The Biblical Overview of The Plan of God, Part 8D

The Great White Throne Judgment: When All Israel Shall Be Saved-That God May Be All In All

[Study Aired October 12, 2025]

Here is how we concluded our last study:

“We will pause this study at this point and we will see exactly when “all Israel [after the flesh] shall be saved”. No, I am not saying I will give you a date. What I am saying is that the scriptures do give us the exact time line in which “the fulness of the Gentiles comes in and all Israel shall be saved”.

Rom 11:25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.
Rom 11:26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:

“We will cover that timeline in our next study.” (End Quote)

Continuing our study on the overview of the plan of God, the scriptures revealing exactly when all physical Israel will be saved are in Ezekiel 16. We will read just the most pertinent verses:

Eze 16:2 Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations,

This 16^th chapter of Ezekiel is addressed to Jerusalem, the capital city of Israel, and after the split in the reign of Solomon’s son, Rehoboam, Jerusalem was the capital of Judah, and Samaria became the capital of the northern kingdom of Israel. Nevertheless, Jerusalem was originally the capital of  the united kingdom of all twelve tribes, and this is what the Lord has to say to His physical nation about the results of their sins and when they will all be reconciled to Him:

Eze 16:17 Thou hast also taken thy fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given thee, and madest to thyself images of men [false doctrines of men], and didst commit whoredom with them,

Eze 16:20 Moreover thou hast taken thy sons and thy daughters, whom thou hast borne unto me, and these hast thou sacrificed unto them [your false doctrines] to be devoured. Is this of thy whoredoms a small matter,

Eze 16:33 They give gifts to all whores: but thou givest thy gifts to all thy lovers, and hirest them, that they may come unto thee on every side for thy whoredom.

Isaiah 2:1-5 and Micah 4:1-7 speak of “the last days.”

Isa 2:2  And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD’S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.

Mic 4:1  But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it.

Our Babylonian upbringing teaches us that these “last days” refers to the time of peace which the earth will experience during the thousand-year reign of Christ. Isaiah 11 speaks of this same time of peace when the beasts of the earth will all be subdued and at peace with each other:

Isa 11:6  The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.
Isa 11:7  And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
Isa 11:8  And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den.
Isa 11:9  They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shallbe full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.

Peter informs us that this present time is “the last days” when all of this is taking place within those in whom “judgment is first beginning” (1Pe 4:17):

Act 2:16  But this [giving of the holy spirit] is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;
Act 2:17  And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:
Act 2:18  And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:
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 [“in the last days”], that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

When will this phrase “the last days” be applicable to physical “Jerusalem which now is and is in bondage with her children” (Gal 4:25-26)? When will physical Israel be judged for all of her sins? When are these “last days” of Isaiah 2, Micah 4 and Ezekiel 16 applicable to physical “Judah and Jerusalem?” Let’s read when the scriptures tell us this will happen so we will know exactly when “all Israel [which is in bondage with her children] shall be saved.”  This is the Lord’s own words in answer to the question of when Israel which has rejected her own Savior will be saved:

Eze 16:37  Behold, therefore I will gather all thy lovers, with whom thou hast taken pleasure, and all them that thou hast loved, with all them that thou hast hated; I will even gather them round about against thee, and will discover thy nakedness unto them, that they may see all thy nakedness.
Eze 16:38  And I will judge thee, as women that break wedlock and shed blood are judged; and I will give thee blood in fury and jealousy.
Eze 16:39  And I will also give thee into their hand, and they shall throw down thine eminent place, and shall break down thy high places: they shall strip thee also of thy clothes, and shall take thy fair jewels, and leave thee naked and bare.
Eze 16:40  They shall also bring up a company against thee, and they shall stone thee with stones, and thrust thee through with their swords.
Eze 16:41  And they shall burn thine houses with fire, and execute judgments upon thee in the sight of many women: and I will cause thee to cease from playing the harlot, and thou also shalt give no hire any more.
Eze 16:42  So will I make my fury toward thee to rest, and my jealousy shall depart from thee, and I will be quiet, and will be no more angry.

This is all verified in much fewer words in Revelation 17:

Rev 17:16  And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.

Ezekiel does not give us an exact date, but he does give us the exact timeline of when “all Israel shall be saved” and reconciled to God. This is exactly “when” that will happen:

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 16:54 That thou mayest bear thine own shame, and mayest be confounded in all that thou hast done, in that thou art a comfort unto 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.

When do these verses here in Ezekiel 16 tell us that Jerusalem and Samaria are “returned to their former estate?” The scriptural answer to that question is… “When Sodom and her daughters, shall return to their former estate.” It is only in the lake of fire, which begins doing its purifying work, that ‘Sodom and her daughters will return to their former estate.’ It is only after the “little season” of rebellion which follows the thousand-year reign of Christ and His elect with a rod of iron over the kingdoms of this earth that Sodom and “all Israel shall be saved.”

Where is the phrase ‘a thousand years’ in any of these prophecies concerning Israel and Jerusalem? Of course the answer is that it is not there. Rather, here is what we are told takes place during that symbolic “thousand years.”

Rev 2:26 And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:
Rev 2:27 And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.

This is the outcome of and the very purpose for that thousand-year reign:

Rev 20:7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
Rev 20:8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
Rev 20:9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. [The nations in the four quarters of the earth]

The death of the spiritual “old man’, the rebellious carnal mind, is the outcome, the ‘telos’ and the final product, of the lake of fire which will follow the thousand-year reign and the last great day. The last great day signifies the “little season” of rebellion which follows the thousand years and precipitates the great white throne judgment/lake of fire/second death.

This now is the product of the lake of fire as it is revealed to us in Isaiah 30:

Isa 30:20 And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction [“saved, yet so as by fire”, (1Co 3:16)], yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner any more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers:
Isa 30:21 And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.
Isa 30:22 Ye shall defile also the covering of thy graven images of silver, and the ornament of thy molten images of gold: thou shalt cast them away as a menstruous cloth; thou shalt say unto it, Get thee hence.

“Eyes that see [and] ears [that] hear” are both the fruit of the repentance and obedience which are the result of the lake of fire which follows the thousand-year reign, signified by the feast of tabernacles, and the last great day, signifying the “little season” of rebellion and destruction which immediately follows the thousand-year reign. Repentance and obedience do not precede rebellion against ‘the camp of the saints.’ Repentance and obedience always follow the judgment which we bequeath to ourselves as the fruit of our rebellious carnal minds. Still many Christians believe that the prophecy of Isaiah 30 refers to the thousand-year reign.

Continuing in Isaiah 30:

Isa 30:23 Then shall he give the rain of thy seed, that thou shalt sow the ground withal; and bread of the increase of the earth, and it shall be fat and plenteous: in that day shall thy cattle feed in large pastures.
Isa 30:24 The oxen likewise and the young asses that ear the ground shall eat clean provender, which hath been winnowed with the shovel and with the fan.
Isa 30:25 And there shall be upon every high mountain, and upon every high hill, rivers and streams of waters in the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall [Rev 20:7-9].
Isa 30:26 Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the LORD bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound.
Isa 30:27 Behold, the name of the LORD cometh from far, burning with his anger, and the burden thereof is heavy: his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue as a devouring fire:
Isa 30:28 And his breath, as an overflowing stream, shall reach to the midst of the neck, to sift the nations with the sieve of vanity: and there shall be a bridle in the jaws of the people, causing them to err.
Isa 30:29 Ye shall have a song, as in the night when a holy solemnity is kept; and gladness of heart, as when one goeth with a pipe to come into the mountain of the LORD, to the mighty One of Israel.
Isa 30:30 And the LORD shall cause his glorious voice to be heard, and shall shew the lighting down of his arm, with the indignation of his anger, and with the flame of a devouring fire, with scattering, and tempest, and hailstones.
Isa 30:31 For through the voice of the LORD shall the Assyrian [The great whore] be beaten down, which smote with a rod.
Isa 30:32 And in every place where the grounded staff shall pass, which the LORD shall lay upon him, it shall be with tabrets and harps: and in battles of shaking will he fight with it.
Isa 30:33 For Tophet [Also called ‘Gehenna’ and ‘the lake of fire’] is ordained of old; yea, for the king it is prepared; he hath made it deep and large: the pile thereof is fire and much wood; the breath of the LORD, like a stream of brimstone, doth kindle it. [vs 25 and Rev 20:7-9]

The words of this prophecy have a pre-thousand year and a post-thousand year application where Christ is at war with His enemies. They have no application to that time when the Lord is ruling the kingdoms of this world with a rod of iron. Don’t allow words like “rain… ground… earth… cattle… oxen… and pastures” lead you to believe that these words have no spiritual application to the time of our present judgment or to the great white throne/lake of fire/second death judgment. “The invisible things of God are understood by the things that are made” (Rom 1:20). “Tophet” signifies “the [spiritual] lake of fire”, and the “wood” that kindles the flames of Tophet signifies the rebellious carnal minds of mankind. “The breath of the Lord, like a stream of brimstone” signifies His fiery Word. “Fire and much wood” is just as much a spiritual term signifying the destruction of all flesh, as the “rain… the ground… the earth… the cattle… the oxen… and the pastures” which are the spiritual fruit of that “fire and much wood”. The spiritual flames of spiritual Tophet signify the Word of God coming out of the mouths of God’s elect as Isaiah informs us:

Isa 33:14 The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? Who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?
Isa 33:15 He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil [These are “the firstfruits unto God and the Lamb” (Rev 14:4), whose functions in the plan of God are symbolized by all of these holy days.]

These words summarize the “one event” of judgment which all men of all time must experience, “every man in his own order.”

1Co 15:22  For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
1Co 15:23  But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.

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

“Every man… shall be saved… by fire”. That is what we have just read. The fire that saves those who must be condemned to the lake of fire, is the very same fire, the same fiery words of God, which save God’s elect at this time:

Jer 5:14  Wherefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them.

The apostle Peter plainly tells us:

1Pe 4:12 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:

1Pe 4:17 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?

We have already answered Peter’s rhetorical question. Death and the grave, and all that are in them, are cast into the lake of fire to face the same fiery trials of 1 Peter 4:12, but in resurrected spiritual bodies. Judgment “begins at the house of God”, but our judgment is just that. It is the beginning of the judgment of all men in the great white throne judgment/ lake of fire/ second death:

Ecc 9:2 All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath.

1Co 15:44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.

Rev 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
Rev 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life [All who were not in the first resurrection, (Rev 20:6)] was cast into the lake of fire [“second death”, Those who are in the second group who die to their carnal mind after those who are the first to do so, (1Co 15:31, Gal 2:20)].

This all serves to demonstrate that many of the prophecies we have been told refer to the time of the thousand-year reign of Christ and His elect over the kingdoms of this world, are found to be much more applicable to the kingdom of God within us at this time, and to the time when we will, as the lake of fire, show all men of all time the same mercy which we have been given by our Lord. “The gifts and calling of God are without repentance” does not prove that God’s calling of physical Israel requires that physical Israel must rule the nations of this world during the thousand-year reign. All the promises to Abraham have been spiritually supplanted by “the Israel of God” which places no value on physical pedigree:

Joh 4:21  Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.
Joh 4:22  Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the [true spiritual] Jews [Rom 2:28-29].
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.

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

As we have seen, the gifts and calling of physical Israel will be fulfilled “when the fulness of the Gentiles is come in and when Sodom… and Samaria return to their former estate” (Eze 16:55, Rom 11:25-26).

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.

Rom 11:25  For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.
Rom 11:26  And so [then shall] all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:

Now notice a principle which is revealed in the verses which immediately follow the declaration that “the gifts and calling of God are without repentance”:

Rom 11:29 For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.
Rom 11:30 For as ye [Gentile Romans – Rom 1:13] in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:
Rom 11:31 Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.
Rom 11:32 For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.

Being “a ‘Jew’… being ‘Israel’… being ‘Abraham’s seed’ has now become a matter of having a spiritual relationship with God through Christ and that relationship is no longer tethered nor attached to a physical pedigree. Let’s read what the holy spirit says on this matter once  more:

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

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

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

So it will be spiritual Jews, spiritual Israelites, repentant sinners taken from every nation on earth who will be used by God to show mercy to the physical Israelites through whose unbelief we have believed and have been shown mercy. The truth is that Romans 11:30-31 is addressed to Gentile Romans who “have obtained mercy through their [physical Israel’s]  unbelief.”

Rom 1:13 Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purposed to come unto you, (but was let hitherto,) that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among other Gentiles.

It will be through us, through spiritual Israel, that the “all in all” goal of the plan of God for all men will be accomplished, even as all of the holy days of the three seasons of the year are also being fulfilled in and through “Christ and Christ in [us]” (Col 1:27):

Eph 1:18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance [which is] in the saints,
Eph 1:19 And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,
Eph 1:20 Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,
Eph 1:21 Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world [G165: ‘aion’, age], but also in that which is to come:
Eph 1:22 And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,
Eph 1:23 Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.

“The church which is His body [is], the fulness of Him that fills all in all.” It is a rare person who is even given to understand that this is so, because Christ’s “inheritance [is] in the saints”. (Eph 1:18)

It is even fewer who realize that this “all in all” is also typified for us outside of the seven festivals of the three seasons of the year. The goal of the plan of God, God being all in all, is outside the scope of this earthly vessel of clay. Therefore it is represented, not in a day which follows seven sevens of weeks, but in a year which follows seven sevens of years which we are given in the Old Testament law of the year of the jubilee:

Lev 25:9 Then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubile to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month, in the day of atonement shall ye make the trumpet sound throughout all your land.
Lev 25:10 And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubile unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family.

You will notice that the trumpet of the jubilee is sounded on the day of atonement, the day when the scapegoat was offered for the iniquities of Israel. We will stop here for today, and next week we will see what was to take place in the year of the jubilee, and we will find, as we have already pointed out, that even this goal of the plan of God for all men is accomplished through “the church which is His body… the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints”.

[Click here to go to the next chapter.]

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Ezekiel 24:1-27  The Siege of Jerusalem and the Death of Ezekiel’s Wife

[Study Aired July 22, 2024]

Introduction

Today’s study focuses on the sins of the house of Israel which had necessitated the need for them to be judged by the Lord using the king of Babylon as His instrument of judgment by laying siege against Jerusalem. The house of Israel is Babylon or the physical churches of this world of which we were part of during a certain period of our journey with Christ. The study today therefore shows us our sins and the need for us to be judged in order to learn righteousness.

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

In addition, the study also highlights the death of Ezekiel’s wife and what it means to us today. These things were written for our admonition upon whom the “ends of the world are come.”

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

The Judgment of the Lord is Here with Us

Eze 24:1  Again in the ninth year, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 
Eze 24:2  Son of man, write thee the name of the day, even of this same day: the king of Babylon set himself against Jerusalem this same day. 

The number nine symbolizes the judgment of the Lord, and the number 10 shows us the fulness or completeness of the flesh. The tenth day of the tenth month in the ninth year therefore signifies that it is when the sins of our flesh have reached their fullness that we are given to experience the judgment of the Lord. In this case, the judgment of the inhabitants of Jerusalem was at hand because of their sins and the Lord was using the king of Babylon as His instrument of judgment. The completeness or the fullness of the flesh is another way of saying that our sins have reached the Heavens, and therefore judgment is at hand.

Rev 18:4  And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. 
Rev 18:5  For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. 
Rev 18:6  Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double. 
Rev 18:7  How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow. 
Rev 18:8  Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.

As we can see in the verses above, it is when the sins of the harlot woman, representing Babylon or the physical churches of this world, have reached their fullness that her judgment shall begin. This judgment is in another age. However, today’s study is speaking to us of the Lord’s elect, whose judgment is at hand.

As indicated in verse 2, the Lord was using the king of Babylon as His instrument of judgment of His people. The king of Babylon is the smith the Lord has created that blows the coals in the fire to bring forth an instrument of His work. The king of Babylon is therefore the waster that comes to destroy and therefore represents the devil whom the Lord uses to give us an evil experience with the objective of bringing forth as an instrument of His work as we learn righteousness.

Isa 54:16  Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy. 
Isa 54:17 No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.

These verses therefore highlight the role the devil plays in our salvation. As we know, during the thousand-year reign of the elect, the devil will literally be arrested by the Lord, and therefore he will not be available as a smith that blows in the fire. That is why no one shall be saved during the thousand-year reign.

Rev 20:1  And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 
Rev 20:2  And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, 
Rev 20:3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.

The Lord Speaks to His Rebellious House in Parables

Eze 24:3  And utter a parable unto the rebellious house, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Set on a pot, set it on, and also pour water into it: 
Eze 24:4  Gather the pieces thereof into it, even every good piece, the thigh, and the shoulder; fill it with the choice bones. 
Eze 24:5  Take the choice of the flock, and burn also the bones under it, and make it boil well, and let them seethe the bones of it therein.
Eze 24:6  Wherefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe to the bloody city, to the pot whose scum is therein, and whose scum is not gone out of it! bring it out piece by piece; let no lot fall upon it. 

It is instructive to note that the Lord directed Ezekiel to speak in a parable to the rebellious house of Israel. As we know from the word of the Lord, our Lord Jesus spoke in parables to the multitude, and when the disciples questioned Him about it, He said that He speaks in parables because it is not given to the multitude to understand the mysteries of the kingdom of Heaven. In a similar vein, Ezekiel speaking to the rebellious house of Israel was to make them not understand the mysteries of the Kingdom. As a matter of fact, Ezekiel, and all the old testament prophets, were not even given to understand the Lord’s words. Ezekiel speaking in parables implies that when we rebelled against the Lord during our time in Babylon, we were not given to know the mysteries of the kingdom. 

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. 
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, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them. 

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

In verses 3 to 5, the Lord told Ezekiel to put a pot on the fire and pour water in it. After that he should cut meat into pieces with all the best pieces of the thigh and shoulder and fill the pot with the meatiest bones selected from the best sheep. Finally, he should pile wood under the pot to boil the mixture to ensure that the bones are well cooked. The question is, “What is the Lord telling us with this parable?” In verse 6, we are given to know that the pot, or the rusted pot, represents the city of Jerusalem with blood on its hands.

Eze 24:6  These words mean that Jerusalem is doomed! The city is filled with murderers and is like an old, rusty pot. The meat is taken out piece by piece, and no one cares what happens to it. (CEV)

Remember that we were part of Jerusalem which is in bondage with her children, that is, Babylon, with blood on our hands for hating the Lord and those He sent to us.

Luk 11:49  Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute: 
Luk 11:50  That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation; 
Luk 11:51 From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation. 

Both the meat and the bones represent our flesh, and the fire at the bottom of the pot symbolizes the fire of the word of the Lord which is the judgment of our flesh or old man because of the word we have received.

Gen 2:23  And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.

2Sa 19:12  Ye are my brethren, ye are my bones and my flesh: wherefore then are ye the last to bring back the king?

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. 

The bones being well cooked means that the judgment of our flesh, or our old man, is a thorough work of the Lord. It is insightful to note that in verse 6 we are told that Ezekiel should empty the pot piece by piece without choosing any particular piece. That is to say that all in Babylon shall be judged. However, we, the Lord’s elect who are the first to come out of Babylon, shall be judged first in this life. Our brothers and sisters shall be judged later in another age.

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.  

In verse 6, we are also told that the rust or the scum shall not go out of it. That is to say that in this age, the sins of Babylon shall not go away. From the Lord’s words, we know that it will only go away in the lake of fire. 

Our Sins that Necessitated the Lord’s Judgment

Eze 24:7  For her blood is in the midst of her; she set it upon the top of a rock; she poured it not upon the ground, to cover it with dust; 
Eze 24:8  That it might cause fury to come up to take vengeance; I have set her blood upon the top of a rock, that it should not be covered. 
Eze 24:9  Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe to the bloody city! I will even make the pile for fire great. 
Eze 24:10  Heap on wood, kindle the fire, consume the flesh, and spice it well, and let the bones be burned. 
Eze 24:11 Then set it empty upon the coals thereof, that the brass of it may be hot, and may burn, and that the filthiness of it may be molten in it, that the scum of it may be consumed.  

Apart from the literal shedding of blood of righteous men sent to the churches, that is, the death of our Lord Jesus and many of His servants, the shedding of blood spiritually signifies making those who have started their journey with the Lord worse off or spiritually dead through false doctrines. In verses 7 and 8, the fact that the blood of the righteous is set upon the top of a rock and not poured on the ground to cover it implies that the putting to death of the Lord’s children through the great swelling words of man’s wisdom and tradition is obvious for everyone to see, even people of the world. We, as the Lord’s elect, are also guilty of shedding blood since we were part of the church system, that is Babylon at a certain stage of our walk with Christ. 

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.
Rev 17:7 And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.  

2Pe 2:18  For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error. 
2Pe 2:19  While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage. 
2Pe 2:20 For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. 

As a result of our hands stained with the blood of the saints, the Lord comes with His judgment to deliver us. Verses 9 to 11 show us the Lord’s judgment which is designed to purge us from the shedding of blood during our time in Jerusalem, or the churches of this world, as we learn righteousness. 

Isa 59:3  For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue hath muttered perverseness. 
Isa 59:4  None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity. 

Isa 59:7  Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood: their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; wasting and destruction are in their paths. 
Isa 59:8 The way of peace they know not; and there is no judgment in their goings: they have made them crooked paths: whosoever goeth therein shall not know peace.

Isa 4:4  When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning. 

We can see from these verses in Isaiah that the Lord shall surely intervene in our circumstances to cleanse us from the blood on our hands and from all kinds of evil through the judgment of our old man. In Ezekiel 24:11, the Lord is assuring us that His judgment shall result in our filthiness melted and the rust of it shall be consumed. That is to say that the judgment of the Lord shall destroy our old man or the man of sin in our lives.

Eze 24:12  She hath wearied herself with lies, and her great scum went not forth out of her: her scum shall be in the fire. 
Eze 24:13  In thy filthiness is lewdness: because I have purged thee, and thou wast not purged, thou shalt not be purged from thy filthiness any more, till I have caused my fury to rest upon thee. 
Eze 24:14  I the LORD have spoken it: it shall come to pass, and I will do it; I will not go back, neither will I spare, neither will I repent; according to thy ways, and according to thy doings, shall they judge thee, saith the Lord GOD.  

As indicated, it is through the lies or false doctrines that we become murderers and as a result become worse off. In verse 13, the Lord is telling us that on our own, we cannot purge ourselves of our lewdness. It is only through the Lord’s fury or His judgment that we can accomplish that. In other words, we cannot on our own walk in righteousness. The Lord has to come into our lives with the spirit of His mouth and His brightness to judge us in order to live righteously. In verse 14, the Lord is assuring us that He will surely make us righteous through His judgment. Isaiah 59:16-17 makes it clear to us that there is no man or intercessor to help us. That means that no man can help us or himself to become righteous. It is the Lord’s zeal for His Father’s house alone that assures us that He who has started a good work in us shall surely bring it to completion. 

Isa 59:16  And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him. 
Isa 59:17  For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloke. 
Isa 59:18  According to their deeds, accordingly he will repay, fury to his adversaries, recompence to his enemies; to the islands he will repay recompence. 
Isa 59:19 So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him. 

Psa 69:9  For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me.

Are you worried that you may not attain the standards of the Lord in view of your apparent weaknesses or sins? This is not the time to gloat over what we cannot do by ourselves. Our Lord Jesus Christ’s zeal to bring to perfection the Christ in us is consuming Him. Let’s turn our attention from ourselves and look to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith!!

Php 1:6  Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: 

Zec 4:6  Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts. 
Zec 4:7 Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it.

The Death of Ezekiel’s Wife

Eze 24:15  Also the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 
Eze 24:16  Son of man, behold, I take away from thee the desire of thine eyes with a stroke: yet neither shalt thou mourn nor weep, neither shall thy tears run down. 
Eze 24:17  Forbear to cry, make no mourning for the dead, bind the tire of thine head upon thee, and put on thy shoes upon thy feet, and cover not thy lips, and eat not the bread of men. 
Eze 24:18 So I spake unto the people in the morning: and at even my wife died; and I did in the morning as I was commanded. 

Following from the earlier verses where we saw that the Lord is ready to unleash His fury on our old man because of our sins, the verses here show us the benefits of the Lord’s judgment. These verses use the symbol of the death of Ezekiel’s wife to show us what the Lord is doing in our lives presently. We can look at Ezekiel’s wife as representing the bride of Christ or the church which has gone astray, as Ezekiel here signifies Christ. This bride of Christ is the physical churches of this world or Babylon. Although we have physically left Babylon, we still retain the doctrines of Babylon within our hearts and minds which prevent us from knowing Christ. Thus, there is the need for Babylon within us to be taken away, just as Ezekiel’s wife had to die. In Revelation 14, we are told that our judgment includes the destruction of Babylon within us. This Babylon is the harlot woman who in this case represents Ezekiel’s wife.

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

Babylon within us must be destroyed, and outwardly, we must leave Babylon.

Rev 18:4  And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. 
Rev 18:5 For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.

The wife of Ezekiel in this case can be likened to the prophet Hosea’s wife who was a harlot, whom Hosea was instructed by the Lord to marry. All these women signify Babylon within us and without. 

Hos 1:2  When the LORD first spoke to Hosea, the LORD told him, “Marry a prostitute and have children with that prostitute. The people in this land have acted like prostitutes and abandoned the LORD.” 
Hos 1:3 So Hosea married Gomer, daughter of Diblaim. She became pregnant and had a son.

It is instructive to note that in verse 16, the Lord told Ezekiel concerning his wife that He was going to take away the desire of his eyes with a stroke. In this perspective, the wife of Ezekiel therefore represents the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life which the Lord is gradually destroying in our lives. 

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.

Outwardly, the Lord will destroy Babylon in the fullness of time with a stroke just like what happened to Ezekiel’s wife in verse 18, who was alive in the morning, and by the evening, she was gone. 

Rev 18:7  How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow. 
Rev 18:8  Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her. 
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 also informative to note that the Lord required Ezekiel not to mourn or cry for the death of his wife (verses 16 and 17). The death of a wife is one of the most painful experiences in life. However, the fact that the Lord asked Ezekiel not to mourn is to let us know that although the death of Babylon in our lives is a painful experience, we are not to mourn during this evil experience of our judgment because of the joy that is set before us. We are to look to Jesus, who despised the evil experience He was destined to go through, in view of the joy He was going to possess.

Ecc 1:13  And I gave my heart to seek and to investigate by wisdom concerning all which is done under the heavens. It is an evil task God has given to the sons of men, to be afflicted by it. (LITV)

Heb 12:2  Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. 

Eze 24:19  And the people said unto me, Wilt thou not tell us what these things are to us, that thou doest so?

The people asking Ezekiel regarding the death of his wife and the fact that he was not allowed to mourn shows us that it is impossible for those who have not been given eyes to see and ears to hear to understand the mysteries concerning the Kingdom of Heaven. We were like these people at a certain stage of our walk until the Lord came to cause us to understand His words. 

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.

Eze 24:20  Then I answered them, The word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 
Eze 24:21  Speak unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the excellency of your strength, the desire of your eyes, and that which your soul pitieth; and your sons and your daughters whom ye have left shall fall by the sword. 
Eze 24:22  And ye shall do as I have done: ye shall not cover your lips, nor eat the bread of men. 
Eze 24:23  And your tires [turban, bonnet] shall be upon your heads, and your shoes upon your feet: ye shall not mourn nor weep; but ye shall pine away for your iniquities, and mourn one toward another. 
Eze 24:24 Thus Ezekiel is unto you a sign: according to all that he hath done shall ye do: and when this cometh, ye shall know that I am the Lord GOD. 

Here in these verses, the Lord is showing us that our deplorable state in the churches of this world is all part of His agenda. In verse 21, He informed the house of Israel representing Babylon that He will profane His sanctuary or holy place which is our hearts and minds. This He does with the man of sin sitting in our temple claiming himself to be God. Our sons and daughters falling by the sword means we shall be polluted with false doctrines (the negative application of sword). 

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: 

The Lord also told the house of Israel in verses 22 to 24 that they should imitate Ezekiel in the sense that they should not mourn or weep when He destroys Jerusalem, their sanctuary which was the desire of their eyes and the excellency of their strength. As indicated earlier, this Jerusalem represents Babylon within us which shall be destroyed by the Lord through His judgment. Later, in an age to come, the Lord will deal with Babylon outwardly. These verses confirm to us that Ezekiel’s wife is Babylon within us. Just like Ezekiel, we are required not to mourn the destruction of Babylon within us since their destruction is our salvation.

This brings to mind our Lord Jesus Christ during His time here on earth when He was followed by many who were wailing and lamenting Him as He was led to the cross. He turned around and told them not to weep for Him. As He is, so are we. We are not to wail or pity ourselves for the evil experience we are enduring!! This is because it is a blessing to be judged in this life!! 

Luk 23:26  And as they led him away, they laid hold upon one Simon, a Cyrenian, coming out of the country, and on him they laid the cross, that he might bear it after Jesus. 
Luk 23:27  And there followed him a great company of people, and of women, which also bewailed and lamented him. 
Luk 23:28  But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children. 
Luk 23:29 For, behold, the days are coming, in the which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the paps which never gave suck.

In Luke 23:29, the barren who are blessed are the Lord’s elect who are going through the Lord’s judgment in this life.

Gal 4:25  For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. 
Gal 4:26  But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. 
Gal 4:27 For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband. 

Eze 24:25  Also, thou son of man, shall it not be in the day when I take from them their strength, the joy of their glory, the desire of their eyes, and that whereupon they set their minds, their sons and their daughters, 
Eze 24:26  That he that escapeth in that day shall come unto thee, to cause thee to hear it with thine ears? 
Eze 24:27 In that day shall thy mouth be opened to him which is escaped, and thou shalt speak, and be no more dumb: and thou shalt be a sign unto them; and they shall know that I am the LORD. 

A simpler rendition of these verses are as follows:

Eze 24:25  “As for you, son of man, surely on the day when I take from them their stronghold, their joy and glory, the delight of their eyes and their soul’s desire, and also their sons and daughters, 
Eze 24:26  on that day a fugitive will come to you to report to you the news. 
Eze 24:27 On that day your mouth will be opened to the fugitive, and you shall speak and be no longer mute. So, you will be a sign to them, and they will know that I am the LORD.” (ESV)

These verses reveal the end result of the Lord’s judgment. As indicated in verse 25, our stronghold shall be destroyed. This stronghold is our old man, and his death destroys the lust of our flesh, the lust of our eyes and the pride of life. What we need to know is that the Lord’s judgment is not a one day event, but a process that takes a lifetime. In verse 26, we are shown that it is while we are going through the Lord’s judgment that a fugitive will come to us to report to us the good news about the kingdom of Heaven. The fugitive here who comes to us on that day refers to the Lord’s elect who comes to us in the name of the Lord. The Lord’s elect are fugitives because we have run away from our captivity in Babylon. It is the coming of this fugitive in our lives which signals the coming of Christ into our lives.

Luk 13:35  Behold, your house is left unto you desolate: and verily I say unto you, Ye shall not see me, until the time come when ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.

Psa 137:1  By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion. 
Psa 137:2  We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof. 
Psa 137:3 For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion. 

The coming of the fugitive into our lives signals the beginning of the time that we are given to know and speak the mysteries of the kingdom and not remain silent (verse 27). 

In summary, this is what Paul said concerning what we are going through now as the Lord’s elect:

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. 

May the Lord’s Name be Praised for His wonderful work in us!! Amen!!

[Study Aired June 24, 2024]

Introduction

Our study for today is based on the certainty of our judgment if we are called and chosen by the Lord. Most of the study is devoted to showing us our sins to give the Lord the occasion that He is seeking to come to us with His judgment.

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.

The study today also makes us aware that this judgment of the Lord is not an enjoyable experience. It is a fiery trial or an evil experience that we go through with the purpose of making us submit to our Lord.

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

Through the study, we come to see the Lord’s deliverance from our sins through His judgment of our old man. This deliverance is wholly based on the Lord’s mercies upon us. This mercy we are receiving from the Lord is what we are expected to demonstrate to the whole of humanity in the lake-of-fire age to make the Lord’s enemies His footstool. That is to say that every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus is Lord in the fullness of time!!

Lam 3:22  It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. 
Lam 3:23  They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. 

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

Psa 110:1  A Psalm of David. The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.

Php 2:10  That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 
Php 2:11  And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 

The Certainty of the Lord’s Judgment

Eze 21:1  The word of the LORD came to me: 
Eze 21:2  “Son of man, set your face toward Jerusalem and preach against the sanctuaries. Prophesy against the land of Israel 
Eze 21:3  and say to the land of Israel, Thus says the LORD: Behold, I am against you and will draw my sword from its sheath and will cut off from you both righteous and wicked. 
Eze 21:4  Because I will cut off from you both righteous and wicked, therefore my sword shall be drawn from its sheath against all flesh from south to north.

What is said in these verses and the whole of this chapter concerns Jerusalem which is in bondage with her children. This Jerusalem is the harlot woman, Babylon, of which we were part until the Lord came with His brightness and the spirit of His mouth to deliver us.

Gal 4:25  For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children.
Gal 4:26  But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. 
Gal 4:27  For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband. 

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:

In the previous chapter, we were made to see our sins, and as a result, we are to go through the Lord’s judgment as indicated by the drawing of the sword from its sheath in verses 3 and 4. Both verses show us that this judgment is for both the righteous and the wicked who are also symbolized by all flesh from the south to the north. The south represents those who are under the influence of the flesh (sea), that is, the wicked, and the north signifies those who are overcoming the flesh, the righteous. What we are being told is that all flesh will face judgment. This is repeated in Jeremiah 25:27-29, which shows us that we shall surely drink from the cup of the Lord’s judgment. We must remember that our Lord Jesus Christ was judged in His humanity because of His flesh although He did not sin.

Jer 25:27  Therefore thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Drink ye, and be drunken, and spue, and fall, and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you. 
Jer 25:28  And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup at thine hand to drink, then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Ye shall certainly drink. 
Jer 25:29  For, lo, I begin to bring evil on the city which is called by my name, and should ye be utterly unpunished? Ye shall not be unpunished: for I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, saith the LORD of hosts.

In other parts of the word of the Lord, we are made to see that it is the Lord’s elect, or the righteous in verses 3 and 4, who are being judged in this age. The wicked shall receive their judgment in a latter age called the lake of fire.

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. 

1Ti 5:24  Some men’s sins are open beforehand, going before to judgment; and some men they follow after. 

Eze 21:5  That all flesh may know that I the LORD have drawn forth my sword out of his sheath: it shall not return any more. 
Eze 21:6  Sigh therefore, thou son of man, with the breaking of thy loins; and with bitterness sigh before their eyes. 
Eze 21:7  And it shall be, when they say unto thee, Wherefore sighest thou? that thou shalt answer, For the tidings; because it cometh: and every heart shall melt, and all hands shall be feeble, and every spirit shall faint, and all knees shall be weak as water: behold, it cometh, and shall be brought to pass, saith the Lord GOD.

In verse 5, we are told that the Lord has drawn His sword out of His sheath and shall not return it. This means that we shall all face the judgment of the Lord upon our old man, and it is an irreversible decision. This is because the Lord is not like the sons of men who are always changing their minds. 

Num 23:19  God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? 

Verses 6 and 7 tell us that the judgment of the Lord is a bitter experience. That is why the two witnesses in the Book of Revelation were clothed in sackcloth which signifies that their walk here on earth with the Lord is a mourning experience as we go through the Lord’s judgment.

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. 

This was the experience of Jeremiah when the Lord’s judgment was upon the people of Israel during the Babylonian invasion which was the judgment of the Lord:

Lam 3:17  And thou hast removed my soul far off from peace: I forgat prosperity. 
Lam 3:18  And I said, My strength and my hope is perished from the LORD: 
Lam 3:19  Remembering mine affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall. 
Lam 3:20  My soul hath them still in remembrance, and is humbled in me. 
Lam 3:21  This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope.
Lam 3:22  It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. 
Lam 3:23  They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. 
Lam 3:24  The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.

In spite of the bitter experience Jeremiah went through, he ended up hoping in the Lord. This is because the Lord’s mercies toward us will not result in our destruction.  What the Lord starts, He will surely bring to completion.

Php 1:6  Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

Eze 21:8  Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 
Eze 21:9  Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus saith the LORD; Say, A sword, a sword is sharpened, and also furbished: 
Eze 21:10  It is sharpened to make a sore slaughter; it is furbished that it may glitter: should we then make mirth? it contemneth the rod of my son, as every tree. 
Eze 21:11  And he hath given it to be furbished, that it may be handled: this sword is sharpened, and it is furbished, to give it into the hand of the slayer.

In verse 9, we are told that the sword of the Lord is sharpened and ‘furbished’ or polished. Additional information is given to us in verses 10 and 11 to show us the purpose for the sharpening and the furbishing. The sword is sharpened for slaughter and is furbished to glitter. At the end of the day, the sharpening of the sword and the polishing was for the purpose of giving it into the hand of the slayer in verse 11. As we are aware, the sword is one of the Lord’s instruments of judgment. 

Eze 14:21  For thus saith the Lord GOD; How much more when I send my four sore judgments upon Jerusalem, the sword, and the famine, and the noisome beast, and the pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast? 

In verse 10, the purpose for the sharpening of the sword as an instrument of judgment is for the purpose of slaughtering or killing of our old man or the flesh. This is how the sword is used as instrument of judgment:

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 are 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 10, the sword is polished so that it may glitter. According to Strong’s Dictionary, the word “glitter” can mean to occur or bring to pass (H1961). This implies that the polishing of the sword in verse 10 is to make us aware that our judgment is at hand. Glitter can also mean lightning (H1300). One of the uses of lightning in the word of the Lord is as follows:

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.

This means that the judgment of the Lord (sword) will thoroughly lighten our heavens. In other words, the Lord’s judgment is not a partial work, but a total lightening of our hearts and minds (heavens). In verse 11, we are told that both the sharpening and the polishing of the sword are for the purpose of giving it over to the hand of the slayer. The slayer is the devil whose work results in the destruction of our flesh. 

1Co 5:4  In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
1Co 5:5  To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. 

Our Fiery Trials

Eze 21:12  Cry and howl, son of man: for it shall be upon my people, it shall be upon all the princes of Israel: terrors by reason of the sword shall be upon my people: smite therefore upon thy thigh. 
Eze 21:13  Because it is a trial, and what if the sword contemn even the rod? it shall be no more, saith the Lord GOD.

As indicated, the judgment of the Lord’s elect (the princes of Israel) is a fiery trial which is not an easy experience for our flesh. These are the encouraging words of our Lord as we go through this harrowing experience:

1Pe 4:12  Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: 
1Pe 4:13  But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. 
1Pe 4:14  If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. 
1Pe 4:15  But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men’s matters. 
1Pe 4:16  Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf. 

Eze 21:14  Thou therefore, son of man, prophesy, and smite thine hands together, and let the sword be doubled the third time, the sword of the slain: it is the sword of the great men that are slain, which entereth into their privy chambers. 
Eze 21:15  I have set the point of the sword against all their gates, that their heart may faint, and their ruins be multiplied: ah! it is made bright, it is wrapped up for the slaughter. 
Eze 21:16  Go thee one way or other, either on the right hand, or on the left, whithersoever thy face is set. 
Eze 21:17  I will also smite mine hands together, and I will cause my fury to rest: I the LORD have said it. 

These verses show us that the Lord will do a thorough work with His judgment of the sword in our lives. In verse 14, the Lord commanded the sword to be doubled the third time. This is to show us the benefits of the Lord’s judgment. Doubling the sword does not mean that the Lord will increase the suffering that we go through. Doubling something means multiplying by 2. This implies that it is through His judgment that we become witnesses (the significance of the number 2) for Christ in this life. Doubling the sword for the third time (the significance of the number three) is to make us aware that it is through the process of the Lord’s judgment we become spiritually mature.  The judgment of the Lord which, in this case is the sword, is for the thorough destruction of our old man as symbolized by the slaying of many people in these verses. 

Rom 9:28  For he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth. 

The Judgement of Jerusalem First

Eze 21:18  The word of the LORD came unto me again, saying, 
Eze 21:19  Also, thou son of man, appoint thee two ways, that the sword of the king of Babylon may come: both twain shall come forth out of one land: and choose thou a place, choose it at the head of the way to the city. 
Eze 21:20  Appoint a way, that the sword may come to Rabbath of the Ammonites, and to Judah in Jerusalem the defenced. 
Eze 21:21  For the king of Babylon stood at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination: he made his arrows bright, he consulted with images, he looked in the liver. 
Eze 21:22  At his right hand was the divination for Jerusalem, to appoint captains, to open the mouth in the slaughter, to lift up the voice with shouting, to appoint battering rams against the gates, to cast a mount, and to build a fort. 

In these verses, the Lord has chosen the king of Babylon as His instrument of judgment by the sword. The task that the king of Babylon had to perform was twofold. First, to overcome the inhabitants of Jerusalem and after that to go to Rabbah to defeat the Ammonites. In the process of choosing between which city to attack first, that is, Rabbah and Jerusalem, we are shown in verse 21 that the king of Babylon used divination. In verse 22, we see that it was through the use of divination he concluded that he must attack Jerusalem first.  We know from the word of the Lord that He hates divination and that it is a lie of the devil.

Eze 13:6  They have seen vanity and lying divination, saying, The LORD saith: and the LORD hath not sent them: and they have made others to hope that they would confirm the word. 

Deu 18:10  There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, 
Deu 18:11  Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. 
Deu 18:12  For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee.
Deu 18:13  Thou shalt be perfect with the LORD thy God. 

2Ki 17:17  And they caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire, and used divination and enchantments, and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.

In this passage of scripture under review, however, the Lord’s instrument of judgment, that is, the king of Babylon, used divination to attack Jerusalem first which was in the perfect will of the Lord. This is to demonstrate to us that everything under heaven, both good or evil that is going on in this world is according to the perfect will of God. That is another way of saying the following:

Pro 16:33  The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD.

Spiritually, the coming of the king of Babylon to Jerusalem first signifies that as the Lord’s elect (Jerusalem), we must first be taken captive by Babylon before we are given to overcome the flesh, signified by the invasion of the Ammonites by the king of Babylon. It is through this Babylonian captivity that we are made aware of our sins which is a prerequisite to the coming of the Lord with His brightness and spirit of His mouth into our lives. In other words, the man of sin must be revealed before the coming of the Lord in our lives.

2Th 2:3  Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there comes a falling away first (Babylonian captivity), 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? 
2Th 2:6  And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. 
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:

Eze 21:23  And it shall be unto them as a false divination in their sight, to them that have sworn oaths: but he will call to remembrance the iniquity, that they may be taken. 
Eze 21:24  Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye have made your iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are discovered, so that in all your doings your sins do appear; because, I say, that ye are come to remembrance, ye shall be taken with the hand.
Eze 21:25  And thou, profane wicked prince of Israel, whose day is come, when iniquity shall have an end, 
Eze 21:26  Thus saith the Lord GOD; Remove the diadem, and take off the crown: this shall not be the same: exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high. 
Eze 21:27  I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him.

The inhabitants of Jerusalem would not regard the fact that it is the Lord who had sent the king of Babylon as they would regard his divination as false. In our time in Babylon, we also thought that it is impossible for us to be taken captive by the harlot woman since we claimed to be the Lord’s children. Here in verse 23 and 24 we are made aware that the king of Babylon would remind us of our sins as we are taken as captives by him. This implies that the essence of our Babylonian captivity is to show us our sins, which is a prerequisite for the coming of the Lord in our lives. As we are aware, we must fall away first and come to know our sins as the man of sin in our lives (the flesh) is revealed to us. It is then that the Lord comes to help us destroy the man of sin.  

2Th 2:3  Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there comes 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? 
2Th 2:6  And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. 
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:

In verse 25, being called profane wicked princes shows us our state when the Lord came to us. However, we are made aware in the same verse that our iniquity shall come to an end. Our judgment shall surely result in us learning righteousness.

Verse 26 continues to show us our state in Babylon. Our lifestyle did not reflect our royal priesthood status as our diadem and crowns as royals were taken away by the evil one. By God’s grace, our status as royal priesthood has been restored through the judgment of the Lord. We are therefore admonished to ensure that no one takes away our crowns.

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

As the Lord declared here in Revelation 3:11, the only way we can protect our crowns is to hold on fast to what we have received. In other words, we must continue to walk in the truth we have received to qualify ourselves as overcomers. 

In verse 26, we are also told that those who are low shall be exalted and those who exalt themselves shall be abased. We, the Lord’s elect, are those who through the Lord’s judgment are humbled or abased to become exalted in the fullness of time. 

Jas 4:10  Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up. 

1Pe 5:6  Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:

Verse 27 focuses on the ruin being brought about by the judgment of the Lord. As we are aware, it is our old man who is being destroyed and therefore being ruined or overturned in this judgment process. As a result, the power of the old man to influence our lives shall be no more. The one that comes whose right it is in verse 27 refers to our new man who is after the image of Christ.

The Judgment of the Ammonites after that of Jerusalem

Eze 21:28  And thou, son of man, prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD concerning the Ammonites, and concerning their reproach; even say thou, The sword, the sword is drawn: for the slaughter it is furbished, to consume because of the glittering: 
Eze 21:29  Whiles they see vanity unto thee, whiles they divine a lie unto thee, to bring thee upon the necks of them that are slain, of the wicked, whose day is come, when their iniquity shall have an end. 
Eze 21:30  Shall I cause it to return into his sheath? I will judge thee in the place where thou wast created, in the land of thy nativity. 
Eze 21:31  And I will pour out mine indignation upon thee, I will blow against thee in the fire of my wrath, and deliver thee into the hand of brutish men, and skillful to destroy. 
Eze 21:32  Thou shalt be for fuel to the fire; thy blood shall be in the midst of the land; thou shalt be no more remembered: for I the LORD have spoken it. 

The Lord’s judgment of the Ammonites is a judgment of our old man. The old man or the flesh is referred to in verse 29 as the wicked whose day of judgment is come. Through the Lord’s judgment of our old man, our iniquity shall come to an end.  As indicated earlier, we must of necessity go into Babylonian captivity before we are given to deal with our old man or flesh through the judgment of the Lord. In verse 32, we are shown that our old man or flesh is like fuel for the fire of the Lord’s judgment. Being delivered to brutish men who are skillful to destroy in verse 31 refer to being handed over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh. 

1Co 5:4  In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
1Co 5:5  To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

Isa 54:16  Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy. 
Isa 54:17  No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.

May the Lord be praised for His wonderful plan of salvation. Amen!!

Est 10:1–3 The Greatness of Mordecai

[Study Posted December 20, 2020]

Est 10:1  And the king Ahasuerus laid a tribute upon the land, and upon the isles of the sea. 
Est 10:2  And all the acts of his power and of his might, and the declaration of the greatness of Mordecai, whereunto the king advanced him, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia? 
Est 10:3  For Mordecai the Jew was next unto king Ahasuerus, and great among the Jews, and accepted of the multitude of his brethren, seeking the wealth of his people, and speaking peace to all his seed. 

The concluding chapter of the Book of Esther focuses on the greatness and power of Mordecai, who represents Christ. Knowing his greatness and power is the same as Jesus Christ being unveiled to us. Thus, the objective of the Book of Esther is to unveil Jesus Christ to us, that is, to show us the process of coming to know Christ. As we have demonstrated in the review of the Book of Esther, Mordecai represents Jesus whose greatness and power fills the whole of the scriptures. King Ahasuerus here denotes our Father God who superintends over everything. This concluding review of the Book of Esther will therefore focus on the process of knowing Christ and how such unveiling permeates through the scriptures. The unveiling of Christ or the showing of His greatness and power is about how God changes us from being wicked and insignificant beasts to become rulers of His kingdom.

Ecc 3:18  I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts.

Christ is unveiled to us in the Book of Esther not in a chronological order as most scriptures do not follow that pattern. However, the steps are as follows:

The Period of our Rebellion 

In verse 1 of this review of Esther Chapter 10, the King laid a tribute upon the land and the isles of the sea. Strong’s definition of tribute is as follows:

Tribute
mas, mees
From H4549; properly a burden (as causing to faint), that is, a tax in the form of forced labor: – discomfited, levy, task [-master], tribute (-tary).

So tribute here means a burden or tax or task, etc. Verse 1 is therefore another way of saying that God has given human beings an experience of evil to humble them by it. That is the beginning of the process of knowing Christ. We must know the first Adam before we can know Christ.

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

1Co 15:45  And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
1Co 15:46  Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.
1Co 15:47  The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.

This experience of evil is the operation of the law of sin and death in our lives which results in us disobeying our Lord, reproving and disannulling His judgments. This is demonstrated in the Book of Esther right at the beginning where the King held a feast.  It was during this feast which spiritually signified the hearing of the word of God that we, as Vashti, refused to pay heed to the King’s words. This was a period in our lives where we heard the Lord’s call through His words but we refused to heed to our Master’s call and followed our own pernicious ways.

Isa 1:2  Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.
Isa 1:3  The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider.
Isa 1:4  Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.
Isa 1:5  Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.
Isa 1:6  From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.

Isa 1:21  How is the faithful city become an harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers.
Isa 1:22  Thy silver is become dross, thy wine mixed with water:
Isa 1:23  Thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves: every one loveth gifts, and followeth after rewards: they judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them.
Isa 1:24  Therefore saith the Lord, the LORD of hosts, the mighty One of Israel, Ah, I will ease me of mine adversaries, and avenge me of mine enemies:

This period in our lives, as portrayed in the Book of Revelation, is when we are shown the extent of our sins as portrayed in the message to the seven churches and the need for us to be judged. For example:

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

Rev 2:14  But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.
Rev 2:15  So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.
Rev 2:16  Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.

The encounter of the Israelites with God in the desert shows us our hopeless sinful state. The Ten Commandments which represent the law of sin and death were therefore given to the Israelites to show them their sins.

Psa 95:10  Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways:
Psa 95:11  Unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest.

Gal 3:19  Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.

In Exodus 33:18-23, Moses requested to see the Lord’s glory. He could only see the back parts and not the face of the Lord of glory. The back parts represent the law of Moses or the law of sin and death. Seeing the Lord’s face and his glory is operating under the law of the spirit of life which sets us free from the law of sin and death.

Exo 33:18  And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory.
Exo 33:19  And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.
Exo 33:20  And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.
Exo 33:21  And the LORD said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock:
Exo 33:22  And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by:
Exo 33:23  And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen.

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

The Need to be Judged

If we are destined to be part of the elect, just as Esther was chosen to become one of the possible candidates to become the bride of the King, then we will be dragged to repentance through fiery trials as demonstrated in many parts of the scriptures.

After the law of sin and death has been applied to us, we then come to know that we are sinful and without hope, and so this necessitates that the Lord comes to judge us as shown by the Israelites meeting the Lord on Mount Sinai. During this encounter, Israel witnessed smoke, fire and earthquake on Mount Sinai, representing the need to be judged.

The need to be dragged to Christ through judgment is also illustrated by the dedication of the temple in the Old Testament. When Solomon was dedicating the temple to the Lord in 1 Kings 8, the priests could not minister because the temple was filled with a cloud of the glory of God. Revelation 15:8 gives us insight why they could not minister.  It was because the priests were sinful and needed to be judged by the seven plagues before they could enter the temple to worship. The same thing happened to Moses when he could not enter the Tent of meeting because of the cloud that abode there. We have to pass through this judgment process which is a lifetime experience in order to know our King’s greatness in terms of His power and might as exemplified by Mordecai’s greatness in verse 2 of this review.

1Ki 8:10  And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the LORD,
1Ki 8:11  So that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of the LORD.

Exo 40:35  And Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation, because the cloud abode thereon, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.

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

The Judgment Process

The judgment process is the same as a purification process. In the Book of Esther, before Esther could meet the King, she had to go through a purification process. This purification process causes us to gradually become doers of His words.  That is when we commence the dying process (beautification process) in order to meet our husband the King. We are dragged to meet the Lord through judgment (seven plagues), and it is this judgment process that grants us access to the temple to worship our Lord.

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.

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

Act 9:15  But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:
Act 9:16  For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake.

2Co 6:4  But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses,
2Co 6:5  In stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings;

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

All the Israelites who left Egypt died in the wilderness through judgment, with the exception of Joshua and Caleb. The dying of the Israelites represents the dying of our old man in this journey of going to the promised land.

Jos 5:6  For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, till all the people that were men of war, which came out of Egypt, were consumed, because they obeyed not the voice of the LORD: unto whom the LORD sware that he would not shew them the land, which the LORD sware unto their fathers that he would give us, a land that floweth with milk and honey.

The seven plagues in the Book of Revelation are represented in the Book of Esther by Haman’s (the beast within) attempts to put to death all the Jews at an appointed time.  This brings us to our wits’ end as demonstrated by Esther putting her life on the line to come to the King’s presence uninvited. The King extending the sceptre to Esther is like Esther coming from death to life.

Psa 107:21  Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
Psa 107:22  And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his works with rejoicing.
Psa 107:23  They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters;
Psa 107:24  These see the works of the LORD, and his wonders in the deep.
Psa 107:25  For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof.
Psa 107:26  They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble.
Psa 107:27  They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits’ end.
Psa 107:28  Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses.
Psa 107:29  He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.
Psa 107:30  Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven.
Psa 107:31  Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!

What we need to understand is that the judgment process is accompanied by a period when our heavens are opened to receive exponentially the knowledge of God and of His son Jesus.  That is what eternal life is all about. This is demonstrated in the Book of Revelation by a heavenly scene where the Lion of the tribe of Judah (Jesus) prevailed to open the seal of the word of God. Jesus also said in explaining the parable of the sower that as we receive the word of God, there will be more tribulations or persecutions. So the process of judgment and the exponential increase in the knowledge of God go together.

Rev 5:3  And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon.
Rev 5:4  And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon.
Rev 5:5  And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.
Rev 5:6  And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.
Rev 5:7  And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne.

Rev 6:1  And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.

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.

We can only see the glory of the Lord when we are judged. The glory of the Lord is the devouring fire that destroys the works of the flesh in our lives to be able to hear His voice. In other words, it is being able to hear His voice in the midst of our affliction, as shown in the verses below:

Exo 24:17  And the sight of the glory of the LORD was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel.

Deu 5:24  And ye said, Behold, the LORD our God hath shewed us his glory and his greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire: we have seen this day that God doth talk with man, and he liveth.

The end result of the judgment that is marked out for us is the death of the old man and the birth and growth of the new man. In other words, judgment begets righteousness, which is a life of obedience as we wait for the manifestation of the sons of God.  The manifestation of the sons of God is the same as the joy that is set before 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.

The Joy that is Set Before Us

Through the death of Haman, Mordecai and Esther are given exalted positions in the King’s kingdom.  That represents the joy which is set before us. In our walk here on this earth, this joy set before us is only in earnest form. In other words, only a portion of this joy is given to us now. The fullness will come into play at the time of the redemption of the purchased possession. The purchased possession includes the period of our rulership when the kingdoms of this world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ. It extends also to the lake of fire age.  The Book of Revelation shows us the joy that is set before us by unveiling to us the reward for overcoming, the millennial rule, the great white throne judgment and the New Jerusalem.

Heb 12:2  Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Eph 1:14  Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

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.

The death of that generation which left Egypt through judgments signifies the death of our old man which granted the new generation of Israelites the ability to possess the land of Canaan which God has promised them. The land of Canaan figuratively represents our bodies which must die (a negative connotation), but it also represents the joy that was set before the Israelites and to us (a positive application).

Jos 5:6  For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, till all the people that were men of war, which came out of Egypt, were consumed, because they obeyed not the voice of the LORD: unto whom the LORD sware that he would not shew them the land, which the LORD sware unto their fathers that he would give us, a land that floweth with milk and honey.

In conclusion, these processes outlined show how Christ is unveiled to us as we come to appreciate the acts of His power and might and of His greatness as symbolized by the greatness of Mordecai (verses 2 and 3). This is what Paul was alluding to when he prayed for his Ephesian brethren that:

Eph 1:15  Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints,
Eph 1:16  Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers;
Eph 1:17  That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:
Eph 1:18  The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
Eph 1:19  And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,
Eph 1:20  Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,
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 (His greatness and might):
Eph 1:22  And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,
Eph 1:23  Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.

May God have mercy on us by granting us the grace to know Him and to be found in Him on that day!! Amen!!

[Study Aired July 16, 2020]

“For we which have believed do enter into rest” of verse 3 of our study speaks of the promise that is given to those who are granted belief in this life (Mat 13:11, Mat 13:16), and when we believe (Joh 6:29) we can then labour to enter into God’s rest through Jesus Christ who represents our Sabbath, our seventh day within us. Jesus gives us the ability to live by faith and not by sight as we fulfill God’s will on earth as it is done in heaven (Rom 1:17, 1Jn 5:4, Heb 11:8, Gen 12:1, Gal 2:20, Rom 8:14, Luk 22:42-43).

Mat 13:11  He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven [Luk 17:20-21, Col 1:27], but to them it is not given.[Rom 8:9, Rom 9:8, Mat 16:4]

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, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.

Joh 6:29  Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

Luk 22:42  Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.

Luk 22:43  And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.

We become a new spiritual creation through Jesus Christ as we rest from our own labours by losing our life (Mat 16:25). We receive the witness (Rom 8:16) that it is Christ who is working in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure. As we are dragged to Christ (Joh 6:44) He gives us the power to seek the kingdom of God first and His righteousness (Php 2:13, Mat 6:33-34). It is God’s good pleasure to do this work within His workmanship, which we are (Eph 2:10), as He gives us the kingdom in earnest today within (Eph 1:14). God’s people are now a zealous and peculiar people (1Pe 2:9) who move with fear and trembling knowing that what we have been called to requires us to move with fear to the saving of our souls (Heb 11:7) as we go without the camp with our Lord and witness around us a world without and within that is coming to a climactic end before our Lord returns (Mat 24:6-13).

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

Mat 6:33  But seek ye first the kingdom of God [Luk 17:21], and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Mat 6:34  Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

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

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.

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.

Mat 24:10  And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.

Mat 24:11  And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.

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

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

The only way we will be able to endure until the end of this age is to go without the camp with our Lord, going where our flesh does not want to go, as we keep under ourselves (1Co 9:27), dying daily, and praying for God’s kingdom and for His will as opposed to going back into the world where there is no hope (1Jn 2:15-17, 2Ti 4:10). Going without the camp symbolizes our partaking of the bullock offering, Jesus Christ, who was consumed for us in His service giving up everything, losing His life, just as the bullock that was slaughtered and completely consumed with fire without the camp (Lev 4:12, Heb 13:13, 1Pe 4:12). It should be clear to God’s people that to labour to enter into His rest means that we must put off our flesh and partake of Jesus Christ’s flesh and blood (Joh 6:53) which gives us the power to present our lives a living sacrifice to God, which is our reasonable service (Rom 12:1).

1Co 9:27  But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.

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 for ever.

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

Lev 4:12  Even the whole bullock shall he carry forth without the camp unto a clean place, where the ashes are poured out, and burn him on the wood with fire: where the ashes are poured out shall he be burnt.

Heb 13:13 Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach.

Joh 6:53  Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.

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.

Mat 5:18  For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

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.

Heb 4:2  For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed^G4786 with faith in them that heard it.

Christ made it abundantly clear for those who have been given eyes to see that hearing and having faith which comes through that hearing is not enough (Rom 10:17). Rather it is the doers of God’s word who will be justified in believing (Rom 8:30-31), meaning the word that we heard will not lie dormant in our hearts because “by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God” (Eph 2:8), and God will compel us to love and good works through our Lord who is working within us, and using each other to that end, to provoke to love and good works (2Co 5:12-15, Rom 8:28, Php 2:13, Heb 10:24).

Rom 10:17  So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Rom 8:30  Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.

Rom 8:31  What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?

2Co 5:12  For we commend not ourselves again unto you, but give you occasion to glory on our behalf, that ye may have somewhat to answer them which glory in appearance, and not in heart.

2Co 5:13  For whether we be beside ourselves, it is to God: or whether we be sober, it is for your cause.

2Co 5:14  For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: [Joh 12:24, Rom 6:4]

2Co 5:15  And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.

Rom 8:28  And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

Php 2:13  For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

Heb 10:24  And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:

The point being made is that you can have a whole lot of planting and watering going on, but if the seed sown is not “mixed^G4786 with faith” then the seed will remain dormant. Our labours are not in vain because we know in God’s perfect timing the dormant seed will return to fulfill God’s purpose whether in this life or the second resurrection, which is the lake of fire or great white throne judgment (Isa 55:11). What makes that seed grow in the lives of God’s elect is the accompanying judgment which is upon us today (1Pe 4:17).

Those good works of God to which we are being compelled are ongoing and predestined for His elect so we can mature in our faith and be knit together (Col 2:2, Rom 2:13, Jas 2:17, Tit 3:8). It is through the doing, mixed with the trial of our faith that is so precious to God (1Pe 1:7), that we grow in our ability to hear and see with spiritual eyes which don’t need to hear or see anything in front of us to believe (Joh 20:29, 2Co 5:16). It takes the fiery trials of this life to temper that [mixed^G4786] faith God gives us as we labour for that meat which will not perish, laying a foundation of works or treasure stored up in heaven (Mat 6:19-20) that reassures us that we are His first fruits bearing fruit (Luk 6:43-45) to His glory in this life (Php 1:6, 1Ti 6:19, Joh 15:8). God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (Heb 11:6), and we are told that our labours are not in vain in Christ but that they will spiritually preserve us (1Co 15:58, Mat 9:17, Mat 13:52).

Rom 2:13  (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.

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:

Joh 20:29  Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.

1Co 15:58  Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

The word can be preached and not profit us, because the seed that falls on us is not being [mixed^G4786] or dying so that it brings forth much fruit (Joh 12:24).

The seed can sit on various conditions of land depending on where God’s sovereign hand has that seed to reside. The elect are called to recognize that we are going through every stage of this parable of the sower (Mat 13:3-13). Only by the grace and faith of God, not just the faith but by the grace through faith, that seed is dying as we decrease and Christ increases within us through the increase God gives (1Co 3:6-8). The decrease comes when we acknowledge our blindness and our choking of the word with the cares of this world, as God mercifully leads us unto a repentance (Rom 2:4) which convicts us that unless the Lord had given that increase in our heavens we would have continued to not receive that word mixed^G4786 with faith as Esaias prophesied in verse 14 for our sakes (Mat 13:14, 1Pe 1:12).

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

Mat 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 came and devoured them up:

Mat 13:5  Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:

Mat 13:6  And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.

Mat 13:7  And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:

Mat 13:8  But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.

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:

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

1Co 3:7  So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.

1Co 3:8  Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.

G4786 sugkerannumi soong-ker-an’-noo-mee

From G4862 and G2767; to commingle, that is, (figuratively) to combine or assimilate: – mix with, temper together.

G2767;   kerannumi
Thayer Definition: 1) to mix, mingle  2) to mix wine, water  3) to pour out for drinking.
Total KJV Occurrences: 3
fill, 1  Rev_18:6
filled, 1  Rev_18:6 (2)
poured, 1  Rev_14:10 [Rev 14:9-12]

Rev 14:9  And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,

Rev 14:10  The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out^G2767 without mixture [Heb 4:2] into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:

Rev 14:11  And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.

Rev 14:12  Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.

The reason we must have these fiery trials of our faith, and much tribulation to enter into the kingdom of God, is so that the faith God has given us can continue to mature and be tempered together within the body of Christ with each member operating in the measure of faith that God gives for the edification and building up of each member in love (1Th 5:11, Eph 4:16). The strong meat of the bullock that is consumed without the camp is what we need in order to become mature sons who can discern good and evil and be used of the Lord to usher in God’s kingdom (Rom 12:3, Heb 5:14, Heb 13:13).

Heb 13:13  Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach.

God’s elect are convinced that He knows those who are going to enter into His rest because He has declared the end from the beginning (Isa 46:10), and that is the point of these three scriptures to give us the comfort and consolation through these promises (2Pe 1:4) which God has “sworn in his wrath” not just that a certain group won’t enter into His rest but that the world would see that He is the one who determines who is going to enter. Israel of old did not enter due to blindness and unbelief as opposed to the Israel of God who will enter in, being given eyes to see so that we can believe and labour to enter into that rest. Adam parallels the first Israel, just as Christ and His body parallel the second Adam, who is made a quickening spirit (1Co 15:45, Joh 6:63).

The scripture then goes on to describe the type and shadow events of creation which explain how His spiritual workmanship is revealed through His physical workmanship (Rom 1:20). God has spoken about both events, the light and the darkness, saying in “a certain place of the seventh day on this wise” revealing to those who have eyes to see that if God wants us to labour into that rest there is nothing that is going to prevent His workmanship from drinking the cup of His wrath which will complete or fill up His wrath against our old man, the first Adam who must die (Mat 20:23). The unbelief of Israel of old will serve to motivate us to labour in the Lord and not be unbelieving of those works that are now unfolding in the Israel of God (Gal 6:16). It is worded this way to remind us that God is the one who determines who will believe and who will not believe (“If they shall enter into my rest“) and to remind us that we must labour to enter into that rest through Christ who was in the midst of Israel of old but not in their hearts (Joe 2:27, Act 2:22, Gal 6:14-15, Rom 8:9).

‘If they shall enter into my rest’ is not God’s way of telling us if we will just muster up enough courage and do enough good works in this life, then we will “enter into my rest“. No, and again a thousand times no, nobody enters into that rest unless the Father drags us to him (Joh 6:44, 1Co 15:50). We are highly favored as God’s children to be loved in this manner – being dragged to Christ and bound to the altar so that we can “enter into my rest“. It has always been God’s good pleasure to give us that kingdom where joy resides permanently (Mat 25:21), and nothing shall defile that kingdom, including the thought that we could have gotten there by our own might and power, when scripture clearly says that flesh and blood cannot inherit eternal life and that we are entering into His rest not by might or power but by God’s holy spirit (Zec 4:6).

These last two verses make this point of God determining who endures until the end and who doesn’t (Rom 11:22) even brighter for us, showing that one group “they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief” is being contrasted with the other group “he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts” that second group representing God’s elect who are having their hearts softened of the Lord in the day of the Lord “a certain day” through the fiery trials of this life so that we can put off our flesh and live by faith and not by sight through Christ typified by the words “in David” (Rom 1:17).

Rom 11:22  Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.

Rom 1:17  For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

The infirmities of this life are needful and necessary for God’s power to rest upon us so we can enter into the spiritual rest we find through Christ (2Co 12:9), and when we enter into that rest through much tribulation (Act 14:22) we will bring forth much fruit as we operate by the power of God and no longer by the wisdom of men (1Co 2:5).

2Co 12:9  And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Act 14:22  Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.

1Co 2:5  That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

Our goal then is to be found with the righteousness of Christ and not our own (Php 3:9-10), and only Christ in us our hope of glory (Col 1:27) can give us this power to overcome the beast which wants to define his own journey and go where we would in our own righteousness (Joh 21:18).

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;

Col 1:27  To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

Joh 21:18  Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not.

If we are blessed to continue to reach out our hands today and be clothed by another, it will be because the Lord is working in us both to will and to do of our Father’s good pleasure which is to give us the kingdom in earnest today so that we can inherit it in the fulness in a moment and in a twinkling of an eye (Luk 12:32, 1Co 15:52).

Luk 12:32  Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

1Co 15:52  In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.