Great White Throne – Is, Was and Will Be – The Unknown Character of Christ and His Word https://www.iswasandwillbe.com Revelation 1:8 "I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty Wed, 25 Mar 2026 12:21:28 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/cropped-headerlogo-32x32.png Great White Throne – Is, Was and Will Be – The Unknown Character of Christ and His Word https://www.iswasandwillbe.com 32 32 Biblical Overview of the Plan of God, Part 9:  The Jubilee https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/biblical-overview-of-the-plan-of-god-part-9-the-jubilee/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=biblical-overview-of-the-plan-of-god-part-9-the-jubilee Fri, 17 Oct 2025 18:06:49 +0000 https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/?p=34288 Audio Download

Biblical Overview of the Plan of God, Part 9:  The Jubilee

[Study Aired October 17, 2025]

Lev 25:8  And thou shalt number seven sabbaths of years unto thee, seven times seven years; and the space of the seven sabbaths of years shall be unto thee forty and nine years.
Lev 25:9  Then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubile to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month, in the day of atonement shall ye make the trumpet sound throughout all your land.

Pentecost is preceded by seven weeks, seven weekly sabbaths, seven weekly days of rest.

Exo 31:15  Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD: whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.

The year of jubilee is preceded by seven sabbath years when the land was to be given rest. If we hope to know the meaning of these two sabbaths… Pentecost after seven weekly sabbaths of rest, and Jubilee after seven sabbath years of rest for the land, it will help greatly to understand the significance of the words ‘sabbath of rest’.

Hebrews four provides us with that bit of information, but before we look at the fourth chapter let’s first see what the introductory words ‘Let us therefore’ are referring to. Here are the last three verses of chapter three:

Heb 3:17  But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness?
Heb 3:18  And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not?
Heb 3:19  So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.

Now Paul is going to give us the spiritual significance of the words “sabbath of rest” of Exodus 31:15:

Heb 4:1  Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.
Heb 4:2  For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.
Heb 4:3  For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.
Heb 4:4  For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works.
Heb 4:5  And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest.
Heb 4:6  Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief:
Heb 4:7  Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Heb 4:8  For if Jesus [Greek: ‘Joshua’] had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day.
Heb 4:9  There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.
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.

That is the spiritual significance of “a sabbath of rest.” Our ‘rest’ is the gift of the spirit of God and His grace which is setting us free from our own beastly carnal mind and sins which have reigned over our lives:

Eph 2:8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

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

Being made free from the dominion of sin in our lives necessitates that we must therefore become slaves to righteousness:

Rom 6:15  What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.
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?
Rom 6:17  But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.
Rom 6:18  Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants [G1402: ‘douloo’, slave] of righteousness.

Now we should begin to see that a “sabbath of rest” whether it be the weekly sabbath, the seven weekly sabbaths from the days of unleavened bread until Pentecost, or the seven sabbath years which bring us to the jubilee, the only heirs of that rest will be believers who come up through great tribulation and wash their robes white in the blood of the Lamb:

Mat 10:21  And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death.
Mat 10:22  And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.

Rev 7:9  After this [After being shown the 144,000 “firstfruits unto God and the Lamb”, (Rev 7:1-8)] 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;

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 “lake of fire”], and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
Rev 17:14  These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful [“to the end”].

Those who ‘endure to the end’ in this present time are the bride of Christ. It is Christ’s bride who are signified by seven weekly sabbaths culminating in the feast of Pentecost, the day on which the Lord’s bride was born through the giving of the holy spirit in Acts 2. We are those who are numbered as 144,000, “firstfruits unto God and The Lamb… the Bride The Lamb’s wife… Jerusalem above, the mother of us all”.

Gal 4:26  But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.

Rev 14:1  And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads.
Rev 14:2  And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps:
Rev 14:3  And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth.
Rev 14:4  These 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.

There is another group which cannot be numbered. They, too, must “come up through great tribulation and wash their robes white in the blood of The Lamb” (Rev 7:14). These are the fruit of the womb of the bride of Christ. The great multitude which no man could number are signified by the fiftieth year. The Jubilee year which follow 7 sabbath years.

Lev 25:1  And the LORD spake unto Moses in mount Sinai, saying,
Lev 25:2  Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the land which I give you, then shall the land keep a sabbath unto the LORD.
Lev 25:3  Six years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard, and gather in the fruit thereof;
Lev 25:4  But in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land, a sabbath for the LORD: thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard.
Lev 25:5  That which groweth of its own accord of thy harvest thou shalt not reap, neither gather the grapes of thy vine undressed: for it is a year of rest unto the land.
Lev 25:6  And the sabbath of the land shall be meat for you; for thee, and for thy servant, and for thy maid, and for thy hired servant, and for thy stranger that sojourneth with thee,
Lev 25:7  And for thy cattle, and for the beast that are in thy land, shall all the increase thereof be meat.

The Lord’s jubilee comes on the fiftieth year, the year after seven  sabbath years.

Lev 25:8  And thou shalt number seven sabbaths of years unto thee, seven times seven years; and the space of the seven sabbaths of years shall be unto thee forty and nine years.
Lev 25:9  Then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubile to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month, in the day of atonement shall ye make the trumpet sound throughout all your land.
Lev 25:10  And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubile unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family.
Lev 25:11  A jubile shall that fiftieth year be unto you: ye shall not sow, neither reap that which groweth of itself in it, nor gather the grapes in it of thy vine undressed.
Lev 25:12  For it is the jubile; it shall be holy unto you: ye shall eat the increase thereof out of the field.
Lev 25:13  In the year of this jubile ye shall return every man unto his possession.
Lev 25:14  And if thou sell ought unto thy neighbour, or buyest ought of thy neighbour’s hand, ye shall not oppress one another:
Lev 25:15  According to the number of years after the jubile thou shalt buy of thy neighbour, and according unto the number of years of the fruits he shall sell unto thee:
Lev 25:16  According to the multitude of years thou shalt increase the price thereof, and according to the fewness of years thou shalt diminish the price of it: for according to the number of the years of the fruits doth he sell unto thee.
Lev 25:17  Ye shall not therefore oppress one another; but thou shalt fear thy God: for I am the LORD your God.
Lev 25:18  Wherefore ye shall do my statutes, and keep my judgments, and do them; and ye shall dwell in the land in safety.
Lev 25:19  And the land shall yield her fruit, and ye shall eat your fill, and dwell therein in safety.
Lev 25:20  And if ye shall say, What shall we eat the seventh year? behold, we shall not sow, nor gather in our increase:
Lev 25:21  Then I will command my blessing upon you in the sixth year, and it shall bring forth fruit for three years.
Lev 25:22  And ye shall sow the eighth year, and eat yet of old fruit until the ninth year; until her fruits come in ye shall eat of the old store.

This series of studies has been entitled The Biblical Overview of the Plan of God as Revealed in the Holy Days. I did not include the words ‘As Revealed In The Holy Days’ in the title of this study simply because this part of the plan of God, His year of the jubilee, is not in the purview of the holy days which the Lord gave to ancient Israel. The seven weeks leading up to Pentecost and the birth of the New Testament church, who are signified by the number 144,000, the firstfruit elect of God, are called the bride of His Son, Christ. Christ’s bride is a precursor to the salvation of all the rest of mankind as the fruit of “the marriage supper of the Lamb. The fruit of that marriage between Christ and His bride is the jubilee harvest which signifies the great multitude which no man could number who will also come up through great tribulation and wash their robes white in the blood of the Lamb as the children of Christ’s bride. This event is not featured in the seven holy days which end with the eighth day, the last great day. The last great day of the feast signifies the short season of rebellion against the ‘camp of the saints’. That rebellion gives the Lord the ‘occasion’ He is seeking to destroy the nations in the four quarters of the earth and thereby begin the process of destroying death via the great white throne judgment/lake of fire/ second death. The lake of fire is the “great tribulation” which must try all who are given to be that part of the plan of God which is revealed by the holy days brings us to the very beginning of the judgment of the nations in the great white throne judgment.

When Christ cried out on the  last great day that anyone who was thirsty should come to Him, believe on Him and become a well of living waters for others:

Joh 7:37  In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.
Joh 7:38  He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
Joh 7:39  (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)

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

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

Eph 3:9  And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
Eph 3:10  To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,

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

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

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

You will notice that the trumpet of the jubilee is sounded on the day of atonement. It is also on the day of atonement that the scapegoat was offered for the iniquities of Israel. While it is not specifically stated in Revelation 20 that it will be the saints who will judge every man according to His works, it is specifically stated that Christ is the judge of all men:

Rom 2:16  In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.

2Ti 4:1  I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;

Exactly who is “Jesus of Nazareth?”

Act 22:8  And I [Self-righteous Saul of Tarsus, signifying you and me] answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest.

Christ’s Father will “judge the quick and the dead… by Jesus Christ” (Rom 2:16; 2Ti 4:1].

What will that ‘judgment’ produce?

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.

That is what the fiery judgments of God will produce, whether it is the first judgment which is now on the house of God or the later ‘great white throne… judgment’ when the great multitude which no man could number will be resurrected from the dead and judged as spiritual sons of their father the devil:

Joh 8:43  Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word.
Joh 8:44  Ye [All men before being judged] are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
Joh 8:45  And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.
Joh 8:46  Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me?
Joh 8:47  He that is of God heareth God’s words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.

Christ makes this incredible statement concerning us as His Christ:

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

We just read in Romans 2:16 and 2Timothy 4:1 that “God will judge the living and them by Jesus Christ.” Here we have Christ telling us, “As My Father hath sent me, even so send I you.”

Is there a second witness in scripture which states that we will judge spiritual sons of the Devil? Indeed there is just such a verse:

1Co 6:2  Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
1Co 6:3  Know ye not that we shall judge angels [In the lake of fire at the white throne judgment]? how much more things that pertain to this life?

For whom is the lake of fire prepared?

Mat 25:41  Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting [G166: ‘aionios’, age lasting] fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

All the words of Christ and all the words of His apostles are addressed primarily to His elect firstfruits who are also called “the bride, The Lamb’s wife”. It is to us that He makes these admonitions:

Mat 5:29  And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.
Mat 5:30  And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.

Mat 18:8  Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire.
Mat 18:9  And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.

The “everlasting fire” of Matthew 18:8 is the same “everlasting fire” of Matthew 25:41 where we are told this fire is “prepared for the devil and his angels”. The very next verse here in Matthew 18 refers to this “everlasting fire” as “hell fire” and the word ‘hell’ is G1067, ‘Genna’ or ‘Gehenna’, which refers to the valley of the sons of Hinnom just south of Jerusalem which was used as the city dump where fires were kept burning to devour the waste of the city. Christ used this term to refer to the lake of fire where the great white throne judgment will take place and death and the refuge of all flesh will be devoured and destroyed.

We must never confuse the process with the product. The lake of fire is the process of judgment which we patiently endure:

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.

God’s judgments, which He works through His saints, produces righteousness in “all men”. That “righteousness of Christ”, that “mind of Christ” is the “God… all in all” for which the Lord is working in and through us, “the church”.

Eph 3:9  And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
Eph 3:10  To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,

Rom 11:32  For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.
Rom 11:33  O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!
Rom 11:34  For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?
Rom 11:35  Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again?
Rom 11:36  For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.

This is Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians and it should be our prayer for each other:

Eph 1:17  That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:
Eph 1:18  The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
Eph 1:19  And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,
Eph 1:20  Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,
Eph 1:21  Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:
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.

[Click here to go to the next chapter.]

]]> The Overview of the Plan of God, Part 8B https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/the-overview-of-the-plan-of-god-part-8b/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-overview-of-the-plan-of-god-part-8b Sun, 05 Oct 2025 01:04:15 +0000 https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/?p=34195 Audio Download

The Overview of the Plan of God, Part 8B

Last Great Day:  I Will Put Hooks Into Your Jaws Ezekiel 38

[Study Aired October 5, 2025]

Eze 38:3  And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:
Eze 38:4  And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:

We paused our last study on the spirituals significance of the last great day with the verses which demonstrate that the function of that day in the plan of God can be fulfilled only by those who are blessed to have a part in the first resurrection, which occurs at the beginning of the thousand-year reign of our Lord and His Christ. We have learned that the thousand-year reign is the fulfilling of the first part of the double portion which belongs only to the firstborn. The last great day, signifying the last rebellion of “the nations in the four quarters of the earth”, ushers in the great white throne judgment where all men of all time are raised up from their graves and are “judged according to their works”:

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.

The “firstborn” possesses the birthright, and the birthright is the double portion.

Deu 21:17  But he shall acknowledge the son of the hated for the firstborn, by giving him a double portion of all that he hath: for he is the beginning of his strength; the right of the firstborn is his.

Chist is called the firstborn of every creature and the firstborn of the dead:

Col 1:15  Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
Col 1:16  For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
Col 1:17  And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
Col 1:18  And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.

Reigning and judging the nations of this world for a thousand years is the first part of the blessing of the double portion which is the right of the firstborn. ‘Judging angels’ in the great white throne judgment/lake of fire/ second death is the second part of the double portion which is the right only of the firstborn:

1Co 6:2  Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? [Rev 20:1-6] and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
1Co 6:3  Know ye not that we shall judge angels? [Rev 20:7-15] how much more things that pertain to this life?

Now there are indeed many degrees of glory within both of the two resurrections (1Co 15:35-44), but rulership with Christ over this physical world and the judging of angels in the spiritual realm are promised only to those who are part of that “blessed and holy…first resurrection.”. That is the double portion of the Lord’s firstborn, firstfruits, and it is theirs only:

Rev 14:3  And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth.
Rev 14:4  These 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 first fruits [“the firstborn”] unto God and to the Lamb.

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 [the first part of the double portion of the firstborn]

The “lake of fire… is the second death”. No one who is cast into the lake of fire is in the purview of the promise given here in Revelation 20:6 and in Revelation 2:26-27.

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

Those who are “hurt of the second death” will not be given to rule the nations during the thousand-year reign of “The Lord and His Christ” (Rev 11:15). Only those who are overcomers before the thousand-year reign, those who are symbolized by the 144,000, will be given the honor of being in that “blessed and holy… first resurrection” to rule the nations of this world with Christ:

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

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 [“firstborn”] unto God and to the Lamb.

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.

Rev 20:14  And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

“It is appointed unto [all] men once to die”, followed by judgment.

Heb 9:27  And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

The fact that we are told “the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God” proves that the death being spoken of in Hebrews 9:27 is death to sin, and the process of “dying daily” which is now taking place only within those who “first trusted in Christ” and who now, in this age, have Christ living within them.

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

That is a legitimate question, and it deserves a Biblical answer, and we have given that Biblical answer by showing that the lake of fire and the work accomplished therein is the answer to that question.

What Hebrews 9:27 and 1 Peter 4:17 tell us is that the death with which the scriptures concern themselves includes our “dying daily” as the first to die to the sins of our old man. Those who die first to sin are the first to be judged as “the house of God”.

Heb 9:27  And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

“The second death” has to do with those who are not the first to die daily to the sins of their old man in this life. The ‘second death’ is given that name because it is speaking of those who are the second group to die to sin and to be judged in the great white throne judgment.  ‘The second death’ has nothing to do with anyone dying twice. “It is appointed unto man once to die, but after this the judgment” (Heb 9:27). “The second death” has to do with the order in which one dies to the sins of his old man. The first resurrection is the resurrection of those in this age who are the ‘first to trust in Christ’ and ‘die daily… as a living sacrifice… crucified with Christ, nevertheless [a]live’. (Eph 1:12, 1Co 15:31, Rom 12:1, Gal 2:20)

What is the spiritual purpose for the thousand-year reign with a rod of iron?

Now it certainly is not reading into the scriptures to say that being given “power over the nations” is speaking outwardly of a period of time signified by “a thousand years.” It is during this period of time that the firstfruits, also called the firstborn, are given “to rule the nations with a rod of iron.” Yes, “power over the nations” has an inward and present application, which must always be primary to us. However, reigning over the outward nations of this world is given only to those who are given part in the first resurrection. For this reason the thousand-year reign of “the Lord and His Christ” and “the second death” cannot be only an inward experience of those who “overcome the wicked one… [in] this present time.”

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 not possible to be in both resurrections because we are told that “the rest of the dead live not again “until the thousand years are finished.”

Rev 20:5  But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.

In this Biblical overview of the plan of God, we are focused on the dispensational application of the power over the nations of this world which is given only to “Him that overcometh.” Only those who “overcome the wicked one” in this age, in “this present time” (Rom 8:18)  will rule with Christ over “the nations of this world… for a thousand years” (Rev 11:15).

We are also focusing upon what we are told of the spiritual condition of those who are populating this earth during that time. Are we anywhere told that the spirit will be dragging them to God? Where are any verses which tell us that “All those who are born during the Millennium… will still have to freely repent and believe the Gospel, personally choosing Christ as Savior and Lord?” The answer is that we are not told anything of the kind.

The fact is that even the sacrifices which are commanded to be offered during the feast of tabernacles point and signify the diminishing appreciation of the rule of God’s elect during the thousand years of their rule with a rod of iron. Notice what offerings are commanded to be offered during the feast of tabernacles:

Num 29:12  And on the fifteenth day of the seventh month ye shall have an holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work, and ye shall keep a feast unto the LORD seven days:
Num 29:13  And ye shall offer a burnt offering, a sacrifice made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD; thirteen young bullocks, two rams, and fourteen lambs of the first year; they shall be without blemish:
Num 29:14  And their meat offering shall be of flour mingled with oil, three tenth deals unto every bullock of the thirteen bullocks, two tenth deals to each ram of the two rams,
Num 29:15  And a several tenth deal to each lamb of the fourteen lambs:
Num 29:16  And one kid of the goats for a sin offering; beside the continual burnt offering, his meat offering, and his drink offering.
Num 29:17  And on the second day ye shall offer twelve young bullocks, two rams, fourteen lambs of the first year without spot:
Num 29:18  And their meat offering and their drink offerings for the bullocks, for the rams, and for the lambs, shall be according to their number, after the manner:
Num 29:19  And one kid of the goats for a sin offering; beside the continual burnt offering, and the meat offering thereof, and their drink offerings.
Num 29:20  And on the third day eleven bullocks, two rams, fourteen lambs of the first year without blemish;
Num 29:21  And their meat offering and their drink offerings for the bullocks, for the rams, and for the lambs, shall be according to their number, after the manner:
Num 29:22  And one goat for a sin offering; beside the continual burnt offering, and his meat offering, and his drink offering.
Num 29:23  And on the fourth day ten bullocks, two rams, and fourteen lambs of the first year without blemish:
Num 29:24  Their meat offering and their drink offerings for the bullocks, for the rams, and for the lambs, shall be according to their number, after the manner:
Num 29:25  And one kid of the goats for a sin offering; beside the continual burnt offering, his meat offering, and his drink offering.
Num 29:26  And on the fifth day nine bullocks, two rams, and fourteen lambs of the first year without spot:
Num 29:27  And their meat offering and their drink offerings for the bullocks, for the rams, and for the lambs, shall be according to their number, after the manner:
Num 29:28  And one goat for a sin offering; beside the continual burnt offering, and his meat offering, and his drink offering.
Num 29:29  And on the sixth day eight bullocks, two rams, and fourteen lambs of the first year without blemish:
Num 29:30  And their meat offering and their drink offerings for the bullocks, for the rams, and for the lambs, shall be according to their number, after the manner:
Num 29:31  And one goat for a sin offering; beside the continual burnt offering, his meat offering, and his drink offering.
Num 29:32  And on the seventh day seven bullocks, two rams, and fourteen lambs of the first year without blemish:
Num 29:33  And their meat offering and their drink offerings for the bullocks, for the rams, and for the lambs, shall be according to their number, after the manner:
Num 29:34  And one goat for a sin offering; beside the continual burnt offering, his meat offering, and his drink offering.

In the Old Testament, physical wealth symbolizes spiritual wealth as this description of Abraham reveals:

Gen 13:1  And Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the south.
Gen 13:2  And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.

Not just everyone in Israel was wealthy enough or capable of offering a bullock to God. Those who could do so were usually the leaders of the people. What the diminishing numbers of the offering of the bullocks tells us is that the leaders of the people who are alive during the symbolic one thousand years of the rule of the nations of this world by the elect saints of God, are becoming progressively less appreciative of that rule with a rod of iron. This time of being ruled by God’s elect will be carried out in a no-nonsense manner, just as God used Moses and Aaron to rule over Israel for forty years. That forty years symbolized the time of trials which Israel endured as they demonstrated how little they appreciated the rule of God over that nation with a rod of iron.

Here are just two examples of how God dealt with the rebellions of Israel during this forty years of being ruled with a rod of iron under Christ, through Moses and Aaron, as types of God’s elect rulers of this world:

Exo 32:4  And he [Aaron] received them [golden ear rings] at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
Exo 32:5  And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow is a feast to the LORD.
Exo 32:6  And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.
Exo 32:7  And the LORD said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves:
Exo 32:8  They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt [typifying the ways of man versus the ways of God].
Exo 32:9  And the LORD said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people: [typifying all people “in the four quarters of the earth”]
Exo 32:10  Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation. [This is what God will do after the “little season” of rebellion which follows the millennium]

Those were trying times for Israel, and they grew progressively more rebellious as this time of trial continued. Our next example makes clear that it was the whole “camp of Israel”, signfying “the nations in the four quarters of the earth”, who rose up against Moses and Aaron, the Lord’s appointed leaders who signify “the camp of the saints” at the end of the thousand-year reign.

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

We covered this story in our last study. The phrase “all the congregation… gathered themselves against Moses and against Aaron” first appears here in verse 3. It is repeated in verse 19 lest we think it was a minority of the congregation who sided with Korah against Moses and Aaron:

Num 16:19  And Korah gathered all the congregation against them unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and the glory of the LORD appeared unto all the congregation.
Num 16:20  And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
Num 16:21  Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.
Num 16:31  And it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground clave asunder that was under them:
Num 16:32  And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods.
Num 16:33  They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them: and they perished from among the congregation.
Num 16:34  And all Israel that were round about them fled at the cry of them: for they said, Lest the earth swallow us up also.
Num 16:35  And there came out a fire from the LORD, and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense.

To show us just how foolish and rebellious our own flesh is the phrase “all the congregation of the children of Israel… gathered together against Moses and Aaron” appears a third time, signifying the judgment we must endure for our rebellion against the leaders of God. This is the very next day after the earth opened up and swallowed Korah and company:

Num 16:41  But on the morrow all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron, saying, Ye have killed the people of the LORD.
Num 16:42  And it came to pass, when the congregation was gathered against Moses and against Aaron, that they looked toward the tabernacle of the congregation: and, behold, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the LORD appeared.

The Lord Himself has just caused the earth to swallow up the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram. The Lord had sent fire to devour the 250 men who had burned incense for Korah’s cause, and yet here we are in type the very next day gathering ourselves against the Lord and His Christ, and “the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against [our] unrighteouness and  ungodliness.”

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

This is what God’s wrath did to rebellious Israel:

Num 16:46  And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a censer, and put fire therein from off the altar, and put on incense, and go quickly unto the congregation, and make an atonement for them: for there is wrath gone out from the LORD; the plague is begun.
Num 16:47  And Aaron took as Moses commanded, and ran into the midst of the congregation; and, behold, the plague was begun among the people: and he put on incense, and made an atonement for the people.
Num 16:48  And he stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed.
Num 16:49  Now they that died in the plague were fourteen thousand and seven hundred, beside them that died about the matter of Korah.
Num 16:50  And Aaron returned unto Moses unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and the plague was stayed.

These two examples serve to tell us the meaning of these two sections of scripture we mentioned in our last study:

Psa 2:7  I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.
Psa 2:8  Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.
Psa 2:9  Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.

Mic 4:3  And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

In the Old Testament these promises are made to Christ, but in the New Testament we discover that these promises are extended to the overcomers who are the Christ of Christ:

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

Rev 12:5  And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.

These promises  have no application to any who are not the firstborn firstfruits unto God and the Lamb. They, and they alone, will rule with our Lord a thousand years and then judge angels in the great white throne judgment/lake of fire/ second death.

That time of being ruled with “a rod of iron” becomes less and less appreciated, as the diminishing number of bullocks offered during the seven days of the feast of tabernacles indicates. The physical leaders of those days, just like the “two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown”, will become weary of the rulers whom God had placed over them as signified by Moses and Aaron.

It is also instructive to take note that the number of bullocks offered over those seven days are 70 in total, indicating the completion of what God is doing in the flesh of mankind at the last great day.

It should now be crystal clear that the phrase “the nations in the four quarters of the earth” is not a symbol for a minority of mankind, but it rather signifies “all the congregation” of “the nations in the four quarters of the earth”, and that the thousand-year reign of “our Lord and His Christ” is not intended to be a time of great revival, but is rather a time in which the rebellion of mankind against the rulership of God will come to its zenith and will thereby furnish God with the “occasion” which He is seeking to destroy all flesh and thereby “destroy… death” (1Co 15:26). Mankind has no choice in the matter of the destruction of all flesh because God tells us:

Eze 38:2  Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him,
Eze 38:3  And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:
Eze 38:4  And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:

These words here in Ezekiel 38  are the foundation for the inspired words of John who gives us the knowledge of what Gog and Magog signify:

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

There is yet one more step to be taken in the overview of the plan of God for all mankind, and there is yet one more commandment of God which Israel was to observe which reveals the all-in-all goal which God has as the outcome of His dealings with the flesh of all of mankind.

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

In our next study we will show that many of the prophecies which the churches of Babylon apply to the thousand-year reign have been misapplied to that period of time, and are in reality to be applied to the kingdom of God which is even now in “earnest” within God’s elect, and to the time that follows the thousand-year reign. This is the time when God will be all in all.

1Co 12:6 And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.

1Co 15:28 And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.

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.

[Click here to go to the next chapter.]

]]> Zec 8:1-23  A city of truth; and the mountain of the LORD of hosts  https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/zec-81-23-a-city-of-truth-and-the-mountain-of-the-lord-of-hosts/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=zec-81-23-a-city-of-truth-and-the-mountain-of-the-lord-of-hosts Thu, 20 Jul 2023 16:56:03 +0000 https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/?p=27972 Audio Download

Zec 8:1-23  A city of truth; and the mountain of the LORD of hosts

[Study Aired July 20, 2023]

Zec 8:1  Again the word of the LORD of hosts came to me, saying,
Zec 8:2  Thus saith the LORD of hosts; I was jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I was jealous for her with great fury. 
Zec 8:3  Thus saith the LORD; I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth; and the mountain of the LORD of hosts the holy mountain. 
Zec 8:4  Thus saith the LORD of hosts; There shall yet old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, and every man with his staff in his hand for very age. 
Zec 8:5  And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof. 
Zec 8:6  Thus saith the LORD of hosts; If it be marvellous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, should it also be marvellous in mine eyes? saith the LORD of hosts. 
Zec 8:7  Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will save my people from the east country, and from the west country; 
Zec 8:8  And I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness. 
Zec 8:9  Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Let your hands be strong, ye that hear in these days these words by the mouth of the prophets, which were in the day that the foundation of the house of the LORD of hosts was laid, that the temple might be built. 
Zec 8:10  For before these days there was no hire for man, nor any hire for beast; neither was there any peace to him that went out or came in because of the affliction: for I set all men every one against his neighbour. 
Zec 8:11  But now I will not be unto the residue of this people as in the former days, saith the LORD of hosts. 
Zec 8:12  For the seed shall be prosperous; the vine shall give her fruit, and the ground shall give her increase, and the heavens shall give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things.
Zec 8:13  And it shall come to pass, that as ye were a curse among the heathen, O house of Judah, and house of Israel; so will I save you, and ye shall be a blessing: fear not, but let your hands be strong. 
Zec 8:14  For thus saith the LORD of hosts; As I thought to punish you, when your fathers provoked me to wrath, saith the LORD of hosts, and I repented not: 
Zec 8:15  So again have I thought in these days to do well unto Jerusalem and to the house of Judah: fear ye not. 
Zec 8:16  These are the things that ye shall do; Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbour; execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates:
Zec 8:17  And let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbour; and love no false oath: for all these are things that I hate, saith the LORD.
Zec 8:18  And the word of the LORD of hosts came unto me, saying, 
Zec 8:19  Thus saith the LORD of hosts; The fast of the fourth month, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth, shall be to the house of Judah joy and gladness, and cheerful feasts; therefore love the truth and peace. 
Zec 8:20  Thus saith the LORD of hosts; It shall yet come to pass, that there shall come people, and the inhabitants of many cities:
Zec 8:21  And the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily to pray before the LORD, and to seek the LORD of hosts: I will go also.
Zec 8:22  Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the LORD. 
Zec 8:23  Thus saith the LORD of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you.

In this eighth chapter of Zechariah, we learn of God’s ultimate purpose for the elect who are judged in this age (1Pe 4:17, Rom 8:28) so that they can be revealed as the Israel of God (Gal 6:16) who will be called “a city of truth; and the mountain of the LORD of hosts the holy mountain” which God has made ready through Christ to rule the nations with a rod of iron (Oba 1:21, Rev 19:7, Rev 2:27, Rev 12:5).

Rev 2:27  And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father. 

Rev 12:5  And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne. 

The “all Israel” spoken of in Romans 11:26 represents the world God will bring into the midst of Jerusalem. “And I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness.” (vs 8)

Rom 11:26  And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: 

This section of Zechariah is a prophecy talking about the time when the world will learn of God’s righteousness because His judgments will be in the earth via the body of Christ, who will be used to “turn away ungodliness from Jacob” (Isa 26:9). God’s people will be a fruitful vine (Zec 8:12) which disseminates the word of truth to a world that will hear what the church has to say, but will not be able to ultimately continue in the truth given to them (Joh 12:47, Rom 8:9, Mat 13:16-17, Joh 8:31-32).

Joh 12:47  And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world [Mat 12:36-37, Luk 19:22]. 

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

Joh 8:31  Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
Joh 8:32  And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

God’s elect can conclude with heartfelt joy today through Christ our hope of glory within (Col 1:27) that our labor now, and during that thousand-year period will not be in vain (1Co 15:58, Isa 66:9). Those labors are all to God’s glory to reveal His longsuffering spirit toward the vessels of dishonor who will, at the appointed time, come to see that God’s word will never return void but will deliver all the banished of this world (2Sa 14:14, Rom 9:21-22, Isa 55:11, Rev 20:11, 1Co 15:22). 

God’s mercy toward the weak of the world, the elect (1Co 1:26), is truly unsearchable and past finding out (Rom 11:33). Studying this section of Zechariah reminds us how His ways are not our ways (Isa 55:8-9), and how blessed we are to know our Lord now, to have eyes that see and ears that hear. “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord” (1Co 15:58, Joh 8:31-32).

Rom 11:33  O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! 

Zec 8:1  Again the word of the LORD of hosts came to me, saying, 
Zec 8:2  Thus saith the LORD of hosts; I was jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I was jealous for her with great fury. 

If the Lord had not been jealous over His bride, who is likened to “the mountain of the LORD of hosts, the holy mountain” (Oba 1:21) we would have never been made ready. Because of His faithfulness that which He has promised to start and finish will be accomplished within the body of Christ (Heb 12:2). Christ is jealous of His wife, and because He is a consuming fire, He will burn out of His bride all unfaithfulness, all iniquity so our hearts and minds will grow to be able to bring every thought into subjection to our head Jesus Christ, truly becoming one with the Lord and His body (2Co 10:4-5).

Exo 20:5  Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; 

Exo 34:14  For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God:

Num 5:14  And the spirit of jealousy come upon him [think of Christ with his bride], and he be jealous of his wife, and she be defiled: or if the spirit of jealousy come upon him, and he be jealous of his wife, and she be not defiled: 

Num 5:30  Or when the spirit of jealousy cometh upon him [think of Christ with his bride], and he be jealous over his wife, and shall set the woman before the LORD, and the priest shall execute upon her all this law.

Deu 4:24  For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God.

2Co 10:4  (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds😉 
2Co 10:5  Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;(our own thoughts and daily interactions with the world) 

[God equips the body of Christ to deal with our iniquity, our self-righteousness that he visits and promises He will burn out of us, pulling down every stronghold within us and those spirits we wrestle with in others (Mar 13:11-13)]

The “great fury” of verse 2 which God has against us is against our yet carnal minds that must be circumcised and put off in order for the bride to be called “a city of truth; and the mountain of the LORD of hosts the holy mountain” (Rev 15:8), that mountain being mount Zion who comes up as saviors of this world in the first resurrection who are in perfect subjection to our head Jesus Christ (Oba 1:21).

Zec 8:3  Thus saith the LORD; I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth; and the mountain of the LORD of hosts the holy mountain. 
Zec 8:4  Thus saith the LORD of hosts; There shall yet old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, and every man with his staff in his hand for very age.

The elect are likened to mount Zion (Oba 1:21) to whom God has returned as well as Jerusalem, a city of truth. “And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband” (Rev 21:2). Both represent the resurrected body of Christ that will rule on this earth. In regard to this holy mountain called Zion, we learn “and there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the lamb’s book of life” (Rev 21:27).

The rest of humanity who are still alive when God’s government is established on this earth, are spoken of in Zechariah 8:4, and this verse describes the great peace the earth will experience prior to Satan being released for a season (Rev 20:8). “Thus saith the LORD of hosts; There shall yet old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, and every man with his staff in his hand for very age” (Zec 8:4). 

Being an old man or old woman still bringing forth fruit in our lives is a great blessing and symbol of wisdom (Job 32:7, Psa 92:14). However, when we read “every man with his staff in his hand” it symbolizes for us a world that is still believing in free moral agency, being held up by their own strength, still leaning unto their own understanding, which is all we can do until the Lord takes away our confidence in our own flesh (Job 32:8-9, Php 3:3).

Psa 92:14  They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing; 

Job 32:7  I said, Days should speak, and multitude of years should teach wisdom. 
Job 32:8  But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding. 
Job 32:9  Great men are not always wise: neither do the aged understand judgment. 

Php 3:3  For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, [Joh 4:23] and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh. 

Zec 8:5  And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof. 
Zec 8:6  Thus saith the LORD of hosts; If it be marvellous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, should it also be marvellous in mine eyes? saith the LORD of hosts.
Zec 8:7  Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will save my people from the east country, and from the west country; 
Zec 8:8  And I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness.

These verses describe for us a time of great peace and prosperity in the earth during the thousand-year reign. “And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof“, and the symbolic language shows us there will be a confidence in flesh because of the hedge God creates during this period until it is taken away at the release of Satan for a season (Rev 20:8). 

To answer the question, “If it be marvellous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, should it also be marvellous in mine eyes? saith the LORD of hosts“, we can consider how Paul marveled at how soon people were turned away from the true gospel in his day (Gal 1:6-10), and we will marvel (not being surprised or caught off guard, just marveling at the marvelous work of God in the earth) as we see the world go through this process of being judged “from the east country, and from the west country” and then be shown that there was no conversion during that symbolic thousand-year period of judgment, with no spirit of God within (Rom 8:9). The prosperity of this time is undeniable in its description in God’s word both physically and in the abundance of God’s word which will fill the earth as the oceans are filled with water (Hab 2:14). 

The peace and security this brings is likened unto “old men and old women dwell[ing] in the streets of Jerusalem, and every man with his staff in his hand for very age” and to “the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof.” Nevertheless, none of this gives evidence to the conversion of the masses, only that like Adam and Eve in the ideal garden of Eden as soon as Satan is loosed for his season upon them, it is revealed that they cannot resist the devil and are taken in their own iniquity (Gen 3:4-7).

Gen 3:4  And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: 
Gen 3:5  for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as God, knowing good and evil. 
Gen 3:6  And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat; and she gave also unto her husband with her, and he did eat. 
Gen 3:7  And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig-leaves together, and made themselves aprons [actions that symbolize their own iniquity].

The world will be brought into the midst of Jerusalem, “and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness” does not preclude that there is conversion on the horizon, only the opposite as this is a time of great contrast just as it was with Peter who said he would never deny Christ but did, along with the rest of the disciples (Mat 26:31), and Adam and Eve who denied Christ, and Israel who denied Christ, and finally all the world who are alive at that time and will be overtaken by the spirit of Satan just as Judas was the night he betrayed Christ (Joh 13:27); all showing us that our victory and overcoming is solely a gift of God and given at an appointed time.

God bringing them so that “they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness” is the necessary first step of witnessing the truth to the world, and that word and witness will not return void, but the hypocrisy of all flesh must be driven home for every human that ever lives before salvation (Oba 1:21) can come at God’s appointed time [Isa 26:9, Isa 55:11].

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

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.

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

Those who hear in “these days” are those who are blessed to interpret and understand (Rev 1:3) the message that the prophets of old and righteous men of old prophesied, not to themselves but to us upon whom the end of the ages are come (Mat 13:16-17, Heb 10:11, 1Pe 1:12). Our hand is strong because we have been blessed to come to rely on the strength of the Lord through whom we can endure all things (Php 4:13, Tit 2:14). God’s elect are given to have Christ’s righteousness which exceeds that of the prophets of old, and they have inherited the kingdom (Mat 5:20) to lay down the foundational principles “of the house of the LORD” (1Ti 3:15).

Tit 2:14  Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. 

Mat 5:20  For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. 

1Ti 3:15  But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.

It does not take a converted mind to be given the materials to lay the foundation of truth that would later be understood by those who are given eyes to see and ears to hear, so we have these scriptures that confirm that point (1Pe 1:12, 1Co 10:11, Eph 2:20).

1Co 10:11  Now these things happened unto them by way of example; and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages are come. 

Eph 2:20  being built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the chief corner stone; [So “that the temple might be built” (Psa 127:1)] 

Zec 8:10  For before these days there was no hire for man, nor any hire for beast; neither was there any peace to him that went out or came in because of the affliction: for I set all men every one against his neighbour. 

God set “all men every one against his neighbour” [Christ’s word was divided in Babylon and symbolically residing in the cup of a harlot (Rev 17:5).] witnessing to the truth of Isaiah 45:7. This is the time described in the previous chapter of Zechariah (Zec 7:14) and represents our time in Babylon when there is no stay of bread or water to be found (Isa 3:1, Isa 4:1). If there is no hire for man who is a beast or any hire for beasts to be taken care of, “For before these days there was no hire for man, nor any hire for beast“, the Lord is telling us there is no stay of bread or water in Babylon by those words (Isa 3:1). What if that all changed, as it will during the thousand-year reign when mankind is given the unadulterated truth of God via the elect, the church? The next two verses demonstrate that God is going to put all His cards on the table so to speak so the world has no excuse (Rom 1:20). In truth we always have an excuse if the spirit of God is not yet given within us to rightly divide the word of truth, otherwise there would have been no point in Christ saying “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Rom 8:9, Luk 23:34).

Luk 23:34  Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they partedG1266 his raiment, and cast lots.

Zec 8:11  But now I will not be unto the residue of this people as in the former days, saith the LORD of hosts. 
Zec 8:12  For the seed shall be prosperous; the vine shall give her fruit, and the ground shall give her increase, and the heavens shall give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things. 

God will do something different in that He will make the truth crystal clear to humanity during the thousand-year reign by way of the true church (Col 1:24). Verse eleven is talking about the world during the thousand-year period, “But now I will not be unto the residue of this people as in the former days, saith the LORD of hosts“, and verse twelve is talking about the elect who are that one “seed” (Gal 3:16) which is going to be “prosperous; the vine shall give her fruit, and the ground shall give her increase, and the heavens shall give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things“. This prosperity is talking about the word of God going forth from the elect which will not return void in the great white throne judgment, where it will be purified. It is the remnant, the elect, who are told they will possess all things by the grace of God, “And I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things.” The “all these” possessed of the elect is the inheritance God has promised to those who lose their life in this age so they can be used to bring in the rest of humanity in the lake of fire; our many children who only come to maturity in the second resurrection (Gal 4:27, Php 4:4).

Gal 4:27  For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband.

Php 4:4  Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice. 

Zec 8:13  And it shall come to pass, that as ye were a curse among the heathen, O house of Judah, and house of Israel; so will I save you, and ye shall be a blessing: fear not, but let your hands be strong. 
Zec 8:14  For thus saith the LORD of hosts; As I thought to punish you, when your fathers provoked me to wrath, saith the LORD of hosts, and I repented not: 
Zec 8:15  So again have I thought in these days to do well unto Jerusalem and to the house of Judah: fear ye not. 

The message is being repeated again here as a witness to the truth that God is going to save all of humanity:  “so will I save you, and ye shall be a blessing: fear not, but let your hands be strong.” God does not determine the timing of that salvation with that sentence, but we know that salvation for the rest of the world is a long-suffering event as declared in Romans 9:21-22. There is a transition being shown from old covenant black-and-white law to a merciful hedging-in of the nations to drive home the point that any ‘ideal’ situation does not bring about conversion unless God’s spirit is within, enabling the temple of God to be built by the grace-through-faith process that is not a part of this dispensation being prophesied about.

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? 
Rom 9:22  What if God, willing to show his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering vessels of wrath fitted unto destruction: 

Another shadow of this relationship with God’s true church with the world can be seen with the story of Joseph who fed and clothed his brothers, but in type and shadow language their love was not perfected as they feared (1Jn 4:18) that none of these actions of their now-ruling brother convinced them that they were not ultimately going to be destroyed. This torment Joseph’s brothers endured typifies the time when all the world will be judged in the second resurrection/second death/lake of fire/white throne judgment (Rev 20:14-15).

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. 

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. 

Zec 8:16  These are the things that ye shall do; Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbour; execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates:
Zec 8:17  And let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbour; and love no false oath: for all these are things that I hate, saith the LORD.
Zec 8:18  And the word of the LORD of hosts came unto me, saying, 
Zec 8:19  Thus saith the LORD of hosts; The fast of the fourth month, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth, shall be to the house of Judah joy and gladness, and cheerful feasts; therefore love the truth and peace.

These commandments were spoken by the Lord: “Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbour; execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates: And let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbour; and love no false oath: for all these are things that I hate, saith the LORD” to provoke people to love and good works and represent the relationship God’s elect will forge with the world during the thousand-year reign (Isa 30:21). 

Isa 30:21  And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.

Then verse 19 demonstrates that there is a process unfolding in these earthly circumstances where humanity is being given the true manna from heaven: “The fast of the fourth month, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth, shall be to the house of Judah joy and gladness, and cheerful feasts; therefore love the truth and peace“, and it is a joyful event  with “joy and gladness, and cheerful feasts [for] …the house of Judah [the elect]” but anon with joy the world is receiving the word of God. That receiving of the word will be shown to have not taken deep root when tribulation comes by way of Satan being loosed for a season (Mat 13:20, Pro 24:10). God has not purposed conversion for humanity at this point, just an intellectual relationship that is more akin to being under tutors and governors (which is how the elect are perceived by the world in their hearts). 

The world’s dedication to Christ and His bride is demonstrated by these many physical fasts: “The fast of the fourth month, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth.” They typify the many wonderful works we do in our flesh, deceiving us into thinking that we are more spiritually mature than we actually are, all by God’s design to demonstrate to us that all the watering and planting in the world which will take place during the reign of Christ and His Christ (Rev 11:15) does not accompany spiritual increase, which only comes at the exact moment that God has ordained it, to His glory (1Co 3:6-7).

Mat 13:20  But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;

Pro 24:10  If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small. 

1Co 3:6  I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. 
1Co 3:7  So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.

Zec 8:20  Thus saith the LORD of hosts; It shall yet come to pass, that there shall come people, and the inhabitants of many cities: 
Zec 8:21  And the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily to pray before the LORD, and to seek the LORD of hosts: I will go also.
Zec 8:22  Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the LORD.

The return of Christ and resurrection of the elect will bring many “strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the LORD.” It is in many cities and nations “that there shall come people, and the inhabitants of many cities” to hear the word of the Lord. There will be a zealousness in the earth as people go from city to city to provoke people to go up and hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. Simply put, because God’s judgments are in the earth via the body of Christ, men will learn righteousness (Isa 26:9). All these actions of the masses of humanity are typical of the old covenant patriarchs along with prophets and righteous men (Mat 13:17) who sought a better resurrection, which we know is typical language pointing to the first fruits who are already raised in the first resurrection (Isa 26:9, Heb 11:35).

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 11:35  Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection:

Zec 8:23  Thus saith the LORD of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you.

This last verse confirms and explains the zeal of the nations during the thousand-year reign and is typical of how the disciples were initially zealous to drop their nets (Mat 4:20) and immediately follow Christ, only to later discover that upon Christ’s death and being without the spirit of God within them, they went back to be fishers of fish rather than the fishers of men which they would become once the spirit of God was given on Pentecost (Joh 21:3, Mat 4:19). That is what is happening here, where “ten men” which typifies the perfection of the flesh in a collective manner “all languages of the nations” shall take hold of “the skirt of him that is a Jew.” That Jew is the body of Christ (Rom 2:29) which the world will touch and be healed physically by, but not spiritually like the woman who touched the hem of Christ’s garment in Matthew 9:20. There is a zealousness in the earth because the world has heard that “God is with you“, but that zeal is not according to knowledge (Rom 10:2-4, Joh 6:29) because the world is not being saved by grace through faith as yet (Eph 2:8), a gift reserved for humanity in the great white throne judgment. This is very much an eating-of-loaves time we are reading about in this chapter of Zechariah, of which Christ said this: “Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled” (Joh 6:26). We are told by Christ that it is the natural saving of our life [symbolized by eating loaves and being filled] that will cause a person to be reserved until the second resurrection (2Pe 2:4, 2Pe 3:7). It is by God’s grace that the elect cry out to Him and fear (Heb 5:7), being given a hunger and thirst for His life and appreciating the miracle which that life produces within us [the true bread from heaven] (Mat 5:6), that will increase in those who lose their life for His sake (Mat 10:39).

2Pe 2:4  For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;

2Pe 3:7  But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. 

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

]]> What’s Going to Happen to Me? https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/whats-going-to-happen-to-me/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=whats-going-to-happen-to-me Sat, 20 Aug 2022 12:52:26 +0000 https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/?p=26128

H​i ​M​ike,

​W​hat is the fate of those who don​’​t have the spirit of christ? ​I’m pretty sure ​I​ don​’​t have the spirit of christ…​I​ was talking to a guy on facebook video chat, he kinda got under my skin. ​I​ hung up on him. a few days later, he told me jesus is finished with me…cause ​I​ hung up on him, same as hanging up on jesus. ​O​n our text chat, he said he WAS jesus. so, that​’​s where ​I​’m at. the bible says if a man doesn​’​t have the spirit of christ, he is none of his..​.​ first the firstfruits….then those who are christ’s at his coming (assumedly those who have the spirit of christ), and then the end…end of what? what end? so, ​I need to know, what​’​s gonna happen to me.

​S____​

Hi S​____​,

Christ knows those who are His:

2Ti 2:19 Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.

We can all judge a tree by its fruits, and indeed we ought to do so or we will be led astray by false prophets:

Mat 7:15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
Mat 7:16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
Mat 7:17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
Mat 7:18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
Mat 7:19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
Mat 7:20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

Judging a false prophet by his fruits does not give us the right to say the Lord will never open that man’s eyes to see the error of his ways and repent. So it is best to let the Lord decide who He will strike down and call into His service as He did the blasphemous Saul of Tarsus who became the apostle Paul.

You ask:

As I just said, I have no power to tell you what will become of you in this life, but I can tell you that all in Adam will be saved, and I can tell you what is meant by “then cometh the end”:

1Co 15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
1Co 15:23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.
1Co 15:24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.
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.

We are told that “death and hell are cast into the lake of fire”:

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.

The lake of fire is called “a great white throne… judgment”, and this is what happens “when we are judged”:

1Co 11:32 But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.

The ‘condemnation with the world’ is to be condemned to the great white throne judgment which follows the thousand​-​year reign. So that ‘condemnation​’​ is just to a later, less desireable ‘judgment’. ​T​he white throne judgment is still a judgment of the Lord​,​ and when the Lord judges this is what happens:

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.

So while I cannot tell you what will become of you in this age, I can tell you that “the end” means the great white throne judgment which follows the thousand-year reign of Christ, and I can assure you that all who are in that judgment will “learn righteousness” and be given life.

YbiC, Mike

]]> The Book of Jeremiah – Jer 16:13-21 I Will Send for Many Fishers https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/the-book-of-jeremiah-jer-1613-21-i-will-send-for-many-fishers/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-book-of-jeremiah-jer-1613-21-i-will-send-for-many-fishers Sat, 28 Aug 2021 20:07:56 +0000 https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/?p=24236

Jer 16:13-21  I Will Send for Many Fishers…First I Will Recompense Their Iniquity Double

[Study Aired August 29, 2021]

Jer 16:13  Therefore will I cast you out of this land into a land that ye know not, neither ye nor your fathers; and there shall ye serve other gods day and night; where I will not shew you favour.
Jer 16:14  Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that it shall no more be said, The LORD liveth, that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt;
Jer 16:15  But, The LORD liveth, that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the lands whither he had driven them: and I will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers.
Jer 16:16  Behold, I will send for many fishers, saith the LORD, and they shall fish them; and after will I send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks.
Jer 16:17  For mine eyes are upon all their ways: they are not hid from my face, neither is their iniquity hid from mine eyes.
Jer 16:18  And first I will recompense their iniquity and their sin double; because they have defiled my land, they have filled mine inheritance with the carcases of their detestable and abominable things.
Jer 16:19  O LORD, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come unto thee from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and things wherein there is no profit.
Jer 16:20  Shall a man make gods unto himself, and they are no gods?
Jer 16:21  Therefore, behold, I will this once cause them to know, I will cause them to know mine hand and my might; and they shall know that my name is The LORD.

When the Lord begins to heal our spiritually blind eyes, we begin to understand that He is working every [little detail] after the counsel of His own will (Eph 1:11). In time the Lord opens our eyes to see that He had every day of our lives written in His book before the world began (Psa 139:16, 2Ti 1:9, Tit 1:2). Then we begin to see that every little detail of the work He is doing is for our good in this present time (Rom 8:18), and in the end, for the good of all men of all time (Rom 8:28, 11:31).

Now let’s take note of these words of our Lord:

Joh 15:14  Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.
Joh 15:15  Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.

The two phrases, “I have heard… [and] I have made known…” are both in the aorist tense, which means the Lord is continuing to make known to us all He has heard of His Father. Nowhere in scripture does Christ ever tell us that His Father has given us to know the dates He has determined for the things He is doing with mankind, but He certainly has given His elect to know the timing of “all things [He] has heard of [His] Father”. Christ’s Father has revealed to Him the order in which every step of His plan to save all men will take place. For that reason, we must pay attention to qualifying words like ‘first, second, last, before, after, when and then’. If we are sent an evil spirit which tells us that which is ‘before’ is ‘after’, that ‘second’ or ‘last’ is ‘first’, then we will be “led astray by the error of the wicked”:

2Pe 3:17  Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness.
2Pe 3:18  But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.

Our study begins with the word… “therefore”, meaning ‘for this reason’. “Therefore” we need to remember what we covered in the first twelve verses of this chapter.

I will repeat the verses which give us the essence of our last study:

Jer 16:2  Thou shalt not take thee a wife, neither shalt thou have sons or daughters in this place.
Jer 16:3  For thus saith the LORD concerning the sons and concerning the daughters that are born in this place, and concerning their mothers that bare them, and concerning their fathers that begat them in this land;
Jer 16:4  They shall die of grievous deaths; they shall not be lamented; neither shall they be buried; but they shall be as dung upon the face of the earth: and they shall be consumed by the sword, and by famine; and their carcases shall be meat for the fowls of heaven, and for the beasts of the earth.

As is the case with every commandment the Lord gives us, He gives us His commandments because He knows we will just naturally, by His own design, do the exact opposite. We could take every single one of the ten commandments and demonstrate that our natural inclination is to do the exact opposite of every one of them. No child ever yet had to be taught to lie, cheat, steal or hate. These things are simply “in [our] members” at birth.

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

The Lord is the “one [and only] lawgiver”, which includes “the law of sin which is in [our] members”:

Jas 4:12  There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?

This “law of sin” which the Lord has placed “in [our] members” gives Him the occasion He is seeking to humble and destroy the kingdom of our old 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.

There is an order in which everything the Lord does must happen. We must have “an experience of evil” before the Lord can have the occasion He is seeking to humble and destroy the kingdom of our old man.

What all of this is telling us is “I will send many fishers [of men… but] first I will recompence [your] iniquity double”.

Jer 16:13  Therefore will I cast you out of this land into a land that ye know not, neither ye nor your fathers; and there shall ye serve other gods day and night; where I will not shew you favour.

“I will cast you… into a land… where I will not show you favor” has nothing to do with physical prosperity. The Lord’s ‘favor’ refers to His ‘chastening grace’. It in no way relates to physical wealth. A physically poor man can be found in the Lord’s favor, and a physically rich man can be without the Lord’s favor, as the parable of Lazarus and the rich man demonstrates:

Luk 16:23  And in hell he [the rich man] lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

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

Lazarus was favored and “chastened and scourged” in this life, and was “received” of the Lord, while the rich man was rejected and condemned to the resurrection of “damnation”, better translated as “the resurrection of judgment” at the great white throne/lake of fire/second death.

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 [at the “first resurrection” (Rev 20:6)]; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation [over a thousand years later (Rev 20:7-15)].

It is because the chastening grace of the Lord’s favor is not yet upon our lives that we must be carried away into Babylon.

Jer 16:14  Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that it shall no more be said, The LORD liveth, that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt;
Jer 16:15  But, The LORD liveth, that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the lands whither he had driven them: and I will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers.

This is the New Testament version of this verse:

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

Every self-righteous person “exalts himself… so that he sits as God, showing himself that he is God”.

Jer 16:16 Behold, I will send for many fishers, saith the LORD, and they shall fish them; and after will I send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks.
Jer 16:17  For mine eyes are upon all their ways: they are not hid from my face, neither is their iniquity hid from mine eyes.
Jer 16:18  And first I will recompense their iniquity and their sin double; because they have defiled my land, they have filled mine inheritance with the carcases of their detestable and abominable things.

Paul was inspired to speak of this judgment in these words, but it is the very same message:

2Th 2:6 And now ye know what withholdeth [Greek, restrains] that he might be revealed in his time.
2Th 2:7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth [Same Greek word translated ‘withholdeth’ in verse 6] will let, until he be taken out of the way.
2Th 2:8 And then [through judgment] 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:

That is just another way of saying, “And first I will recompense their iniquity and their sin double; because they have defiled my land, they have filled mine inheritance with the carcases of their detestable and abominable things.”

There is a revelation for us in the words, “the days come, saith the Lord, that it shall no more be said, The Lord liveth, that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; but the Lord liveth that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the lands whither He had driven them: and I will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers.” The revelation in those words is that Egypt and “the furnace of iron” are earlier parts of our “experience of evil” which must precede our time spent warring against the giants in our land. It also reveals that we must begin fighting our lusts and passions before we are carried away into “the land of the north”, which signifies the beginning of our judgment and the beginning of our exodus from Babylon, “the north country”:

1Pe 4:16  Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.
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?

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.

It is the Lord’s “very elect” who “come out of her… from the north country”.

This principle is repeated in:

Hos 11:5  He shall not return into the land of Egypt, but the Assyrian shall be his king, because they refused to return.

Assyria is “the land of the north”, and Babylon and Assyria are one and the same people. As Egypt symbolizes the world, Babylon symbolizes a much later experience in which the Lord’s apostate people, who after having come out of the world and overcoming so much, have yet been seduced by those religions of Assyria and Babylon and have committed spiritual fornication and spiritual adultery against the Lord.

It is spiritual “Babylon the great… that great city wherein our Lord was crucified” which insisted on that crucifixion.

On the other hand, Egypt symbolizes an earlier part of our experience of evil, and is referred to as “the iron furnace”:

Deu 4:19  And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars,  even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the LORD thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven.
Deu 4:20  But the LORD hath taken you, and brought you forth out of the iron furnace, even out of Egypt, to be unto him a people of inheritance, as ye are this day.

We are made to know that the Lord does not send “fishers [and] hunters” to drag us to himself from “the iron furnace”. Rather He sends ‘fishers and hunters’ only after we have apostatized from knowing Him and have been carried away captives into “the land of the north”, into Babylon.

Jer 16:16  Behold, I will send for many fishers, saith the LORD, and they shall fish them; and after will I send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks.

Here is the New Testament version of this verse:

Luk 15:4  What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? [“fishes… hunts”]
Luk 15:5  And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
Luk 15:6  And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.
Luk 15:7  I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.

That is the positive application of these words of Job:

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.

Thanks be to the Lord that our salvation does not depend upon us… “For he performeth the thing that is  appointed for me”.

Notice and believe the words, “and first…”.

Jer 16:18  And first I will recompense their iniquity and their sin double; because they have defiled my land, they have filled mine inheritance with the carcases of their detestable and abominable things.

Here is another way of expressing the message of this 18th verse of Jeremiah 16:

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

Iniquity is self-righteousness (Eze 33:13). We are self-righteous by nature, but we get a double portion of self-righteousness after we are carried away captive to Babylon, the great harlot.

Eze 33:13  When I shall say to the righteous, that he shall surely live; if he trust to his own righteousness, and commit iniquity, all his righteousnesses shall not be remembered; but for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it.

This is our way of thinking while we are “joined to” that harlot:

Pro 30:20 Such is the way of an adulterous woman; she eateth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith, I have done no wickedness.

Rev 3:17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:

There is “order” to everything the Lord does, and it is He who is doing everything “after the counsel of His own will”.

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

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 we fail to see the order in which He is doing His work, then we can and we will miss the spiritual message He is giving only to those whose “eyes of [their] understanding [are] being enlightened” to see what He clearly tells us is “first” and what is “second” and what is “first” and what is “last”. We will completely overlook the promises that are the exclusive blessing of those “who first trusted in Christ” and who were “blessed [to] have a part in the first resurrection” (Rev 20:6).

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

Notice how clearly the Lord’s order of events is laid out for us:

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

Clearly “the first man Adam” must precede “the last Adam”, and “the first man” must precede “the second man”. The “first resurrection”, which takes place at the beginning of the thousand-year reign of “the Lord and His Christ”, must precede the last resurrection, which follows the short season of rebellion at the end of the thousand-year reign:

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.

The eyes of my understanding have been given to see that the Lord’s inheritance is “in His saints” and that His saints rule with Him over the kingdoms of this world.

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

The eyes of my understanding have been made to know that the thousand years must be “finished… expired” before  Satan is empowered to “go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth…”

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:

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

At this point, the One who is “working all things after the counsel of His own will” has now put a stop to the process of death. The “fire… from God out of heaven” has now “devoured… the nations in the four quarters of the earth”, and there will be no more flesh to perpetrate death upon mankind. The Lord now has all mankind who were not in the “blessed and holy first resurrection” in a position to be “raised a spiritual body” to be judged with “angels” in the “great white throne… judgment”, which will eventuate in “all…in Adam…be[ing] made alive” at the “great white throne… judgment”.

1Co 6:2  Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? [during the thousand-year reign of “the Lord and His Christ”] and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
1Co 6:3  Know ye not that we shall judge angels? [at the “white throne judgment” which follows the “short season” of rebellion which occurs only “when the thousand years are expired”] how much more things that pertain to this life?

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

The “great white throne… judgment” is exactly what the very next verse of Revelation 20 reveals:

Rev 20:11  And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the [first] earth and the [first] 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 [over a thousand years earlier] was cast into the lake of fire.

Christianity teaches that verse 15 is the end of the line for any whose names are not in the book of life. They believe the book of life is opened here at the white throne judgment. After all, verse 12 does say “…and another book was opened, which is the book of life”. However, where is the qualification which tells us that anyone whose name is in the book of life is raised up at the white throne judgment? The answer is that there is no such statement in scripture, whereas we are very clearly told that there are just two resurrections. The first one Christ mentions is “the resurrection of life”, and the second and last resurrection is called “the resurrection of damnation”, which is much better translated as ‘the resurrection of judgment’, because the word translated ‘damnation’ is the Greek word ‘krisis’, which means ‘judgment’.

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 [the first resurrection]; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation [resurrection of judgment].

Just as in Revelation 20:15 where we are told of “the books were opened… and another book was opened which is the book of life…” the timing of these two resurrections, “the resurrection to life [and] the resurrection to damnation [judgment]” is not under consideration here in John 5.  All we are being told is “the hour is coming, in which all that are in their graves shall hear His voice and shall come forth”.  There is no mention at this point of a “blessed and holy… first resurrection”, nor is there any mention of a “great white throne… when the thousand years are expired”. Taken alone, these verses in John 5 would lead us to believe that the resurrection of “they that have done good” and “they that have done evil” both take place at the same time. Let’s take notice of how similar the wording about these two resurrections is to the discussion of “the books… and another book, which is the book of life” in Revelation 20.

In John 5, we are looking forward to the resurrection of “all that are in their graves” with no regard to the clearly revealed fact that there are two resurrections which are divided by “a thousand years” plus a “short season” when Satan is released from prison and deceives the whole world.

By contrast, in Revelation 20 we are looking back to the opening of “the book of life [at] the resurrection of life” with no mention of the fact that this very same 20th chapter reveals that the opening of “the book of life” had taken place “a thousand years [plus] a short season” earlier.

I take the time to discuss all of this just so we get the full impact of our study today which reveals that the Lord will “send fishers” to save His people, His “very elect”, whose names are written in “the book of life… but first [He] will recompense their iniquity double”.

This is just another way of saying that God’s elect must be the first to be judged, which is exactly what we are told in:

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?

It behooves us to know that our judgment in being the first to be judged, does not exclude us from being “recompensed [our] iniquity double”. We must understand that it is that ‘recompensed double’ which constitutes “the judgment [which] must… first begin… at the house of God”. It is important we notice that the Lord places this ‘double recompense’ in that part of our ‘experience of evil’ which follows, and it comes after the time of our battles with the giants in our land.

We really are given to make great strides at subduing and overcoming many of our passions, our addictions, and our lack of patience with others while in the land of promise. These victories are given to us only after we are brought up out of Egypt and after we enter the land of promise. Nevertheless, it is while we are still fighting and overcoming the giants in our land that we are also given to take the credit for our victories over these ‘giants’ within, and we commit iniquity and become self-righteous. Of course, it was the Lord who gave us every victory we experience, but we are just like King Hezekiah when the Lord slew a hundred and eighty-five thousand Assyrian soldiers in one night.

2Ki 19:35  And it came to pass that night, that  the angel of the LORD went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses.

2Ch 32:22  Thus the LORD saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib the king of Assyria, and from the hand of all other, and guided them on every side.
2Ch 32:23  And many brought gifts unto the LORD to Jerusalem, and presents to Hezekiah king of Judah: so that he [Hezekiah] was magnified in the sight of all nations from thenceforth.
2Ch 32:24  In those days Hezekiah was sick to the death, and prayed unto the LORD: and he spake unto him, and he gave him a sign.

All the nations around King Hezekiah gave him the credit for that victory, and King Hezekiah took that honor to himself and did not acknowledge the Lord as having fought that battle for him.

The Lord knows that our recognizing His hand in all that happens, good and evil, is for our own spiritual health. To do otherwise would be to perpetrate a lie, and the Lord will have none of that. He will see to it that we recognize Him in all things:

Psa 50:14  Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High:
Psa 50:15  And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.

The Lord does not need our praise, but we do need Him, and we do need to know the Truth, which is the very definition of life eternal:

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

Joh 14:6  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Jesus Christ “is… the Truth”. Therefore, we will do well to pay very close attention when He speaks. If He tells us ‘that which is natural precedes that which is spiritual’, then we truly need to remember and believe those words. If He tells us the first resurrection occurs before the thousand-year reign, and that those in that resurrection rule with Him over the kingdoms of this world during His thousand-year reign, we need to believe that is the order in which those things will occur. If He tells us that a rebellion against His government will occur “when the thousand years are expired”, we dare not say otherwise. If we are told in such clear words that a great white throne judgment follows the rebellion which takes place “when the thousand years are expired”, then we should know for certain the order in which all these things will occur. We are not given the time and dates for any of these events, but we are definitely made to know the order in which all these things will occur.

Mat 24:36  But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.

Luke emphasizes the fact that “My Father only… knows the day and hour” of Christ’s appearing, both within and outwardly.

Mar 13:32  But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven,  neither the Son, but the Father.

If we ignore the fact that the scriptures plainly state “that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual”, then we can, and we will, completely miss the spiritual message which gives us the Lord’s order of events, and we will be confused and deceived by the adversary, which is what the Lord has given to “our fathers”:

Jer 16:19  O LORD, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come unto thee from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and things wherein there is no profit.

“Our father” is the “father of liars” and all who believe those lies. So “our fathers” includes our own deceived, rebellious old man with all his lies, vanity, and “things wherein there is no profit”.

Jer 16:20  Shall a man make gods unto himself, and they are no gods?

It is the fact that we have all done just that, which necessitates the Lord to ‘first recompense our iniquity and our sins double:

Jer 16:18  And first I will recompense their iniquity and their sin double; because they have defiled my land, they have filled mine inheritance with the carcases of their detestable and abominable things.

Only after the chastening of the seven last plagues upon all the false doctrines of Babylon within us and upon all our self-righteous iniquities, are we given this wonderful assurance:

Jer 16:21  Therefore, behold, I will this once cause them to know, I will cause them to know mine hand and my might; and they shall know that my name is The LORD.

That is our study for this week, and these are our verses for our next study where we will learn more about our old man and his dire need of the Lord’s judgments:

Jer 17:1  The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron, and with the point of a diamond: it is graven upon the table of their heart, and upon the horns of your altars;
Jer 17:2  Whilst their children remember their altars and their groves by the green trees upon the high hills.
Jer 17:3  O my mountain in the field, I will give thy substance and all thy treasures to the spoil, and thy high places for sin, throughout all thy borders.
Jer 17:4  And thou, even thyself, shalt discontinue from thine heritage that I gave thee; and I will cause thee to serve thine enemies in the land which thou knowest not: for ye have kindled a fire in mine anger, which shall burn for ever.
Jer 17:5  Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD.
Jer 17:6  For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited.
Jer 17:7  Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is.
Jer 17:8  For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.
Jer 17:9  The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
Jer 17:10  I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.
Jer 17:11  As the partridge sitteth on eggs, and hatcheth them not; so he that getteth riches, and not by right, shall leave them in the midst of his days, and at his end shall be a fool.
Jer 17:12  A glorious high throne from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary.
Jer 17:13  O LORD, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living waters.

[Next study in this series is here.]

]]> The Book of Jeremiah – Jer 14:13-22 The Prophets Prophesy Lies in My Name https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/the-book-of-jeremiah-jer-1413-22-the-prophets-prophesy-lies-in-my-name/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-book-of-jeremiah-jer-1413-22-the-prophets-prophesy-lies-in-my-name Sat, 31 Jul 2021 18:54:50 +0000 https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/?p=24042 Jer 14:13-22 The Prophets Prophesy Lies In My Name
[Study Aired August 1, 2021]

Jer 14:13-Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, the prophets say unto them, Ye shall not see the sword, neither shall ye have famine; but I will give you assured peace in this place.
Jer 14:14  Then the LORD said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart.
Jer 14:15  Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the prophets that prophesy in my name, and I sent them not, yet they say, Sword and famine shall not be in this land; By sword and famine shall those prophets be consumed.
Jer 14:16  And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword; and they shall have none to bury them, them, their wives, nor their sons, nor their daughters: for I will pour their wickedness upon them.
Jer 14:17  Therefore thou shalt say this word unto them; Let mine eyes run down with tears night and day, and let them not cease: for the virgin daughter of my people is broken with a great breach, with a very grievous blow.
Jer 14:18  If I go forth into the field, then behold the slain with the sword! and if I enter into the city, then behold them that are sick with famine! yea, both the prophet and the priest go about into a land that they know not.
Jer 14:19  Hast thou utterly rejected Judah? hath thy soul lothed Zion? why hast thou smitten us, and there is no healing for us? we looked for peace, and there is no good; and for the time of healing, and behold trouble!
Jer 14:20  We acknowledge, O LORD, our wickedness, and the iniquity of our fathers: for we have sinned against thee.
Jer 14:21  Do not abhor us, for thy name’s sake, do not disgrace the throne of thy glory: remember, break not thy covenant with us.
Jer 14:22  Are there any among the vanities of the Gentiles that can cause rain? or can the heavens give showers? art not thou he, O LORD our God? therefore we will wait upon thee: for thou hast made all these things.

In our last study, we were reminded of how we have all wandered away from the Lord and His Words:

Jer 14:10  Thus saith the LORD unto this people, Thus have they loved to wander, they have not refrained their feet, therefore the LORD doth not accept them; he will now remember their iniquity, and visit their sins.

When we wander away from the Lord and listen to the false doctrines of false apostles, then all the faithful, who have been down that path before us and have been brought back to the Lord, are instructed:

Jer 14:11  Then said the LORD unto me, Pray not for this people for their good.
Jer 14:12  When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and an oblation, I will not accept them: but I will consume them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence.

The Lord is not at all hesitant to let us know who it is that makes us to wander and to err from His ways:

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.

We have all been deceived by idols of our hearts, and again the Lord tells us who was responsible for our deception:

Eze 14:9  And if the prophet be deceived when he hath spoken a thing, I the LORD have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand upon him, and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel.

The Mike Vinson who believed in eternal torment as a Pentecostal has been and is being destroyed. The Mike Vinson who believed in keeping the weekly sabbath and the holy days as a member of the World Wide Church of God has been destroyed and is being crucified with Christ, and the Mike Vinson who believed that Christ did everything on the cross and that there is nothing left of His afflictions for me to fill up in my flesh has also been destroyed and is being destroyed from the midst of the Lord’s people as I die daily to all those false and damnable doctrines.

Nevertheless, the Lord wants us to acknowledge our sins and transgressions and our iniquities and remember the pit from where we were dug:

Isa 51:1  Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the LORD: look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged.

Jer 3:13  Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the LORD thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the LORD.
Jer 3:14  Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion:

The Lord will indeed deliver His people and bring them to Zion, but He must first put them in bondage. Joseph had to be sold into Egypt, and Israel had to go into Egypt before they could be delivered from Egypt. The Lord tells us that Joseph’s betrayal by his ten brothers was His work and “it was not [their work]”:

Gen 45:4  And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt.
Gen 45:5  Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.
Gen 45:6  For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest.
Gen 45:7  And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
Gen 45:8  So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.

In Ezekiel 14:9 the Lord plainly reveals that when a prophet is deceived, it is because He, the Lord Himself, sent a lying spirit to deceive that prophet, and He hardened the heart of that prophet to keep that prophet from fearing to displease the Lord. That is what is revealed in the story of how the Lord caused Ahab to go up to die at Ramothgilead:

1Ki 22:13  And the messenger that was gone to call Micaiah spake unto him, saying, Behold now, the words of the prophets declare good unto the king with one mouth: let thy word, I pray thee, be like the word of one of them, and speak that which is good.
1Ki 22:14  And Micaiah said, As the LORD liveth, what the LORD saith unto me, that will I speak.
1Ki 22:15  So he came to the king. And the king said unto him, Micaiah, shall we go against Ramothgilead to battle, or shall we forbear? And he answered him, Go, and prosper: for the LORD shall deliver it into the hand of the king.
1Ki 22:16  And the king said unto him, How many times shall I adjure thee that thou tell me nothing but that which is true in the name of the LORD?
1Ki 22:17  And he said, I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills, as sheep that have not a shepherd: and the LORD said, These have no master: let them return every man to his house in peace.
1Ki 22:18  And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell thee that he would prophesy no good concerning me, but evil?
1Ki 22:19  And he said, Hear thou therefore the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left.
1Ki 22:20  And the LORD said, Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramothgilead? And one said on this manner, and another said on that manner.
1Ki 22:21  And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the LORD, and said, I will persuade him.
1Ki 22:22  And the LORD said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also: go forth, and do so.
1Ki 22:23  Now therefore, behold, the LORD hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the LORD hath spoken evil concerning thee.

God is called “the Father of spirits” – both the good and the evil spirits:

Heb 12:9  Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?

What a wonderful revelation of how the Lord uses His evil spirits of His adversary to accomplish His purpose of destroying our old man… “The Lord hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these… prophets”.  Ahab’s prophets knew what King Ahab wanted to hear, and that was what they prophesied. The very last thing our flesh wants to hear, and the last thing the kings of this world want to hear is that they will be judged by the Lord for ignoring Him and His Words. So, we prophesy about a secret rapture, a place of safety, or we prophesy that it is all spiritual and inward and there will never be a literal resurrection to life which precedes a resurrection to judgment.

Jer 14:13  Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, the prophets say unto them, Ye shall not see the sword, neither shall ye have famine; but I will give you assured peace in this place.

Joh 5:27  And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.
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]

Inwardly we tell ourselves that God will not judge us, and we will not reap what we have sown and are sowing. “You will not see the sword, neither… have famine” denies that these words are true:

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.

Gal 6:7  Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
Gal 6:8  For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.

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

This lying spirit takes many forms, from the false doctrine of substitutionary atonement to the secret rapture or a place of safety from God’s wrath against our sins. This spirit will even tell us that there is no difference between the first and second resurrection, and therefore there is no need to strive to be in the first resurrection. I have had people come up to me and tell me just that. When I read Revelation 20:6 to them they were so blinded by another false doctrine called ‘the doctrine of two administrations’ that they said those words, “The entire book of Revelation is addressed only to physical Jews.” All these false doctrines are what the scriptures call “smooth things” that appeal to our flesh which abhors the ‘chastening’ of Hebrews 12:6, the fire that tries every man’s works of 1Corinthians 3:13, and the ‘reap what you sow’ of Galatians 6:7:

Isa 30:8  Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever:
Isa 30:9  That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the LORD:
Isa 30:10  Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits:

The Lord warns us:

Jer 14:14  Then the LORD said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart.

All false doctrines are “the deceit of [our] heart”, and Christ amplifies our understanding of who “the prophets [who] prophesy lies in [His] name” are when He tells us:

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

While the original apostles were still alive, the apostle John confirmed these words of Christ when he wrote:

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

Before the apostle John died, some of the very people he had led to Christ were casting the people John sent to them out of the church:

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

The apostle Paul began to witness the apostasy of the very churches Christ had used him to establish. He even named two of the first apostates in his first epistle to Timothy:

1Ti 1:19  Holding faith, and a good conscience;  which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck:
1Ti 1:20  Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.

In his second epistle to Timothy, the apostle Paul reveals that the apostasy of all the churches of Asia, which would include the seven churches of Revelation 2-3, had already occurred while he was yet in prison in Rome. Paul names several more of the leaders of the apostasy:

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

In this second epistle to Timothy, Paul warned him of some within the church who were already “subverting… the hearers”, revealing the names of more of the original apostates:

2Ti 2:14  Of these things put them in remembrance, charging them before the Lord that they strive not about words to no profit, but to the subverting of the hearers.

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

This “deceit of [the] heart” of Hymenaeus and Philetus is the very deceit which took so many out of our fellowship. It is true that we are inwardly being raised up with Christ, as our old man dies day by day:

Rom 6:4  Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

Being inwardly in the process of dying with and being resurrected with Christ does not change the fact that those in the first resurrection will first outwardly relinquish these bodies of flesh and blood (1Co 15:50) before they will be granted to rule the earth with Christ for “a thousand years”. The spiritual process of dying daily while our old man is being destroyed and replaced by a new man does not provide the saviors of the “ungodly and sinners” who are not being called in this age. The vast multitudes of mankind have never heard of or known the Christ of scripture. As the Lord’s elect, we are to be the saviors of this world through a resurrection which has not yet taken place while we are yet clothed in these clay vessels:

2Co 5:1  For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
2Co 5:2  For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven:
2Co 5:3  If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked.
2Co 5:4  For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life.
2Co 5:5  Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.
2Co 5:6  Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord:
2Co 5:7  (For we walk by faith, not by [physical] sight: )
2Co 5:8  We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.
2Co 5:9  Wherefore we labour, that, whether present [in a physical body] or absent [from a physical body], we may be accepted of him.
2Co 5:10  For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.

Look at how Strong’s defines the word translated as ‘absent’ in these verses:

This word ekdemeo is a compound of G1537 and G1218. Let’s look at these two words and see if we can understand what Paul is telling us when he writes that if we are present in these physical bodies, we are absent from Christ:

There is the meaning of the Greek word G1553, ekdemeo, translated here as ‘absent’.

It means ‘out’ or ‘away from… people’. It means out of these physical, earthly… vessels of clay. It most definitely does not mean that Christ is not in us, nor does it mean that we will not be in the first resurrection as long as Christ is within us in this present time. Insisting that when Paul said that being “absent from Christ” while in these clay vessels means that Christ is not in us, or that we cannot know Him while we are in this physical body, is just one more false doctrine which will lead one to think that “Ye shall not surely die”, ‘you have an immortal soul which will be with Christ when you are absent from this body’. That is but another false doctrine.

Ecc 9:5  For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.

Joh 11:11  These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep.

Joh 11:14  Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.

This is the fate which awaits all false prophets who are teaching that there is a way to avoid the Lord’s judgments:

Jer 14:15  Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the prophets that prophesy in my name, and I sent them not, yet they say, Sword and famine shall not be in this land; By sword and famine shall those prophets be consumed.
Jer 14:16  And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword; and they shall have none to bury them, them, their wives, nor their sons, nor their daughters: for I will pour their wickedness upon them.

By the sword of God’s Word, of which they are so lacking, in a spiritual famine those prophets shall be consumed, and all who follow their famished and starving lies will receive the same fate.

Ezekiel repeats this prophecy of God Himself deceiving us and then judging us for believing the lies of the false prophets He sends to deceive us:

Eze 14:1  Then came certain of the elders of Israel unto me, and sat before me.
Eze 14:2  And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Eze 14:3  Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face: should I be enquired of at all by them?
Eze 14:4  Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I the LORD will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols;
Eze 14:5  That I may take the house of Israel in their own heart, because they are all estranged from me through their idols. [Their false doctrines]
Eze 14:6  Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Repent, and turn yourselves from your idols; and turn away your faces from all your abominations.
Eze 14:7  For every one of the house of Israel, or of the stranger that sojourneth in Israel, which separateth himself from me, and setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to a prophet to enquire of him concerning me; I the LORD will answer him by myself: [Self-righteously thinking that his lies are as nourishing as the Lord’s Truths]
Eze 14:8  And I will set my face against that man, and will make him a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from the midst of my people; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
Eze 14:9  And if the prophet be deceived when he hath spoken a thing, I the LORD have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand upon him, and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel.
Eze 14:10  And they shall bear the punishment of their iniquity: the punishment of the prophet shall be even as the punishment of him that seeketh unto him;
Eze 14:11  That the house of Israel may go no more astray from me, neither be polluted any more with all their transgressions; but that they may be my people, and I may be their God, saith the Lord GOD.

Putting all these verses together we have “The Lord hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these… prophets” (1Kgs 22:23), the Lord first formed us of “marred… clay” (Jer 18:4). He made us all “corruption” (1Co 15:50), He put “the law of sin in [our] members” (Rom 7:23), and He does all of this because He has ordained that He must give Himself the necessary “occasion” He is seeking (Jdg 14:4), to destroy our “man of sin” and replace him with “a new man… Christ in [us] the hope of glory” (Col 1:27) :

Jer 14:17  Therefore thou shalt say this word unto them; Let mine eyes run down with tears night and day, and let them not cease: for the virgin daughter of my people is broken with a great breach, with a very grievous blow.

This being “broken with a great breach” is believing the lies of the prophets who have prophesied lies which the Lord did not send them to prophesy (vs 13-14). We live our lives by what we believe, and when we believe a lie, we “[are] broken with a great break [and] with a very grievous blow”, and if we are not granted repentance in “this present time” we will be damned to the great white throne judgment/lake of fire/second death:

2Th 2:11  And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
2Th 2:12  That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

God is orchestrating everything including “the preparations of our “deceitful” hearts:

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

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

It was the Lord who gave us our “deceitful… heart”, and He did so for the very purpose of giving Himself the “occasion” He is seeking to judge our sinful flesh and declare it unfit for the kingdom of heaven. As He tells us in the very next verse of:

Jer 17:10  I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and  according to the fruit of his doings.

This is what we get for our ways, and this is the fruit of our doing:

Jer 14:18  If I go forth into the field, then behold the slain with the sword! and if I enter into the city, then behold them that are sick with famine! yea, both the prophet and the priest go about into a land that they know not.

“The field” is the secular world which hates the great harlot, and “the city” is the great whore herself, “the great city wherein our Lord was crucified”:

Rev 11:8  And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.

It is the Lord Himself who closes in on us and presses us on every side. Even our enemies are His servants to effectuate our chastening and scourging (Heb 12:6):

Jer 8:12  Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore shall they fall among them that fall: in the time of their visitation they shall be cast down, saith the LORD.
Jer 8:13  I will surely consume them, saith the LORD: there shall be no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig tree, and the leaf shall fade; and the things that I have given them shall pass away from them.
Jer 8:14  Why do we sit still? assemble yourselves, and let us enter into the defenced cities, and let us be silent there: for the LORD our God hath put us to silence, and given us water of gall to drink, because we have sinned against the LORD.
Jer 8:15  We looked for peace, but no good came; and for a time of health, and behold trouble!
Jer 8:16  The snorting of his horses was heard from Dan: the whole land trembled at the sound of the neighing of his strong ones; for they are come, and have devoured the land, and all that is in it; the city, and those that dwell therein.
Jer 8:17  For, behold, I will send serpents, cockatrices, among you, which will not be charmed, and they shall bite you, saith the LORD.

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

In His chastening of us, our enemies become the Lord’s servants:

Jer 27:6  And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant; and the beasts of the field have I given him also to serve him.

It is important to understand that while we are in bondage in Babylon, we do not perceive that we are mere slaves of a whore. We think we are the captains of the fate of our own souls and that we are “rich and increased with goods, and have need of nothing”:

Rev 3:17  Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:

We think we are so blessed by God that we are able to do many wonderful works of kindness to our fellow man, and therefore God should be pleased with us, and when He sends His prophets to show us our own self-righteousness, and tell us that we have not obeyed His words, then just like Job and later, King Saul, we maintain our  own righteousness, and in the process of doing so, we find ourselves to be reproving, contending with and condemning our own Maker to make ourselves appear righteous:

Job 27:2  As God liveth, who hath taken away my judgment; and the Almighty, who hath vexed my soul;

Job 27:5  God forbid that I should justify you: till I die I will not remove mine integrity from me.
Job 27:6  My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go: my heart shall not reproach me so long as I live.
Job 27:7  Let mine enemy be as the wicked, and he that riseth up against me as the unrighteous.

Eze 33:13  When I shall say to the righteous, that he shall surely live; if he trust to his own righteousness, and commit iniquity, all his righteousnesses shall not be remembered; but for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it.

Like King Saul, we want to obey the Lord to the degree we are comfortable serving and obeying Him. But God does not tolerate rebellion against His Words. Keeping some of His Words does not qualify as obedience:

1Sa 15:13  And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the LORD: I have performed the commandment of the LORD.
1Sa 15:14  And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?
1Sa 15:15  And Saul said, They have brought them from the Amalekites: for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed.
1Sa 15:16  Then Samuel said unto Saul, Stay, and I will tell thee what the LORD hath said to me this night. And he said unto him, Say on.
1Sa 15:17  And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed thee king over Israel?
1Sa 15:18  And the LORD sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed.
1Sa 15:19  Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the LORD, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the LORD?
1Sa 15:20  And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and have gone the way which the LORD sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.
1Sa 15:21  But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God in Gilgal.
1Sa 15:22  And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.
1Sa 15:23  For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.

Partial self-righteous obedience is the same as “witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry” and is rewarded with our rejection of the Lord.

Jer 14:19  Hast thou utterly rejected Judah? hath thy soul lothed Zion? why hast thou smitten us, and there is no healing for us? we looked for peace, and there is no good; and for the time of healing, and behold trouble!

“Why have you smitten us, and is there no healing for us?” is answered in the previous chapter:

Jer 13:22  And if thou say in thine heart, Wherefore come these things upon me? For the greatness of thine iniquity are thy skirts discovered, and thy heels made bare.

God’s judgments are intended to bring us to repentance and a humble acknowledgement of our rebellious spirit:

Jer 3:13  Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the LORD thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the LORD.
Jer 3:14  Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion:
Jer 3:15  And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.

When we are obedient to these words and we are granted heartfelt repentance, it is in the Lord’s heart to give us pastors who will feed us with His words and remind us of His righteous judgments.

Jer 14:20  We acknowledge, O LORD, our wickedness, and the iniquity of our fathers: for we have sinned against thee.
Jer 14:21  Do not abhor us, for thy name’s sake, do not disgrace the throne of thy glory: remember, break not thy covenant with us.
Jer 14:22  Are there any among the vanities of the Gentiles that can cause rain? or can the heavens give showers? art not thou he, O LORD our God? therefore we will wait upon thee: for thou hast made all these things.

“The vanities of the Gentiles” are all the false doctrines and lies we believe instead of the words of God. ‘Rain’ signifies the truth of the Word of God which produces nourishing spiritual food which the lies and “vanities of the Gentiles” can never produce within us.

The rains come out of heaven, but the heavens within us are being created by God, and of themselves they produce nothing:

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

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.

Here is a link to an article which shows what and where the heavens of the scriptures are:
What and Where is Heaven?

We are blessed to know to “wait upon [the Lord who] made all these things” and who alone can and will meet and provide our ‘rain’ and our every need. “We will wait upon thee: for thou hast made all these things.”

We will close this study with this confirming verse from the apostle Paul:

Php 4:19  But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

That is our study for today. Here are our verses for our next study:

Jer 15:1  Then said the LORD unto me, Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my mind could not be toward this people: cast them out of my sight, and let them go forth.
Jer 15:2  And it shall come to pass, if they say unto thee, Whither shall we go forth? then thou shalt tell them, Thus saith the LORD; Such as are for death, to death; and such as are  for the sword, to the sword; and such as are for the famine, to the famine; and such as are for the captivity, to the captivity.
Jer 15:3  And I will appoint over them four kinds, saith the LORD: the sword to slay, and the dogs to tear, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the earth, to devour and destroy.
Jer 15:4  And I will cause them to be removed into all kingdoms of the earth, because of Manasseh the son of Hezekiah king of Judah, for that which he did in Jerusalem.
Jer 15:5  For who shall have pity upon thee, O Jerusalem? or who shall bemoan thee? or who shall go aside to ask how thou doest?
Jer 15:6  Thou hast forsaken me, saith the LORD, thou art gone backward: therefore will I stretch out my hand against thee, and destroy thee; I am weary with repenting.
Jer 15:7  And I will fan them with a fan in the gates of the land; I will bereave them of children, I will destroy my people, since they return not from their ways.
Jer 15:8  Their widows are increased to me above the sand of the seas: I have brought upon them against the mother of the young men a spoiler at noonday: I have caused him to fall upon it suddenly, and terrors upon the city.
Jer 15:9  She that hath borne seven languisheth: she hath given up the ghost; her sun is gone down while it was yet day: she hath been ashamed and confounded: and the residue of them will I deliver to the sword before their enemies, saith the LORD.

]]> Prophecy of Isaiah – Isa 58:9-14 You Shall Raise up the Foundations of Many Generations https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/prophecy-of-isaiah-isa-589-14-you-shall-raise-up-the-foundations-of-many-generations/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=prophecy-of-isaiah-isa-589-14-you-shall-raise-up-the-foundations-of-many-generations Sat, 25 Apr 2020 18:23:10 +0000 http://www.iswasandwillbe.com/?p=20729 Download Study

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Isa 58:9-14 You Shall Raise Up the Foundations of Many Generations

[Study Aired April 26, 2020]

Isa 58:9  Then shalt thou call, and the LORD shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity;
Isa 58:10  And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday:
Isa 58:11  And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.
Isa 58:12  And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.
Isa 58:13  If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:
Isa 58:14  Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

This is how our last study ended:

Isa 58:4  Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high.
Isa 58:5  Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the LORD?
Isa 58:6  Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?
Isa 58:7  Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?

In this study we will learn what the benefits are which we accrue by keeping the fast the Lord has chosen.

Last week we were told just how carnal we are and how we all just naturally want to be recognized for denying ourselves. We want both God and men to acknowledge all our good works. That is the ‘fast’ we have chosen. What the Lord is doing, with the few He is calling in this age, is revealing to us this naturally “marred”, self-righteous, self-centered nature He has given to all men, and all the evil and the wrath of God which our natural composition brings upon us.

Joh 3:36  He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

His word heals us by opening our spiritual eyes to see the deadly sick disease of our naturally rebellious and carnal mind:

Rev 3:17  Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
Rev 3:18  I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.

This week we will be informed and encouraged to know and appreciate the blessings which accompany the healing hand of the Lord in the life of our new man, whose health comes to us at the expense of the daily dying of our old man as John the Baptist revealed to us:

Joh 3:29  He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom [our dying old man], which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled.
Joh 3:30  He must increase, but I must decrease.

These words of John the Baptist are the New Testament fulfillment of Esau embracing Jacob when Jacob returned to Canaan from Haran:

Gen 33:4  And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him: and they wept.

When the appointed, predestined time comes to us, our old man actually accepts his doomed fate with open arms, knowing that if he loses his life he will find it and that if he is granted to “die daily [and be] crucified with Christ” daily the blessings of our study today will come upon his “new man”:

Joh 12:24  Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
Joh 12:25  He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.
Joh 12:26  If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.

If we “follow [Christ]” then we will “do the things [He] says to do” (Luk 6:46). This is what the Lord commanded us to do in our last study:

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. [Look within]
Isa 58:2  Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God: they ask of me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to God.
Isa 58:3  Wherefore [Why] have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? wherefore [why] have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your labours.
Isa 58:4  Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high.
Isa 58:5  Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the LORD?
Isa 58:6  Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?
Isa 58:7  Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?

The ‘fast’ of our old man is done only to please himself and “exact all of his pleasures” by laying a heavy burden on our fellow servant, while self-righteously forgetting the much worse burden which was lifted from our own shoulders (Mat 18:21-35).

The “fast [the Lord] has chosen [by contrast, is] to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? [It is] to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?”

When the Lord works His miracle of bringing us to the point that we “hide not ourselves from our own flesh”, from the needs of our brothers and sisters, then we are “entering into His rest… [our] desired haven” where we are now walking comfortably with Christ in the fires of life and “having no hurt”:

Dan 3:23  And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.
Dan 3:24  Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king.
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.

Which brings us to our first verse:

Isa 58:9  Then [when we keep the fast the Lord has chosen, and enter into His rest] shalt thou call, and the LORD shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity;

“The yoke… in [our] midst” is our false doctrines and idols of our hearts (Eze 14:1-9). When we die to those “idols of [our] hearts”, we will never again put a ‘yoke’ or a “heavy burden” upon either ourselves or our brothers and sisters. We will never again see a brother in need and “hide ourselves from” that brother who is ‘afflicted of the Lord’:

Isa 53:4  Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
Isa 53:5  But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

Those who do not understand who we are in Christ will protest that those verses refer to Christ and not to us. In doing so they reveal how little they identify with Him. These are His inspired words as to who we are in Him:

Act 22:8  And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest.

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.

As we saw in our last study, when the servant with the insurmountable debt cried out to his lord for mercy, that mercy was abundantly provided, and his debt was completely forgiven:

Mat 18:23  Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants.
Mat 18:24  And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents.
Mat 18:25  But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.
Mat 18:26  The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.
Mat 18:27  Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.

That poor indebted soul typifies each of us when we are brought to see the truth of our shameful, sinful condition. When we are “made to” face the extent of our indebtedness, we are also made to cry out for mercy and relief from the burden the Lord has placed upon us. Like that ungrateful servant, we all forget the size of the debt we were forgiven, and we expect those around us to repent of their sins and ‘pay up’ immediately. We have no patience with their weaknesses and faults and demand “with the fist of wickedness” that they pay their debt to us right this moment. Drop every sin this very moment is what we expect of others. We all do it, and we fight our flesh daily to keep from doing so. It is as natural as breathing to see the faults of our brother or sister while forgetting the huge debt we have been forgiven.

However, as we become more “as He is” day by day, and we become comfortable in the fire of these words, we become far more patient with our poor struggling brothers and sisters:

Mat 6:12  And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
Mat 6:13  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
Mat 6:14  For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:

Matthew 6:14 is the message of our next verses:

Isa 58:10  And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday:
Isa 58:11  And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.

There is truth in the words of the prosperity ministers who tell us “You cannot out give God”. What our old man fails to realize is that God knows and deals with our hearts and minds which are an open door of bright light to Him, even when our motives are nothing more than self-centered darkness. As repulsive as this Truth is to our rebellious flesh, it is still the fact of this matter:

Psa 94:11  The LORD knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity.

How can the Lord possibly “know the [very] thoughts of man”? He makes that very clear to all who are given to ‘see with their eyes and hear with their ears’ that:

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

If those verses are true, then whether our thoughts really are toward the Lord or even if our thoughts are against Him and His ways, it really is true that ‘it is not of him that wills… but of God who shows mercy… or hardens’:

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.

The fact is that the Lord first hardens the hearts of each of us to give Himself the occasion He has ordained to destroy our old man and through that destruction to raise up from the dead our new man.

Jdg 14:4  But his [Samson’s] father and his mother knew not that it was of the LORD, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines [our flesh… our old man]: for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel [over us].

When that predestined time arrives, and we are given dominion over our flesh, this is the blessedness of that day:

Isa 58:12  And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.
Isa 58:13  If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:
Isa 58:14  Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

These words, “You shall raise up the foundations of many generations” are the very foundation for all the promises of becoming judges and rulers which are given to us by our Lord Himself and by His prophets and His apostles.

When something is repeated twice in scripture, the point being made is being emphasized because it is a pressing matter:

Gen 41:32  And for that the dream was doubled unto Pharaoh twice; it is because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass.

Pharaoh was to immediately begin to prepare for the coming famine by storing up grain in the seven plentiful years of harvest. If he would do so, then Egypt would be saved from the impending disaster of seven continous years of drought.

This story is the positive application of the word ‘Egypt’ which is normally associated with this world and Babylon:

Rev 11:8  And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.

In this story, Egypt symbolizes the Gentiles to whom the Lord and gospel are given after being rejected by the Lord’s physical ‘chosen people’, typified by Joseph’s ten brothers who sold him into Egypt. Those who are called physical Jews are no longer Jews at all in any spiritual sense:

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

The story of Joseph and his brothers is in the book of Genesis and is foundational to all the rest of scripture. Larry Groenewald’s series of studies entitled Foundational Studies in Genesis are the best commentary on the book of Genesis which has ever been written. Check it out when the Lord drags you to need that foundation for His Word.

Egypt’s salvation in this story comes before the salvation of Joseph’s brothers. It is Egypt which has the life-saving grain to give to Joseph’s brothers, and it is Joseph’s brothers who typify the so-called Christians who for thousands of years have called Christ “Lord, Lord [but] cannot hear [His] word” (Luk 6:46 and Joh 8:43).

Luk 6:46  And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?
Luk 6:47  Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like:
Luk 6:48  He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.
Luk 6:49  But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.

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

The physical Jews and the physical Christians who call Christ “Lord, Lord” but do not do the things He says, are all typified in this story by Joseph’s ten brothers who put him in a pit, typifying the fact he is to them a dead man “in the streets of [their] great city”:

Rev 11:8  And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.

They sold him into Egypt typifying the living sacrifice Christ was and which we are (Rom 12:1). By not listening carefully and diligently doing the things Christ tells us to do, we have all at our own appointed time, stumbled at the stumbling block and “cannot hear [His] word”. Until the appointed time for each of us to become obedient to the death of the cross, we live in darkness and under the Lord’s wrath.

Ecc 11:8  But if a man live many years, and rejoice in them all; yet let him remember the days of darkness; for they shall be many. All that cometh is vanity.

Act 26:18  To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.

Joh 3:36  He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

For most people, the time “to turn from darkness to light” is the great white-throne judgment. The promise “they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in” is being made at this time only to those who are given to hear and do the words of our Lord. His words are our “foundations”, and only if we know Him and His doctrine will we be capable of “raising up the foundations of many generations” by judging with righteous judgment all men of all time:

Psa 149:2  Let Israel rejoice in him that made him: let the children of Zion be joyful in their King.
Psa 149:3  Let them praise his name in the dance: let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp.
Psa 149:4  For the LORD taketh pleasure in his people: he will beautify the meek with salvation.
Psa 149:5  Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds.
Psa 149:6  Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a twoedged sword in their hand;
Psa 149:7  To execute vengeance upon the heathen, and punishments upon the people;
Psa 149:8  To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron;
Psa 149:9  To execute upon them the judgment written: this honour have all his saints. Praise ye the LORD.

1Co 6:2  Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
1Co 6:3  Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?

This promise is to us: “If [we] turn away [our] foot from the sabbath, from doing [our] pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing [our] own ways, nor finding [our] own pleasure, nor speaking [our] own words”:

We have seen what is “the fast the Lord has chosen”. Now let’s learn was is our “sabbath”:

Heb 4:2  For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.
Heb 4:3  For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.
Heb 4:4  For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works.

What does it mean that “God did rest the seventh day from all His works”? Lo and behold, it means the same thing as “the fast I have chosen”:

Heb 4:9  There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.
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.

Are not these words the very meaning of “ceasing from our own works”:

Isa 58:6  Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?
Isa 58:7  Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?

If the Lord so blesses us to enter into His sabbath… if we are given to fast the fast He has chosen, freely giving to and ministering to ever need we are given to supply, and if we are granted to remain faithful to the end of this present evil age, then many “great and precious promises” are ours to cling to with our lives and to claim for our own:

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.

Those who are given to “raise up the foundations of many generations” are the same as those who “turn many to righteousness”:

Dan 12:2  And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
Dan 12:3  And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.

This is clearly speaking of the time of the resurrection, which clearly had not come in Daniel’s day. That time is now “in earnest” for those who are “buried with Christ [and are even now] raised up with Him in newness of life”:

Rom 6:4  Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

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.

Now let’s look at what the Lord Himself has promised to those who forsake all to follow Him:

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.
Mat 19:29  And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.
Mat 19:30  But many that are first shall be last; and the last [“few”] shall be first.

Mat 22:14  For many are called [first], but few are chosen [last].

Continuing with the Lord’s “many great and precious promises” by which we “are made partakers of the divine nature”:

Mat 25:19  After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them.
Mat 25:20  And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more.
Mat 25:21  His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
Mat 25:22  He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them.
Mat 25:23  His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

However, there is much more:

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

Rev 1:5  And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,
Rev 1:6  And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

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

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.
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 2:17  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.

Rev 2:26  And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:
Rev 2:27  And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.
Rev 2:28  And I will give him the morning star. [Christ (Rev 22:16)]

Rev 3:5  He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.

Rev 3:9  Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.
Rev 3:10  Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.
Rev 3:11  Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.
Rev 3:12  Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.

Why are we told “he shall go no more out”? The answer is that the Lord ‘knows all things and who it was that should betray Him’:

Joh 6:64  But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him.

1Jn 2:18  Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.
1Jn 2:19  They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.

There are even more “great and precious promises”:

Rev 3:20  Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
Rev 3:21  To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.

Eph 2:5  Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
Eph 2:6  And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
Eph 2:7  That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

Rev 5:8  And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.
Rev 5:9  And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;
Rev 5:10  And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

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.

The thousand-year reign is just the beginning of the kingdom of God. The salvation of all, who were not kings and priests during that thousand-year reign, is yet to be accomplished, and it will be you and me who will be those to judge those in that great white throne judgment.

How do I know that our hegemony will carry over into the lake of fire/second death? We know it is so because the scriptures tell us that it is “through [our] mercy”, that the Lord’s enemies will be shown mercy:

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.

The judgment which is now on the house of God will, at the great white throne judgment, be accomplished through the mercy of the kings and priests who have been judged in this age, and who will have spent a thousand years preparing to be the kings and priests and judges of all those who “the sea… and hell and the grave” will, at the appointed time, “give up” to the great white throne judgment, which is also called “the lake of fire”:

Joh 5:28  Don’t be surprised at what I’ve just said. A time is coming when all the dead will hear his voice,
Joh 5:29  and they will come out of their tombs. Those who have done good will come back to life and live. But those who have done evil will come back to life and will be judged. (GW)

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.

This is what happens at the great white throne judgment:

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.

Also, this is who will be doing the judging in the great white throne judgment… the lake of fire/second death:

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;

“And they were judged every man according to their works” by those who were raised up to life a thousand years earlier. “They were judged every man according to his works” by those whose names were in the book of life. The book of life contains the names of the judges of the great white throne judgment.

Our “many great and precious promises” continue:

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.

Luk 22:30  That ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

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.

Cain, Joseph’s brothers and all who shed the blood of all the prophets from Abel to the first resurrection, as well as all those who will live through the thousand-year reign of Christ and His Christ will come to know the judgment which is now on the house of God. All who have ever lived have contributed to the Lord’s stripes and have accused Him of taking them out into the wilderness to kill them. Having done so, as the Lord Himself tells us, they have also accused us:

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

Joh 15:18  If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.

What is the Lord’s desire concerning those who hate Him and His Christ? What was His prayer to His Father while He was in the process of being crucified?

Luk 23:34  Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.

That prayer is being answered, and it will be answered “through your mercy”. All the rest of mankind who were not given a part in that “blessed and holy first resurrection” are yet to be reconciled to our heavenly Father, and it is all to be done “through your mercy”.

Let’s read those two verses again, and this time we will read it with the next two verses:

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.
Rom 11:33  O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!

“Mercy upon all” is the Lord’s goal, and what He desires even that 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.

That is our study for today. Here are our verses for our next study:

Isa 59:1  Behold, the LORD’S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear:
Isa 59:2  But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.
Isa 59:3  For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue hath muttered perverseness.
Isa 59:4  None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity.
Isa 59:5  They hatch cockatrice’ eggs, and weave the spider’s web: he that eateth of their eggs dieth, and that which is crushed breaketh out into a viper.
Isa 59:6  Their webs shall not become garments, neither shall they cover themselves with their works: their works are works of iniquity, and the act of violence is in their hands.
Isa 59:7  Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood: their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; wasting and destruction are in their paths.

]]> Have I Committed the Unpardonable Sin? https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/have-i-committed-the-unpardonable-sin/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=have-i-committed-the-unpardonable-sin Fri, 20 Mar 2020 16:21:07 +0000 http://www.iswasandwillbe.com/?p=20475

Hi Mike,

I think I fell away. Is it really impossible to be restored to repentance? I still don’t know what repentance is…everyone says something different.

S____

Hi S____,

We all “lose [our] first love”, and we all ‘return to our vomit and our wallow in the mire’.

Like Noah, who got drunk, Jacob, who stole his brother’s blessing, and King David, who committed adultery and then murder to cover his adultery, we all fall from grace, and we all “fulfill the seven plagues of the seven angels” (Rev 15:8). However, those of whom Christ tells us it is impossible to restore to repentance are those who do not believe they need repentance, like those who were teaching that Christ cast out devils by the power of Beelzebub. Those who cannot be restored to repentance are so enmeshed in their own false doctrines they actually believe that it is Christ and His Christ who are in need of repentance. That does not appear to be the spirit of this email.

Mat 12:27  And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges.
Mat 12:28  But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you.
Mat 12:29  Or else how can one enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house.
Mat 12:30  He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.
Mat 12:31  Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.
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 [Greek: aion, age] to come.

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

All “judgment” is ‘chastening’ by means of fiery trials which “teach [us] to forsake ungodliness and worldly lusts” (Tit 2:10-12), leading us to “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.

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.

So there it is. There is no such thing as an “unpardonable sin”, but it is true that there are many who will not be forgiven of blaspheming the holy spirit either in this age or in the coming thousand-year reign. They will learn righteousness in the “great white throne… judgment” which follows the thousand-year reign of “the Lord and His Christ”.

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

I hope this helps and gives you hope. ​

Your brother in Christ, Mike

]]> What is the Advantage of Being the First to be Judged? https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/what-is-the-advantage-of-being-the-first-to-be-judged/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=what-is-the-advantage-of-being-the-first-to-be-judged Sun, 08 Sep 2019 22:44:31 +0000 http://www.iswasandwillbe.com/?p=19363

Hi Mike,

I have a question about one of your studies, here’s the link:

 

Here’s the part I wanted to ask you about. It’s about a quarter of the way down the page:

Being judged while in “a natural body” is much to be preferred to being judged in a “spiritual body” in the “resurrection of judgment” (John 5:28-29)

Why should a person desire to be judged in a weak, fleshly, corruptible vessel of clay as opposed to a body of spirit?

Thanks for your help with this, Mike, and I’ll look forward to hearing from you.

your brother,

C____

Hi C____,

You ask:

I will just cut and paste what is in that study explaining the great advantage to being judged now in this life rather than being judged as a spirit in the lake of fire:

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.

Now I will include the verses in Peter which I quote immediately following the statement you quoted and which provoked your question. Here they both are beginning with the statement you quoted:

Being judged while in “a natural body” is much to be preferred to being judged in “a spiritual body” at “the resurrection of judgment” (Joh 5:28-29). The positive application of “the twelve tribes of Israel” is the judgment which begins at the house of God in this age.

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

“The righteous” are those “who first trusted in Christ” of Eph 1:12-14. The “mark of the prize of the high calling” is “the… blessed and holy… first resurrection”. It is very immature to aspire to be in the “cursed… second death… lake of fire… white throne judgement”. Everyone in the second death/lake of fire/white throne judgment is “raised a spirit”, but all who are raised in that resurrection are raised to “the resurrection of judgment”. That is the answer to Peter’s question. After telling us that “judgment must begin at the house of God” he poses the question, “Where shall the ungodly and sinner appear”, and the answer is, “They will appear at the great white throne judgment/second death/ lake of fire, to have to endure in spirit the same “groaning and travailing in pain together” which they have already experienced in this life, but without the blessing of being judged in these corruptible clay vessels, as the Lord’s “first fruits” are “in this present time”.”

Look at how Paul shows us we are blessed if we are suffering and being judged “in this present time” in weak corruptible vessels of clay:

Rom 8:18  For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
Rom 8:19  For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God [“The firstfruits unto God and the Lamb” – Rev 14:4].
Rom 8:20  For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,
Rom 8:21  Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
Rom 8:22  For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.
Rom 8:23  And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.
Rom 8:24  For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?
Rom 8:25  But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.
Rom 8:26  Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
Rom 8:27  And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
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 8:29  For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn [first resurrection] among many brethren [second death/lake of fire/great white throne judgment].

Who in their right mind wants to “groan and travail in pain… in this present time” just to have to do it all again in “the second death/lake of fire/great white throne… resurrection of judgment”.

Mat 25:41  Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand [“The resurrection of judgment” – Joh 5:28-29], Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting [eonian] fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

Read that study on Isa 32:1-8 again, and when you do, remember there are just two resurrections for mankind. The first is at the very beginning of the thousand-year reign of Christ and His Christ, and the only other resurrection is “when the thousand years are expired” (Rev 20:7).

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

Here is what Christ had to say 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; they that have done good [“the first resurrection, Rev 20 1-6], unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil [the resurrection which occurs only after the “short season” of rebellion which follows the thousand year reign of Christ and His elect who were all judged while in corruptible vessels of clay “in this present time”], unto the resurrection of damnation [judgment].

The scriptures reveal this about both of these two resurrections:

Dan 12:2  And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
Dan 12:3  And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever [“They that be wise…”].

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

So there it is. Those who are judged at “this present time” are “blessed to have part in the first resurrection… and are not hurt of the second death/lake of fire”.

That is the whole point of the parable of the workers in the vineyard. The workers who were hired last and got paid first represent those who will be in the first resurrection.

Mat 20:1  For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard.
Mat 20:2  And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard.
Mat 20:3  And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace,
Mat 20:4  And said unto them; Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way.
Mat 20:5  Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise.
Mat 20:6  And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle?
Mat 20:7  They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive.
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.

“Few are chosen” only in “this present time”, and it is they who are “blessed and holy and are given part in the first resurrection” (Rev 20:1-6).

I hope this answers your question:

Your brother who is, Lord willing, being judged in “this present time” (Rom 8:18),

Mike

]]> Is There a Kingdom to Come as Daniel Says? https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/is-there-a-kingdom-to-come-as-daniel-says/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=is-there-a-kingdom-to-come-as-daniel-says Mon, 11 Jun 2018 17:08:17 +0000 http://www.iswasandwillbe.com/?p=16495

If the kingdoms mentioned in Daniel were real kingdoms, is there to be another as it says in Daniel?

G____

Dear G____,

The ten toes of Daniel 2 are symbolic of the flesh of mankind at the time of the kingdoms of this world becoming the kingdom of our Lord and His Christ:

The number ten always symbolizes the flesh, and this is what we are told of those ten toes:

Dan 2:42  And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken.
Dan 2:43  And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.
Dan 2:44  And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.
Dan 2:45  Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.

Here is this same “kingdom… of heaven” as it is referenced in Revelation 11:

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

So, yes, there is yet another kingdom to come. It is called “the kingdom of heaven… the kingdom of God” in the various gospel parables. It is prophesied to last a symbolic thousand years to be followed by a “short season” of rebellion, which will eventuate in the annihilation of the armies in the four quarters of the earth:

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

The very next verse informs us of “a great white throne” judgment.

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.

It is not a black throne, it is a white throne judgment, and:

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

The “great white throne judgment” is the “lake of fire”, and “when [God’s] judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness”. So contrary to what we have been taught by the churches of this world, judgment is chastening to beget repentance and salvation:

1Co 11:32  But when we are judged [in this age], we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world [to a later white throne judgment].

I hope this helps to answer your question. There will be a physical kingdom of God on this earth.

Your brother in Christ,
Mike

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