward application of scripture, then you finally have a handle on who “the man of sin” is.

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;
2Th 2:4  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.
2Th 2:5  Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?

What Paul told these Thessalonians when he was with them was the same thing he told the Corinthians when he was with them… “Know you not that ye are the temple of God…” (1Co 3:15-16)

Now we can finally understand that what Christ taught His disciples in Matthew 13 was preparing them to understand His prophecy in Matthew 24:

Mat 13:9 Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
Mat 13:10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
Mat 13:11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
Mat 13:12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
Mat 13:13 Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
Mat 13:14 And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:
Mat 13:15 For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.

Continuing on in Matthew 13 where Christ is explaining how we are to understand His words in Matthew 24 and everywhere else:

Mat 13:16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.
Mat 13:17 For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see [spiritually], and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear [spiritually], and have not heard them.
Mat 13:18 Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower.
Mat 13:19 When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and [spiritually] understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one [“the fowls of the air”, (Mar 4:4)], and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.

What is he talking about here? How does this have an inward application? Let’s let Christ finish what He is telling us here in Matthew 13 so we can apply the principles He is giving us here to what He tells us later in Matthew 24:

Mat 13:20 But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;
Mat 13:21 Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.
Mat 13:22 He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.

‘He that received seed into stony places, receives it with joy, yet has no root in himself’ and does not ‘endure to the end’ when persecution comes because of the word, and he also who received the seed among the thorns is choked by the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and becomes unfruitful. What Christ is telling us here in Matthew 13 is just confirming what Christ had already taught us in:

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.

“Few there be that find it” here in Matthew 7 is the same message Christ is giving to us in the parable of the sower in Matthew 13 where He tells us that it is not given to the multitudes of Christians who come to Him to understand the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven:

Mat 13:10  And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto [the multitudes] in parables?
Mat 13:11  He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you [the “few… that find it”] to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them is it not given. [the “many there be which go in… the broad way”]

With this knowledge that few are given to understand Christ’s spiritual words let’s return to His words in Matthew 24:

Mat 24:15  When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)
Mat 24:16  Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:
Mat 24:17  Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:
Mat 24:18  Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.
Mat 24:19  And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!
Mat 24:20  But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:
Mat 24:21  For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
Mat 24:22  And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.

If this is not to be applied internally and spiritually, then how can it have any application for that time? Where was the abomination of desolation and the great tribulation 2,000 years ago? Why would Christ say, ‘Woe unto them that are with child and to them that give suck in those days’? It should be clear to all of us that Christ does not think any less of a pregnant woman nor a suckling child than He thinks of you and me.

If you don’t see this internally and spiritually, then you will never understand the book of Revelation. The book of Revelation says “the time is at hand [to] read, hear and keep the saying of the prophecy of this book.”

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.

Both Matthew 24 and the book of Revelation prophesy about a ‘great tribulation’ and ‘earthquakes’ and all kinds of trials and plagues. Both tell us that these prophecies “are at hand” and both tell us these things will be fulfilled in “this generation… for the time is at hand.” Revelation 1:3 is exactly what Christ says here in Matthew 24:

Mat 24:34  Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
Mat 24:35  Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

Once you accept that everything Christ prophesied came to pass in that generation, and that ‘His Words do not pass away’ but continue to be fulfilled in every generation since those words were first spoken… once you are given to accept that as a truth, not to be negotiated, then you will understand why Jesus Christ says so many times in the book of Revelation, ‘I am he that is, was and will be.’ Once you get a handle on the ‘is, was and will be,’ nature of Christ’s Words, then the word of God opens up to you in a way that it will never be understood otherwise.

‘But for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened’ (Mat 24:22). How does that apply generation by generation? Right here it is:

1Co 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

1Pe 1:5  Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
1Pe 1:6  Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:
1Pe 1:7  That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:

That’s the days being shortened so the elect can “bear it.” If Jesus Christ is not in us, if He Himself is not living in us daily, and the days are not being shortened so we can bear it in our flesh, nobody would make it, no flesh would be saved alive.

Right at this juncture in your walk, when you are beginning to see that you are in Babylon:

Mat 24:23 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.

Don’t believe it! All this talk about a secret rapture is a bunch of lies.

Mat 24:24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs [G4592: ‘semeion’] and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.

That Greek word ‘semeion’, translated as ‘signs’ here in Matthew 24:24 is the same Greek word translated as ‘miracles’ in Revelation 13:

Rev 13:14  And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles [G4592: ‘semeion’] which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.

Spiritual gifts are not a synonym for the love of God or the fruits of the spirit. Spiritual gifts do not signify a mature son of God. The immature disciples of Christ were given to cast out demons and heal the sick long before they were even converted:

Luk 10:9  And heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.

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

Luk 22:32  But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.
Luk 22:33  And he said unto him, Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison, and to death.
Luk 22:34  And he said, I tell thee, Peter, this day, before that the cock shall crow thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me.

Here is a Biblical Truth which is understood by very few. Paul tells us the church at Corinth “came behind in no gift”, and yet he tells them they are “yet carnal… babes in Christ”:

1Co 1:4  I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ;
1Co 1:5  That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge;
1Co 1:6  Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you:
1Co 1:7  So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ:

Skipping ahead to chapter three:

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

God’s elect mature sons know the difference between gifts of the spirit and fruits of the spirit. You cannot and will not have “the fruits of the spirit” if Christ is not living His life in you. You will not and cannot, love your enemy without Christ being in you.

We will pause this study on “the fowls of the air” at this point and finish it in our next study.

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Ezekiel 32:1–16 A Lament Over Pharoah and Egypt

[Study Aired September 16, 2024]

INTRODUCTION

Today’s study reflects the destruction of Pharoah and Egypt. As we have indicated in the previous studies, Pharoah represents our old man or flesh. Today’s study deals with the judgement of Pharoah and Egypt and the resulting benefit that shall follow after the judgement.

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. 

The study concludes with the destruction of the beasts such that there shall be no foot of man or the hoofs of the beasts to trouble the waters. As a result, the waters shall flow like oil. These concluding statements show us the salvation of all men of every age which shall come about after the destruction of the beasts within man.

1Ti 4:9  This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation.
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.

 

A lamentation for Pharoah, King of Egypt

Eze 32:1  And it came to pass in the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, in the first day of the month, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 
Eze 32:2 Son of man, take up a lamentation for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say unto him, Thou art like a young lion of the nations, and thou art as a whale in the seas: and thou camest forth with thy rivers, and troubledst the waters with thy feet, and fouledst their rivers. 

The number twelve means foundation and it is also the number of Christ. In our walk in the churches of this world, our foundations in Christ were destroyed.

Psa 11:3  If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do? 

This means that the twelfth year in the twelfth month in the first day of the month when the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel implies that the Lord’s coming to us with the spirit of His mouth and His brightness is to build our foundation in Him as we go through the judgement of our old man.

2Th 2:7  For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.
2Th 2:8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: 

Isa 44:28  That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.

Zec 8:9  Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Let your hands be strong, ye that hear in these days these words by the mouth of the prophets, which were in the day that the foundation of the house of the LORD of hosts was laid, that the temple might be built.

As indicated in the previous studies, Pharoah, king of Egypt, represents our old man or flesh.  Here in verse 2, the Lord requesting Ezekiel to take up a lamentation for Pharoah, the king of Egypt, is to let us know the evil experience we must pass through for the destruction of our old man or flesh symbolized by Pharoah, the king of Egypt. In this verse, the Lord compared Pharoah with a young lion of the nations and also a whale in the seas. A key characteristic of a young lion is his persistent pursuit to capture a prey as shown in the following verses:

Psa 17:12  Like as a lion that is greedy of his prey, and as it were a young lion lurking in secret places.

Isa 5:29  Their roaring shall be like a lion, they shall roar like young lions: yea, they shall roar, and lay hold of the prey, and shall carry it away safe, and none shall deliver it.

Pharoah likened to a young lion of the nations therefore implies that our old man or flesh was made to dominate or capture mankind or people of the world as a prey. A whale represents the sea of our flesh or old man. Therefore, Pharoah being described as the whale in the seas is to show us that Pharoah represents our old man or flesh.

Job 7:12  Am I a sea, or a whale, that thou settest a watch over me?

One key role of the whale as described in verse 2 is churning up muddy waters with his feet. This implies that if we are dominated by the flesh, that is our walk in the flesh, we end up coming up with muddy waters which refer to the false doctrines of man’s wisdom and tradition. As a result, we make the word of the Lord of no effect in our lives.

Col 2:8  Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. 

Mar 7:7  Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. 
Mar 7:8  For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do.

Mar 7:13 Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.

Eze 32:3  Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will therefore spread out my net over thee with a company of many people; and they shall bring thee up in my net. 
Eze 32:4 Then will I leave thee upon the land, I will cast thee forth upon the open field, and will cause all the fowls of the heaven to remain upon thee, and I will fill the beasts of the whole earth with thee.

The company of many people represent the physical churches of this world or Babylon. Our flesh is likened to fishes of the sea where the Lord cast His net over us, making the churches of this world drag us from the sea to the land. Being cast forth upon the open field in verse 4 means that our walk in the churches of this world is likened to an open field where we live like people of the world as our flesh is empowered by the devil and his cohorts, signified by the fowls of the heavens. It is at this point that the beasts of the whole earth dominate us to the fullest. We need to understand that our flesh or old man or the beast within us was made to be taken and destroyed. Thus, in our walk in the churches of this world, the Lord seeks an occasion to come and destroy our flesh as He allows us to be dominated by the beasts of the whole earth.

2Pe 2:12  But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption;

Jud 1:10 But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves.

Jdg 14:1  And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines.
Jdg 14:2  And he came up, and told his father and his mother, and said, I have seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines: now therefore get her for me to wife.
Jdg 14:3  Then his father and his mother said unto him, Is there never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson said unto his father, Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well.
Jdg 14:4 But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the LORD, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines: for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel. 

Eze 32:5  And I will lay thy flesh upon the mountains, and fill the valleys with thy height. 
Eze 32:6 I will also water with thy blood the land wherein thou swimmest, even to the mountains; and the rivers shall be full of thee. 

As indicated in the previous study, the mountains and valleys on a positive note represent the assembly of the Lord’s elect, as shown in the following verse:

Eze 6:3 Say this, ‘You mountains of Israel, listen to the word of the Almighty LORD! This is what the Almighty LORD says to the mountains and hills and to the ravines and valleys: I am going to attack you with a sword and destroy your worship sites.

In verse 5, therefore, the laying of our flesh upon the mountains and the filling of the valleys therefore signify the unveiling of the dying of our old man or flesh through the Lord’s judgement in the assembly of the Lord’s elect.

Eph 4:15  But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
Eph 4:16 From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

The life of the flesh is in the blood and therefore, the land being watered with the blood of our old man or flesh in verse 6 signifies the death of our flesh or old man within our bodies (land). The streams being full of the flesh in verse 6 implies that we shall come to see that the false doctrines (the rivers) in our heavens emanates from the flesh and is about man’s wisdom and tradition.

Lev 17:11  For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.

Eze 32:7  And when I shall put thee out, I will cover the heaven, and make the stars thereof dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give her light. 
Eze 32:8 All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over thee, and set darkness upon thy land, saith the Lord GOD. 

These verses describe the day of the Lord which is the time of His judgement of our old man or flesh. This is what Apostle Peter describes about the day of the Lord on the day of Pentecost:

Act 2:19  And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:
Act 2:20  The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come:
Act 2:21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Verses 7 and 8 show us that all the bright lights of heavens, together with the stars, shall be darkened as the sun is covered with the clouds and the moon is not giving her light. Comparing these verses with Apostle Paul’s description of the Lord’s day of judgement shows us that the sun being darkened is equivalent to the sun being covered with a cloud, and the moon not giving her light is the same as the moon not giving her light because it covered with blood. The sun being darkened means that when we are dominated by the flesh, we are not able to see Christ who represents the sun, because of the smoke that comes out of our bottomless pit. That is to say that out of our flesh (bottomless pit) comes false doctrines which prevent us from knowing Christ.

Rev 9:2  And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. 

As part of the Lord’s judgement of our old man or flesh, we are given over to the desires of our hearts which include believing the false doctrines from our flesh. This is to give the Lord the occasion that He is seeking to come and judge us.

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; 
Rom 1:19  Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
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:
Rom 1:21  Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
Rom 1:22  Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
Rom 1:23  And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
Rom 1:24  Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:
Rom 1:25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

The moon turning into blood or not giving her light implies that we become guilty for the death of the Lord’s saints because we hate them. This is because the little knowledge of the Lord has been taken away from us. We know that hating our brothers or sisters is the same as being a murderer and therefore we are guilty of the death of the Lord and His saints. This is all to give the Lord the occasion that He is seeking to come into our lives to destroy our old man or flesh.

Mat 23:34  Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city:
Mat 23:35  That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. 
Mat 23:36 Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.

Eze 32:9  I will also vex the hearts of many people, when I shall bring thy destruction among the nations, into the countries which thou hast not known. 
Eze 32:10 Yea, I will make many people amazed at thee, and their kings shall be horribly afraid for thee, when I shall brandish my sword before them; and they shall tremble at every moment, every man for his own life, in the day of thy fall. 

When Joseph’s brothers came to realize that Joseph was alive, they were troubled, thinking that Joseph would seek revenge or judge them because of the trouble they took Joseph through, especially when Jacob, their father died.

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.

Our brothers and sisters in Babylon who represent the “many people” shall be troubled as they see that the judgement of their old man is at hand.

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

As indicated by Apostle Peter, if we, His elect are scarcely saved through the Lord’s judgement, what shall be the end of them (“many people”) who do not believe? Many people shall be stunned, especially, the leaders of Babylon, signified as the kings of the many people in verse 19, as they see the judgement of the Lord at hand.

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

 

The Judgement of the Lord

Eze 32:11  For thus saith the Lord GOD; The sword of the king of Babylon shall come upon thee. 
Eze 32:12 By the swords of the mighty will I cause thy multitude to fall, the terrible of the nations, all of them: and they shall spoil the pomp of Egypt, and all the multitude thereof shall be destroyed. 

When we are dominated by the flesh or our old man, the Lord gives us over to be ruled by the sword of the King of Babylon. As we have indicated in previous studies, the negative aspect of “sword” refers to words that are spoken which destroy us. The sword refers to the lying words and false doctrines of the adversary.

2Ti 2:17  And their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus;
2Ti 2:18  Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some.

Psa 64:2  Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked; from the insurrection of the workers of iniquity:
Psa 64:3  Who whet their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words:

These negative words spoken is one of the tools that the Lord uses to cause people to speak bitter words to us, His elect.

Eze 38:21 And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord GOD: every man’s sword shall be against his brother.

Jdg 7:22 And the three hundred [men with Gideon] blew the trumpets, and the LORD set every man’s sword against his fellow, even throughout all the host [of the Midianites]: and the host fled to Bethshittah in Zererath, and to the border of Abelmeholah, unto Tabbath.

In verse 12, we are made aware that the swords of the mighty is what causes the multitude to fall including the terrible of the nations. This implies that it is through false doctrines propagated in Babylon which caused many to become spiritually dead. These false doctrines is what gives Babylon control of the nations of this world.

Rev 17:1  And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:
Rev 17:2  With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.
Rev 17:3  So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
Rev 17:4  And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:
Rev 17:5  And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
Rev 17:6 And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration. 

The woman sitting upon many waters means that Babylon or the physical churches of this world have control over people (multitude) and nations. As indicated in verse 12, this control is through the false doctrines or the sword of the king of Babylon which destroys the pomp of Egypt and all the multitude.

The pomp of Egypt refers to the attractiveness or the pride of the world which involves the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. “The multitude” signifies the people of the world including our brothers and sisters in Babylon. Through the Lord’s judgement of our old man, the attraction of the world, the old man or flesh in the lives of the people of the world, shall be destroyed.

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. 
1Jn 2:17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.

Eze 32:13  I will destroy also all the beasts thereof from beside the great waters; neither shall the foot of man trouble them anymore, nor the hoofs of beasts trouble them. 
Eze 32:14  Then will I make their waters deep, and cause their rivers to run like oil, saith the Lord GOD.

The “great waters” in verse 13 signify the false doctrines of man’s wisdom and tradition. These false doctrines comes from our flesh or our old man or beast. The destruction of all the beasts shall take place in the Lake of Fire as all mankind from Adam to date shall be judged. The fact that the feet of humans and the hoofs of beasts cannot stir up the water anymore implies that the beast within man, which is the source of the false doctrines in our heavens, shall be destroyed completely, such that there will not be any false doctrines.

As described in verse 14, the only river available shall run like oil. This river is the water of life which proceeds out of the throne of the God and of the Lamb. Oil represents the Spirit and it is the spirit that gives life. The Lord causing the rivers to run like oil therefore signifies that all humanity shall come to have the spiritual understanding of the word of the Lord which gives life.

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. 

Rev 22:1  And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. 
Rev 22:2  In the midst of the street of it, 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 22:3  And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:
Rev 22:4  And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.
Rev 22:5 And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.

Eze 32:15  When I shall make the land of Egypt desolate, and the country shall be destitute of that whereof it was full, when I shall smite all them that dwell therein, then shall they know that I am the LORD. 
Eze 32:16 This is the lamentation wherewith they shall lament her: the daughters of the nations shall lament her: they shall lament for her, even for Egypt, and for all her multitude, saith the Lord GOD. 

In verse 15, Egypt symbolizes the world. The making of the land of Egypt desolate therefore represents the Lord’s judgement of the world during the lake of fire age.  The result of this judgement is that all shall come to know who the Lord is.

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

1Ti 4:9  This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation. 
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. 

1Ti 2:3  For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; 
1Ti 2:4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. 

The daughters of the nations in verse 16 signifies the physical churches of this world who shall lament the destruction of the old man in their lives, which is the source of all worldliness. This is the order in which these daughters of the nations shall be saved:

Eze 16:53  When I shall bring again their captivity, the captivity of Sodom and her daughters, and the captivity of Samaria and her daughters, then will I bring again the captivity of thy captives in the midst of them:

Eze 16:55  When thy sisters, Sodom and her daughters, shall return to their former estate, and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former estate, then thou and thy daughters shall return to your former estate.

May the Lord continue to deliver us from our old man or flesh. Amen!!

Psa 104:16  The trees of the LORD are full of sap; the cedars of Lebanon, which he hath planted; 
Psa 104:17  Where the birds make their nests: as for the stork, the fir trees are her house. 
Psa 104:18  The high hills are a refuge for the wild goats; and the rocks for the conies. 

God uses the physical creation, “the early and latter rain” as an example, to explain to us how He is in the process of saving all of mankind, each man in His order (1Co 15:23).

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

1Co 15:23  But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.

In the next couple of studies with Psalm 104, particularly with verses 18 to 23, we will look at other physical realities (“birds”, “goats”, “conies”, “beasts”, the “moon”, the “sun”, to name a few) that are written down for our sakes, “that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.” When we are blessed to learn how all these things are for our sakes, “the thanksgiving of many [will] redound to the glory of God.”

2Co 4:15  For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.

We grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ, or the mind of Christ, by comparing “spiritual things with spiritual”, as we use the natural creation around us to do that. With that mind of Christ, we can lay up treasure in heaven and “Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice” (Php 4:4) and declare “I will be glad in the Lord“.

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

Part of what we will look at in this study relates to that spiritual purpose behind parables which are meant to both blind on one side of the pillar and give light on the other side. This is at the heart and core of why we can rejoice today as His children and be glad in the Lord as we come to see how the “exceeding great and precious promises” which God gives us in His word reveal how we can “be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”

Luk 8:10  And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand.

Exo 13:21  And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night:
Exo 13:22  He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people. [Christ is that pillar— and “he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Php 1:6). Christ will never leave or forsake us “by day” or “by night” (Heb 13:5).

Exo 14:20  And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night. [“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?” (Rom 8:35)]

Col 1:15  Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
Col 1:16  For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
Col 1:17  And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

Eph 1:21   Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:

2Pe 1:4  Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

This psalm’s main focus is on the spirit of God which created all the physical creation through Christ. The physical creation reveals to us, if God gives us eyes to see today, that the process of maturing in the Lord has many stages which all of mankind will eventually go through in order to become mature sons (2Pe 3:18, Eph 4:13). We are reassured through the physical creation which Christ created, that he can and will be the author and finisher of our faith (Heb 12:2) who will fulfill these verses which say He “hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart (1Jn 2:16), so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end” (Ecc 3:1-11).

1Co 8:6  But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.
1Co 8:7  Howbeit there is not in every man that knowledge: for some with conscience of the idol unto this hour eat it as a thing offered unto an idol; and their conscience being weak is defiled. [not knowing, not believing that there is “one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him” is how we make an idol of our flesh, and that is what we do until we’re given to acknowledge God’s sovereignty in all things, working all things according to the counsel of His will (Eph 1:11)].

Joh 1:3  All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

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:
Rom 1:21  Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

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.

Ecc 3:11  He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world (1Jn 2:16) in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end. [we can’t find that work out because of the idols which God allows to be in our flesh, and we are blinded until those idols are destroyed by Christ – “the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life”].

Eph 4:13  Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

1Co 15:22  For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

As we labour in God’s word and are given the eyes to see and ears to hear the words of spirit that quicken us (Mat 13:11, Joh 6:63), we are reassured through our Father of all comfort  that His workmanship that is being formed through Christ, that is going from glory to glory (Eph 2:10, Php 1:6, 2Co 3:17-18) will be finished, just as surely as the physical creation was made manifest and done so decently and in order, in what has been called the creation week or the days of creation.

2Co 1:3  Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;

2Co 3:17  Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
2Co 3:18  But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into  the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

Heb 11:3  Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

Col 1:16  For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
Col 1:17  And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

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.

Exo 20:11  For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

To set the stage a little more, before we get into the verses of our study, I want to point to a verse that was discussed during Steven Crook’s last study, which has a correlation to the word Lebanon that is in this Psalm. The word Nehushtan^H5180 was the word which was discussed that parallels with the ‘cedars of Lebanon‘.

2Ki 18:4  He removed the high places, and brake the images, and cut down the groves, and brake in pieces the brasen serpent that Moses had made: for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it: and he called it Nehushtan^H5180.

H5180  nechûshtân   nekh-oosh-tawn’

From H5178; something made of copper, that is, the copper serpent of the Desert: – Nehushtan.

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

Just as the Lord must “break the cedars, even the cedars of Lebanon”, He will also break our religious pride or the second beast out of which we make an idol in the church in the wilderness.

Nehushtan^H5180 represents that idol or second beast very well (Rev 13:15, 1Co 4:7), as do the “cedars of Lebanon” which God gives us for our good, and that we naturally take and make an idol out of, adorning the temple of God, that has not yet been cleansed of the Lord to become the risen Jerusalem above (Eph 2:6) that can bear spiritual fruit, unlike these Cedar trees (Gal 4:26).

Zerubbabel’s temple, on the other hand, is the temple which God uses to typify those who have been raised in heavenly places, where we can worship God in spirit and in truth, because of the judgment of His word upon us like a plumb line which is making the ways of the Lord straight and enabling us to come out her my people.

Joh 4:23   But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
Joh 4:24   God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

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.

Christ’s body is raised in these temples built with cedar like the serpent in the wilderness (Nehushtan^H5180), but that raising of the wood to build the temple which we are (1Co 3:16) just as the serpent in the wilderness, is only going to bring about the physical healing or burning up of the wood hay and stubble that does not change our hearts [miracles in other words do not convert and change our heart but the cleansing of the temple through judgement so that we can be “true worshippers” who “must worship him in spirit and in truth“. That relationship is made possible through the sanctification process that God blesses the church to go through today].

Luk 16:31  And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.

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

Joh 17:17   Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

These examples of the cedars of Lebannon and Nehushtan^H5180 show us God’s provision in our journey and should give us reason to rejoice and “be glad in the Lord” for how he makes a way for us to endure through sin. He is the one who is making that provision and causing the sun to shine on the evil and the good within us bringing us to see our continual need for His deliverance in this life. Coming to see this reality of the process of growing in grace and knowledge is a joyful burden for us in the spirit, and is likened unto sparks that fly upward for our flesh, sparks that typify the fiery trials we are promised as God’s children (Ecc 3:18 Nehushtan^H5180, Ecc 1:13 joyful burden, Neh 8:10 joyful burden, Job 5:7, 1Pe 4:12).

Isa 43:16  Thus saith the LORD, which maketh a way in the sea<, and a path in the mighty waters;

Mat 5:45  That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

Jer 13:23  Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil.

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.

[Excerpt from Psa 29 study]

“Lebanon has a close association in scripture with the wilderness which we are called out of (Deu 11:24, Jos 1:4), and the cedars of Lebanon were used both within the temple of Solomon and Zerubbabel (1Ki 5:8-18, Ezr 3:7) and within the ships of Tyre (Eze 27:3-5, Eze 27:25).

What we are being told is that these cedars of Lebanon which are not fruit bearing trees will serve God both  in the court and in the temple. Initially those ships of Tyre ply the waters of the Euphrates in our life (Isa 23:1), bringing many people, nations, languages and tongues to Christ, as this exercise of buying the truth and selling it causes the merchants of the world of Babylon within us to become rich and increased with goods (Rev 3:17). All these riches are tainted because they are yet wrapped around the idols of our hearts at this point (2Ch 4:18-22, Rev 18:12, Eze 14:4, Isa 3:1), and it is only after a lifetime of being redeemed from every nation language tongue and people that we can be counted worthy to inherit eternal life (Rev 5:9). We’re not worthy, but the process that God allows us to go through makes it possible for us to understand in that day what we really are, as we inherit those promises which we are striving for (Luk 17:10, Php 3:14).

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

Php 3:14  I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

The harlot sits on those waters, which are the many nations of mankind’s heart and accomplishes this first part of gathering peoples and  nations and tongues into the court which is expressed in these verses of 2 King (2Ki 24:13-20). It is only when the proud and lofty trees of Babylon are cut down and turned into lumber for the temple of God within us that a remnant can then remain “of the poorest sort of the people of the land” (2Ki 24:14, 1Co 1:26).

2Ki 24:14  And he carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valour, even ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths: none remained, save the poorest sort of the people of the land.

1Co 1:26  For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:

The tree must be cut down, and rightly divided and measured by the body of Christ (Act 2:37-38, Eph 4:16) in order to be of service to God’s people and the entire world in time. Initially however we all go into this spiritual captivity in Babylon where those cedars of Lebanon grow and then at their appointed time are cut down or broken by the spirit of God (1Co 15:23, Isa 66:2) to be used in the new temple of Zerubbabel, where we worship God in spirit and in truth (Joh 4:23).”

[Excerpt end]

With the stage set a little more, now we can look at the few verses in this Psalm study which we hope will have us saying in our spirits, “I will be glad in the Lord.”

Psa 104:16  The trees of the LORD are full of sap; the cedars of Lebanon, which he hath planted;

The word “of sap” is not in the original context of this verse, so our focus is that these “trees of the Lord” or “cedars of Lebanon” “which he hath planted” “are full”. We are “full” in Babylon, in the world, not with the stay and bread and water of God, but with the cares of this world, as the sparks fly upward.

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,

Joh 2:7  Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim.

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

Joh 17:16  They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
Joh 17:17  Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

Joh 2:9  When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew [speaking of the body of Christ a kind of first fruits Gen 24:20, Mar 9:35]); the governor of the feast called the bridegroom,

We can take great comfort in knowing that it is God who planted these “Cedars of Lebanon” and that he has already declared the end from the beginning for each tree.

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.

Jer 29:11  For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith Jehovah, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you hope in your latter end.

Psa 104:17  Where the birds make their nests: as for the stork, the fir trees^H1265 are her house.

We are told we won’t realize the plans that God has for us in their entirety (Mat 6:34), or the provision that He has predetermined for us, but that does not change the fact that God does provide, and that he is a good Father, who we can trust and cast all our cares upon so that we can stop being anxious concerning raiment or what we shall eat (physically or spiritually).

Php 4:19  And my God shall supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

Mat 6:28  And why are ye anxious concerning raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
Mat 6:29  yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
Mat 6:30  But if God doth so clothe the grass of the field, which to-day is, and to-morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
Mat 6:31  Be not therefore anxious, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
Mat 6:32  For after all these things do the Gentiles seek; for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
Mat 6:33  But seek ye first his kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Mat 7:11  If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father who is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?
Mat 7:12  All things therefore whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, even so do ye also unto them: for this is the law and the prophets. [the golden rule as it is called (vs 12), is found in the context of “Enter ye in by the narrow gate” because it is when we are able to love our enemies through God’s holy spirit (Zec 4:6), and when we are convicted of our debt unto God, which is all the sin of the world within us, described as “ten thousand talents” owed (Mat 18:33), and we are convicted that there is no good thing within ourselves (Mar 10:18), then we can truly say that God is granting us the power to “Enter ye in by the narrow gate” where “few there be that find it” (Mat 7:14, Psa 107:2)
Mat 7:13  Enter ye in by the narrow gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many are they that enter in thereby (Mat 22:14).

1Pe 5:6  Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God (Rom 11:20), that he may exalt you in due time (Jas 5:7);
1Pe 5:7   casting all your anxiety upon him, because he careth for you.
1Pe 5:8  Be sober, be watchful: your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour,