Hi Mike,

I have a question regarding the subject of prayer. Without a doubt prayer is vitally important in a Christian’s life, and Paul certainly mentions prayer a lot in his epistles.

My question is when someone asks for a prayer, shouldn’t a ‘one time’ prayer suffice instead of an ongoing prayer request? Aren’t we told not to pray repetitiously? By faith, aren’t we to believe that the Lord heard…and His will is being done?

Also, if the elect need to undergo trials, etc., aren’t we supposed to be filled with joy and thankfulness for the opportunity to grow…to mature as Christians? Wouldn’t it be best to ask the Lord to have His will done…and to strengthen the person (or oneself) requesting prayer to remain strong to overcome? Otherwise, how are we different than the many in Babylon…praying for relief, ease and blessings in one’s life.

From what I understand, all people (the not called, called and elect) will have trials, etc. in life. However, the elect understand the true purpose of undergoing trials, which is God showing us what’s truly inside (i.e. anyone can be patient when everything is going smoothly, etc.).

It seems that Christians are either creating their own unnecessary trials from poor choices in life (reap what you sow) or are forever trying to alleviate trials and sorrows.

I’ve learned the most common word in the New Testament for prayer is the word ‘proseuch’.

Pro = intimate, close contact w/someone else…or ‘toward’.

seuch = a wish, desire, will, or vow. So, to pray is a ‘toward’ wish, desire, will or vow…in the name (power) of Jesus Christ. Of course, all prayer should be with thankfulness…

It seems to me that our ‘Babylon’ teachings on prayer are not what prayer really is.

Anyway, thanks for reading. As always, I appreciate your insight and/or correction on this matter.

In ​Christ,
K____

Hi, K​____​,

Thank you for your questions concerning prayer. Your question gives me the opportunity to point out the biblical truth; that while God makes us to “err from His ways”, He can and He does yet require us to repent and return to Him with an importunate and humble spirit:

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

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.

You asked:

Shouldn’t a ‘one time’ prayer suffice instead of an ongoing prayer request?​ Aren’t we told not to pray repetitiously? By faith, aren’t we to believe that the Lord heard…and His will is being done?

So, yes, we “are… to believe that the Lord heard… and His will is being done.” But knowing that does not mean that we are not to repeatedly importune the Lord for our needs which is the very point of the parable of the importunate widow.

You may already know that parable, but it doesn’t hurt to reread that parable from our Lord’s own mouth:

Luk 18:1  And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;
Luk 18:2  Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man:
Luk 18:3  And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary.
Luk 18:4  And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man;
Luk 18:5  Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.
Luk 18:6  And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith.
Luk 18:7  And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?
Luk 18:8  I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?

Notice also that Paul “cease[d] not… making mention in [his] prayer that… God… [would give unto [the Ephesians] the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of [Christ and His Father].

Eph 1:15  Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints,
Eph 1:16  Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers; 
Eph 1:17  That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him.

Anyone who has ever had a child with a very high fever knows that it simply is not possible to make a one-time petition for healing and then just put that child out of mind and wait for God to heal that poor suffering baby. I know because I have reared five children and have been that ‘importunate widow’ for every one of them. My children are all grown now and are all married and on their own, but I still petition my heavenly Father for His mercy upon my children according to His will, every time they come to my mind.

So even though the Lord has all of our days already “written in [His] book”, we are still told, “work out your own salvation”. Why are we told to work our our own salvation? The answer we are given is “For it is God that works in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure”:

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

Those scriptures are telling us that the will to petition Him and the action of doing so are both “of the Lord”:

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

You go on to say:

I’ve learned the most common word in the NT for prayer is the word proseuch.

Pro = intimate, close contact w/someone else…or ‘toward’.

seuch = a wish, desire, will, or vow. So, to pray is a ‘toward’ wish, desire, will or vow…in the name (power) of Jesus Christ. Of course, all prayer should be with thankfulness…

The reason I’m meditating on this is because it seems to me that our ‘Babylon’ teachings on prayer is not what prayer really is….

You sure have that right! “Babylon’s teaching on prayer is not what prayer really is”, both because of their “vain repetitions” of ritualistic prayers, and because  of their inability to see the words “thy will be done, in earth as it is in heaven” right here in His instructions to us on how we are to pray:

Mat 6:9  After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Mat 6:10  Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

Any and every prayer which is prayed with the words “Thy will be done” included in it will be and is answered for this simple reason:

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:

Whatever happens on this earth happens “after the counsel of His own will”. Even when we turn the sovereign grace of God into lasciviousness, that also is “after the counsel of His own will”. We are all a work in progress, and when the Lord is finished with us, we will all “be conformed to the image of His Son”:

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 among many brethren.

If we are seeking only His will in our prayers, then we will simply be speaking our “wish [or] desire toward… Christ”.

The apostle John repeats Christ’s words in Mat 6:9-10 in these words:

1Jn 5:14  And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:

The Lord is not a hip-​pocket genie we can order around to get what we want. Rather, we are marred vessels in His hand (Jer 18:4) doing what He had “written in our books… before the world began”.

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

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

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

In conclusion, there is nothing unscriptural about being importunate about “praying without ceasing… that… the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him” or for our children’s healing, or for anyone’s healing, but always with the caveat “If it be according to His will”.

1Th 5:16  Rejoice evermore.
1Th 5:17  Pray without ceasing.

“Pray without ceasing” is not an admonition to quit your job so you can pray all day. Prayer should actually be nothing more than seeking “thy will be done” in all things all day every day. In other words, praying without ceasing is a submissive state of mind toward Christ and His Father.

I hope this gives you a little more of the mind of Christ on the subject of prayer. As you concluded:

“Of course, all prayer should be with thankfulness…”

Amen!​ That means so much to our Lord because He said:

Psa 107:21  Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
Psa 107:22  And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his works with rejoicing.

Your grateful brother, Mike

The Prophecy of Isaiah - Part 61 Discussion

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Isa 14: 24-27 I Will Break The Assyrian In My Land, And Upon My Mountains Tread Him Under Foot

Isa 14:24  The LORD of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand:
Isa 14:25  That I will break the Assyrian in my land, and upon my mountains tread him under foot: then shall his yoke depart from off them, and his burden depart from off their shoulders.
Isa 14:26  This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth: and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations.
Isa 14:27  For the LORD of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?

As we learned earlier in this prophecy, the Assyrians and the Babylonians are the same Chaldean peoples. The Assyrians were the earlier of the two empires with its capital of Nineveh.

Isa 23:13  Behold the land of the Chaldeans; this people was not, till the Assyrian founded it for them that dwell in the wilderness: they set up the towers thereof, they raised up the palaces thereof; and he brought it to ruin.

Isa 47:1  Come down, and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon, sit on the ground: there is no throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called tender and delicate.

1Ki 11:29  And it came to pass at that time when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him in the way; and he had clad himself with a new garment; and they two were alone in the field:
1Ki 11:30  And Ahijah caught the new garment that was on him, and rent it in twelve pieces:
1Ki 11:31  And he said to Jeroboam, Take thee ten pieces: for thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, Behold, I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee:
1Ki 11:32  (But he shall have one tribe for my servant David's sake, and for Jerusalem's sake, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel:)

Isa 8:1  Moreover the LORD said unto me, Take thee a great roll, and write in it with a man's pen concerning Mahershalalhashbaz. [Hasting to the booty, swift to the prey]
Isa 8:2  And I took unto me faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.
Isa 8:3  And I went unto the prophetess; and she conceived, and bare a son. Then said the LORD to me, Call his name Mahershalalhashbaz.
Isa 8:4  For before the child shall have knowledge to cry, My father, and my mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be taken away before the king of Assyria.

Later the king of Assyria also conquered the southern kingdom of Judah and took its king, Manasseh, captive to Assyria:

2Ch 33:11  Wherefore the LORD brought upon them the captains of the host of the king of Assyria, which took Manasseh among the thorns, and bound him with fetters, and carried him to Babylon.
2Ch 33:12  And when he was in affliction, he besought the LORD his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers,

Manasseh was one of the worst kings of Judah, but like King Ahab of the northern kingdom of Israel, Manasseh humbled himself while in Assyrian captivity in Babylon, and the Lord had great mercy on Manasseh and returned him to the throne of Judah.

2Ch 33:13  And prayed unto him: and he was intreated of him, and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD he was God.

During the days of the king of Assyria,​ Babylon was but one of the cities of the Assyrian empire. When Assyria conquered Syria and the northern kingdom of Israel, the king of Assyria sent many men from Babylon to occupy the cities of Israel because Babylon, at that time,​ was subject to the king of Assyria:

2Ki 17:24  And the king of Assyria brought men from Babylon, and from Cuthah, and from Ava, and from Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel: and they possessed Samaria, and dwelt in the cities thereof.

But after God had used Assyria to punish His own people,​ He then used the Babylonians to destroy the king of Assyria and to usurp rulership over all the cities and kingdoms of the Chaldeans:

Isa 10:12  Wherefore it shall come to pass, that when the Lord hath performed his whole work upon mount Zion and on Jerusalem, I will punish the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his high looks.

It is this verse of Isa 10:12 to which our study today refers:

Isa 14:24  The LORD of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand:
Isa 14:25  That I will break the Assyrian in my land, and upon my mountains tread him under foot: then shall his yoke depart from off them, and his burden depart from off their shoulders.

What Christ and His Father had "sworn... [and] thought... and [had] purposed", and what they purpose to this very day, is to "punish the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his high looks". This 'king of Assyria is but an earlier symbol of the king of Babylon, who is just an earlier symbol of the second beast of Revelation 13.

Both of these kings defy their Creator. Let's look at what each of these men ha​s said in their heart in defiance of their Creator:

Here is the boasting of the king of Assyria:

2Ki 18:31  Hearken not to Hezekiah: for thus saith the king of Assyria, Make an agreement with me by a present, and come out to me, and then eat ye every man of his own vine, and every one of his fig tree, and drink ye every one the waters of his cistern:
2Ki 18:32  Until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of corn and wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of oil olive and of honey, that ye may live, and not die: and hearken not unto Hezekiah, when he persuadeth you, saying, The LORD will deliver us.
2Ki 18:33  Hath any of the gods of the nations delivered at all his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria?
2Ki 18:34  Where are the gods of Hamath, and of Arpad? where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah? have they delivered Samaria out of mine hand?
2Ki 18:35  Who are they among all the gods of the countries, that have delivered their country out of mine hand, that the LORD should deliver Jerusalem out of mine hand?

Here is the boasting of the king of Babylon:

Dan 4:30  The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty?

And this is the what the beast within every man does:

Rev 13:5  And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.
Rev 13:6  And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.
Rev 13:7  And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.

Is this not exactly what the kings of Assyria and Babylon do? Of course it is. Just as the king of Babylon, a Chaldean, followed the king of Assyria, who was also a Chaldean, so also here in their final manifestation we again have two appearances of the same beast within all men. But instead of being called 'the king of Babylon' here in his final Biblical manifestation he is called "another beast coming up out of the earth":

Rev 13:11  And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.
Rev 13:12  And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.

This second beast "comes up out of the earth", as contrasted with the first beast which "came up out of the sea":

Rev 13:1  And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.
Rev 13:2  And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.
Rev 13:3  And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.
Rev 13:4  And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?

Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar that he was the "head of gold" on the doomed image of which Nebuchadnezzar had dreamed and then forgotten. No doubt the Babylonian empire was superior to the Assyrian empire simply because Babylon conquered Nineveh and the Assyrians. The truth is that both were the same Chaldean peoples, as Isaiah demonstrates many times.

Here are but a few of many examples how both Assyria and Babylon are called 'Chaldeans':

Isa 23:13  Behold the land of the Chaldeans; this people was not, till the Assyrian founded it for them that dwell in the wilderness: they set up the towers thereof, they raised up the palaces thereof; and he brought it to ruin.

Isa 43:14  Thus saith the LORD, your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; For your sake I have sent to Babylon, and have brought down all their nobles, and the Chaldeans, whose cry is in the ships.

Isa 47:1  Come down, and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon, sit on the ground: there is no throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called tender and delicate.

So it is with the two beasts of Revelation 13. The 'sea' is as much a part of the '​earth' as Assyria is a part of the Chaldeans, as these verses demonstrate:

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

Exo 15:10  Thou didst blow with thy wind, the sea covered them: they sank as lead in the mighty waters.
Exo 15:11  Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?
Exo 15:12  Thou stretchedst out thy right hand, the earth swallowed them.

Now that we know that the Assyrians and the Babylonians are one and the same very religious Chaldean peoples,​ we can understand why these verses concerning the king of Assyria are here with this parable against the king of Babylon, and we will also understand why the Lord tells us He will "break the Assyrian in [the Lord's] own land, and upon [His] mountains.

Isa 14:25  That I will break the Assyrian in my land, and upon my mountains tread him under foot: then shall his yoke depart from off them, and his burden depart from off their shoulders.

But there is one more little nugget we can glean from the judgment of the Lord upon "Babylon the Great" (Rev 17: 5). That nugget is given to us in the last two verses of our study. After addressing both the king of Babylon and the king of Assyria in this 14th chapter of Isaiah, the very next verse tells  us this:

Isa 14:26  This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth: and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations.
Isa 14:27  For the LORD of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?

What we are being told here is what we are really being told everywhere we read about the judgment of Babylon. Babylon is not judged in a vacuum. The Truth is that the judgment of Babylon is the judgment of the whole world, as we were just told: "This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth: and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations".

So once again Babylon is not just the Christian world, rather Babylon is "the whole earth... all nations", and all the "kings of the world" over whom "Babylon the great" has been given dominion for so long.

Notice what happened to Nebuchadnezzar,​ the king of Babylon which has been written for our sakes:

Dan 4:1  Nebuchadnezzar the king, unto all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied unto you.
Dan 4:2  I thought it good to shew the signs and wonders that the high God hath wrought toward me.
Dan 4:3  How great are his signs! and how mighty are his wonders! his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion is from generation to generation.
Dan 4:4  I Nebuchadnezzar was at rest in mine house, and flourishing in my palace:
Dan 4:5  I saw a dream which made me afraid, and the thoughts upon my bed and the visions of my head troubled me.
Dan 4:6  Therefore made I a decree to bring in all the wise men of Babylon before me, that they might make known unto me the interpretation of the dream.
Dan 4:7  Then came in the magicians, the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers: and I told the dream before them; but they did not make known unto me the interpretation thereof.
Dan 4:8  But at the last Daniel came in before me, whose name was Belteshazzar, according to the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods: and before him I told the dream, saying,
Dan 4:9  O Belteshazzar, master of the magicians, because I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in thee, and no secret troubleth thee, tell me the visions of my dream that I have seen, and the interpretation thereof.
Dan 4:10  Thus were the visions of mine head in my bed; I saw, and behold a tree in the midst of the earth, and the height thereof was great.
Dan 4:11  The tree grew, and was strong, and the height thereof reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to the end of all the earth:
Dan 4:12  The leaves thereof were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all: the beasts of the field had shadow under it, and the fowls of the heaven dwelt in the boughs thereof, and all flesh was fed of it.

We know that the kingdom of Babylon did not rule over the entire physical planet, but it did rule over everything of any consequence at that time, including eventually, Egypt.

Jer 46:24  The daughter of Egypt shall be confounded; she shall be delivered into the hand of the people of the north.
Jer 46:25  The LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saith; Behold, I will punish the multitude of No, and Pharaoh, and Egypt, with their gods, and their kings; even Pharaoh, and all them that trust in him:
Jer 46:26  And I will deliver them into the hand of those that seek their lives, and into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of his servants: and afterward it shall be inhabited, as in the days of old, saith the LORD.

What is said of Babylon in scripture symbolizes what is being said of the whole world:

Isa 14:26  This ["parable against Babylon" -​ Isa 14:4] is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth: and is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations.

Isa 14:4  That thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased!

This universal application of the judgment of the king of Babylon here in Isaiah is the same message being given to us in Revelation 17 and 18. Look at how universal the influence of Babylon The Great is stated to be. Babylon's dominion is over "the kings of the earth":

Rev 17:1  And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:
Rev 17:2  With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.

Rev 17:15  And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.

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

Cities like Jerusalem, Babylon, Tyre, Sidon, etc. in scripture are always addressed as women. Women in scripture, are always the Biblical symbol of both true and false religion. It is religion which is "that great city, which reigns over the kings of the earth". This particular woman,​ who reigns over the kings of the earth,​ has a special hatred for the Lord's elect. The fact is that all religions of men harbor deep-​seated enmity against Christ and His doctrine. They one and all hate the doctrine of Christ mainly because Christ's doctrine teaches us that none of us are free to do as we please:

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.

That was the same conclusion the Lord delivered to Nebuchadnezzar when Daniel interpreted his dream about the tree that nourished the whole earth:

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

That is the same message Christ gave to Pilate when Pilate thought Christ's life was in his hands:

Joh 19:11  Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin.

And finally that is also the same message Christ has for us concerning the affairs of this earth since the time of His death and resurrection:

Mat 28:18  And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

These verses are telling us that even the thoughts and actions of all whose religion is contrary to the doctrine of Christ are actually as much a work of Christ through the power given Him by His Father as Joseph's brothers selling him into Egyptian slavery and the Jews delivering Christ up to Pilate to be crucified​. It was all nothing more or less than "what [His] hand and [His] counsel determined before to be done".

Act 4:26  The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ.
Act 4:27  For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together,
Act 4:28  For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done.

It wa​s the religious leaders who delivered Christ up to be crucified,​ and it will always be that same "great city" which will again deliver Christ up to be crucified again:

Luk 13:33  Nevertheless I must walk to day, and to morrow, and the day following: for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem.

Physical Jerusalem typifies "the great city" which still wants to destroy those who follow the Lord:

Rev 11:7  And when [the "two witnesses"] shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.
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.

When the Lord's hypocritical people were removed from Jerusalem, they were taken to Babylon:

2Ki 24:15  And he carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon, and the king's mother, and the king's wives, and his officers, and the mighty of the land, those carried he into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon.
2Ki 24:16  And all the men of might, even seven thousand, and craftsmen and smiths a thousand, all that were strong and apt for war, even them the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon.

Babylonian captivity produced a spirit of true repentance in just a very few of those who knew what the Lord had done to Jerusalem. It was only a small minority of the Lord's people who came out of Babylon to rebuild the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem, and our Lord tells us it is and always will be that way, until the end:

Mat 22:14  For many are called, but few are chosen.

What this chapter is revealing to all with eyes that see and ears that hear, is that God's calling is to all men everywhere, and it is this whole world which makes up "Babylon the great,​ the mother of harlots and of abominations of the earth."

Rev 17:4  And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:
Rev 17:5  And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
Rev 17:6  And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.

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

So the king of Assyria and the king of Babylon are both just earlier manifestations of this great city which is also called "the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth". It is of this system that all who have been​ given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God are commanded:

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.

Next week, if the Lord wills, we will learn that even our most personal weaknesses and faults must be destroyed and burned up before we can come back to the kingdom of God.

Those weaknesses and faults are symbolized as the nations which are​ closest to us. Israel's most intimate enemy was the Philistines, and these are our verses for our next study which will bring us to the end of this chapter:

Isa 14:28  In the year that king Ahaz died was this burden.
Isa 14:29  Rejoice not thou, whole Palestina, because the rod of him that smote thee is broken: for out of the serpent's root shall come forth a cockatrice, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent.
Isa 14:30  And the firstborn of the poor shall feed, and the needy shall lie down in safety: and I will kill thy root with famine, and he shall slay thy remnant.
Isa 14:31  Howl, O gate; cry, O city; thou, whole Palestina, art dissolved: for there shall come from the north a smoke, and none shall be alone in his appointed times.
Isa 14:32  What shall one then answer the messengers of the nation? That the LORD hath founded Zion, and the poor of his people shall trust in it.

I will go line by line through this letter and give God’s Word and contrast God’s Word with the carnal minded reasoning of your friend. Your friend, as I myself once did and all carnal minds do, fails to see the difference between the ability to choose based upon the causes he himself admits to in this letter, and ‘free’ will, without the influence of any outside cause. No one in his right mind would deny that your friend can choose to drink either orange drink or Pepsi. But for your friend to deny that God is the cause of that choice and already knows what that choice is before he ever makes that choice is blasphemous. God does know, because God is the great Causer of all things which you, or I or your friend will ever do. The same is true for every other person who lives, has lived or who ever will live.

If any of us has an uncaused ‘free’ will then why are we told:

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

According to the carnal reasoning of your friend, this scripture is a lie. According to the false teaching of your friend, which also happens to also be the same doctrine of all orthodox Christian denominations, the truth is that “The preparations of the heart and the answer of the tongue is [ actually from our free will].”

Again consider the Truth contrasted with the teaching of your friend and orthodox Christian teaching:

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

Your friend and all orthodox Christianity denies this truth. Here is how they would rewrite God’s Word. “The Lord has created all things good and man’s free will has created evil men forcing upon God a ‘day of evil.'” This lie of the Dragon and the beast which is within your friend and within all orthodox Christianity, denies the Truth of this next scripture also:

Isa 45:5 I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me [ where is anything about man’s fabled ‘free’ will in these verses?]:
Isa 45:6 That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else [ Where is this ‘free’ will?].
Isa 45:7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.

In other words:

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 [“first,” not ‘only’] trusted in Christ.

Orthodox Christianity teaches us just the opposite. ‘Evil,’ we are lied to, ‘is the result of your own choices.’

In the National Cathedral, immediately following the bombing of the World Trade Towers, Dr. Billy Graham, a man many Christians consider to be one of the most prominent spiritual men of our day, proclaimed before all the world that Isa 45:7 was a lie. “God does not create evil!” proclaimed Dr. Graham. I for one choose to believe God’s Word over the words of Dr. Graham and over the words of all orthodox Christian ministers. But I choose so for the same reason they choose not to believe those words of God. You and your friend and I and all of orthodox Christianity, believe what we believe because “the preparations of the heart in man and the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.” It is definitely not from some unscriptural ‘free’ human will. Man’s will is so easily influenced because we were created so weak and carnal. Yes, that is how we were created “in the Potter’s hand.”

Psa 51:5 Behold, I was shapen [“In the Potter’s hand] in iniquity; and in sin did my mother [ Creator] conceive me.
Jer 18:1 The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,
Jer 18:2 Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words.
Jer 18:3 Then I went down to the potter’s house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels.
Jer 18:4 And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.
Jer 18:5 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
Jer 18:6 O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.

Your friend and all of orthodox Christianity would answer, ‘Absolutely not!’ to the Great Potter. ‘What are you saying? Are you saying we are nothing but a puppet on a string?’ is their constant retort to this question by a Potter who informs them that they are deliberately marred in His hand. But what says the Great Potter to man’s beastly claim to some fabled ‘free will?’ Is man indeed a ‘puppet on a string?’ No, the Great Potter gives man no such dignity as a puppet: “Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.”

Dr. Billy Graham, Hank Hanagraff, Pastor Adrian Rogers, Pat Roberston, Paul Crouch and all of God’s widely acclaimed ‘great men of God’ need to get with God and inform Him of their ‘free will,’ which God just seems to have forgotten about in all these and all other scriptures that appear in His Word on this subject.

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

Again orthodox Christianity argues with their own Creator that ‘It IS in man himself to choose what steps he will take. It IS in man to freely decide whether to obey God.’ What happened to that orthodox Christian teaching of man’s ‘free will’ here in this verse? Where is the scripture for such a doctrine? Is it to be found in these Words of Truth?

Pro 20:24 Man’s goings are of the LORD; how can a man then understand his own way?
Pro 21:1 The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.

No, it is not in those verses either. So where is the scripture for the doctrine of the free will of man? Surely here is a verse which proves beyond any doubt that God has given man a free will:

Jos 24:15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

And what are we told the people “chose” to do?

Jos 24:16 And the people answered and said, God forbid that we should forsake the LORD, to serve other gods;

Is this not surely a Biblical example of the exercise of man’s ‘free will?’ The entire orthodox Christian world point to this verse and proclaims that that is exactly what it proves. But what do the scriptures say about Israel’s choice?; “God forbid that we should forsake the Lord, to serve other gods.” Here is the Truth once again straight from the Word of God concerning this subject of man’s will to do good and to obey God:

Jos 24:19 And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve the LORD: for he is an holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins.

Why can they not serve the Lord? The answer is always consistently the same:

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

Why is it that man cannot choose to serve God? Did not Israel just do so? It surely appears that Israel chose to serve the Lord. But what really happened? What was the Truth of Israel’s choice to serve God? Here is the truth from the Word of God:

Deu 5:29 O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever!
Deu 31:28 Gather unto me all the elders of your tribes, and your officers, that I may speak these words in their ears, and call heaven and earth to record against them.
Deu 31:29 For I know that after my death ye will utterly corrupt yourselves, and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you; and evil will befall you in the latter days; because ye will do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger through the work of your hands.

“You will do evil… after my death you will corrupt yourselves?” What became of Israel’s self proclaimed ‘free will choice,’ “God forbid that we should forsake the LORD…?”

Though orthodox Christianity is unaware of this truth, our Creator is well aware that He has not given them “such a heart, that they would fear me.” “To them it is not given…”:

Mat 13:10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
Mat 13:11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.

How can God say “It is not given to them to understand,” when in reality, according to orthodox Christianity, that choice is not God’s choice to be making. “Not given to them to understand the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven?” Where is room for so much as the thought of ‘free will’ in a statement such as that?

Getting back to your friend’s “free will” to drink orange juice instead of Pepsi, let’s look at some others who, like your friend, thought that their thoughts were their own free, uncaused thoughts. These men certainly did not think that their thoughts that were caused by the Great Cause of all things. Yes, even our choices of what we will eat and drink, just as the ideas of these men, are caused thoughts. “He works all things after the counsel of His Own will.”

The men I refer to are the brothers of Joseph. The thoughts they entertained were these:

Gen 37:19 And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh.
Gen 37:20 Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams.

Joseph’s brothers would never have admitted at this point that their evil thoughts and desire to slay their brother was “of the Lord.” This is not a discussion about whether to drink some sheep’s milk or some grape juice. This is a discussion about whether to take the life of their own brother. Ruben and Judah finally convince the other nine brothers to make some money on the sale of Joseph instead of killing him. Thus they spared his life. But whose idea really is this entire scenario? Your friend and the entire orthodox Christian World, along with its icon, the great Dr. Billy Graham, have a beast sitting on the throne of God. God’s throne is in the hearts and minds of His people. But as their rhetoric belies, a beastly ‘man of sin,’ who “receives his power and great authority from the Dragon,” sits on God’s throne in “God’s temple, whose temple ye are” and denies that God “works all things after the counsel of His Own will.” Nevertheless, the Word of “God is true and every man is a liar.”

Here now is that word for all who can receive it:

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:

This revelation followed many months of tormenting his own brothers for their own good. Joseph’s brothers were compelled to “worship at his feet” and were “tormented in the presence of the Lamb:”

Gen 42:6 And Joseph was the governor over the land, and he it was that sold to all the people of the land: and Joseph’s brethren came, and bowed down themselves before him with their faces to the earth.
Gen 42:7 And Joseph saw his brethren, and he knew them, but made himself strange unto them, and spake roughly unto them; and he said unto them, Whence come ye? And they said, From the land of Canaan to buy food.
Gen 42:8 And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew not him.
Gen 42:9 And Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed of them, and said unto them, Ye are spies; to see the nakedness of the land ye are come.
Gen 42:10 And they said unto him, Nay, my lord, but to buy food are thy servants come.
Gen 42:11 We are all one man’s sons; we are true men, thy servants are no spies.
Gen 42:12 And he said unto them, Nay, but to see the nakedness of the land ye are come.
Gen 42:13 And they said, Thy servants are twelve brethren, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and, behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is not.
Gen 42:14 And Joseph said unto them, That is it that I spake unto you, saying, Ye are spies:
Gen 42:15 Hereby ye shall be proved: By the life of Pharaoh ye shall not go forth hence, except your youngest brother come hither.
Gen 42:16 Send one of you, and let him fetch your brother, and ye shall be kept in prison, that your words may be proved, whether there be any truth in you: or else by the life of Pharaoh surely ye are spies.
Gen 42:17 And he put them all together into ward three days.
Gen 42:18 And Joseph said unto them the third day, This do, and live; for I fear God:
Gen 42:19 If ye be true men, let one of your brethren be bound in the house of your prison: go ye, carry corn for the famine of your houses:
Gen 42:20 But bring your youngest brother unto me; so shall your words be verified, and ye shall not die. And they did so.
Gen 42:21 And they said one to another, We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us.
Gen 42:22 And Reuben answered them, saying, Spake I not unto you, saying, Do not sin against the child; and ye would not hear? therefore, behold, also his blood is required.
Gen 42:23 And they knew not that Joseph understood them; for he spake unto them by an interpreter.

Joseph’s brothers typify today’s orthodox Christians, who to this day despise those who are favored by the Father because they bring to their Father the evil report of their brothers who are taking advantage of their Father’s flock:

Gen 37:2 Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren; and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives: and Joseph brought unto his father their evil report.

Their “evil report” had to do with something that occurred while they were “feeding the flock.” The word translated ‘report’ denotes ‘slander’. Joseph’s brothers were no doubt slandering their father. So it is today. Those given the charge of the welfare of God’s flock have “an evil report.” It falls the lot of today’s Josephs to bring to their Father their evil report. When this is accomplished, the Father sets his elect apart from all of His other sons with a “coat of many colors.” This coat is required clothing for all those who “come out from among” their Babylonish brothers with their bad report concerning the keeping of the Father’s flock.

This coat represents the fact that God favors those who are faithful to His word. These are those who admit that “God is the savior of all men [ even those who wanted to slay Him, but] specially [ at this time] of those who believe [ and are faithful to His Word- I Tim. 4:10]. These are those who give freely the word to others and do not abuse the flock of their Father. And these are those who, regardless of the consequences, bring to their Father the evil report of their brothers who are abusing the Father’s flock. If we refuse to wear this garment and endure the hatred of those who have not been given this garment, then we are denying Christ and He will also deny us before the Father. It was Joseph’s garments that made him so despised by his own brothers. But it was more than that. Those garments represent the fact that God Himself favors His elect and intends for His elect to rule over their brothers who are “called but are not chosen.”

Gen 37:3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours.
Gen 37:4 And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.
Gen 37:5 And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more. [ The more revelation God gives His elect, the more they are hated by their brothers who see no need for an elect to be chosen from among the called]
Gen 37:6 And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed:
Gen 37:7 For, behold, we [ the called and the chosen] were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf.
Gen 37:8 And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words.
Gen 37:9 And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.
Gen 37:10 And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?
Gen 37:11 And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying.

Christ relates this same story and condenses it all to one short verse:

Mat 22:14 For many are called, but few are chosen.

Joseph’s brothers represent the many called but not chosen Christians. Like the Corinthians they are more into the gifts than the Giver.

1Co 1:1 Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes [ our] brother,
1Co 1:2 Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called [ not chosen] to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:
1Co 1:5 That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge;
1Co 1:6 Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you:
1Co 1:7 So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ:

Yet what does Paul confess to these “sanctified in Christ Jesus called to be saints” Corinthians?

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

These “Carnal… babes in Christ.. neither yet now are able to bear…” the Truth that “many are called but [ only] a few are chosen.” They believe that salvation lies in denominational affiliation:

1Co 3:4 For while one saith, I am of Paul [ Protestant]; and another, I am of Apollos [ Catholic]; are ye not carnal?

The very thought of a God who “works all things after the counsel of His own will” is especially offensive to these carnal Christians who think that it is their free will that will decide whether they follow Paul or Apollos. The Truth of course is that even if they do join a denomination and decide to “kill you thinking they do God a service,” they do so only because “It was not you but God who sent me here,” as Joseph reveals to us all.

O. K. Now for your friend’s letter.

J____ wrote:

Hello,

I am having a debate with a fellow that sent me this email. Hoping you can help me out by writing something in response. I greatly appreciate it! Here it is.

Hos 6:7 (NASB) But like Adam they have transgressed the covenant; There they have dealt treacherously against Me.

According to God, Adam broke the Covenant.

Which God knew in advance Adam would do because He “made him subject to vanity, not willingl y [ on Adam’s part] but by reason of Him [ God], who subjected the same in hope [ of a resurrection in which “all will confess that Jesus is Christ to the glory of God”].

Jesus brought a new one.

What is evident from Scripture is that God lives NOT in our restrictive chronological timeline, but He lives outside of time and can see my birth and life and death at a glance.

Adam did not surprise God by sinning, I accept that.

So you admit that God knew in advance exactly what Adam would do and was in reality “working all things after the counsel of His Own will?”

Remember, sin is not an invention of God or man. Sin as we know is an ancient word describing how we miss the mark as it were. Sin is nothing more than a failure to obey. Sin is not choosing to obey and follow after righteousness. Adam chose not to obey. Because he could.

Adam, as with all who are in him could choose nothing else. The very meaning of the “first man Adam… is of the earth earthy,” meaning that Adam was marred in the Potter’s hand with an earthy, carnal corruptible mind. He and Eve committed every sin known to man before they ever touched the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

1Jn 2:16 For all [ sin] that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

It was Eve’s natural carnal mind that she had been given by her Creator, that caused her to listen to the lies of the serpent and to exercise the “lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life” before she ever touched the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They did not become naked after that. Eating of that tree simply made them aware of their already, from the hand of their Creator, naked sinful condition:

Psa 51:5 Behold, I [ the first Adam] was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother [ Creator] conceive me.

Can’t you accept, that your incredible statement about us having no free will is just wrong? It is totally wrong. If we had no free will then we are not responsible for sin and God would need to apologize to the people of Soddom and Gommorah and re- instate those destroyed cities. He would need to apologize to those who never entered Noah’s ark.

And what do you make of this scripture? Has God given you the eyes to see this verse of scripture?

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

You do not believe that Sodom will be “returned to her former estate” along with Jerusalem and her daughters? Do you? So who now should your friend believe? Should he believe your carnal, unscriptural reasonings, or should he believe God’s plain statements of truth that Sodom and Her daughters will be returned to their former estate when Jerusalem and her daughters are returned to their former estate? Who do these verses say was the greatest sinner? Was it Sodom or was it Jerusalem? Are you still so sure that “God needs to apologize to Sodom?” Could J____ possibly be right and could John have a better solution than your idea of God apologizing to Sodom? Could it possibly be true that Christ…

1Jn 2:2 … Is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world [ including the sins of Sodom and her much more evil sister Jerusalem?].

Could it be that you are right and we, as Joseph’s brothers, are not responsible for our sins? Could it be that God sent us into sin, that “many people might be saved alive” as you will see in the resurrection of Sodom and Samaria along with their much more wicked sister Jerusalem? Could it be that God is true and every man is a liar?

1Ti 4:10 For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially [ NOT exclusively] of those that believe.
1Ti 4:11 These things command and teach.

Do you “command and teach that “God is the savior of all men?”

If we have no free- will then we need to empty every prison and apologize to the prisoners as they leave. We need to exhume all those who have been executed for crimes and give them a pretty funeral. If we have no freewill, then Hitler was just a poor unfortunate soul.

You obviously see no personal reason for Paul’s telling us:

Rom 9:11 (For the children [ Jacob and Esau] being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;)
Rom 9:12 It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.
Rom 9:13 As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated [“While he was in his mother’s womb, having done neither good nor evil”].

You don’t believe that do you? You think that Esau was evil because of his own decisions. You believe that both Esau and Joseph’s brothers and Pharaoh, and King Saul and King Ahab and Judas and Hitler could somehow have chosen of their own free will to thwart the predestination of Him “who works all things after the counsel of His Own will?”

We all have a free will. If we had no free- will we wouldn’t be having this debate. Everything you say, I would agree with and vise versa. There would be no war, no strange political notions, no splits in marriage and no splits in the church. Even a game of chess would be desperately boring with inevitable outcomes.

So then you don’t believe this verse of scripture either do you?

Pro 16:33 The lot [ Or chess game] is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD.

You just do not like Bible verses like that do you? Why don’t you show J____ a verse which says that the outcome of such things as “lots cast into the lap” and the outcome of chess games are beyond the scope of God’s concerns? Where exactly now is that verse of scripture? There seem to be a plethora of Bible verses which tell us that God works all things after the counsel of His own will, that He is aware of every sparrow that falls to the ground, that the very hairs of our heads are numbered by God, but you want us to believe that He cannot or else has chosen not to know what I will choose to do tomorrow because that would be an infringement upon my fabled “free will.”

You confuse God’s ability to see the beginning from the end – and His foreknowledge of everything!

And with our ability to choose and take various paths within the timeline we inhabit.

It is not J____ who is confused. It is you, who refuses to kick the beast of your fabled free will off of the throne of God in your heart. So long as you can continue to convince yourself that God’s ability to see the beginning from the end, and everything in between, is something less than Him “working all things [ good and evil] after the counsel of His own will,” that beastly ‘man of sin rests comfortably where Christ should be as the sovereign in the affairs of men. But you refuse to give up that idol of your heart. To you God just sort of works around our ‘free will.’ It wasn’t really God who sent Joseph as a slave into Egypt. It was really Joseph’s brothers’ ‘free will.’ But God was able to somehow work around their evil free will. Why is it that if indeed we have this ‘free uncaused and uninfluenced will’ that not one person out of all the billions who have ever lived on earth, has ever freely chosen to serve and obey God?

Why is it, that there are many people I know, who were once addicts, alcoholics, prostitutes, criminals; all coming from the sewer who are now praising God and are the pillars of their church and community? They had the free will to attend a meeting. They had the free- will to sit through the preaching. They had the free- will to stick their hand up when the call for salvation came at the end of the night. They had the free- will to choose to follow Jesus.

I have also been at meetings where a person is reduced to tears, but still won’t accept the Saviour.

So then you don’t believe these words of our Savior do you? You believe that He was lying when He made these statements don’t you?

Joh 6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw [ Greek- drag] him…
Joh 15:16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you…
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.

You don’t agree with Christ do you? The only reason we are saved is really because of our own free will choice to accept Christ as our Savior. So in reality Christ did not choose us we chose Him. Christ has it all backwards doesn’t He? The truth be known Christ can do nothing with out the assistance of our own free will? Is that right? Is that really the way it is accomplished? We choose Christ He does not choose us, unless we first choose Him with our own free will?

A very old friend of mine used to be a miner. He was also the local secretary for the Communist Party. If you think eastern block people can be staunch communists, then you want to meet the old commies from Scotland. They are brutally loyal to the cause.

Anyway, he got saved. Started preaching eventually and became quite an evangelist. He had for years been asking his own old dad if he would accept Jesus as saviour and Lord. His dad always said no. One day, Dan was walking up the street with his dad. God spoke to Dan. He told Dan to ask his dad again if he would accept Jesus as saviour.

Dan obeyed the Lord’s request. He said, Dad, The Lord has asked me just now to ask you, if you will accept Jesus as Lord and saviour?”

His dad replied, emphatically, “NO.”

Immediately, his dad dropped down dead on the spot.

Dan used to always tell that story and the moral of it was, “you can ignore my requests, but you can’t ignore God’s”

God had willed that Dan’s old dad should go to heaven and be with the saviour, but Dan’s old dad refused God, and will now be paying the price for that refusal.

I’m having trouble finding one verse of scripture for which you do not have a carnal anecdote and reason to refuse to believe. This story tells me that you have virtually no use for this verse of God’s word:

1Co 15:22 For as in Adam all die [ did you freely choose to be “in Adam?”], even so in Christ shall all [ including Dan’s old dad] be made alive.
1Ti 2:4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
1Ti 4:10 For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially [ not exclusively] of those that believe.
2Pe 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us- ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
1Jn 2:2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

I guess that story about Dan’s dad just nullifies all these verses of scripture. I guess that in reality Christ’s propitiatory death only covers our sins if we of our own free will choose Christ in this life. J___ will have to decide whether to believe you or all these plain statements of God’s Word.

The point is, he had the choice. He had the choice! God has given us the freedom to choose.

How does your assertion here stack up against these words of our Lord?

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

God’s spirit “drags us to him.” Where is ‘free will’ in that verse of God’s Word?
So, if as you assert so emphatically “God has given us the freedom to choose,” then it really was Joseph’s brothers who came up with the idea and executed the plan of sending Joseph into Egypt. They had a choice? And that choice was free of any outside influence? Is that what you are asking J____ and me to believe? Should we believe you or should we believe this:

Gen 45:8 So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God:

and again:

Gen 50:20 But as for you [ Joseph’s brothers], ye thought evil against me; but God meant it [ the very evil that Joseph’s brothers thought was their idea] unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.

Right now I choose to submit this reply to you. Then I’m going to stand up and go to the kitchen. Then to the fridge. Then I will pour myself and my son a drink of orange juice. I might change my mind when I get there and have Pepsi instead. I just can’t say, because my freedom to choose might be swayed by whatever looks the best when I get there.

“Your freedom might be swayed by whatever looks the best when you get there?” That sounds a whole lot like Joseph’s brothers to me. This is quite an admission on your part. “My freedom might be swayed by whatever looks the best when I get there.” You don’t sound all that ‘free’ to me. You admit that you can be “swayed by whatever looks good when you get there?” Could God possibly be involved in any of that swaying? Is He even capable of such a thing? Take a look at this verse:

Eph 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood [ our own free will], but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

It is what is in heaven that sways the will of every man who has ever lived. But you don’t believe that simply because “to you it is not given to see the mysteries of the kingdom of God.” God himself has deceived you into believing the false doctrine of “free will.”

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.

You don’t believe that, do you? So then of course you won’t believe this verse either:

1Sa 16:14 But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him.

Did Saul choose these moves of God? Or was Saul, like Pharaoh, “raised up for this very reason?”

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.

Where was Pharaoh’s ‘free will?’ What could king Saul have done to resist the will of God?

Then I might watch the highlights of the Formula 1 in Melbourne on TV.

Psa 119:45 (King James Version) And I will walk at liberty: for I seek thy precepts.
Isa 61:1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;
1Pe 2:16 (New American Standard Bible) Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God.

So true freedom is being a “bondslave of God.” How does this verse stack up to freely deciding to “watching the highlights of Formula 1 in Melbourne?”

We have the right to be bondslaves of God, if we choose.

I have a free will!

I’m just going to have to decide; will I believe you, or will I believe Christ?

Joh 6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me drag him…
Joh 15:16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you.

It’s a clear choice. I will indeed make a choice. But my choice will be no more of “flesh and blood” than will yours. No, though it appears otherwise, just as it did to Joseph’s brothers who thought their evil thoughts were of their own free will, the truth remains:

Eph 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

You need to read After The Counsel of His Own Will. It may open your blinded eyes to the way God actually “works all things after the counsel of His own will” (Eph 1:11). It is obvious that the beast is securely on the throne of your heart at the time of the writing of this e- mail. God’s word tells me that this lie you believe is just that:

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

I hope that all these verses of scripture of which you are obviously unaware will give you pause and cause you to understand that the “vessel of clay [ Adam and all who are in him] that was in the Potter’s hand was marred.” It didn’t choose to be marred. It was marred while “in the Potter’s hand.”
I hope this is of some value to you and that you come to see that the multitudes who came to hear Christ thought they were getting the truth from Christ, when in reality He was speaking to them in parables to keep them from ever, in this age, being able to see and understand the mysteries of the kingdom of God.

Mat 13:10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
Mat 13:11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.

That is just one more verse shooting down the ability of these people to resist the will of God which was “I speak to them in parables because it is not given to them to understand the mysteries of the kingdom of God.”

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

I pray that God will give you eyes to see and ears to hear his Word. Many who believe they are hearing God’s voice are blinded by His parables. While that is my prayer on your behalf the Truth remains:

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.

That ‘destruction,’ will endure until “Thy sisters Sodom and Samaria are restored to their former estate.”
I believe those words. Do you?

Mike

Mike,

Thanks for your prayers and word of wisdom from the Scriptures.

Jdg 7:22 And the three hundred blew the trumpets, and the LORD set every man’s sword against his fellow, even throughout all the host: and the host fled to Bethshittah in Zererath, and to the border of Abelmeholah, unto Tabbath.
1Sa 14:20 And Saul and all the people that were with him assembled themselves, and they came to the battle: and, behold, every man’s sword was against his fellow, and there was a very great discomfiture.

Is this saying that God caused the enemies to kill each other? And if so, would not this be a scriptural example of God overriding man’s will? Many would say that God didn’t do that, but the devil did, but doesn’t God take the credit according to this verse?

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

Doesn’t Christendom say, “God cannot impose His Will on anyone”? But doesn’t this example prove that God owns all and that he can impose his will?

J____

Amen Brother!

That is what this says, and that is what this means. “ The Lord set every man’s sword against his fellow… and there was a great discomfiture”.

Jdg 7:22 And the three hundred blew the trumpets, and the LORD set every man’s sword against his fellow, even throughout all the host: and the host fled to Bethshittah in Zererath, and to the border of Abelmeholah, unto Tabbath.
1Sa 14:20 And Saul and all the people that were with him assembled themselves, and they came to the battle: and, behold, every man’s sword was against his fellow, and there was a very great discomfiture.

That is the outward letter understanding of these verses, and we are seeing it come to pass more and more every day as we see the polarization, both nationally and internationally, of all those who refuse to acknowledge that God really is “working all things after the counsel of His own will”.

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:

A much deeper spiritual understanding of these words is that we actually live these words which have come out of the mouth of God.

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

How do we “live by” these words? We all experience “a great discomfiture” when we first hear the Words of Truth. An internal struggle begins which ends only when the last false doctrine within us is destroyed and smitten by the sword of God’s Word.
Thanks for sharing your insights with me.
Your brother in Christ,
Mike

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Awesome Hands – Part 10

Ezekiel 21:8 –  Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Ezekiel 21:9 –  Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus saith the LORD; Say, A sword, a sword is sharpened, and also furbished:
Ezekiel 21:10 –  It is sharpened to make a sore slaughter; it is furbished that it may glitter: should we then make mirth? it contemneth the rod of my son, as every tree.
Ezekiel 21:11 –  And he hath given it to be furbished, that it may be handled: this sword is sharpened, and it is furbished, to give it into the hand of the slayer.
Ezekiel 21:12 –  Cry and howl, son of man: for it shall be upon my people, it shall be upon all the princes of Israel: terrors by reason of the sword shall be upon my people: smite therefore upon thy thigh.
Ezekiel 21:13 –  Because it is a trial, and what if the sword contemn even the rod? it shall be no more, saith the Lord GOD.

Recapping last study, we saw that we are indeed between the Rock and a hard place. The Lord has sharpened us, the sword and the rod to be perfect instruments in His hands.

In the verses we just read, we see that the sword is sharpened and furbished so that it is going to make one strike only and that strike will be all that is needed.  When we look at other translations, we can see that this sword glistens as if it were lightning. Indeed, the Word of God is swift and sharp.

This sword is going to be upon the body of Christ, the church of the living God. As such, we are not left to guess why this is the case, “because it is a trial”.

It is a trial to those who are the people of God because simply put, we must have our flesh, our natural man, our carnal mind eradicated. No flesh shall glory in the presence of the Lord.

1Co 1:29 –  That no flesh should glory in his presence.

As the Lord sees us as He created us, He indeed knew what He was saying when He calls us out in Leviticus.

Lev 11:27 –  And whatsoever goeth upon his paws, among all manner of beasts that go on all four, those are unclean unto you: whoso toucheth their carcase shall be unclean until the even.

This word translated as paws, is hands in other scripture. More correctly and closely translated to its meaning, we discover that it is that beast that goes upon the palms of their hands, the innermost part of the hand.

It is here, the innermost man, which the Lord knows everything that we are about because He has furbished us into exactly what we are and are going to be. Indeed, He knows us so well and loves us so much that He has gravened us onto His hands!

While He sends judgment on His house now, He does it lovely. Though it is a FIERY trial now, we must rejoice in the love that is being shown to us!

The sword that is sent to His people is one to cleanse and purge us of our old ways of living and thinking, those things which are decaying day by day and will soon no longer matter.

Isa 49:13 –  Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains: for the LORD hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted.
Isa 49:14 –  But Zion said, The LORD hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me.
Isa 49:15 –  Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.
Isa 49:16 –  Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.

Wow, why me oh Lord? I am chiefest of the scum of the earth, I will always choose the ways of my father the devil and like him I will always eat of the dust of the ground, the earth I shall soon join…. why have you chosen me Lord?

Thy walls are continually before me

Zion cried out and said, “why have you forsaken me,” so what makes me think that I too wont question why my Father does what He does to me and to others in my life? In today’s study, we will see more examples of just how gravened we are on our Father’s hands.

In the last study, we left off with the last verse having to do with hands in Gen 20:5. Today, we will be looking at Gen 21:18 and the story that builds up to it from Gen 20:5 to Gen 21:18.

Generally speaking, most Christians are familiar with the story of Isaac being born because this is partly where we get the meaning to see where Abraham’s title of the father of the faithful comes from.

Of course, we should see Christ within every story we read thus seeing ourselves there with Him as His body.

Gen 21:1 –  And the LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did unto Sarah as he had spoken.
Gen 21:2 –  For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.
Gen 21:3 –  And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac.
Gen 21:4 –  And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being eight days old, as God had commanded him.
Gen 21:5 –  And Abraham was an hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him.
Gen 21:6 –  And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me.
Gen 21:7 –  And she said, Who would have said unto Abraham, that Sarah should have given children suck? for I have born him a son in his old age.

Given all that we have said already, we know that God has everything under control. When God told Abraham and Sarah that they were going to have a son, Sarah laughed.

Here, it is said that folks will laugh with Sarah that she has child…. denoting joy. After all, having a child in old age is a blessing for mostly anyone that receives that blessing. Notice though, that it is when Abraham Isa 100, think 10 x 10 or 10, the perfection of the flesh because we see that God commands the Abraham circumcise Isaac and bring in the new man. Amen, I laugh with joy with Sarah in this spiritual new man!

However, this new man does need to grow and as such be weaned from milk. So, we see the next progression of this new man. He must be separated from His brethren…. He will not be in league with the son of the bondwoman!

Gen 21:8 –  And the child grew, and was weaned: and Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned.
Gen 21:9 –  And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, mocking.
Gen 21:10 –  Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac.
Gen 21:11 –  And the thing was very grievous in Abraham’s sight because of his son.

O that Ishmael might live before thee

If you will recall, Abraham didn’t even want Isaac to share in Ishmael’s heritage and laughed about God saying Isaac would be coming along. Abraham laughed about this though Sarah gave him a son when he was 99. Isn’t it funny how quickly we forget just how powerful the Lord is?

Gen 17:17 –  Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?
Gen 17:18 –  And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!
Gen 17:19 –  And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.

Now, we have Abraham torn again and it takes the Lord once again showing up and leading Abraham to do what he needs to do in order that the Lord’s plan continue to progress.

Of course, the Lord uses us for His purposes and we have nothing to do with it. We are just the finally sharpened tools gravened into His awesome hands!

Gen 21:12 –  And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called.
Gen 21:13 –  And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed.

Did anyone pick up on what we were just told? God tells us to not let what He is doing in our lives be grievous in our sight. In two very succinct verses, we are told that God is blessings us in ALL THAT WE DO. It is our sight that “sees” the situation as grievous.

“Hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called” is coupled with “the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation because he is thy seed”.

God knows what He is doing. It is we who laugh and mock God. It is we who are being sent packing down the way which leads to death. God is blessing our old man, our old ways, our natural man and carnal mind so that He can bring it to the point of being burned up during the fiery trial of the situation.

The only thing we need to do is DO what the Lord COMMANDS, but even that is of Him. We are doers of the Word and not hearers ONLY.

So, how are we doers in type and shadow as being Abraham?

Gen 21:14 –  And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away: and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba.

We keep His commandments and we LIVE out what we are told to do. We get up early in the morning with bread and water, the Word of God, Christ and His body….. and we send our old man packing!

In a very quick manner, and under this pattern of how to deal with the things in our old man way of thinking, we will see that our old man simply will begin to die. If it is not being nourished, it will die and Lord willing that happens daily with us!

Gen 21:15 –  And the water was spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs.
Gen 21:16 –  And she went, and sat her down over against him a good way off, as it were a bowshot: for she said, Let me not see the death of the child. And she sat over against him, and lift up her voice, and wept.
Gen 21:17 –  And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is.
Gen 21:18 –  Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation.

Here, we have finally arrived at the word for today’s study which directly deals with God’s hands in that as we have been discovering through this entire, even when the Lord works through our hands it is Him doing it and He is running the show the entire time.

Simply put, God even blessed us while in our old man state of mind to come to Him initially by opening our eyes, giving us a deadly wound which will be healed so that our old man can again thrive in the ways of the flesh until the time appointed of the Lord for this no longer to be the case.

Gen 21:19 –  And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink.
Gen 21:20 –  And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer.
Gen 21:21 –  And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran: and his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt.

Previously, we also saw that it was initially in the wilderness that God found Hagar weeping and promised that He would make of her son a great nation.

Isn’t it intriguing to anyone else that this is all happening at the same time to both the old and the new man, spiritually speaking?

Gen 16:7 –  And the angel of the LORD found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur.
Gen 16:8 –  And he said, Hagar, Sarai’s maid, whence camest thou? and whither wilt thou go? And she said, I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai.
Gen 16:9 –  And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands.

Firstly, Hagar is found by a fountain that she obviously can see if she is at that fountain, but this second time she is led to one which she can now she because the Lord has opened her eyes. I sure can relate you how she must feel.

Another interesting point is that the Lord has used Sarah to be the mouthpiece for His will during this time. The Lord originally told Hagar to go back and submit herself to her mistress, and then He tells Abraham how to deal with Hagar by telling Abraham to hearken unto the voice of his wife, Sarah.

Doesn’t it seem like the Lord uses the wife, the body in type and shadow, to institute whatever His will is whenever His will is being revealed. Well, that is exactly what the Lord does. He works through His body, the church, with Christ being the Head by which is is governed.

Gen 21:22 –  And it came to pass at that time, that Abimelech and Phichol the chief captain of his host spake unto Abraham, saying, God is with thee in all that thou doest:
Gen 21:23 –  Now therefore swear unto me here by God that thou wilt not deal falsely with me, nor with my son, nor with my son’s son: but according to the kindness that I have done unto thee, thou shalt do unto me, and to the land wherein thou hast sojourned.
Gen 21:24 –  And Abraham said, I will swear.
Gen 21:25 –  And Abraham reproved Abimelech because of a well of water, which Abimelech’s servants had violently taken away.
Gen 21:26 –  And Abimelech said, I wot not who hath done this thing: neither didst thou tell me, neither yet heard I of it, but to day.
Gen 21:27 –  And Abraham took sheep and oxen, and gave them unto Abimelech; and both of them made a covenant.
Gen 21:28 –  And Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves.
Gen 21:29 –  And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What mean these seven ewe lambs which thou hast set by themselves?
Gen 21:30 –  And he said, For these seven ewe lambs shalt thou take of my hand, that they may be a witness unto me, that I have digged this well.

It seems like poor Abraham just can’t help himself. Each and every example that we have seen through these studies thus far, as they pertain to Abram and Abraham throughout them, have all shown that the Lord continuously blesses Abraham even while Abraham is allowing his flesh to do some atrocious things all while being a prophet of the Lord.

In this example and directly after finally sending the bondwoman and her son packing on the road, Abraham makes a covenant with the Philistines who dwell in the land with him! This is after they have “shown their hand” so to speak, by violently taking a well that belonged to him.

We truly just cannot help ourselves when it comes to what we are going to do based on what the Lord is doing in our lives.

In verse 21:30, we see this happen with Abraham. Abraham is completely committed to this covenant “made with his own hands”.  The word used as hand here is the same Hebrew word “yad” that we have been studying throughout most of this series.

Is it any wonder why the Lord tells us that now we are to “sware not at all”? We love to show our preeminence in what “we are going to do”. Ha!

Gen 21:31 –  Wherefore he called that place Beersheba; because there they sware both of them.
Gen 21:32 –  Thus they made a covenant at Beersheba: then Abimelech rose up, and Phichol the chief captain of his host, and they returned into the land of the Philistines.
Gen 21:33 –  And Abraham planted a grove in Beersheba, and called there on the name of the LORD, the everlasting God.
Gen 21:34 –  And Abraham sojourned in the Philistines’ land many days.

Conclusion

Wrapping up this short study, we have seen again that the Lord works all things after the counsel of His own will via His awesome hands.

Our walls, our hedge that He has placed around us is there simply because He is the one who is the watchman over them. He doesn’t change, but we continually do whatever is in our best interests.

We can see this happening in the stories as they play out in Genesis and it ultimately shows is that we are indeed just beasts.

Lev 11:27 –  And whatsoever goeth upon his paws, among all manner of beasts that go on all four, those are unclean unto you: whoso toucheth their carcase shall be unclean until the even.

Abraham, us in type and shadow, is never going to do things according to how the Lord commands him unless the Lord puts things in motion to make it happen that way.

With all of the different characters playing their roles throughout this study today we have seen that the Lord knows what He is doing.

In that, he calls us beasts and sometimes dogs.

Pro 26:11 –  As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly.

2Pe 2:20 –  For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.
2Pe 2:21 –  For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.
2Pe 2:22 –  But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.

Though we are dogs who continually want to return to that which is only vomit, we also have been created to be arguably the loyalist animal to mankind. In other words, our master also knows of the great love, kindness and loyalty that He has created within that same dog.

Though that point isn’t brought out in these verses, we know that it is a dog who sits at his masters feet waiting on crumbs.

It is the same beast both going back to its own vomit who also waits patient on a crumb, but the Lord deals with us as His children.

One day, that beast will no longer walk on all fours … on the palms of the work of our own Hands, but instead we will stand upright and go on towards being able to “keep the faith” just as we are going to see Abraham do with Isaac in next week’s study, Lord willing.>

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In the previous study, we saw that Lot and his daughters were escaped to Zoar because they feared going to the mountain and being slain by a beast or beasts.

This leads later into Lot and his daughters fearing in Zoar and going to the mountain anyways.

It is here that Lot’s daughters get Lot drunk and it is a parallel to Noah becoming drunken after him and his family were saved via the ark.

In the type and shadow have Lot and his daughters, we see that as Abraham, our enemies are being place around us by the mighty and awesome hands of the Lord through “our brother’s seed” which we brought form “our father’s house” via bringing Lot with us when the Lord told us to leave.

In the this week’s study, we will look at verse 20:5 and how Abraham yet again has little faith that he will be okay because the Lord is God almighty.  Instead, Abraham will again try to move things along by trying to lie his way through the next situation the Lord will place him in.

We’ll see yet again how we, like Abraham, we try to make things work out best for our flesh by constructing a ploy to trick those who the Lord has placed us in front of.

It will only lead us to being made an open book to those around us, but we will ultimately still be okay as the Lord promises us He will always take care of us for good. However, we will continue to reap what we sow as the Lord leads us to sow it.

The first verse for our “hands” study today is Gen 20:5.

Gen 20:1 –  And Abraham journeyed from thence toward the south country, and dwelled between Kadesh and Shur, and sojourned in Gerar.
Gen 20:2 –  And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister: and Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah.
Gen 20:3 –  But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, Behold, thou art but a dead man, for the woman which thou hast taken; for she is a man’s wife.
Gen 20:4 –  But Abimelech had not come near her: and he said, Lord, wilt thou slay also a righteous nation?
Gen 20:5 –  Said he not unto me, She is my sister? and she, even she herself said, He is my brother: in the integrity of my heart and innocency of my hands have I done this.

Though this first word is translated hands in English, there is another deeper meaning behind why the Holy Spirit chose this word in Hebrew.

The Hebrew word used here is not the typical Hebrew word H3027 / yad, but rather it is H3709 / kaph. It has a more inner meaning for the word hand and it is really referring to the hollow of your hand or your palm. It is the space that your hand holds within its palm area. In other words, it is the “inner hand”.

Abimelech is contending with the Lord because what Abimelech is really telling the Lord is, “I haven’t even so much as thought that I wanted to take a man’s wife. That guy deceived me by lying to me.”

How does the Lord respond to Abimelech?

Gen 20:6 –  And God said unto him in a dream, Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for I also withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore suffered I thee not to touch her.
Gen 20:7 –  Now therefore restore the man his wife; for he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live: and if thou restore her not, know thou that thou shalt surely die, thou, and all that are thine.

The Lord tells Abimelech a few interesting things that can easily be read over and unnoticed.

Lightning in His hands

Firstly, the Lord says I know you did what you did because of the integrity of your heart because I did it. Abimelech mentioned two things in this rebuttal to the Lord and it is the “innocence of his hands” for which Abimelech cries out to the Lord about.

The word used as H3709 or “kaph” is used several other ways in scripture which will add to our understanding of what the Lord is responding to Abimelech with as a reply.

H3709

kaph

Total KJV Occurrences:183

Some of the verses that really bring home what we are about to see are a few we have covered in the past “Awesome Hands” studies, but a few really bring the point home.

Gen 8:9 –  But the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him into the ark, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth: then he put forth his hand, and took her, and pulled her in unto him into the ark.

Deu 28:35 –  The LORD shall smite thee in the knees, and in the legs, with a sore botch that cannot be healed, from the sole of thy foot unto the top of thy head.

Num 7:14 –  One spoon of ten shekels of gold, full of incense:

Num 7:68 –  One golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense:

Gen 32:25 –  And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him.

1Sa 5:4 –  And when they arose early on the morrow morning, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD; and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off upon the threshold; only the stump of Dagon was left to him.

Lev 9:17 –  And he brought the meat offering, and took an handful thereof, and burnt it upon the altar, beside the burnt sacrifice of the morning.

Lev 14:15 –  And the priest shall take some of the log of oil, and pour it into the palm of his own left hand:

Lev 23:40 –  And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before the LORD your God seven days.

By now, Lord willing, we should start to be seeing a pattern emerge from the verses we have just read. If not, then this next example from Job should bring it home quickly.

Job 36:22 –  Behold, God exalteth by his power: who teacheth like him?
Job 36:23 –  Who hath enjoined him his way? or who can say, Thou hast wrought iniquity?
Job 36:24 –  Remember that thou magnify his work, which men behold.
Job 36:25 –  Every man may see it; man may behold it afar off.
Job 36:26 –  Behold, God is great, and we know him not, neither can the number of his years be searched out.
Job 36:27 –  For he maketh small the drops of water: they pour down rain according to the vapour thereof:
Job 36:28 –  Which the clouds do drop and distil upon man abundantly.
Job 36:29 –  Also can any understand the spreadings of the clouds, or the noise of his tabernacle?
Job 36:30 –  Behold, he spreadeth his light upon it, and covereth the bottom of the sea.
Job 36:31 –  For by them judgeth he the people; he giveth meat in abundance.
Job 36:32 –  With clouds he covereth the light; and commandeth it not to shine by the cloud that cometh betwixt.

A better translation for 36:32 is:

Job 36:32 –  He covers His hands with the lightning, and commands it to strike the mark;

So, we can see that the Lord is doing everything according to the inner workings of His hands. He is directing not only His own hands, but the hands of every one of His creation.

The very thing that the Lord tells Abimelech is that He understands that Abimelech is telling the truth because it is the Lord who wrote those directions upon Abimelech’s heart in the first place.

Job 4:12 –  Now a thing was secretly brought to me, and mine ear received a little thereof.
Job 4:13 –  In thoughts from the visions of the night, when deep sleep falleth on men,

Job 33:13 –  Why dost thou strive against him? for he giveth not account of any of his matters.
Job 33:14 –  For God speaketh once, yea twice, yet man perceiveth it not.
Job 33:15 –  In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falleth upon men, in slumberings upon the bed;
Job 33:16 –  Then he openeth the ears of men, and sealeth their instruction,
Job 33:17 –  That he may withdraw man from his purpose, and hide pride from man.
Job 33:18 –  He keepeth back his soul from the pit, and his life from perishing by the sword.

Praise the Lord! The Lord preserves us or He delivers us to the hands of our enemies. It is all of Him. Still, He tells us that a prophet sent by Him will be the one to be used to bless Abimelech so that he and his house don’t perish.

Yes indeed, the Lord uses “the foolishness of preaching”, that which He holds in the palm of His hand, to “keepeth the soul back from the pit and lives from perishing by the sword “ by those pillars, those clouds whom He sends along to us.

Remember, this is someone who Abraham basically feared. He lied out of fear, but the Lord shapes even those who are around us so that even when the Lord is making “all things ours”, He is also working this in others simultaneously for their benefit as well.

The Lord simply chose to tell Abimelech this, Abraham’s “enemy” in type and shadow, so that Abimelech’s “upright” heart and nation would be preserved.

Gen 20:7 –  Now therefore restore the man his wife; for he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live: and if thou restore her not, know thou that thou shalt surely die, thou, and all that are thine.

 

Perfectly Furbished

Truly, the Lord fashions us all how He wants us to be. During the last study and this study, we can see that the Lord is setting up the entire scenario in which we always find ourselves in … whatever scenarios that those are.

As we hone in on this idea, we can see another example of this scriptural truth in Eze 21:11. The Lord tells Abimelech that He is going to save his soul from the pit and from perishing by the sword so how does the Lord achieve this? His hands are awesome!

Ezekiel 21:8 –  Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Ezekiel 21:9 –  Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus saith the LORD; Say, A sword, a sword is sharpened, and also furbished:
Ezekiel 21:10 –  It is sharpened to make a sore slaughter; it is furbished that it may glitter: should we then make mirth? it contemneth the rod of my son, as every tree.
Ezekiel 21:11 –  And he hath given it to be furbished, that it may be handled: this sword is sharpened, and it is furbished, to give it into the hand of the slayer.
Ezekiel 21:12 –  Cry and howl, son of man: for it shall be upon my people, it shall be upon all the princes of Israel: terrors by reason of the sword shall be upon my people: smite therefore upon thy thigh.
Ezekiel 21:13 –  Because it is a trial, and what if the sword contemn even the rod? it shall be no more, saith the Lord GOD.

Oh, how we contend with the Lord! The Lord knows the inner workings of every inch of us and yet we think we can wrestle with the angels He sends our way.

He has given to those angels His Word, His gospel and His message for a trial for all wood, hay and stubble in our lives.

Ezekial 21:13 is again translated horribly in the King James. The true meaning is brought out a little clearer in a few other translations.

Darby –

Ezekiel 21:10 –  It is sharpened for sore slaughter, it is furbished that it may glitter. Shall we then make mirth, saying, The sceptre of my son contemneth all wood?

Revised Version

Ezekiel 21:10 –  it is sharpened that it may make a slaughter; it is furbished that it may be as lightning: shall we then make mirth? the rod of my son, it contemneth every tree.

Modern King James Verison

Ezekiel 21:10 –  It is sharpened in order to slaughter; it is polished so that there may be a flash to it. Or shall we rejoice? You are despising the rod of My son, as if it were every tree.

Good News Bible

Ezekiel 21:10 –  It is sharpened to kill, polished to flash like lightning. There can be no rejoicing, for my people have disregarded every warning and punishment.

In other words, we know that the Word of God is the rod of His son. It is in the Word of God that we see the will of God the Father for all of creation.

It is also in the Word of God that we see that the rain comes on the just and unjust alike, but like Abimelech in this type and shadow, we are warned to escape the coming destruction just as Lot was shortly before by the messengers of the Lord.

The Word of God, the sword and rod of the Lord are what are used to slaughter and save, to destroy and give life and that is what we are being told here.

The true message we can see being given to us is that the Lord knows the inner workings of all those around us as well as in us. We cannot dupe the Lord form what the Lord has caused in our lives, whether it is “good or bad” from our vantage point.

Do you still doubt thou beast? What inner instruction has the Lord sealed on your heart?

What drives you? What are you beholden to? What has dominance over you? Do you think the Lord has anything to do with it? Do you think that the Lord could just have easily not have put a hedge around Abimelech and let him sin against the Lord so that the Lord would have destroyed him?

Are we really dealing with our flesh or are we dealing with the powers and principalities that have been put in place by our Lord?

The same word that we have been concentrating on today is the same word that we see here as “paws” in Leviticus.

Lev 11:27 –  And whatsoever goeth upon his paws, among all manner of beasts that go on all four, those are unclean unto you: whoso toucheth their carcase shall be unclean until the even.

If we are driven by those things which are the inner forces we are talking about…. space that makes up the inside of our hand, the inside of the cup… then we are unclean beasts.

If however, we are listening to the messengers of the Lord because of the message the bring from the Word of the Lord, then the Lord uses that to bring us life and salvation “from the pit”.

It is this very act that saves us from the hands of evil, the place where evil has it’s  power.  We can see an example of this in Habakkuk.

Hab 2:9 –  Woe to him that coveteth an evil covetousness to his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of evil!

The word used here as power in English is the same word used today as sole, palm, paws handling, etc. It all points to the Lord’s total fashioning or furbishing of all that we see, think and feel in our walk with Him.

This whole scenario with Abraham happened because even though the Lord had brought Abraham through so much up until this point, Abraham still thought He knew what the Lord was doing at every step and He wanted to help along the situation to his benefit.

We can see this when Abimelech awakens form this dream that the Lord has just given him.

Gen 20:8 –  Therefore Abimelech rose early in the morning, and called all his servants, and told all these things in their ears: and the men were sore afraid.
Gen 20:9 –  Then Abimelech called Abraham, and said unto him, What hast thou done unto us? and what have I offended thee, that thou hast brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? thou hast done deeds unto me that ought not to be done.
Gen 20:10 –  And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What sawest thou, that thou hast done this thing?
Gen 20:11 –  And Abraham said, Because I thought, Surely the fear of God is not in this place; and they will slay me for my wife’s sake.

There it is. There is the fear placed on Abrahams heart that the Lord doesn’t really mean that He will work out all things for our good. He doesn’t really mean it does He? Maybe we should help Him along…

Gen 20:12 –  And yet indeed she is my sister; she is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife.
Gen 20:13 –  And it came to pass, when God caused me to wander from my father’s house, that I said unto her, This is thy kindness which thou shalt shew unto me; at every place whither we shall come, say of me, He is my brother.
Gen 20:14 –  And Abimelech took sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and womenservants, and gave them unto Abraham, and restored him Sarah his wife.
Gen 20:15 –  And Abimelech said, Behold, my land is before thee: dwell where it pleaseth thee.
Gen 20:16 –  And unto Sarah he said, Behold, I have given thy brother a thousand pieces of silver: behold, he is to thee a covering of the eyes, unto all that are with thee, and with all other: thus she was reproved.
Gen 20:17 –  So Abraham prayed unto God: and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maidservants; and they bare children.
Gen 20:18 –  For the LORD had fast closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah Abraham’s wife.

Even with all this, the Lord uses the entire situation to bless Abraham again with wealth, cattle, servants, etc. He heals Abimelech and his household because even as the Lord was giving Abimelech direction in his dream, the Lord had already closed up the wombs of the women in his house.

Of course, we should all know that the lesson is that anything the Lord “writes upon our hearts” and has already been willed by the Lord. This is the same for all of mankind, but we are blessed to have Him come to us via dreams, visions and messengers to let us in on His workings.

Conclusion of “Awesome Hands” part 9

In this study today, we can see that the Lord works all things after the counsel of His own will and that also includes the things which are being worked in others.

These things are brought about due to whatever the Lord has set in motion in the heavens. He tells us that He is control time and time again, yet we still continue to rebel by doing our “own thing”.

As we will see in the next part of “Awesome Hands”, the Lord has done all He has for us  so that He can bring us to the point of “bearing and producing the seed of the promise “that He has made a covenant with us to bring about.

We will close this study with ones more example of how we are comfortably seated in the “heavenly” hands that He holds us in. Verse 48:16 of Isaiah is placed in the midst of a beautiful situation created for those who have the eyes to see and the ears to hear it.

When and if you cry out to the Lord remember that we are in His loving embrace.

Isa 49:13 –  Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains: for the LORD hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted.
Isa 49:14 –  But Zion said, The LORD hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me.
Isa 49:15 –  Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.
Isa 49:16 –  Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.
Isa 49:17 –  Thy children shall make haste; thy destroyers and they that made thee waste shall go forth of thee.
Isa 49:18 –  Lift up thine eyes round about, and behold: all these gather themselves together, and come to thee. As I live, saith the LORD, thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all, as with an ornament, and bind them on thee, as a bride doeth.
Isa 49:19 –  For thy waste and thy desolate places, and the land of thy destruction, shall even now be too narrow by reason of the inhabitants, and they that swallowed thee up shall be far away.
Isa 49:20 –  The children which thou shalt have, after thou hast lost the other, shall say again in thine ears, The place is too strait for me: give place to me that I may dwell.
Isa 49:21 –  Then shalt thou say in thine heart, Who hath begotten me these, seeing I have lost my children, and am desolate, a captive, and removing to and fro? and who hath brought up these? Behold, I was left alone; these, where had they been?
Isa 49:22 –  Thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people: and they shall bring thy sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders.
Isa 49:23 –  And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers: they shall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD: for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me.

Mike,

I was reading your paper about

Is a Fetus Just a Thing? Posted March 9, 2012

Now I just want to clear my head on this issue have. I have three questions:

1)      Would this aborted children fall under“the vessels of dishonor?” 2)      Now I know that many of the things that happen in life are for our examples and caution, but the doctors that perform these abortions (also vessels of dishonor I assume) are they not like Paul doing it in ignorance? Therefore,“receive a few stripes” 3)      Were these doctors’“days written before there were any”What can these doctors do different still today but  take a life which GOD had predestinated to be taken in the first place, because by law“there is a time to be born and a time to die.”

I am just trying to understand and make sure I am not straying from the truth.

GOD Bless you, Mike and Sandi,
G____

Hi G____,

We cannot go wrong when we point out what is the sum of God’s Word on any subject.
I will take your questions in order:

1)      Would this aborted children fall under“the vessels of dishonor?”
Answer:

Yes, aborted children are ‘vessels of dishonor’ simply because they too are first flesh and all flesh is  ‘corruptible flesh.

1Co 15:50  Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
 2)      Now I know that many of the things that happen in life are for our examples and caution, but the doctors that perform these abortions (also vessels of dishonor I assume) are they not like Paul doing it in ignorance? Therefore,“receive a few stripes”

Answer:

God only knows the hearts of any man and He will know whether a doctor is performing abortions in a state of deception and whether that doctor needs many or few strips. Remember though that we all live by every word and we all therefore need both many stripes and few stripes in our own appointed time.

3)      Were these doctors’“days written before there were any”What can these doctors do different still today but  take a life which GOD had predestinated to be taken in the first place, because by law“there is a time to be born and a time to die.”
Answer:

If it is true that God is “working all things after the counsel of His own will” (Eph 1:11), then it follows that anything that happens was predestined to happen. Yes, definitely, doctors are no exception to “the days that were ordained for me… were written in thy book… before there were any of them” (Psa 139:16).
I hope these verses help you give you some clarity on these questions.

God bless you.
Your brother in Christ,
Mike

Mike Vinson,

This is a very helpful article you wrote. I am a bible teacher myself. I have a few questions I would like to clear up.

1. Did God plan out every detail of all our lives and then we must fulfill all of them, or could it be just the reverse that God knew how each of us would live and simply was able to declare that? To me there is a big difference. I think it’s probably the former.
2. Ecc 9:11 How does time and chance fit in with this Sovereignty?
3. Since all is of God, why does God claim he did not send these prophets who claim to speak for God in Jer 14:14-15? Since Satan does God’s bidding, why doesn’t God take responsibility for this?
4. When Abraham was tested with Isaac, the messenger replied “now I know.” Since God knows all, is this to be understood as “now I cause ‘mankind’ to know?”
5. Ecc 7:17 How can one “die before one’s time” if every last detail is planned from the beginning?
6. Why does God hold us accountable when we simply follow the plan he designed for us? We have no choice but to follow His plan.

Thanks for your help.

M____

Hi M____,

I am gratified that you found the article on God’s sovereignty helpful. Believe me when I say that the discussion of God being in total control of every detail, actually working every thought of every man who has ever lived “after the counsel of His own will,” versus God simply allowing man ‘limited free will’ was hotly debated in this household for well over two years. I was of the same opinion that we have ‘limited free will’ that entire two years. My middle son, Dallas, had read what I considered at that time a piece of ‘scientific’ drivel, about something called ‘fractals’. It was a scientific book on the study of chaos. The message of the book was that what appears to be chaos is in reality always, in every case, a very controlled event. No laws are ever broken because “for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.” That is a law of God that you can take to the bank. It is called ‘The law of cause and effect.’

What we consider incomprehensible details and ‘chaos’ in the lives of billions of humans, are anything but incomprehensible to God. His ‘computer’ (I speak as a fool) is more than able to handle every gigabyte of information thrown at it. It is not only the “very hairs of the heads” of God’s elect that are numbered, it is the hairs of the heads of every man who has ever lived in the remotest regions of time and space that are numbered. It is the sparrows of all time and space that do not fall to the ground without God being aware of it. He tells us how that is: “He works all things after the counsel of His Own will.” It all being “His OWN will means it is all after His plan.

All big events rest upon a multitude of preceding little events. This is both common knowledge and common sense. So yes, God does plan and execute every detail of the lives of every man of all time. This is the simple message of the very hairs of your head are numbered and every sparrow that falls is in His care.”Are you [ humans made ‘in Adam] not of much more value than many sparrows?”

If God declares that he numbers the very hairs of your head and keeps up with such details as dying sparrows, as He himself asks, ‘Are ye not of much more value to our heavenly Father than many sparrows?’ Would God not be far more concerned with every detail of our lives, right down to the number of “hairs on our heads,” to use His own words? How is the ability to “declare how each of us will live” in any way “the reverse” of planning out every detail? In order to be able to “declare how each of us will live,” requires that God planned it so. Your conclusion is scriptural. It is the former:

The scriptures reveal that everything that happens, happens right on schedule:

Gen 18:14 Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.
Exo 9:5 And the LORD appointed a set time, saying, To morrow the LORD shall do this thing in the land.
Ecc 3:1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
Ecc 3:2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up [ that which is] planted;
Ecc 3:3 A time to kill, and a tim e to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
Ecc 3:4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
Ecc 3:5 A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
Ecc 3:6 A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
Ecc 3:7 A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
Ecc 3:8 A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

All of these emboldened words are the exact same Hebrew word. They are one and all “appointed [ and]… set times” with God. With God everything, good and evil, happens right on schedule because he declares the end from the beginning.

Isa 46:10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:
Isa 46:11 Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it.

Exactly how much does “My counsel shall stand… I will do all my pleasure” include?:

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

It is impossible to have more than one sovereign “free will’ in the universe. So who is it that creates and operates all things, both the good and the evil, after the counsel of His own will?

Isa 45:5 I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:
Isa 45:6 That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else.
Isa 45:7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.

We do not need to “know God” for Him to be molding us in the image He desires. It so happens that what He desires for us all, is that we all begin as “marred… vessels of clay.”

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

Your second question was:

Ecc 9:11 How does time and chance fit in with this Sovereignty?

Let’s look at this scripture and see what it really says:

Ecc 9:11 I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.
Ecc 9:12 For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them.

We just read in Isaiah forty- five that it is God who “creates” all this evil. The Hebrew word in both verses in Isa 45:7 and in Ecc 9:12, is ‘raah’ Strong’s #7451. It means what it says. It means ‘evil.’ ” Man… knows not his time.” To man life appears to be ‘time and chance.’ But God does not take chances. Instead He has decided to “work all things after the counsel of His own will.” “Man may not know his time,” but here is the truth about what God knows about what you and I will be doing tomorrow:

Jas 4:13 Go to now, ye that say, Today or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:
Jas 4:14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away [ Apparently just ‘time and chance’].

But there is someone who does know what tomorrow holds for every one of us. He knows because He it is who is “working all things after the counsel of His own will.”

Jas 4:15 For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.
Jas 4:16 But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil. [“Created of the Lord”]

Man thinking that he has ‘free will,’ does not surprise God. “All such… boasting… and rejoicing is evil” because God “creates good and evil.” “Time and chance happeneth to them all [ all men … (who) know not their time”]. God on the other hand knows exactly “what shall be on the morrow.”

Your next question was:

Since all is of God, why does God claim he did not send these prophets who claim to speak for God in Jer 14:14-15? Since Satan does God’s bidding, why doesn’t God take responsibility for this?

God does “take responsibility” for this evil. It is orthodox Christianity who wants to keep people from ever seeing that He accepts responsibility for all evil. God admits to “slaying all in whose nostrils is the breath of life” in the flood of Noah’s day. He admits to killing all the people of “all the cities of the plain” when He destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. It was God who caused the walls of Jericho to fall, killing all the inhabitants but Rahab the harlot and her family. It was God who plainly tells us that He sent Satan to kill all of Job’s children and to try Job with such misery and pain. It was God who sent an evil spirit to trouble King Saul.” Notice this revealing contrast in two accounts of the same story in scripture:

2Sa 24:1 And again the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he [“The Lord.”] moved David against them to say, Go, number Israel and Judah.
1Ch 21:1 And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.

Of course those who are not given faith are inclined to call this a Biblical contradiction. But for those with “eyes to see,” this is a confirmation of the story of how King Ahab was led to go up against the Syrians at Ramothgilead:

2Ch 18:19 And the LORD said, Who shall entice Ahab king of Israel, that he may go up and fall at Ramothgilead? And one spake saying after this manner, and another saying after that manner.
2Ch 18:20 Then there came out a [ lying ] spirit, and stood before the LORD, and said, I will entice him. And the LORD said unto him, Wherewith?
2Ch 18:21 And he said, I will go out, and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And the LORD said, Thou shalt entice him, and thou shalt also prevail: go out, and do even so.
2Ch 18:22 Now therefore, behold, the LORD hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of these thy prophets, and the LORD hath spoken evil against thee.

God can honestly say that He Himself did not send these lying prophets, but He nowhere in scripture fails to take the responsibility for all His works. “He works all things [ even lying spirits] after the counsel of His own will.” While the word ‘responsibility’ is nowhere to be found in all of scripture, yet God makes it clear that He is the Great Cause of all things:

Isa 45:5 I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:
Isa 45:6 That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else.
Isa 45:7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.
Pro 16:4 The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.

Man is never held responsible for his evil deeds. God cannot hold man ‘responsible’ for his evil ways because God Himself has thrust a sinful nature upon man because of his extremely weak, earthy composition.

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

It is because of this weak and earthy and “marred condition in which man is formed that there is no need to force a man to “Look on a woman to lust after her in his heart.” All men are made to be willing volunteers by God. Because of this, man is not held accountable for what he does while in this “marred vessel of clay” but must give account in judgment.

Psa 51:5 Behold, I [ Adam] was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother [ My Creator] conceive me.

How can I say we are not held accountable? The story of Joseph having been sold into slavery in Egypt explains this quite well.

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.

I hope that you can now see that it is not God who fails to take responsibility for man’s weak sinful condition and composition. The problem with placing responsibility squarely where it belongs is not with God or His Word. The problem is entirely with the false doctrines of men.

Here now is your next question:

When Abraham was tested with Isaac, the messenger replied “now I know.” Since God knows all, is this to be understood as “now I cause ‘mankind’ to know”?

Make no mistake about it, The only persons who learned from this experience were Abraham and Isaac. God was not wondering what would happen.

Psa 94:11 The LORD knoweth the thoughts of man…

God makes many statements simply for our benefit. Statements like “Adam where art thou?”; and “It repented the Lord that He had made man on the earth”; and “It repentest me that I have set up Saul to be king.” All of these and many more like them are one and all said for our benefit. God Himself created all these evils and all these evil men.

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

Here is your fifth question:

Ecc 7:17 How can one “die before one’s time” if every last detail is planned from the beginning?

Let us look at that verse in its entirety.

Ecc 7:15 All things have I seen in the days of my vanity: there is a just man that perisheth in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man that prolongeth his life in his wickedness [ All within the sovereign plan of God].
Ecc 7:16 Be not righteous over much; neither make thyself over wise: why shouldest thou destroy thyself?
Ecc 7:17 Be not over much wicked, neither be thou foolish: why shouldest thou die before thy time?
Ecc 7:18 It is good that thou shouldest take hold of this; yea, also from this withdraw not thine hand: for he that feareth God shall come forth of them all.

“He that feareth God shall come for of them all.” He shall neither “destroy himself” nor “die before his time.” Knowing and understanding the sovereignty of God as Solomon did does not eliminate the need for constant vigilance. “Dying before ones time” is a concern we should all have. Even though we are well aware that no one in history has ever died before his “appointed… time to die,” we should be diligent not to “die before what appears to us to be “before our time.”
Here is your sixth and final question:

Why does God hold us accountable when we simply follow the plan he designed for us? We have no choice but to follow His plan.

It may sound like merely semantics, but God is not holding us accountable, but He has made us to give account. We have had our sins forgiven. Our judgment (which for some is now – 1Pe 4:17) includes giving an account or admission before God of our sins or grace really would be nothing more than lasciviousness. Giving an account of our sins places a discouraging factor in our lives that would not be there if we were not made aware of the justice of God’s judgment. God’s judgments burn out all the sinful ‘wood, hay and stubble’ in the lives of all men who have ever lived on the face of the earth. “The plan that God has designed for us” includes God having us give account for our deeds in the flesh. He being God, and that being His decree, we will be held to give account for the deeds done in our flesh that God Himself made weak. If God made us weak and ‘hard- hearted’, then He is responsible for our sinful nature. We just need to come to see it ourselves.

Rom 2:5 But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;
Rom 2:6 Who will render to every man according to his deeds [ Greek ergon – works].
Rev 22:12 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.

I hope this is to your satisfaction. God is totally sovereign in all of the affairs of men, both in the small and in the great.

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

I hope you read the entire paper, After The Counsel Of His Own Will.

Mike >

Hi Mike,

I’ve heard many a preacher claim Rom 13:4 gives the NATIONS the right to vengeance. I saw it said that anything in the bible that is italicized was added by the translators (in this verse execute is italicized in King James). I’m new to your site and would like some clarification.

Thank you,

C____

Hi C____,

Thank you for your question. Here is that section of scripture:

Rom 13:1 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.
Rom 13:2 Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.
Rom 13:3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? Do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same:
Rom 13:4 For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to [ execute] wrath upon him that doeth evil.
Rom 13:5 Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake.

When Christ was before Pilate and Pilate told Christ that he (Pilate) had the power to release Christ or to kill Christ, Christ answered Pilate: “You have no power but what is given you from above.” This accords with Peter’s statement in Act 2:

Act 2:23 Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:

God is “working all things After The Counsel of His Own Will. Read the paper by that title, and it will open your eyes to the Truth Christ was telling Pilate.

The work ‘execute’ is in italics, but it is not at all going against the sense of that verse. God has indeed “given from above,” as Christ told Pilate, the power to “execute wrath upon him that doth evil.” Sometimes, as in the case of Christ, it is also used to “execute wrath” upon God’s innocent elect. But even then it is “by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God. “Whosoever resists that power resists the ordinance of God.”

I am unusually aware of the corruption within government as well as in God’s church. But that corruption is from the harlot to the beast. It is not vice versa.

Rev 17:3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman [ God’s apostate church] sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.

It is the woman who is calling the shots. The poor beast at this time is being “sit upon.” Eventually the beast will always turn on the woman and devour her. But that is only near the end.

Here again is the Truth of how things are being done, no matter how contrary to this Truth things may appear:

Act 4:26 The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ.
Act 4:27 For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles [ governments], and the people of Israel [ God’s apostate people], were gathered together,
Act 4:28 For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done.

I hope this has answered your question. Read After The Counsel of His Own Will.

Mike

Exactly Who is Babylon?

Hi Mike,

Very insightful on your site IWWB, love your “FAQs”. Those are deepest the truth I ever seen.

Maybe this may sound dumb to you of my question. I’m not sure if my letter is valuable to you. If you think this is unnecessary to answer or is a waste of time, just let me know and ignore my question. No offense taken. I only like to know only if you know.

My friend sent me an email about “World Population” on youtube. I looked at it. I could read the words and numbers on the screen. I’m deaf and cannot hear speaking. Anyway, I am not frightened because I have learned from your site that God is working “His own will” before the world was made.

I’m wondering do you have knowledge about Muslim overwhelming Christendom in the future? I don’t think the Muslim would be largest religion ever, but if that is going to happen, I think it will be just temporary. Christendom is now still larger than Muslim (unless I’m wrong). Because, Jesus said “Many called” are Christendom like Babylon. “Many called” are not Muslim. I am not sure I am right about it. If you have knowledge about it, I would love to know what you know. If not, it is not important. I don’t expect you to write long. Brief is fine with me. Take your time.

God bless your site,

B____

Hi B____,

It is good to hear from you, and I am encouraged that you are being edified by the web page.

The title of that link is “Muslim Demographics,” and it does lead one to believe that, from a statistical point of view, the whole world will be Muslim in just a few more years.

The holy spirit has given you a very godly response to such a theory as that. You are exactly right when you say:

I am not frightened because I have learned from your site that God is working “His own will” before the world was made.

Just so you know, “Babylon” is called ‘Babylon’ because it was the seed of Noah with whom God has a covenant:

Gen 9:8 And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying,
Gen 9:9 And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you.

It was with Noah and all of his sons, “and with your seed after you,” that God had a covenant before He had a covenant with Abraham. Abraham was called “out of Babylon” (Ur of the Chaldeans), but it was Noah’s children, God’s own covenant people, who built the tower of Babel and later the city of Babylon. What this tells us is that all religions are part of Babylon and not just Christianity. ‘Babylon’ is religion without and in rebellion against God. Babylon is any and all who claim to know God, but who hate God’s doctrines. That includes orthodox Christians, the Muslims, the Hindus, and the Buddhists, even if the Buddhists claim that their ancestors are their Gods. It is all ‘Babylon’ because it is all in rebellion to the revealed word of God.

The “great whore” rides on the beast, and “all the world” wonders after the beast… and worships the dragon. Yes, this is first and primarily within each of us, but it is also true of all of Noah’s and Adam’s seed. It is not just the Christian world. “All men” are in covenant with God through Adam and Noah, and “all men” will experience “one event.”

Rev 13:3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.
Rev 13:4 And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who [is] like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?

Ecc 9:2 All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is the sinner; [and] he that sweareth, as [he] that feareth an oath.
Ecc 9:3 This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event unto all: yea, also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead.

That “one event” is “an evil experience of evil” out of which we are all to be delivered in the end.

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.

So all of organized religion with doctrines contrary to the Words of God are in Babylon, and it is not limited just to Christianity.

Muslims actually consider Christ to be one of their most revered prophets, and they even admit that Christ was born of a virgin. However, they do not consider Him to be the Son of God, and they certainly do not consider Christ to be superior to Mohammed.

In the eyes of God, both the Muslim and the Christian religions are worshiping “another Jesus” with “another spirit” and “another gospel.”

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

There are other links at the right side of that link which show that the statistics used to reach the fearful conclusions in that video do not include or consider that there are many factors which will change those statistics. One of those factors is the fact that some Muslims do convert to Christianity and are assimilated into western society. Another factor is that our secular western culture is no respecter of religions, and tends to corrupt both Christians and Muslims alike.

The fact that both religions are willing to kill one another is proof that neither has any regard for the doctrines of Jesus Christ. His Words are “foolishness” to both religions.

Luk 6:27 But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you,

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

I hope this all helps to confirm to you that God is indeed “working all things after the counsel of His own Will.”

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:

I realize you are deaf, but if you can understand these spiritual words, your “hearing” is better than any orthodox Christian minister in the world.

Your brother in Christ,
Mike