Rev 21:4-8 The Lake of Fire, and The Great Multitude Which no Man can Number, Part 1

[Study Aired July 11, 2025]

Rev 21:4  And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
Rev 21:5  And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.
Rev 21:6  And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
Rev 21:7  He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
Rev 21:8  But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

Introduction

The “great multitude which no man can number” will be shown to be just another way of saying “the sea gave up the dead that were in it”. Once we make this connection, we will have no trouble understanding how it can be clearly stated that “there shall be no more death (Rev 21:4), and there was no more sea” (Rev 21:1). The ‘sea’ signifies the dying, rebellious, self-righteous, carnal mind.

So here in our study today we are told:

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

This verse in a simple ‘matter of fact’ manner states… “there shall be no more death”. As we stated in our last study the only way to destroy death is to stop the birth of new babies and raise all people who have ever lived to life, through the judgment of the great white throne.

Rev 20:9 And they [“the nations in the four quarters of the earth”] 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”].
Rev 20:10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
Rev 20:11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
Rev 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
Rev 20:13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
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 was cast into the lake of fire.

As long as one person is either dead or is still in a fleshly “body of death” (Rom 7:24) death is not destroyed. If all of mankind is destroyed by “fire from heaven” and all men who have ever lived are raised up in spiritual bodies, then death is indeed destroyed and “through death [life will come to] all in Adam”.

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.

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

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

1Co 15:25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
1Co 15:26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

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.

The great white throne is a throne of judgment:

Rev 20:13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.

This is what all of God’s ‘judgments’ accomplish:

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.

Since everyone in this great white throne judgment is “raised a spiritual body [to be] judged is according to his works” therefore this “white throne judgment”, accompanied by this “lake of fire which is the second death”, is the chastening judgment of all men of all time.

Now here is a Biblical Truth which the world most often overlooks. The churches of this world do not understand what judgment is all about. It is the Biblical Truth that all of God’s judgments are simply His chastening which brings about the salvation of all who are being judged.

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.

“When we are judged we are chastened of the Lord.” That principle applies to the white throne judgment just as much as it applies to the judgment which is now on the house of God:

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?

“If we judge ourselves, we will not be judged” only because we have been judged already. Judgment, whether it is “judging ourselves” now or the judgment of a great multitude which no man can number, judgment is never condemnation to eternal torment. “When we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord”, and since the whole world will be judged, we can rest assured that in the end, in that great white throne judgment, “the world will learn righteousness.”

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.

Rom 5:18  Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.

1Ti2:4  Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

1Ti 4:10  For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially [not exclusively] of those that believe.

2Pe3:9  The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

What the Lord ‘wills’ (1Ti 2:4) or ‘desires’ is exactly what He does:

Job 23:13  But he is in one mind, and who can turn him? and what his soul desireth, even that he doeth.

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

We are told “the sea gave up the dead which were in it.” ‘The sea’ signifies the flesh of all of men of all time. It is the Biblical symbol for the marred flesh out of which comes all of mankind. Since all men are destined to be saved by the judgment of the death of the cross, it follows that when the cross has finished its fiery work in all of mankind, then truly “there will be no more sea”, either within us or without.

Rev 13:1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.

All who in this present time are being judged, will be granted to “have part in the first resurrection. It will be by the agency of this “few… firstfruit… chosen” that all the rest of mankind will be given mercy.

How can the following verses of God’s word be made to agree with the false doctrines of “double predestination” and eternal torment?

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

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.

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.

The ‘fiery words of God’ (Jer 5:14) in the mouths of His elect, will be the agency by which “he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire” (1Co 3:13-15).

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.

The ‘fire’ of scripture destroys our old man’s kingdom, and through that destruction “fire… saves.” The ‘fiery words’ which will save all men will be in the mouths of this very same group of God’s elect who are the first to die daily with Christ (1Co 15:31), and who are known here in this revelation of Jesus Christ as “the lake of fire.”  All men who are not in the “blessed and holy first resurrection” will be purified and purged “by fire” from all the false doctrines within them. It is this very same symbolic ‘fire’ which will devour all the fuel of all the false doctrines signified in scripture as “wood, hay and stubble.” It is all the false doctrines of men, signified by the phrase, ‘wood, hay, and stubble’ which will be burned up and destroyed by the words of Truth coming from the mouth of God’s elect. It is by this ‘lake of fire [which] is the second death’ that all the false doctrines of “wood, hay and stubble” will be burned out of all men of all time. The “fire” of “the lake of fire” is the ‘fire’ of God’s Word which is in the mouth of His elect. It is God’s elect who are the ‘fire’ of “the lake of fire’ through which those who “suffer loss will be saved, yet so as by fire.” Let’s read it again. This is the function and purpose of all the Lord’s judgments:

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? [Indeed, ‘who’ would that be???]
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;

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.

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.

There! That is the “fire” of scripture. It is “My [Christ’s] words in your mouth” which burn and torment us all as we, with our lying heresies, withstand those fiery words.

1Co 3:12 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;
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.

The word ‘every’ in the phrase, “every man’s works” here in verse 13, is not the Greek word ‘pas‘. The Greek word here is ‘hekastos’, G1538, which means “each” or “every” and it leaves no room for exclusions. “The fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.” Now we can understand the meaning of the symbolism of ‘fire’ in scripture. The scriptures, which tell us of the hope of salvation beyond this life, are easily made to accord with those scriptures which speak of the destruction of all sinners and their ultimate salvation “through death”, through destruction of “every man’s work” and through being “saved, yet so as by fire.”

1Co 15:19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.

There is hope of life beyond this life, and that life will come only through the symbolic flames of the lake of fire. It is in this lake of fire that death will be destroyed and “every man… will be saved so as by fire.”

Who are we told will “dwell with the devouring fire?”  Who among us will dwell with everlasting burnings?” Has anyone ever asked those questions? Isaiah did:

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?

Isaiah poses the question, “Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? Who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?” The preceding verse told us “The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness has surprised the hypocrites.” If indeed the doctrine of an eternal hell, of literal flames of fire tormenting the wicked forever and ever had any basis at all in scripture surely Isaiah, who never shrank from telling Israel what would be the result of her sins, is going to tell us that the sinners and hypocrites in Zion are going to dwell in this “devouring fire” suffering the excruciating pain of the never-ending fire of hell. However, what is it Isaiah tells us? Here is the answer of the spirit to this very important rhetorical question posed by Isaiah right after telling us that ‘the sinners in Zion are afraid and fearfulness has surprised the hypocrites.’ This is ‘who will dwell in the devouring fire and the 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;

“He that walks righteously”, that is the person who is granted to “dwell with the devouring fire”. So what is the purpose of this “devouring fire”? What do these “everlasting burnings” accomplish? Let’s read it again.

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 [the lake of fire].

This is the truly good news we are told throughout God’s word. Yes, indeed, judgment is certain, and it is severe. There really are fiery trials for all who will follow in the footsteps of their Lord in this life (1Pe 4:12). There really is also a symbolic “lake of fire” which awaits all who will not submit to Christ in this age. Those who will not submit to Christ in this age do not do so because they are not being judged in this present life. That is why Christ calls their resurrection, “the resurrection of judgment” which He contrasts with “the resurrection of life” for those who are righteous in this present time:

Joh 5:28  Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
Joh 5:29  And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation [G2920: ‘Krisis’, judgment].

All judgment, either present or future, is for the purpose of chastening. It is never for the futile, counterproductive monstrous purpose of eternal torment. The Lord “will have all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the Truth.”

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

1Ti 4:10 For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially [not exclusively] of those that believe [“The firstfruits unto God and the Lamb”, (Rev 14:4)].

2Pe 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

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

The diabolical lie of ‘double election’ teaches that many are elected by God to endure eternal torment. That monstrous doctrine is the exact opposite of the teaching of scripture, that the elect are a special “kind of first fruits.” God’s elect who are redeemed in this age are not the only fruit of the sacrifice of Christ. If the elect were the only fruit, then they would not be called “the firstfruits unto God and the Lamb” (Rev 14:4). The dreadful heretical lie of ‘double election’ teaches that ‘all’, when speaking of all men being saved, means only “all kinds of men”, and that Christ’s sacrifice is definitely not “for the sins of the whole world”. This great heresy teaches that when Paul tells Timothy:

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

That God will that “not… any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” is nothing more than a vain wistful wish on God’s part, and God’s wish for all men to be saved is being thwarted by another heresy known as man’s free will. That is right. The same people who teach “double predestination”, meaning that the elect are predestined to be saved and the rest of mankind are predestined to burn in hell for all eternity, also teach that you and I have a free will. The scriptures teach the exact opposite:

Pro 16:1 The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD.

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

Rom 9:16 So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.

God has no wishes which He does not accomplish. What God wishes for and wants is exactly what God gets.

2Ch 20:6 And said, O LORD God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? and rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen? and in thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee?

Job 23:13  But he is in one mind, and who can turn him? and what his soul desireth, even that he doeth.
Job 23:14  For he performeth the thing that is appointed for me: and many such things are with him.

Isa 46:10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:

This again is God’s pleasure:

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

Notice how this verse accords with what is said about mankind after the “great multitude which no man could number… comes up out of great tribulation” known as the lake of fire.

Rev 7:13 And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?
Rev 7:14 And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
Rev 7:15 Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.
Rev 7:16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.
Rev 7:17 For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

It is obvious that the ‘numbered 144,000, who are called “the firstfruits to God and the Lamb”, are those who will be raised up in the first resurrection to rule and reign with Christ during the thousand years. It should be equally obvious that the “great multitude” which no man could number is the Biblical symbol of all unrepentant men of all time including those who “compass the camp of the saints about” and are cast into the lake of fire along with all “the dead which were in… the sea… the dead, small and great… and they were judged every man according to his works”.

So it is true that “His mercy endures for ever”.

Psa 118:1 O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: because his mercy endureth for ever.
Psa 118:2 Let Israel now say, that his mercy endureth for ever.
Psa 118:3 Let the house of Aaron now say, that his mercy endureth for ever.
Psa 118:4 Let them now that fear the LORD say, that his mercy endureth for ever.

Because His mercy really does endure forever, we are told:

Rev 21:5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.

“I make all things new” are the exact same words used to describe what happens when Christ takes up His abode within us:

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

“He that sat on the throne” is our Lord. We know this because it is Christ who is always speaking for His Father.

Are all things made new not only at the “redemption of the purchased possession” (Eph 1:14). As we just read, there is also a very present application of this verse. It is this present application which the Lord will always have us to keep foremost in our minds.

2Co 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

The ongoing nature of these words is expressed in the very next two verses:

2Co 5:18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
2Co 5:19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

We will pause this study at this point. When we continue our study we will seek to understand to what extent the Lord is intent on “reconciling the world to Himself” (2Co 5:19).

The Book of Romans, Part 22 – We Must Worship in Spirit and in Truth

[Study Aired December 19, 2023]

Rom 9:14 What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid. 
Rom 9:15 For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
Rom 9:16 So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy. 
Rom 9:17 For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth. 
Rom 9:18 Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth. 
Rom 9:19 Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will? 
Rom 9:20 Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?
Rom 9:21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour? 
Rom 9:22 What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: 
Rom 9:23 And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory, 
Rom 9:24 Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles? 
Rom 9:25 As he saith also in Osee, I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved. 
Rom 9:26 And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God. 
Rom 9:27 Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved: 
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.
Rom 9:29 And as Esaias said before, Except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we had been as Sodoma, and been made like unto Gomorrha.
Rom 9:30 What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith. 
Rom 9:31 But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness. 
Rom 9:32 Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone;
Rom 9:33 As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.

As we continue reviewing the book of Romans, Paul’s thoughts explain the deeper meaning of God’s sovereignty. In our last study, we reviewed the beginning of Romans 9, witnessing Paul’s fervent concern for the salvation of his fellow Israelites. We have the same concern for our “fellow kinsmen of the flesh” hoping they would see the things of the spirit as we do. Paul uses events from the past to show how God has always had a plan and how the people He chooses are part of His plan of salvation. As we progress to Romans 9:14-33, we will see further revelations from Paul that will describe the sovereignty of God.

Rom 9:14 What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid.

In Romans 9:10-13, Paul unfolded the story of Jacob and Esau, the twin sons born to Isaac and Rebecca. He emphasized that before the twins had a chance to do anything good or bad, God’s purpose in choosing was evident. The selection between Jacob and Esau was not contingent on their actions but on God’s sovereign will. Quoting from Malachi 1:2-3, Paul asserts, “Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated”, underscoring God’s prerogative in making decisions and illustrating the concept of election. Jacob and Esau are types and shadows of the elect and the rest of mankind. Mankind (Esau) will be saved, but with the order God has chosen, the elect (Jacob) will experience salvation first.

Transitioning to Romans 9:14, Paul anticipates potential objections to the idea of God’s sovereignty in His decisions, asking, “What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God?” This question serves as a prelude to Paul’s further examination of God’s actions and justice within the framework of His sovereign decisions. God’s actions are not determined by notions of fairness or unfairness as we might understand them. Instead, Paul is prompting a reflection on the nature of God’s justice, which transcends man’s standards and operates within the realm of His wisdom and purpose. We must recognize the limitations of man’s understanding when grappling with the ways of a sovereign and righteous God. 

Isa 55:8-11 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

Psa 139:12 Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.

Paul once again uses Old Testament stories to make his point.

Rom 9:15 For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
Rom 9:16 So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy. 
Rom 9:17 For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth. 
Rom 9:18 Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth. 

Paul is mentioning the fact that God’s plan will be followed no matter what men wish or hope to take place. We cannot dictate our way of life, and just as God caused Pharaoh to be the enemy of Israel, He is causing us to “come out of her my people.” God chose Moses to lead His people out of Egypt, and God hardened Pharaoh’s heart to foreshadow our journey out of “Christianity.” God’s mercy will eventually come to all mankind.

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.

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

2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

Continuing with our verses.

Rom 9:19 Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will? 
Rom 9:20 Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? 
Rom 9:21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour? 
Rom 9:22 What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: 
Rom 9:23 And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory, 
Rom 9:24 Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles? 
Rom 9:25 As he saith also in Osee, I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved. 
Rom 9:26 And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God. 

In Romans 9:19-26, Paul addresses a potential objection concerning God’s sovereignty. Faced with the question of why God still finds fault and who can resist His will, Paul uses the story of a potter molding the clay to underscore God’s supreme authority in shaping vessels according to His purpose. Rebuking man’s presumption in questioning God’s designs, Paul emphasizes the limitations of mankind’s understanding in the face of God’s sovereignty. He speaks of the concept of God enduring vessels fitted for destruction, having them to fulfill their appointed roles in demonstrating His justice, while simultaneously revealing the richness of His glory in vessels of mercy. Paul concludes by highlighting the inclusiveness of God’s call, extending beyond the boundaries of the Jews’ heritage, “my kinsmen in the flesh”, to embrace the Gentiles, as prophesied in Hosea. This passage highlights both His justice and His mercy in the unfolding of His plan of salvation.

Isaiah 29:16 Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter’s clay: for shall the work say of him that made it, He made me not? or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, He had no understanding?

Jeremiah 18:6 O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the Lord. Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.

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

Exodus 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.

Hosea 2:23 And I will sow her unto me in the earth; and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to them which were not my people, Thou art my people; and they shall say, Thou art my God.

Moving forward from the discussion of Romans 9:19-26, where Paul confirms God’s control, we come to the next verses.

Rom 9:27 Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved: 
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.
Rom 9:29 And as Esaias said before, Except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we had been as Sodoma, and been made like unto Gomorrha.

In these verses, Paul continues explaining God’s plan, showing that it goes beyond “my kinsmen of the flesh.” As we read the above verses quoted from Isaiah, we see Paul illustrating how vast God’s mercy is and how He keeps His promises.

The remnant being saved are not the children of the flesh. The remnant are those who worship God in spirit and in truth.

Joh 4:19-24 The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. 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. God is Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

Jesus states “salvation is of the Jews.” Is he speaking of “his kinsmen of the flesh?” Yes, but only in type and shadow. Everything is changing from the flesh to the spirit. The flesh is no more able to please God through works than a withering plant can survive in arid soil without water. It is demanded that God be worshiped in “spirit and in truth.”

Rom 9:30 What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith. 
Rom 9:31 But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness. 
Rom 9:32 Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone; 
Rom 9:33 As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.

Romans 9:30-33 marks a pivotal moment in Paul’s discourse on salvation and righteousness. The passage begins by highlighting a significant shift in perspective – the Gentiles, who did not actively pursue righteousness, have attained it through faith. Meanwhile, Israel, who diligently sought after the law of righteousness, did not attain it because they sought it by works rather than by faith. This underscores a central theme in Paul’s teachings – salvation is not achieved through works or adherence to the law but is a result of faith in Christ.

Supporting this perspective, Paul draws on the prophetic words of Isaiah. In Romans 9:32-3, he quotes Isaiah 28:16 and Isaiah 8:14 to emphasize the stumbling stone and rock of offense which is Christ. The stumbling block signifies the challenge “the many called” face in accepting Christ as the cornerstone of salvation. The pursuit of righteousness through works became an obstacle, causing them to stumble over the simplicity of faith in Christ.

Isaiah 28:16 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation<: he that believeth shall not make haste.

Isaiah 8:14 And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

Romans 9:30-33 emphasizes the critical importance of faith in Christ for both Jews and Gentiles. It underscores the danger of relying on works for righteousness and points to Christ as the cornerstone, highlighting the stumbling block that hindered “the many called” from recognizing Him as the path to salvation.

Mat 20:16 So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.

1Co 10:1-11 Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; And did all eat the same spiritual meat; And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand. Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents. Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer. 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.

The true Israel of God are those worshipping God in spirit and in truth.

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

Jdg 2:1-23 The Lord Raised The up Judges…and Delivered Them

[Study Aired January 31, 2021]

Jdg 2:1  And an angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you. 
Jdg 2:2  And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars: but ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this? 
Jdg 2:3  Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you. 
Jdg 2:4  And it came to pass, when the angel of the LORD spake these words unto all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voice, and wept. 
Jdg 2:5  And they called the name of that place Bochim: and they sacrificed there unto the LORD. 
Jdg 2:6  And when Joshua had let the people go, the children of Israel went every man unto his inheritance to possess the land. 
Jdg 2:7  And the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the LORD, that he did for Israel. 
Jdg 2:8  And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being an hundred and ten years old. 
Jdg 2:9  And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnathheres, in the mount of Ephraim, on the north side of the hill Gaash
Jdg 2:10  And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel. 
Jdg 2:11  And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim: 
Jdg 2:12  And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the LORD to anger. 
Jdg 2:13  And they forsook the LORD, and served Baal and Ashtaroth. 
Jdg 2:14  And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies. 
Jdg 2:15  Whithersoever they went out, the hand of the LORD was against them for evil, as the LORD had said, and as the LORD had sworn unto them: and they were greatly distressed. 
Jdg 2:16  Nevertheless the LORD raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them. 
Jdg 2:17  And yet they would not hearken unto their judges, but they went a whoring after other gods, and bowed themselves unto them: they turned quickly out of the way which their fathers walked in, obeying the commandments of the LORD; but they did not so. 
Jdg 2:18  And when the LORD raised them up judges, then the LORD was with the judge, and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge: for it repented the LORD because of their groanings by reason of them that oppressed them and vexed them. 
Jdg 2:19  And it came to pass, when the judge was dead, that they returned, and corrupted themselves more than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them, and to bow down unto them; they ceased not from their own doings, nor from their stubborn way. 
Jdg 2:20  And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel; and he said, Because that this people hath transgressed my covenant which I commanded their fathers, and have not hearkened unto my voice; 
Jdg 2:21  I also will not henceforth drive out any from before them of the nations which Joshua left when he died: 
Jdg 2:22  That through them I may prove Israel, whether they will keep the way of the LORD to walk therein, as their fathers did keep it, or not. 
Jdg 2:23  Therefore the LORD left those nations, without driving them out hastily; neither delivered he them into the hand of Joshua. 

The end of Chapter 1 of Judges focused on the disobedience of Israel for not driving out the Canaanites from the land but rather choosing to live among them and benefit from them by the tribute they paid. It is always God who takes the initiative to dislodge us from our comfortable situation with the old man as He came on the scene to help Israel out as follows:

Jdg 2:1  And an angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you. 
Jdg 2:2  And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars: but ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this? 
Jdg 2:3  Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you. 

If we are called and chosen, then God will not leave us alone to wallow in sin.  He will come to our aid by making us realize our transgression as the first step toward His salvation. He brings us to this awareness of sin through the agency of His angels (His elect), as was the case with the Israelites. The angel of the Lord in verse 1 is the Lord Jesus Christ. As the Father sent Jesus, even so Jesus is now sending His Christs (His elect) to show His people their sins. One of the key functions of God’s elect is to show God’s people their sins.

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

Isa 58:1  Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.

In this journey of life, we should be ruthless in our dealing with the enemies within. There is no room for compromise (make league with the inhabitants of the land). Any little inclination toward error has the capacity of destroying our whole Christian walk.

Gal 5:9  A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.

Deu 7:2  And when the LORD thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them:
Deu 7:3  Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son.
Deu 7:4  For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the LORD be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly.

We make room for the flesh when we think that it is not possible to defeat the flesh just as Israel thought they could not overcome the enemies of the land. We make excuses such as, “As long as we are flesh, it is impossible NOT to sin.” That is the same as saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?” God has assured us over and over that He will give us the land!! In other words, we shall surely overcome the flesh.

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

Gen 3:16  Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to [against] thy husband [Jesus], and he [Jesus and us] shall rule over thee.

Gen 4:6  And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?
Gen 4:7  If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him [sin].

Our inability to obey God’s command to completely destroy the enemies of the land (the flesh) will cause God’s anger to be kindled against us resulting in our judgment. We then become powerless before our enemies, and this brings us under oppression to a point that we reach our wits’ end. That is when God brings us an angel of the Lord (His elect) to come and speak the word to us to lift us out of our situation!!

Psa 107:17  Fools because of their transgression, and because of their iniquities, are afflicted.
Psa 107:18  Their soul abhorreth all manner of meat; and they draw near unto the gates of death.
Psa 107:19  Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he saveth them out of their distresses.
Psa 107:20  He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.

It is significant to know that the angel of the Lord went from Gilgal to Bochim. Gilgal means ‘rolling’ or ‘circle’ and Bochim means ‘weepers’. So what we need to understand is that even at this stage of our lives when we go through circles of defeats which brings us to our wits’ end (weeping), God is with us. This is what God is trying to tell us by the creation story when the earth (us) was without form and void and darkness was upon the face of the deep (In darkness under the control of the flesh), but the spirit of the Lord was hovering over the face of the waters (God was with us).

Gen 1:2  And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

Jdg 2:4  And it came to pass, when the angel of the LORD spake these words unto all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voice, and wept. 
Jdg 2:5  And they called the name of that place Bochim: and they sacrificed there unto the LORD. 

As a result of the spiritual words we hear from God’s elect (the angel of the Lord), we regret our actions and cry to the Lord. As indicated, the name Bochim means ‘weepers’. We weep, repent for what we have done and begin to seek the Lord again, but unfortunately, this is temporal as we will see in later verses. This is because when we are dominated by the flesh, symbolized by the Israelites being in league with their enemies, the sorrow we experience is of the world, and therefore it worketh death!! It is not like the godly sorrow that brings repentance leading to salvation. That is why we go through cycles of defeat and oppression.

2Co 7:9  Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing.
2Co 7:10  For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.

Jdg 2:6  And when Joshua had let the people go, the children of Israel went every man unto his inheritance to possess the land. 
Jdg 2:7  And the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the LORD, that he did for Israel. 

The Book of Judges was not written in a chronological order, and so this chapter is talking about the time of Joshua and the elders after him. Under the leadership of Joshua and the elders after Joshua, the people served the Lord!!  Joshua and the elders here represent God’s elect. What these verses are saying is that true fellowship of God’s elect grants us victory over the flesh because of the fiery word coming from His elect. We should also note that our fellowship is with the Father and His son, and when Jesus comes to us, He begins to drive out the oxen, the sheep, the doves and the changers of money from our temple which is our body!!

Heb 10:25  Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

1Jn 1:3  That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.

Joh 2:13  And the Jews’ passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem,
Joh 2:14  And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting:
Joh 2:15  And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers’ money, and overthrew the tables;
Joh 2:16  And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father’s house an house of merchandise.

One key characteristic of the elect as depicted in Judges 2:7 is the fact that Joshua and all the elders after him had seen the great works of the Lord!! In other words, they have experienced God’s great work in their lives. The great works of the Lord is also the good works of the Lord as explained in Psalm 107. The end product of the good works of the Lord is to bring forth our righteousness as shown in Jeremiah 51:10.

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!

Jer 51:10  The LORD hath brought forth our righteousness: come, and let us declare in Zion the work of the LORD our God.

So the wonderful or good works of the Lord is how He brings forth our righteousness through His judgment!! This is a long process with God bringing us into darkness where He seeks for an occasion to judge us to bring us to our safe haven!!

Jdg 2:8  And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being an hundred and ten years old. 
Jdg 2:9  And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnathheres, in the mount of Ephraim, on the north side of the hill Gaash. 

Finally, Joshua died at the age of 110. Here Joshua is represented in a negative sense – the flesh as portrayed by his age (110 = 11×10). Ten represents the completeness of the flesh, and eleven represents the ruin and disintegration of the flesh. The end product of God’s elect is the ruin and disintegration of the flesh to bring forth the new man to live for Christ!! Joshua was buried at his inheritance at Timnathheres which means portion of the sun!! Unless we die to our old man, we do not have a portion of the sun as our inheritance. The sun represents Christ, and so our portion is in Christ!! Gaash means ‘quaking’. So we possess Christ as our inheritance through quaking (tribulations) resulting in the death of the old man as signified by the death of Joshua!!

The Generation Which Knew not God

Jdg 2:10  And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel. 
Jdg 2:11  And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim: 
Jdg 2:12  And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the LORD to anger. 
Jdg 2:13  And they forsook the LORD, and served Baal and Ashtaroth. 

The verses here remind us of the apostasy of the people of Israel. The question is why did the Israelites follow after other gods?  Verse 10 explained the reason for following after other gods. It was because they did not know the Lord and His works towards them. We are aware that to have a good relationship with someone, you must know the person. If a marriage is to work, it means that the husband and wife know themselves well. So it is with our relationship with Christ our husband. As the bride of Christ, if we do not know our Husband Christ, then we will definitely end up following after other “men” just as the Israelites did here. As Paul puts it in Galatians 4:3-11, if we do not know God, we will do service unto them which by nature are no gods. As a result, we will turn again to weak and beggarly elements and end up in bondage as it happened to the Israelites.

Gal 4:8  Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods.
Gal 4:9  But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?
Gal 4:10  Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years.
Gal 4:11  I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain.

What we need to understand is that knowing God is a gift from God, and that gift is eternal life. If we are destined to be part of the elect, then at a certain stage of our walk, we will be given to know Christ. Looking back, we have all at certain stages of our lives played the harlot and resorted to weak and beggarly elements as we see the Israelites did after the death of the generation that knew God. Ironically, knowing the Lord entails going through all that the Israelites went through – that is, returning to our vomit of weak and beggarly elements. This experience is all to humble us and for us to realize that we are the worst of sinners to whom God has shown tremendous mercy.

Joh 17:3  And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

Eph 2:1  And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
Eph 2:2  Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
Eph 2:3  Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
Eph 2:4  But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
Eph 2:5  Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)

1Ti 1:15  This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.

This experience of going after other gods is actually orchestrated by God who is looking for an occasion to judge the Israelites (us) as shown in the following verses:

Jdg 2:14  And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies. 
Jdg 2:15  Whithersoever they went out, the hand of the LORD was against them for evil, as the LORD had said, and as the LORD had sworn unto them: and they were greatly distressed. 

These verses of scriptures talk about God’s judgments. It is through these judgments that we learn righteousness, and as a result we avoid being condemned with the world. We are all going through God’s judgment at certain periods of our lives. There are times in our lives that it seems everything we do does not work as if we are cursed!!! We endure pains in our bodies, and sometimes we are living but mentally dead – as if a death sentence had been passed on us. We are greatly distressed at certain stages of our walk. There are times that it is as if the beast within is raging uncontrollably within us, taking us captives and causing us to do things we do not want to do. Our cry then was just like Paul saying, “Oh wretched man that I man, who shall deliver me from the body of this death?”

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 11:32  But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.

2Co 1:8  For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life:
2Co 1:9  But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead:

Rom 7:24  O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
Rom 7:25  I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

Verses 14 and 15 clearly demonstrate that it is God who raises the storm and brings us to our wits’ end.

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!

The end result of our judgment is that He brings us to our safe haven, which in the case for the Israelites. It means raising up judges to deliver His people from their enemies as shown in the verse below:

Jdg 2:16  Nevertheless the LORD raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them. 

The judges are God’s elect whom He raises up in every generation to bring His people out of bondage. The judges are those who go against the status quo. The status quo here is our acceptance that nobody born of flesh and blood can win this war against the beast within. Therefore we are dominated by the beast within, as we saw the Israelites being under bondage from their enemies. It is the judges (the elect) who are raised by God to defy the oppression of Israel (God’s people) by their enemies to bring liberty to God’s people. Just like Jeremiah, God has set the elect or the judges over the nations and over the kingdoms within, to root out and to pull down and to destroy and throw down. In the fullness of time, this dominion will be extended outwardly to the whole world when the kingdoms of this world will belong to Christ and His Christ. This should give us assurance that we will surely win this war against the enemies within.

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

Jer 1:10  See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.

Jdg 2:17  And yet they would not hearken unto their judges, but they went a whoring after other gods, and bowed themselves unto them: they turned quickly out of the way which their fathers walked in, obeying the commandments of the LORD; but they did not so. 

The Israelites did not listen to the words of the judges but rather chose to worship another Jesus. God’s sheep will definitely hear God’s voice through the elect. As indicated by Apostle John, our failure to hearken to the elect shows that we are dominated by the world in us, and we only understand things of the world at this stage of our walk. However, at the right time we will be caused to hear our judges and therefore get to know God.

1Jn 4:5  They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.
1Jn 4:6  We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.

2Co 11:4  For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.

Jdg 2:18  And when the LORD raised them up judges, then the LORD was with the judge, and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge: for it repented the LORD because of their groanings by reason of them that oppressed them and vexed them. 

The judges in our time are the elect whom God raises up to speak the fiery word of God to us and as we pay attention to these words, the enemies within are gradually destroyed by the brightness of Christ’s coming into our lives. Thus, in the days of the judges, God delivers His people from the hands of the enemies. The days of the judges here represent the period in our lives that God opens our eyes to see and our ears to hear what God’s elect (His Christ) are saying. As explained in an earlier review, the word ‘judges’ according to Strong’s definition means to pronounce sentence for or against. So in the days of the judges, Christ, through His elect, pronounces sentence against the enemies within, and therefore bring us out of bondage or domination by our flesh or the old man (representing the enemies within).

Judge
shâphaṭ
shaw-fat’
A primitive root; to judge, that is, pronounce sentence (for or against); by implication to vindicate or punish; by extension to govern; passively to litigate (literally or figuratively): –  + avenge, X that condemn, contend, defend, execute (judgment), (be a) judge (-ment), X needs, plead, reason, rule.
Total KJV occurrences: 203

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:
2Th 2:9  Even him whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,

At the latter part of verse 18, it says that God repented for what the Israelites were going through. This is what makes people say that the bible contradicts itself. We know that we need to know the sum of God’s words in order to know what God is actually saying.

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

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?

From Numbers 23:19, we can see that God is not a man that He should repent. So what is verse 18 trying to imply? What we are being told here is that when we go through suffering, Christ also feels our pain. My brothers and sisters, whatever we are going through now, let’s be assured that Jesus is also going through this pain with us and is interceding on our behalf.  We can see that when Jesus was going to raise Lazarus from the grave and he saw the way the people were grieving, he wept. This is to let us know that he shares our pain. We are therefore not alone in this walk!!

Joh 11:32  Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
Joh 11:33  When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled.
Joh 11:34  And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.”
Joh 11:35  Jesus wept.
Joh 11:36  So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”
Joh 11:37  But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?”

2Co 1:3  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,
2Co 1:4  who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

In spite of the law of liberty that God’s elect (Judges) bring to us, we refuse to hear them at the early part of our walk with Christ, as indicated in verse 17 where the Israelites refused to hear the judges.

Jdg 2:19  And it came to pass, when the judge was dead, that they returned, and corrupted themselves more than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them, and to bow down unto them; they ceased not from their own doings, nor from their stubborn way. 

Not listening to the judges (the elect) is the same as considering them dead to us. We consider God’s elect as dead on the streets of Jerusalem (where we were walking in time past) which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt. When we were in Babylon (Christendom), we refused to hear the Lord’s song, and so we could not sing the Lord’s song in that land when we had been carried away as captives by our old man inspired by the great swelling words of man’s wisdom which are propagated by the leaders of Christendom.  In Babylon, we are tormented by our old man. When we go wrong, the old man comes to us telling us, “As far as you are concerned, this holy living is not for you. Look at your weaknesses!! Those that God is making them sons and daughters do not have weaknesses like you. You must as well give it up. You are full of sin!!” That is what the Israelites went through when they were carried away captives and their captors tormented them and required of them a song, and that is what we all are or have gone through in our walk with Christ.

The fact that your eyes are being opened and your ears are hearing God’s elect means that the old man has started his journey of death.

Rev 11:8  and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city that symbolically is called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was crucified.

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.
Psa 137:4  How shall we sing the LORD’S song in a strange land?

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.

Our refusal to hear the elect (the judges) is because we are captivated by the teachings of our Babylonian leaders who speak man’s wisdom with which we can easily identify. As a result we end up in worse state in our walk with Christ than when we started. This is what Apostle Peter was talking about in 2 Peter 2. That was what happened to the Israelites after the death of the judges. They went back to their vomit as we also had gone back to our vomit in the past.

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

2Pe 2:13  And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you;
2Pe 2:14  Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children:
2Pe 2:15  Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;
2Pe 2:16  But was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass speaking with man’s voice forbad the madness of the prophet.
2Pe 2:17  These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever.
2Pe 2:18  For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error.
2Pe 2:19  While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.
2Pe 2:20  For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.
2Pe 2:21  For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.
2Pe 2:22  But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.

Jdg 2:20  And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel; and he said, Because that this people hath transgressed my covenant which I commanded their fathers, and have not hearkened unto my voice; 
Jdg 2:21  I also will not henceforth drive out any from before them of the nations which Joshua left when he died: 
Jdg 2:22  That through them I may prove Israel, whether they will keep the way of the LORD to walk therein, as their fathers did keep it, or not. 
Jdg 2:23  Therefore the LORD left those nations, without driving them out hastily; neither delivered he them into the hand of Joshua. 

Verses 16 to 23 summarize the whole book of Judges. It shows how Israel did not drive the Canaanites from the land and therefore came into bondage; how God brought deliverance to Israel and how Israel got into bondage again. The steps are as follows:

1. Israel did not drive the Canaanites from the land when they had the opportunity to do so.
2. Israel is enticed into serving other gods of the Canaanites.
3. God reacts to Israel’s disobedience by not driving the enemies from the land. As a result, they become powerless and the enemies oppress them.
4. Israel cries to the Lord for help.
5. God in His mercy sends judges to deliver them.
6. Israel obeys the Lord during the period of the Judges until the judges die.
7. Israel goes into sin again and the cycle continues.

The rest of the Book of the Judges is a detailed account of this cycle of defeat. The detailed accounts are extremely important because they give us the tools we need to possess the land (our body) by driving out the enemies from within.

This cycle of defeat is because there are certain aspects of our lives we have not yielded to the Lord, and therefore they become a snare to us. We can see from the latter part of Chapter 1 of Judges that the Israelites went through this cycle of defeat because they were not thorough in driving the Canaanites from the land. We all have experienced this cycle of defeat in our lives when we look back. If you are at this stage of your walk with Christ, do not give up because everything that is going on in your life is according to the counsel of God’s will. It is the Lord himself who decided to leave some of the nations in our land (verse 23). At the right time, God will devise a means so that His banished is not expelled from Him. The fact that your eyes are seeing and your ears are hearing means that salvation is on the way!! Let us therefore not grow weary in our walk, for in our struggle against sin, we have not resisted to the point of shedding our blood!!

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

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.

Heb 12:1  Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses [His elect], let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us [this cycle of defeat], and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
Heb 12:2  Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Heb 12:3  For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.
Heb 12:4  Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.

[Next study in this series is here.]

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Isa 55:7-13 My Thoughts Are Not Your Thoughts

[Study Aired March 8, 2020]

Isa 55:7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
Isa 55:8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.
Isa 55:9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Isa 55:10 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:
Isa 55:11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.
Isa 55:12 For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
Isa 55:13 Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the LORD for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.

As we learned in our last study, the Lord’s sovereignty in no way inhibits His right or His ability to admonish us. The exact opposite is the case. Being completely sovereign He has the power and He has every right to make us “marred in [His] hand (Jer 18:4), make us to err from His ways (Isa 63:17), and then admonish us to forsake our sins, which is exactly how our study today begins:

Isa 55:7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

Isaiah was very familiar with the already existing scriptures. Isaiah knew how the wicked became wicked, and this admonition to the wicked to ‘forsake his way’ simply confirms the Truth of this verse:

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

Isaiah obviously knew and understood the Truth of this verse of scripture:

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

At the time of David and King Saul, the Lord’s use of evil to accomplish His purposes was apparently common knowledge. No one at that time appears to have given the devil credit for anything that happened. Look at how King Saul’s servants talk of his bouts of depression:

1Sa 16:14 But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him.
1Sa 16:15 And Saul’s servants said unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee.
1Sa 16:16 Let our lord now command thy servants, which are before thee, to seek out a man, who is a cunning player on an harp: and it shall come to pass, when the evil spirit from God is upon thee, that he shall play with his hand, and thou shalt be well.

The New Testament writers knew this truth and taught it in all their writings. Paul speaks of God’s sovereignty as clearly as Isaiah speaks of it. Both acknowledge that mankind’s natural, carnal, rebellious mind just naturally rejects and hates the Truth that the Lord is “working all things after the counsel of His own will” (Eph 1:11).

Rom 9:7 Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called.
Rom 9:8 That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.
Rom 9:9 For this is the word of promise, At this time will I come, and Sara shall have a son.
Rom 9:10 And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac;
Rom 9:11 (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;
Rom 9:12 It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.
Rom 9:13 As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.
Rom 9:14 What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid.
Rom 9:15 For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
Rom 9:16 So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.
Rom 9:17 For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.
Rom 9:18 Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.
Rom 9:19 Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?
Rom 9:20 Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?
Rom 9:21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?

We all just naturally insist that our salvation hinges only on our ‘free will’ choices. We actually think that if we are nice enough to accept the sacrifice of Christ’s death for our sins, then the Lord is obligated to save us. On the other hand, if we reject Christ’s sacrifice for our sins, then we tell ourselves that it is our own choice to reject Christ that makes God have to torment us for all eternity. That is how we convince ourselves that the only thing which saves us from eternal death or eternal hell fire, is again, our own free will, and God is simply forced to deal with what we decide to do.

To be told that our fate was determined by God, that every day of our lives were “written in His book before there were any of them”, is simply repulsive to our vain, puffed up, self-willed, rebellious, carnal mind. But let’s look again at the Truth of the scriptures instead of simply accepting the lies of society and the doctrines of the world-wide ‘great harlot’ who rules over the kings of the earth:

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

Rom 9:11 for the children being not yet born, neither having done anything good or bad, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works [our will – vs 16], but of him that calleth,

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

Lest we miss the point, Paul is inspired to tell us plainly:

Rom 9:16 So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but [our salvation is] of God that hath mercy.

The Lord knows quite well that He has made us in this marred, rebellious condition, so He simply informs those He gives to receive His mind:

Isa 55:8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.
Isa 55:9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

My own carnal mind tells me that if I were God I could do a much better job of saving mankind than God is doing. My presumptuous beast tells me that God Himself could and would have done much better if He had simply made mankind a perfected spirit from the beginning. My carnal mind sees no need at all for a very messy, bloody and painful cross of Christ to cover all the perversions and sins of corruptible flesh and blood. My plan for mankind would skip all the corruption and suffering and the accompanying shame and misery, and I would have made us all loving and obedient perfected spirits from the very beginning.

Yes, indeed, my flesh protests that if God is sovereignly making us to err from His ways, then why in the world is He complaining when we err from His ways? The holy spirit knew we would all pose that question:

Rom 9:19 Well then, you might say, “Why does God blame people for not listening? Haven’t they simply done what he made them do?” (NLT)

This is the Biblical answer to that presumptuous and rebellious question which we all just naturally ask:

Rom 9:20 Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?
Rom 9:21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?

That answer from our very Creator and Maker is not referring to some other ‘lump of clay’ which is not us. It is true that “none is able to withstand [God]”, as we are told in:

2Ch 20:6 And [King Jehoshaphat] said, O LORD God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? and rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen? and in thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee?

The Lord’s knowledge is vastly superior to that of my presumptuous carnal mind. He already knows that obedience and love are not qualities which can be appreciated and valued without first experiencing the fruits of evil and disobedience. It was in His wisdom that He created a tempter to cause us to want to disobey Him and to then reap the evil fruits of our disobedience.

That is what His Word does. It tells us who He is and what He is doing, and He never once places the responsibility for His creatures upon themselves or upon anyone else (Pro 16:4; Isa 45:7; Isa 63:17). The Lord simply speaks, and what He speaks is what happens.

Isa 55:10 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:
Isa 55:11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

Words express thoughts, and God’s Word reveals that He thinks it is good for us to know the contrast between good and evil. Only in that way are we able to appreciate His mercies by which, and through which, He is in the process of redeeming every man who has ever lived and drawn breath. This is what He has sent His Word to accomplish within every man:

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)

Here is another way of conveying this message to us:

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!
Psa 107:32 Let them exalt him also in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the assembly of the elders.

If the Lord blinds our eyes from seeing the words “then”, and if He blinds us from seeing the order in which those words tell us that the “experience of evil” must precede His mercies and His deliverance which He brings to us only after we have first been brought to our “wits’ end”, then we are spiritually blind and unable to see that everything He does, He does “decently and in order… after the counsel of His own will:

1Co 14:40 Let all things be done decently and in order.

Eph 1:9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
Eph 1:10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
Eph 1:11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

When we are unable to discern the order in which the Lord is working His work in our lives, then it follows that we will also be robbed of any appreciation for “the recompense of the reward, [and] the crown of life” which He promises those who overcome “in this present time”.

Luk 18:28 Then Peter said, Lo, we have left all, and followed thee.
Luk 18:29 And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God’s sake,
Luk 18:30 Who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world [Greek: aion, age] to come life everlasting.

Rom 8:16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are [Greek present, indicative tense] the children of God:
Rom 8:17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
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.

Tit 2:12 Teaching [Greek: paideuo, chastening] us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world [Greek: aion, age];

When we are unable to discern the order in which the spirit is working its work in our lives “in this present age”, then we will also fail to appreciate the many “great and precious promises” which He has pronounced to be bestowed only upon those “who first trusted in Christ”:

Eph 1:11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
Eph 1:12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.

If the sovereign Lord has ordained that only “those who first trusted in [Him]” were to be “to the praise of His glory” [and] to the praise of the glory of His [chastening] grace, a thousand false prophets with a thousand false doctrines to the contrary will not deter Him, because “He does… what [He] desires”.

Job 23:13 But he is in one mind, and who can turn him? and what his soul desireth, even that he doeth.
Job 23:14 For he performeth the thing that is appointed for me: and many such things are with him.

Eph 1:4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that should be holy and without blame before him in love:
Eph 1:5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
Eph 1:6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

These words are “great and precious promises” for the very reason that they are not common to all men. It is only those “who first trusted in Christ” who are given to be “to the praise of the glory of His [chastening] grace”:

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

2Pe 1:3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
2Pe 1:4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

These “great and precious promises” are not common to all men. They are given only to those who are “chastened to forsake ungodliness and worldly lusts… in this present age”. They are given only to those who first trusted in Christ and will be ‘to the praise of the glory of His grace’. The “great and precious promises are given only to those who dwell “without hurt… in the devouring fires [of] the lake of fire”:

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;

‘He that walks righteously’ is not some man who is attempting to separate you from your hard-earned money through the fear of a literal “devouring fire [and literal] everlasting burnings”. Those who know that the fire of scripture is the Word of God are the few chosen in “this present time… this present age” to be “the manifest… sons of God… [who will] have no hurt” in the administration of the purifying ‘lake of fire [which] is the [ordinal] “second death”, which is the death of the carnal mind which is yet within the “great multitude which no man can number”:

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.

Dan 3:25 He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.

Rev 7:9 After [the numbering of the 144,000] I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;

It is only to “the righteous… they that have done good” that our next verse is addressed:

Isa 55:12 For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

Joh 5:28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
Joh 5:29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation [Greek: krisis, judgment].

It is only the “the firstfruits unto God and the Lamb” who will “go out [of their graves] with joy, and be led forth with peace.” All others will “come forth… unto the resurrection of damnation” meaning ‘the resurrection of judgment’.

”The mountains and the hills” are the nations which will “flow unto… the mountain of the Lord’s house”:

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.

When the Lord sets His hand to draw even “His banished” (2Sa 14:14) to Himself, He will do so through those “who first trusted in Him”, just as His Father has used Christ to drag us unto Himself:

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

That is why we are called “the firstfruits unto God and the Lamb”:

Rev 14:4 These [144,000] are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.

“Firstfruits” are called ‘first’ for the simple obvious reason that they are simply “first” and are not the only fruit of the Lord’s work. It is through these “firstfruits” that the Lord’s mercy and glory are made known to all the rest of mankind via the spiritual flames and “the devouring fire” which are His Words and His doctrines.

Jer 5:14 Wherefore [Because there are so many false prophets, verse 13] 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.

Eph 1:9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
Eph 1:10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
Eph 1:11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
Eph 1:12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
Eph 1:13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
Eph 1:14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

In “the fulness of times” even “the god of this age” will be gathered together in Christ. But since we are “Jesus of Nazareth” (Act 22:8), and since we are “as He is… in this age”, it is through us that Christ will set His hand to “drag all men to [Himself]”:

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

Joh 12:31 Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.
Joh 12:32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will [through the ‘lake of fire’] draw [Greek: helkuō, drag] all men unto me.
Joh 12:33 This he said, signifying what death he should die.

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

This age is given over to “the god of this age”, and until “the age to come” [Luk 18:30] arrives, “the god of this age” has been given the hegemony over all men except for a very few chosen and elect who will “overcome the wicked one… in this present world… (age)” and will be given a crown of life and will not be hurt of the fires of the second death:

Luk 18:29 And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God’s sake,
Luk 18:30 Who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world [Greek: aion, age] to come life everlasting.

Rev 2:11 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.

Rev 20:6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

It is the lies and false doctrines of the god of this age in the mouths of his false prophets which are referred to as ‘thorns and briers’ in the last verse of this 55^th chapter of Isaiah.

Isa 55:13 Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the LORD for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.

“The fir tree, and… the myrtle tree” which replace the “thorns… and… briers” signify the truths of the doctrines of Christ in the mouths of His faithful witnesses, replacing the thorns and briars of the false doctrines of the false prophets of “the god of this age”.

Eze 2:6 And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns be with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions: be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house.

We have now seen that our ways are not the Lord’s way and our thoughts are not His thoughts, and we have seen the scriptures which demonstrate what the meaning is of all the symbols found within these last 7 verses of Isaiah 55.

Now that we have been made aware of the blessings promised to “the firstfruits unto God and the Lamb”, I want to recap these verses from the perspective of the last verse of last week’s study. Our last study ended with an appeal from the Lord for us to, “seek [Him] while He may be found and call… upon Him while He is near.” We discussed in that study how Paul told the pagan Athenians that, outwardly and physically speaking, God is ‘not far from every one of us’ inasmuch as it is “in Him [that] we live and move and have our being” (Act 17:27-28). In Isaiah 55:6 He is speaking of how our sins and false doctrines constitute a great spiritual gulf which separates us as far from the Lord as the heavens are from the earth.

Isa 55:6 Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:

Both here in Isaiah and in the gospel of Luke the Lord informs us that a time is coming when the blessing of knowing Him spiritually will not be available, and He will not at that time be spiritually near to mankind:

Luk 16:26  And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.

“Us” in this parable is Christ and Lazarus as a type of those few who will be in that blessed and holy first resurrection (Rev 20:5). There are only two resurrections, and all men of all time are in one or the other of those two resurrections:

Joh 5:28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
Joh 5:29 And shall come forth; [1] they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and [2] they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation [Greek: krisis, judgment].

“You” in Luke 16:26 refers to all those who “shall come forth… unto the resurrection of [the great white throne] judgment”, over a thousand symbolic years after the “blessed and holy… first resurrection”.

Rev 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Rev 20:5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
Rev 20:6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

Christ’s spirit is given only to those who are given the opportunity to “overcome the wicked one [in] this present time” as these verses demonstrate for us:

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.

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

Mat 13:38 The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;

1Jn 2:13 I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father.
1Jn 2:14 I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye haven overcome the wicked one.

The exceeding great and precious promise of ruling with Christ during His thousand-year kingdom is reserved for a very select group who are referred to throughout scripture as ‘a remnant… [a] few chosen… in this present time” (Mat 12:32; Mar 10:30; Luk 18:30; Rom 8:18;).

Mat 12:32 And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.

Mar 10:30 But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world [Greek: aion, age] to come eternal life.

Heb 2:5 For unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world [Greek: aion, age] to come, whereof we speak.

“The age to come” as we were just told in Revelation 20:1-6 will be in subjection to those who are “kings and priests” who are granted to have a part in that “blessed and holy first resurrection”.

The Lord’s ‘firstfruit’ elect are typified by only eight out of the millions on this earth who were brought safely through the flood (2Pe 2:8) and by Caleb and Joshua, the only two of the whole nation of Israel which came up out of Egypt who were granted to enter into the promised land (Num 14:30). There were only three, Lot and his two daughters, who survived the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and all the cities of the plain (Gen 19:29). There were just the three hundred chosen out of the over thirty-two thousand who were called to fight with Gideon against the Midianite hordes (Jdg 7:7), and there are but a “few chosen” out of the “many… called”, but not chosen, not elect, of all the churches of the billions of Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and all the other religions of this world.

As we have noted, those who will rule with Christ over the nations of this world in His thousand-year kingdom will have “overcome the wicked one… in this present time” because “this present time” is the only time ‘the wicked one’ will be available to be overcome. He and his entire kingdom of evil spirits will be imprisoned throughout the thousand-year kingdom. When the thousand years are finished only then, Satan will be released for “a little season” of world-wide rebellion after which ‘the wicked one’ and all his kingdom will be cast into the lake of fire to be purged and purified along with the “great multitude which no man can number” (Rev 7:9-17). There are but two resurrections, and those two resurrections are separated by that thousand-year reign of Christ and His Christ (Joh 5:28-29, Rev 20:1-6).

Verse 6 and 7 from last week have set the tone for the first verse of today’s study:

Isa 55:6  Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:
Isa 55:7  Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

A major portion of “[our] wicked way[s]” is that we just naturally contend with and condemn God for His ways.

Giving the last workers their wages first, and giving them just as much as those who worked all day, is not our way of doing things. The workers who worked all day and got paid last, murmur against the Lord’s ways and typify our own “old man” as well as all those who are not the “few chosen” of Matthew 20:16. Let’s look closely at that parable of the workers in the Lord’s vineyard:

Mat 20:8 So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first.
Mat 20:9 And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny.
Mat 20:10 But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny.
Mat 20:11 And when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house,
Mat 20:12 Saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day.
Mat 20:13 But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny?
Mat 20:14 Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee.
Mat 20:15 Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good?
Mat 20:16 So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.

“Those who first trusted in Christ” of Ephesians 1:12 equate with the laborers who are the last to be hired and were the first to be paid. Spiritually they typify us as the Lord’s “firstfruits unto God and the Lamb” (Rev 7:4 and 14:4).

It simply does not compute in our carnal minds why the Lord would choose those who did the least work to be rulers with Christ a thousand years, and then, using those same “firstfruits unto God and the Lamb” (Rev 14:4) who came into the Lord’s vineyard last, to be His instrument by which He will fill Him who fills the all in all.

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:
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.

That simply is not how we would do things. The Lord has determined that “the last shall be first and the first last”, and He has determined that the laborers who were hired last will be the administrators of the lake of fire. He has determined the last will judge the first, and it is best for us that we get with His program.

None of that is our way of doing things, and that is why the Lord tells us:

Isa 55:8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.
Isa 55:9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Job did not at the beginning of his time of trial understand why the Lord was dealing with him as He was, but Job did come to know this:

Job 23:13 But he is in one mind, and who can turn him? and what his soul desireth, even that he doeth.
Job 23:14 For he performeth the thing that is appointed for me: and many such things are with him.

Job tells us that it is the Lord who performs what He has appointed for us. In other words, He performs His words and His works in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure (Php 2:12-13). Let’s place those words from the New Testament beside these words here in the Old Testament:

Isa 55:10  For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:
Isa 55:11  So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

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

Our last two verses express what is the Lord’s will for those “who first trusted in Christ” (Eph 1:12):

Isa 55:12 For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

[Isa 44:23 Sing, O ye heavens; for the LORD hath done it: shout, ye lower parts of the earth: break forth into singing, ye mountains, O forest, and every tree therein: for the LORD hath redeemed Jacob, and glorified himself in Israel.]

Isa 55:13  Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the LORD for a name, for an everlasting sign thatshall not be cut off.

The reason the mountains and the hills break forth before us into singing and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands and the reason the thorn is replaced with fir trees and the briar with the myrtle tree is:

Rom 8:19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.

That is the calling which the Lord has given to all those in whom “He will perform it” (Job 23:14), and I am persuaded that is the calling we are being given if He keeps us ‘faithful unto the end’ (Rev 17:14).

That concludes our study for today, and these are our verses for next week’s study:

Isa 56:1 Thus saith the LORD, Keep ye judgment, and do justice: for my salvation is near to come, and my righteousness to be revealed.
Isa 56:2 Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it; that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil.
Isa 56:3 Neither let the son of the stranger, that hath joined himself to the LORD, speak, saying, The LORD hath utterly separated me from his people: neither let the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree.
Isa 56:4 For thus saith the LORD unto the eunuchs that keep my sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and take hold of my covenant;
Isa 56:5 Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off.
Isa 56:6 Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the LORD, to serve him, and to love the name of the LORD, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant;
Isa 56:7 Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people.
Isa 56:8 The Lord GOD which gathereth the outcasts of Israel saith, Yet will I gather others to him, beside those that are gathered unto him.

Isa 45:8  Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness: let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together; I the LORD have created it.
Isa 45:9  Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands?
Isa 45:10  Woe unto him that saith unto his father, What begettest thou? or to the woman, What hast thou brought forth?
Isa 45:11  Thus saith the LORD , the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker, Ask me of things to come concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands command ye me.
Isa 45:12  I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded.
Isa 45:13  I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will direct all his ways: he shall build my city, and he shall let go my captives, not for price nor reward, saith the LORD of hosts. 

The theme of this entire prophecy has been the Lord’s sovereign work, which depends on no one other than Himself. A sub theme is that He has sovereignly determined to work through His people Israel, His “Elect”, and in this age all He is doing is for their sake:

Isa 45:4  For Jacob my servant’s sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me.
Isa 45:5  I am the LORD , and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:
Isa 45:6  That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD , and there is none else.
Isa 45:7  I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things. 

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

All the Lord does for Israel’s sake is designed to bring glory to Him who makes it all happen, as we are twice told at the beginning of this prophecy:

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

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

The Lord does not need us, but we do need Him, and He will not let us believe any lie which would take away from the great Truth that He, and He alone, is working all things after the counsel of His own will (Eph 1:11).

Our study today continues driving that Truth home to all whom He has given eyes that see and ears that hear:

Isa 45:8  Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness: let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together; I the LORD have created it.

Our heavens will ‘drop down and pour down righteousness’. Our earth will open and “bring forth salvation”. The Lord has spoken, and so it will be, as we are told in next week’s study in this same chapter:

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

Isa 55:11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

These words accord with the very first words of scripture:

Gen 1:1  IN the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

The word ‘created’ in both Genesis 1:1 and Isaiah 45:8 is in the Qal Stem, which is the Hebrew equivalent of the Greek aorist tense, meaning it is a simple statement of fact without regard to any tense.

What that means is that the action of the verb is ongoing and not finished or a thing only of the past. The Hebrew word translated as ‘created’ here in Isaiah 45 and in Genesis 1:1 is ‘bara‘. Here is the Hebrew ‘stem’ for this word:

H8804
Stem -Qal  See [H8851]
Mood -Perfect  See [H8816]

Let’s repeat our first verse for our study today:

Isa 45:8  Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness: let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together; I the LORD have created it.

The King James version makes both Genesis 1:1 and Isaiah 45:8 sound as if the Lord’s creation is all in the past and over with and completely accomplished. Most Christians believe Adam was created as a finished and perfected product who, by his own fabled ‘free will’, fell from that perfection and must now use that same lie, his so-called ‘free will’ to save himself.

Nothing could be further from the Truth. The fact is that it is the seventh day which completes the Lord’s creation of “a new man… conformed to the image of His Son”. We are told this “new man” was called in Christ “before the world began”, belying the fact that the Lord knew “before the world began” that Adam would sin and need a Savior, Christ, who is Adam’s seventh day rest.

God did not complete His creation when he “created the heavens and the earth… in six days” because His creation is not yet mature.

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

Rather, He is at this moment in the process of “creating the heavens and the earth” as He is still in the process of ‘conforming mankind in His image’. Being ‘incomplete and corruptible’ is the very meaning of the number six in scripture.

The CLV gets it right in this case:

Gen 1:27 And creating is the Elohim humanity in His image. In the image of the Elohim He creates it. Male and female He creates them.

If the first Adam were the Lord’s completed product, how could He possibly tell us we were “called… in Christ Jesus before the world began”?

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

Tit 1:2  In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;

If “the first… Adam” had been perfected, he would never have disobeyed the Lord. The “vessel of clay” was created on the sixth day, and this is what we are told of that part of the Lord’s work with us:

Jer 18:4 And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.

Here is what must happen with each of us before the Lord’s creation within us is complete:

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

With eyes gifted to see “the things of the spirit”, the Lord has made it clear that six is the number which signifies being spiritually incomplete, subject to death, and yet in a corruptible state. That is the very meaning of “the vessel of clay [which is] marred in the hand of the Potter” (Jer 18:4). Seven, denoting the rest of God, Christ our ‘rest’, is the completion of the work the Lord is doing within His creatures as He makes them to fulfill this 8th verse of Isaiah 45:

Isa 45:8  Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness: let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together; I the LORD have created it. 

His “vessel of clay” was deliberately and by design “marred in the Potter’s hand” and will be “made… a new vessel… conformed to the image of His Son”:

Jer 18:4  And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.

Rom 8:29  For whom he did foreknow [“before the world began”], he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

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

Job 23:13-14, and all the rest of the Lord’s word, lets us know the Truth of the Lord is going about doing His work with and within mankind, and this is the order in which He is “working all things after the counsel of His own will” (Eph 1:11):

There is no schizophrenia nor is there any need for a ‘plan B’ with a sovereign and all wise Creator:

Job 23:13  But he is in one mind, and who can turn him? and what his soul desireth, even that he doeth. 

The Lord repeats this fact throughout His Word, and as He is doing here in Isaiah, so He does in:

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

Daniel confirms this Truth:

Dan 4:17  This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men. 

We humans have absolutely nothing to do with the Lord’s decision concerning our individual or collective salvation. It is all a matter of what the Lord determined for each of us “before the world began” as we just read in 2Timothy 1:9 and Titus 1:2).

The Lord plainly tells us that our salvation has nothing whatsoever to do with our will:

Rom 9:16  So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.
Rom 9:17  For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.
Rom 9:18  Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth. 

Where is the false doctrine of mankind having a will free from the will of God to be found in that verse or anywhere else in scripture? It is not to be found anywhere, and in those verses that speak of our choices and our will, it can always be demonstrated that our choices and our will are nothing more than an integral part of what He had written in our books for all of our days “before there were any of them”:

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

Therefore, this admonition is written in each of our ‘books’:

Isa 45:9  Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands?

This is the very next point Paul makes in Romans 9:

Rom 9:20  Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why didst thou make me thus?
Rom 9:21  Or hath not the potter a right over the clay, from the same lump to make one part a vessel unto honor, and another unto dishonor?

None of us, not one of all of mankind, is what he is by his own choice. We are one and all what God has made us, whether we are good or evil. Whether we work hard or are lazy, whether we are indolent or very motivated, whatever we are is what He “the Potter” (Jer 18:4) has made us to be:

Isa 63:17  O LORD , why hast thou made us to err from thy ways, and hardened our heart from thy fear? Return for thy servants’ sake, the tribes of thine inheritance.

Jer 18:6 O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.
Jer 18:7 At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it;

It is as natural as breathing to take that knowledge and turn it into a lascivious, do-nothing spirit. However, when we do so then that, too, was written in our book “before the world began”. God’s sovereignty includes both our indolence and our zeal to please Him. The Lord’s sovereignty encompasses the time needed to make that transition from a self-serving, spiritually indolent, old man to “a new man” of whom it can be said “the zeal of thine house has eaten me up”:

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.

Just as we are told “not that which is spiritual is first, but that which is natural and afterwards that which is spiritual”, it follows that our spiritually indolent old man must precede our spiritually zealous, diligent and vigilant new man. It is through Christ in us we are granted to become that ‘new man’, but it is while we are living out the process of being “made… again a new vessel” that we are admonished:

Isa 45:10  Woe unto him that saith unto his father, What begettest thou? or to the woman, What hast thou brought forth? 

Our Creator is both our ‘father’ and our ‘mother’. It is not at all wise for a child to question why his parents insist on being honored and obeyed. There is an order in all things the Lord has made, and that order will be maintained.

Let’s put verses nine and ten together to get the full force of what the Lord is telling us. That will help us to better understand verse 11.

Here are verses 9-10:

Isa 45:9  Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands?
Isa 45:10  Woe unto him that saith unto his father, What begettest thou? or to the woman, What hast thou brought forth?

We dare not question our own Creator. We are His, and we are the work of His hands with which He is entitled to do as He pleases:

Christ make this point in the parable of the workers in the vineyard:

Mat 20:8  So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first.
Mat 20:9  And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny.
Mat 20:10  But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny.
Mat 20:11  And when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house,
Mat 20:12  Saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day.
Mat 20:13  But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny?
Mat 20:14  Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee.
Mat 20:15  Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good?
Mat 20:16  So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.

Paul confirms this principle in:

Rom 9:15  For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
Rom 9:16  So then it [salvation] is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.

The reason the Lord has given us all these verses with the tone of this entire chapter is:

Isa 45:6  That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else.
Isa 45:7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.

With the proper tone set, let’s now read our next verse:

Isa 45:11  Thus saith the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker, Ask me of things to come concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands command ye me.

We must remember there were no punctuation marks in either the original Hebrew or Greek manuscripts. So, considering the entire tone of this chapter and all the emphasis upon the sovereignty of the Lord, it is absolute insanity to attempt to make verse 11 say that we can “command [God] concerning the work of [His] hands”, as so many Charismatic, Pentecostal and New Age ministers teach and want us to believe. Do not believe it! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth”, but do not contend with or attempt to command your own Creator concerning the works of His hands.

Job, typifying us, was severely reprimanded by the Lord for having such a presumptuous attitude:

Job 40:1  MOREOVER the LORD answered Job, and said,
Job 40:2  Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct him? he that reproveth God, let him answer it.
Job 40:3  Then Job answered the LORD , and said,
Job 40:4  Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee? I will lay mine hand upon my mouth.
Job 40:5  Once have I spoken; but I will not answer: yea, twice; but I will proceed no further.
Job 40:6  Then answered the LORD unto Job out of the whirlwind, and said,
Job 40:7  Gird up thy loins now like a man: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.
Job 40:8  Wilt thou also disannul my judgment? wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous?
Job 40:9  Hast thou an arm like God? or canst thou thunder with a voice like him?

We most certainly do not “have an arm like God”, and yet dare we to think we can command God concerning the works of His hands? No, a much better translation would have been to put about three question marks at the end of verse 11:

Isa 45:11  Thus saith the LORD , the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker, Ask me of things to come concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands command ye me???

What the Lord is telling us is that we know very well we cannot know what the future holds concerning “[His] sons”, and we must inquire of that knowledge from Him, “Ask me of things to come…” [‘but do not think that you can tell me what actions will be the work of My hands’]. Yet the adversary has been given to persuade many of us to think that we are somehow in a position to tell the Lord that He must do what we want done.

The reason for all these protestations from the Lord is that when Isaiah prophesied and when Jeremiah prophesied and when Christ prophesied and when His Christ prophesies, men then and men now do not want to hear the Truth, His Truth. We are, in effect, telling the Lord what He will do with the work of His hands, and He is having no part of that. So, He is posing to us… “Concerning the works of My hands command ye me?”…’we who cannot even foretell the future of His sons.

The truth proclaimed by all of God’s true prophets is that our flesh is a sinful beast which has rebelled against every word of Christ and was made to be taken and destroyed:

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.

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

Why did the Lord make men to be beasts first? He wants us to know why He first made us as such:

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

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

Adam and all people are not dying because we have all sinned. The opposite is true. We all sin because we are dying; we sin because we are “marred… corruptible… beasts”, and we are of that composition “not willingly, but by reason of Him who subjected [us to vanity] in hope [while yet] in the Potter’s hand” (Jer 18:4). It is for that reason that it can indeed be said:

Rom 5:12  Wherefore, as by one [“marred “] man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

The destruction of the Lord’s nations of Israel and Judah by the kings of Assyria and Babylon respectively was prophesied well in advance of the actual events by the Lord’s prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah. The Lord calls Nebuchadnezzar “My servant” (Jer 27:6), and Cyrus is called “My shepherd… Mine anointed” (Isa 44:28 and 45:1). Just as Abraham was reproved by Pharaoh for denying his own wife (Gen 12:13-19), Israel and Judah were also reproved by the pagan kings of Assyria and Babylon, and the Lord’s hypocritical people who had turned their backs on Him did not appreciate the Lord’s prophets, Isaiah and Jeremiah, telling them that the inevitable judgment was coming. Christ’s Christ is still prophesying that the nations of this world, within and without, are facing these words today:

Jer 25:31  A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth; for the LORD hath a controversy with the nations, he will plead with all flesh; he will give them that are wicked to the sword, saith the LORD .

Joe 3:13  Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great.
Joe 3:14  Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.
Joe 3:15  The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining.
Joe 3:16  The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.

“The sun and the moon shall be darkened.” The Lord withdraws His light before He judges us within, but then, when ‘judgment begins at the house of God’ (1Pe 4:17), we become “His voice from Jerusalem” to judge and purify our heavens (Heb 9:23). ‘The Lord Himself becomes our hope and our strength’.

The Christ of Christ (Joh 20:21) is ‘Jerusalem from whence the Lord’s voice is heard’ (Rev 3:12). Christ’s Christ proclaims this very same message today. We proclaim His words to be fulfilled within first, but afterward they will be fulfilled without, and it is as inevitable today as it was in the days of Isaiah and Jeremiah. Christ Himself foretold the destruction of the temple and the misery about to befall His own people, His own disciples and the Jews also:

Luk 19:41  And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it,
Luk 19:42  Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes.
Luk 19:43  For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side,
Luk 19:44  And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.

The Lord’s physical temple was destroyed in 70 A.D., but it must also be “laid even with the ground” within us, as our “man of sin” is destroyed with the brightness of His coming” (2Th 2:3-12).

It has all been written in the Lord’s book for each of us, and it is He who is working it “all… after the counsel of His own will”:

Job 23:13  [And] he is in one mind, …who can turn him? and what his soul desireth, even that he doeth.
Job 23:14  For he performeth the thing that is appointed for me: and many such things are with him.

He has determined that He will return and rebuild His own temple:

Act 15:15  And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written,
Act 15:16  After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up:
Act 15:17  That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things.
Act 15:18  Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world. 

It is all “His works”. It is all “the work of His hands”, of which we have no right to demand anything. We are but clay in His hands. That should comfort and encourage us all.

That is how our study ends today. The Lord assures us His will is being done in all things. Cyrus is a pagan king, but just as the first Adam is a type of the man of sin and at the same time a type of “the last Adam”, Christ, the same is true of Cyrus. He, too, is a type of Christ, and Christ will build His temple:

Isa 45:12  I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded.
Isa 45:13  I have raised him [Cyrus, a type of Christ] up in righteousness, and I will direct all his ways: he shall build my city, and he shall let go my captives, not for price nor reward, saith the LORD of hosts.

This is what Christ tells us in the New Testament:

Mat 16:18  And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

It is Christ who is building His church, and this is one of the names He has given His church:

Rev 3:12  Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.

It is “He that overcomes” who will be given to rule this world with Christ and His Christ, the “New Jerusalem”, and it is this city which Cyrus, in type and shadow, will build:

Rev 21:2  And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

In our next study we will see where here in Isaiah the Lord has informed us “every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess to God” (Rom 14:11):

Isa 45:14  Thus saith the LORD, The labour of Egypt, and merchandise of Ethiopia and of the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over unto thee, and they shall be thine: they shall come after thee; in chains they shall come over, and they shall fall down unto thee, they shall make supplication unto thee, saying, Surely God is in thee; and there is none else, there is no God.
Isa 45:15  Verily thou art a God that hidest thyself, O God of Israel, the Saviour.
Isa 45:16  They shall be ashamed, and also confounded, all of them: they shall go to confusion together that are makers of idols.
Isa 45:17  But Israel shall be saved in the LORD with an everlasting salvation: ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end.
Isa 45:18  For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD ; and there is none else.
Isa 45:19  I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth: I said not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain: I the LORD speak righteousness, I declare things that are right.
Isa 45:20  Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, ye that are escaped of the nations: they have no knowledge that set up the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god that cannot save.
Isa 45:21  Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the LORD? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me.
Isa 45:22  Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.
Isa 45:23  I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.
Isa 45:24  Surely, shall one say, in the LORD have I righteousness and strength: even to him shall men come; and all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed.
Isa 45:25  In the LORD shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory.

Psa 117:1 O praise the LORD, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people.
Psa 117:2 For his merciful kindness is great toward us: and the truth of the LORD endureth for ever. Praise ye the LORD.
Psa 118:1 O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: because his mercy endureth for ever.
Psa 118:2 Let Israel now say, that his mercy endureth for ever.
Psa 118:3 Let the house of Aaron now say, that his mercy endureth for ever.
Psa 118:4 Let them now that fear the LORD say, that his mercy endureth for ever.
Psa 118:5 I called upon the LORD in distress: the LORD answered me, and set me in a large place.
Psa 118:6 The LORD is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?
Psa 118:7 The LORD taketh my part with them that help me: therefore shall I see my desire upon them that hate me.
Psa 118:8 It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.
Psa 118:9 It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes.
Psa 118:10 All nations compassed me about: but in the name of the LORD will I destroy them.
Psa 118:11 They compassed me about; yea, they compassed me about: but in the name of the LORD I will destroy them.
Psa 118:12 They compassed me about like bees; they are quenched as the fire of thorns: for in the name of the LORD I will destroy them.

God’s “merciful kindness” is great toward us and understood through the eternal words of truth which He speaks to us through His son. In verses 10 through 12 we are reminded of the process of spiritual completion through judgment (3) that God’s word will bring upon the enemy within us and how it is only “in the name of the LORD I will destroy them“, mentioned three times, that this will happen. This study of the spiritual meaning of numbers is a helpful review of the number three.

That enemy is destroyed within us by our labouring for the meat which does not perish and by being granted to fight a good fight of faith in this life (Joh 6:27, 1Ti 6:12, Heb 11:6).

Joh 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Joh 6:28 Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?
Joh 6:29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

Being given the faith to believe in Christ prevents us from perishing spiritually as we abide in the earnest of this relationship today [Eph 1:14] which God has granted us, a relationship that will lead to “everlasting life” in the fullness of that blessed and holy first resurrection [Rev 20:6].

Joh 6:68 Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.

Those words of God are promised to be sanctified within God’s elect throughout our life time (Joh 17:17). That is our washing of the word which we must experience that brings about ‘spiritual completion through judgement’.

Notice the context surrounding the following verses that speak of the impossibility for our flesh to be able to “enter into the kingdom of God” and yet Peter is being encouraged by Christ after Peter states “we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?” Forsaking all and following Christ is the path that we are on, also described in Revelation 2:10 in this regard.

Rev 2:10 Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.

Where did Christ overcome? It was in His flesh, and if we are granted to be as He is in this life, we will overcome in our flesh and be given outward “power over the nations…[where]..ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel” (1Jn 4:17).

Rev 2:26 And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:

Mat 19:24 And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
Mat 19:25 When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved?
Mat 19:26 But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.
Mat 19:27 Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?
Mat 19:28 And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

Joh 6:27 Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.

This statement in Romans we will look at typifies how we are to look at works and how it is in believing in Christ the true vine, that spiritual works will manifest that are likened unto treasure laid up in heaven. Without Christ as the vine those works can never manifest (Rom 4:1-3, Jas 2:17, Tit 3:8, Joh 15:5-6)

1Ti 6:12 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.

Rev 20:6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

Joh 15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
Joh 15:6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.

Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Like the apostle Peter we are blessed to hear our Father in heaven reveal to us who Christ is, as we come to understand “At that day” that Christ is in us as our hope of glory. It is when we truly come to know in our own selves that “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” within us that we can become convinced that nothing can separate us from the love of God.

Mat 16:17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.

Joh 14:20 At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.

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:

Rom 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation [labour in the word so you can be strengthened to endure the tribulation Act 14:22], or distress [2Co 4:8], or persecution [2Co 4:9, Heb 13:5], or famine [Psa 9:9-10, Php 4:19, 3Jn 1:2], or nakedness [Heb 13:5, 2Co 11:27-33, these trials of Paul we just read represent what it takes for us to not be found spiritually naked – Rev 3:18], or peril^G2794 [eight times mentioned in 2Co 11:26], or sword?^G3162
Rom 8:36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. [1Co 15:31]
Rom 8:37 Nay, in all these things [all these trials] we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
Rom 8:38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
Rom 8:39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Eight perils G2794 mentioned in 2Co 11:26

• waters (Isa 43:2)
• robbers (Rev 3:11)
• countrymen (1Th 2:14)
• heathen (Mat 16:6)
• in the city (2Pe 2:7)
• in the wilderness (Rev 18:10)
• in the sea (Isa 43:16)
• among false brethren (Mat 10:16)

G3162 sword machaira Total KJV Occurrences: 29

sword, 23 Mat_10:34, Mat_26:51-52 (4), Mar_14:47, Luk_21:24, Luk_22:36, Luk_22:49, Joh_18:10-11 (2), Act_12:2, Act_16:27, Rom_8:35, Rom_13:4, Eph_6:17, Heb_4:12, Heb_11:34, Heb_11:37, Rev_6:4, Rev_13:10 (2), Rev_13:14

swords, 6 Mat_26:47, Mat_26:55, Mar_14:43, Mar_14:48, Luk_22:38, Luk_22:52

“In the name of the LORD I will destroy them” in verses 10, 11 and 12 of Psalm 118 is just another way of saying “Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us” (Rom 8:37) and that conquering is accomplished by the sword^G3162.

Rom 13:4 For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword^G3162 in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.

Eph 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword^G3162 of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

Heb 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword^G3162, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Heb 11:34 Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword^G3162, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.

Heb 11:37 They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword^G3162: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented;

Luk 22:38 And they said, Lord, behold, here are two swords^G3162. And he said unto them, It is enough [Heb 4:12].

If “The LORD is my [our] strength and song, and is become my salvation” it will be because we are blessed in this age to be judged by His word which is the sword which we pray will never depart from our house. If it does not depart from our house, Christ has told us “It is enough” to get the job done [2Sa 12:10].

2Sa 12:10 Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife.

That judgment which comes via the word of God is “quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword^G3162, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” and is the reason we “praise the LORD, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people.

Psa 117:2 For his merciful kindness is great toward us: and the truth of the LORD endureth for ever. Praise ye the LORD”.

We praise God for showing mercy to us in this age by piercing our hearts through the judgment that His word brings in our land so we can learn of His righteousness first and one day be blessed to reveal the thoughts of many hearts; another way of saying “when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness”.

Isa 26:9 With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early [Heb 11:6]: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.

Luk 2:35 (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.

Psa 117:1 O praise the LORD, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people. Psa 117:2 For his merciful kindness is great toward us: and the truth of the LORD endureth for ever. Praise ye the LORD.

We praise the LORD for the reasons mentioned in the first and only two verses of Psalm 117,”For his merciful kindness is great toward us: and the truth of the LORD endureth for ever.” That is the theme which the Psalmist continues to speak to in Psalm 118, and as we will see, the LORD has given us this Psalm to reassure His children that we can put our confidence in the LORD and know that His merciful hand is going to destroy all the enemies within us as He brings us unto perfection on the third day through that judgment.

Luk 13:32 And he said unto them, Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.

It is “all ye nations” and “all ye people” who are to praise the LORD, and who will praise the LORD one day, but for today it is all the nations within us which are being brought into subjection to Christ as we learn through our trials to no longer trust our flesh, being blessed to no longer put our confidence in man or princes, but rather in our LORD whose plans for us are so great that we cannot fully appreciate what has been set before us.

Jer 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
Jer 29:12 Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.
Jer 29:13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
Jer 29:14 And I will be found of you, saith the LORD: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the LORD; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive.
Jer 29:15 Because ye have said, The LORD hath raised us up prophets in Babylon; [Mat 24:11].

1Co 2:8 Which none of the princes of this world knew[Psa 118:9]: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
1Co 2:9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
1Co 2:10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
1Co 2:11 For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. [boasting is therefore excluded by the law of faith Rom 3:27]

Psa 118:1 O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: because his mercy endureth for ever.
Psa 118:2 Let Israel now say, that his mercy endureth for ever.
Psa 118:3 Let the house of Aaron now say, that his mercy endureth for ever.
Psa 118:4 Let them now that fear the LORD say, that his mercy endureth for ever.
Psa 118:5 I called upon the LORD in distress: the LORD answered me, and set me in a large place.

O give thanks unto the LORD; for his goodness, let Israel, the house of Aaron, and those who fear the LORD say, his mercy for ever! The way this is outlined for us we are being witnessed to that all the world typified by “Israel, the many called “the house of Aaron” and the elect “Let them now that fear the LORD” in time are all being brought to understand the mercy of God that never fails.

We can only learn of that mercy by being put into situations where we need to be delivered, as David wrote, and it is the elect who truly “fear the LORD” and who are being dragged to call “upon the LORD in distress” so we can learn that “the LORD answered me, and set me in a large place.

That “large place” is the peace that passes all understanding which is formed through the trials, when we are brought to our safe haven Jesus Christ (Psa 107:30) who is that “large place” of refuge for us in this life.

Php 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.
Php 4:5 Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.
Php 4:6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
Php 4:7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Php 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely,
whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

Isa 25:4 For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.

Mat 5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Gen 24:63 And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide: and [1st Rom 5:8] he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, behold, the camels were coming. Gen 24:64 And [2nd] Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she lighted off the camel.

Psa 118:6 The LORD is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?
Psa 118:7 The LORD taketh my part with them that help me: therefore shall I see my desire upon them that hate me.

Verse 6 and 7 demonstrate just how greatly God’s power can be working within us to make us more than conquerors through Him.

Act 7:59 And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.
Act 7:60 And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

Dan 3:16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter.
Dan 3:17 If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.
Dan 3:18 But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

Mat 10:19 But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak.

Rom 8:31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
Rom 8:32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?
Rom 8:33 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth.
Rom 8:34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.
Rom 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
Rom 8:36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
Rom 8:37 Nay, in all these things [Rom 8:28] we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

These verses we’ve looked at demonstrate that we have no reason to fear what man can do unto us if “The LORD is on my side“. He will make our situations work together for the good because of His love that is being shed abroad in our hearts making our hope that “The LORD taketh my part with them that help me” very real.

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.

Rom 5:5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

Eph 1:11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

God has purposed for His people to overcome, and it is His good pleasure to give us the kingdom! Knowing it is God’s good pleasure and purpose to give us the kingdom will drive all fear from His people, and it is through the judgment which is upon the body of Christ today that this will be accomplished as we grow in obedience to God’s word through the things which we suffer.

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

1Jn 4:17 Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.
1Jn 4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.

Heb 5:8 Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;
Heb 5:9 And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;

Psa 118:8 It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.
Psa 118:9 It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes.

The last two verses will look at in our study entitled “The LORD is my strength and song, and is become my salvation” and they speak of trusting in the LORD and not putting our confidence in man or in princes.

When we are subject to the wisdom of man and not being ruled and reigned over in our hearts by Jesus Christ, then we are demonstrating confidence in man and in princes. We naturally do this all our life until God sends His spirit to us and we become those Jews who are Jews inwardly who no longer have confidence in the flesh of men, especially our own flesh that must completely fall seven times (Pro 24:16). We will learn obedience through this life as we are shepherded down the strait gate to which we have been called (Mat 22:14, Mat 7:14).

Rom 6:16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?

Mat 20:26 But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister;
Mat 20:27 And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant:
Mat 20:28 Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

God’s elect are called out of this worldly trust that we war against day after day as we die daily and live the rest of our lives fulfilling the will of God. When we are chastened and scourged of the LORD through storms which God allows to rise and bring us to our wits’ end, it is always for the same express purpose of bringing us to be of the generation who have no confidence in our flesh. It is only through that grace and accompanying faith that God provides that “The LORD is [can be] my strength and song, and is become my salvation”.

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

1Pe 4:2 That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.

Php 3:3 For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.

Next week, Lord willing, we will look at the next nine verses (Part 2 Psa 118:10-18) where we will see more examples of how God allows our enemy to compass us about so that He can be glorified when those enemies are destroyed at His hand. Of course the primary enemy is within our own flesh which wars against the spirit of God, but also the outward enemies that God sends our way are used by the Lord to strengthen us and remind us of His great power, the hand of the Lord that does valiantly.

Psa 118:10 All nations compassed me about: but in the name of the LORD will I destroy them.
Psa 118:11 They compassed me about; yea, they compassed me about: but in the name of the LORD I will destroy them.
Psa 118:12 They compassed me about like bees; they are quenched as the fire of thorns: for in the name of the LORD I will destroy them.
Psa 118:13 Thou hast thrust sore at me that I might fall: but the LORD helped me.
Psa 118:14 The LORD is my strength and song, and is become my salvation.
Psa 118:15 The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tabernacles of the righteous: the right hand of the LORD doeth valiantly.
Psa 118:16 The right hand of the LORD is exalted: the right hand of the LORD doeth valiantly.
Psa 118:17 I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the LORD.
Psa 118:18 The LORD hath chastened me sore: but he hath not given me over unto death.