Matthew 21:1–22 Jesus’ Triumphant Entry into Jerusalem

[Study Aired September 15, 2025]

Our study for today is based on Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem. The study also highlights Jesus’ cleansing of the temple. Finally, the study ends with Jesus cursing the fig tree which produced no fruit. 

The Triumphal Entry

Mat 21:1  And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples,
Mat 21:2  Saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me. 
Mat 21:3  And if any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them.

Two cities are mentioned here in verse 1 – Jerusalem and Bethphage. Jerusalem here represents the church system of this world while Bethphage, which means house of figs, signifies the house of the Lord’s elect. 

Jer 24:1  The LORD shewed me, and, behold, two baskets of figs were set before the temple of the LORD, after that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon had carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, and the princes of Judah, with the carpenters and smiths, from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon.
Jer 24:2  One basket had very good figs, even like the figs that are first ripe: and the other basket had very naughty figs, which could not be eaten, they were so bad.
Jer 24:3  Then said the LORD unto me, What seest thou, Jeremiah? And I said, Figs; the good figs, very good; and the evil, very evil, that cannot be eaten, they are so evil.

It is from the house or the assembly of the Lord’s elect, that the Lord is sending out His witnesses (the two disciples sent) to untie us (the ass and her colt) from our Babylonian captivity where we were in bondage to the flesh, to lead us to Christ. The ass and her colt represent the Lord’s elect in every generation. The coming of the two disciples is the coming of the Lord to us, His elect, to deliver us from our captivity to Babylon. We were the wild ass used to the wilderness of the church system of this world.

Jer 2:24  A wild ass used to the wilderness, that snuffeth up the wind at her pleasure; in her occasion who can turn her away? all they that seek her will not weary themselves; in her month they shall find her.

Hos 8:9  For they are gone up to Assyria, a wild ass alone by himself: Ephraim hath hired lovers.  

The loosing of the ass and his colt by the Lord’s disciples was to bring them to Christ. It is through the message of the elect to us when we were in captivity in Babylon or the churches of this world, that started the process of our being  released from our bondage to the flesh to meet the Lord. The reason we are being untied is because the Lord has need of us. My brothers and sisters, this is what the Lord is telling us today, that is, He has need of you and me!!  Are you weary or discouraged or depressed because of what you are going through? Then this is the message for you – the Lord has need of you in this age!! Let the Lord grant you the grace to avail yourself for Him. 

Mat 21:4  All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, 
Mat 21:5  Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass.

Verse 5 is a quote from Zechariah 9:9. The daughter of Zion signifies the church of the Lord’s elect.  

Zec 9:9  Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass. 

It is through the church of the Lord’s elect that the Lord is coming to us with the spirit of His mouth and His brightness. The Lord sitting on an ass and a colt means that the Lord’s coming to us is through His elect (the ass and the colt), who are going about their master’s business in meekness. In the fullness of time, the Lord will come with His elect in a pageantry manner when the kingdoms of this world become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ.

Rev 19:11  And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. 
Rev 19:12  His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. 
Rev 19:13  And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
Rev 19:14  And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. 
Rev 19:15  And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 
Rev 19:16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

What verse 5 implies is that because the Lord is coming to us through His elect in a meek or humble manner, it is very easy to miss out on His coming. Many have missed out on His coming. However, if you are called and chosen as His elect, you will surely hear the voice of the Shepherd through His elect.

Joh 10:25  Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father’s name, they bear witness of me. 
Joh 10:26  But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. 
Joh 10:27  My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 
Joh 10:28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.  

Mat 21:6  And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them, 
Mat 21:7  And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon. 

The Lord’s disciples in this age are those who are doing what He commands. In other words, as our expression of our love toward our Lord, we are given to obey Him in everything. On the other hand, as our Father, His love towards us is expressed through His giving. 

Joh 14:15  If ye love me, keep my commandments. 
Joh 14:16  And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever; 

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

It is significant to note in verse 7 that the disciples put their clothes on the ass and the colt. The disciples who untied the ass and the colt represent the Lord’s elect. The clothes put on the ass and the colt symbolize the Lord’s righteousness which is given to us through faith in the Lord’s words spoken through His elect. 

Php 3:8  Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, 
Php 3:9  And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: 

Mat 21:8  And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way. 
Mat 21:9  And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest. 

The very great multitude represents the people of this world including our brothers and sisters in Babylon. Their joyful celebration in welcoming Jesus and His disciples is a foretaste of the whole of creation who are waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God in the fullness of time. The multitude saying that blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord reflects the expectation of the people of the world that when the sons of God are manifested, they shall be delivered from their bondage to corruption. 

Rom 8:19  For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. 
Rom 8:20  For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, 
Rom 8:21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 

The multitude spreading their garments in the way for Jesus and His disciples was an expression of their submission to Him and His disciples as shown in the story of Jehu’s coronation as king. All the captains with Jehu took their garments and put them under him to show their submission to Him when Jehu told them that the man who came to him told him that the Lord has anointed him as King.  In the fullness of time, when the kingdoms of this world becomes the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, the whole world would submit to us until the appointed time of their rebellion. 

2Ki 9:11  Then Jehu came forth to the servants of his lord: and one said unto him, Is all well? wherefore came this mad fellow to thee? And he said unto them, Ye know the man, and his communication. 
2Ki 9:12  And they said, It is false; tell us now. And he said, Thus and thus spake he to me, saying, Thus saith the LORD, I have anointed thee king over Israel. 
2Ki 9:13 Then they hasted, and took every man his garment, and put it under him on the top of the stairs, and blew with trumpets, saying, Jehu is king. 

Some of the multitude cut down branches from the trees, and strewed them in the way, as observed during the feast of tabernacles. During the feast of booths or tabernacles, the people of Israel were to rejoice before the Lord for seven days with branches of palm trees, boughs of goodly trees, etc. The world shall celebrate our victory with the Lord when the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ. The seven days of celebration represent the complete period of our rulership, until the devil is released to deceive the world.

Lev 23:33  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 
Lev 23:34  Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the LORD. 

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. 

Mat 21:10  And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this? 
Mat 21:11  And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee. 

The Lord’s coming to us while we were in the church system of this world or Babylon is depicted by Jesus’ triumphant entry to Jerusalem. It is worth noting that the whole of the city was moved by Christ’s coming. This is to let us know that everything within us which can be moved, shall be moved by Christ’s coming. 

Heb 12:25  See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven: 
Heb 12:26  Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. 
Heb 12:27  And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. 

At that time, we were just like the multitude and could only see our Lord Jesus as a prophet just like the woman at the well who met Jesus. However, during her discussion with Christ, Jesus revealed Himself to her as the Messiah. In a similar vein, as we continue in Him, we shall know Him as He is.

Joh 4:19  The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.
Joh 4:21  Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. 

Joh 4:24  God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. 
Joh 4:25  The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things. 
Joh 4:26 Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.

Jesus Cleanses the Temple

Mat 21:12  And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves,
Mat 21:13  And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves. 

Our body is the temple of God. Therefore, Jesus coming to us in Babylon with the spirit of His mouth and His brightness is to cleanse our temple, that is, our hearts and minds, so that we can communicate with Him in truth and in spirit. 

1Co 3:16  Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? 

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

This cleansing of the temple by Jesus is recorded in all the four Gospels. Here in John’s version of the account, we are given more information regarding the cleansing process of our temple.  

Joh 2:13  And the Jews’ passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem, 
Joh 2:14  And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting: 
Joh 2:15  And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers’ money, and overthrew the tables;
Joh 2:16  And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father’s house an house of merchandise. 
Joh 2:17 And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up. 

Jesus used a scourge of small cords to drive out all that offend in our temple. This scourge of small cords represents the judgment of our old man or flesh, and it is the same as His coming to us with the spirit of His mouth. The coming of Jesus into our lives is to judge us so that our temple shall be cleansed by the destruction of our flesh. This is a process resulting in our bodies being offered as living sacrifice to the Lord.

Mal 3:1  “Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts. 
Mal 3:2  But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap. 
Mal 3:3  He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the LORD. 
Mal 3:4 Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the LORD as in the days of old and as in former years. 

One of the deeds of the flesh highlighted by the cleansing is our propensity to peddle the word of the Lord which we see in the church system of this world, which we were part of when the Lord came to us. Indeed, we were a den of thieves as described by the Lord when He came to us to start the cleansing process of our hearts and minds through His judgement.

2Co 2:17  For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God’s word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ. (ESV) 

1Ti 6:3  If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, 
1Ti 6:4  he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, 
1Ti 6:5  and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain. 
1Ti 6:6  But godliness with contentment is great gain, 

Prayer is our communication channel with the Lord. It is a two-way channel where we speak to the Lord, and He also speaks to us through His word. That is why the Lord’s coming is not only with the spirit of His mouth which speaks of His judgment, but His brightness, as He illuminates His word for us to understand. It is therefore important that our hearts and minds are cleansed so that the communication link with the Lord will be established. 

Mat 21:14  And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them. 

The blind and the lame coming to Jesus in the temple is another of saying that when the Lord came to us, we were blind and lame. That is to say that we were spiritually blind to the things of the Lord and that our walk was not pleasing to Him. The Lord healing the blind and the lame means that it is when the Lord comes to sit in our temple that we are given to see and walk in a way that pleases Him. 

Mat 13:11  And he answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 

Mat 13:16  But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. 
Mat 13:17 For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it. 

Mat 21:15  And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the Son of David; they were sore displeased, 
Mat 21:16  And said unto him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise? 
Mat 21:17  And he left them, and went out of the city into Bethany; and he lodged there. 

The chief priests and the scribes symbolize our brothers and sisters in the church system of this world. We were part of this church system at a stage of our walk with Christ. The chief priests and the scribes were jealous and envious of the wonderful work that Jesus did and the children crying out hosanna to the son of David. We know that jealousy and envy constitute some of the works of the flesh. This implies that during our walk in the churches of this world, we were ruled by our flesh.

Gal 5:19  Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 
Gal 5:20  idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 
Gal 5:21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 

It is important to interrogate Jesus’ statement that out of the mouth of infants and babies, you have perfected praise. This verse was quoted from Psalm 8:2 as follows:

Psa 8:2  Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger. 

In previous studies, we realized that the children of whom Jesus said that the kingdom of Heaven belongs to them refer to the Lord’s elect. It is the humility of children which the Lord references when He said we should be like children. One of the key characteristics of the Lord’s elect is that they are humble and therefore represent children. That is why the kingdom of Heaven belongs to them. 

Mat 18:2  And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, 
Mat 18:3  And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. 
Mat 18:4  Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 
Mat 18:5 And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.

Babies and sucklings refer to children and therefore the Lord’s elect. The statement that out of the mouth of babies and sucklings you have perfected praise means that it is the Lord’s elect who have perfected praise. According to Strong’s Dictionary, perfected in verse 16 means to complete. Therefore it is the Lord’s elect who complete praise. In the Bible, there is one thing that we are to complete. As we suffer in this age through the Lord’s judgment, we are completing what remains of Christ’s suffering.  

Col 1:24  And now I am happy about my sufferings for you, for by means of my physical sufferings I am helping to complete what still remains of Christ’s sufferings on behalf of his body, the church. (GNB)

Praise is a form of worship and therefore when we offer our bodies as living sacrifice to the Lord through the judgment of our old man or flesh, we are perfecting our worship of the Lord, and it is this form of worship which silences the adversary.

Psa 8:2  Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger. 

In verse 17, Jesus left Jerusalem and lodged in Bethany. According to Thayer’s Dictionary, Bethany means house of dates or house of misery. As He is, so are we. We must leave Babylon (Jerusalem) and suffer with Christ in the assembly of His elect.

Jesus Curses the Fig Tree

Mat 21:18  Now in the morning as he returned into the city, he hungered. 
Mat 21:19  And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward forever. And presently the fig tree withered away. 
Mat 21:20  And when the disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying, How soon is the fig tree withered away! 

In the Bible, trees represent people, as shown in the following verses:

Jer 7:20  Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, mine anger and my fury shall be poured out upon this place, upon man, and upon beast, and upon the trees of the field, and upon the fruit of the ground; and it shall burn, and shall not be quenched. 

Mar 8:24  And he looked up and said, “I see people, but they look like trees, walking.” 

There are some specific trees that are used in the Bible to refer to the Lord’s people. Some of these trees are cedars of Lebanon, palm trees, vine trees, fig trees, etc. as shown in the following verses:

Isa 61:3  To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified. 

Eze 15:6  Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; As the vine tree among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so will I give the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 

Joe 1:7  He hath laid my vine waste, and barked my fig tree: he hath made it clean bare, and cast it away; the branches thereof are made white. 

Based on these verses, we can say that the fig tree Jesus saw on His way to Jerusalem, represents the Lord’s people who had gone astray. Specifically, we are talking about the church system of this world or Babylon. Babylon is like the fig tree, having leaves, which to a casual observer may seem to be doing well. However, they are not producing fruit. In other words, it is impossible for our brothers and sisters in Babylon to produce the fruits of the spirit. This fruit of the spirit is produced through the Lord’s judgment of our old man or flesh. At a certain stage of our walk with Christ, we were like this fig tree. We were not able to produce the fruits of the spirit, until Christ came into our lives with His judgment.

Gal 5:22  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 
Gal 5:23  Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. 
Gal 5:24 And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.  

The Lord cursing the fig tree that it bears no fruit implies that the church system of this world shall never bear fruits. That means that our brothers and sisters in the church system of this world shall never bear the fruits of the spirit as long as they continue to worship in Babylon. 

Psa 137:1  By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.
Psa 137:2  We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof. 
Psa 137:3  For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion. 
Psa 137:4 How shall we sing the LORD’S song in a strange land? 

It is instructive to note that after Jesus cursed the fig tree, it withered. What this means is that we become worse off in Babylon. As shown in verse 20, it was only the disciples who were able to see that the tree which was cursed had withered. Those within the church system of this world are not able to see their nakedness. It is the Lord’s elect who are given to see our deplorable state in Babylon. 

2Pe 2:17  These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever.
2Pe 2:18  For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error. 
2Pe 2:19  While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.
2Pe 2:20  For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. 
2Pe 2:21  For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. 
2Pe 2:22 But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.   

Mat 21:21  Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. 
Mat 21:22  And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive. 

Jesus used the withering of the fig tree to show His disciples how to walk by faith. It is not about how big our faith is. It is about applying the faith that the Lord has given to us. The more we apply our faith, the more our faith grows. In verse 22, we must understand that it is the sum of the Lord’s words that gives us direction. We know from the word of the Lord that whatever we ask must be in accordance with His will. In other words, if we ask believing, according to His will, we shall surely receive. 

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: 
1Jn 5:15 And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him. 

Psa 119:160  The sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous rules endures forever. (ESV)

May His name be praised. Amen!!

The Book of Joel – Chapter 3:17-21

[Study Aired October 19^th 24]

In last week’s study, we reasserted that God’s word is the foundation and conclusion of all things. In our past lives in Babylon, we engaged in every conceivable Epicurean pleasure, both physically and doctrinally, with the wealth represented as mammon, meaning money, that our self-righteousness always lavishly afforded.

The concept of Mammon, which signifies money and wealth, represents our work, both good and evil. If I am unable to recognise that the Creator of all things is responsible for my bad work, then I will not be trusted with good work. If I fail to give God credit for my evil works, then He will not entrust me with greater responsibilities. If I cannot attribute my unrighteous mammon (evil works) to God as their creator, then I will not receive the righteous mammon (good works). We cannot serve two masters – God must give us the ability, by His will, to choose between righteous mammon and unrighteous mammon. We will either love one or despise the other.

Luk 16:9  And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.

By juxtaposing good with evil, we can discern the truth. As a former friend of Epicurean delights in Babylon, an Elect of God is given the unique ability to see both the dark and light of a subject, filtered through the immutable truth of Christ’s word. This contrast enlightens us and helps us discern the truth.

Judah, the Priests of God, effectively robbed Israel of her representative ‘spiritual’ wealth by not righteously and, in season, preaching the word of God.

What compensation can we possibly give our Creator in return for him choosing us? Plumb nothing! He requires our espousal dues quite the opposite of what Old Israel gave her mouldy best. The fruit Christ requires is the spiritual fruit from the womb of his Wife, her single-eyed heartfelt focus on Him!

1Co 9:18 What is my reward then? That when I preach the gospel, I may present the gospel of Christ without charge, that I may not abuse my authority in the gospel. (NKJV)

However, Paul was also clearly teaching the Corinthians that other Churches were paying his wages.

2Co 11:7 Did I commit sin in humbling myself that you might be exalted because I preached the gospel of God to you free of charge? 
2Co 11:8  I robbed other churches, taking wages from them to minister to you (NKJV)

The word that Paul uses in 2 Cor 11:8 for “wages” is the same Greek word used in Luk 3:14.

Luk 3:14 Likewise the soldiers asked him, saying, “And what shall we do?” So he said to them, “Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages.” [G3800] (NKJV)

G3800
– Original: ὀψώνιον
– Transliteration: Opsonion
– Phonetic: op-so’-nee-on
– Definition:
1. a soldier’s pay, allowance 
a. that part of the soldier’s support given in place of pay [i.e. rations our food, particularly spiritual food] and the money in which he is paid 
2. metaph. wages: hire or pay of sin

Wages are what we earn for doing work for others. It is wrong and sinful not to pay someone who works for us. We all know this from our physical lives. We all go to work and expect to get paid for what we do. God’s ministers are no different. However, as Paul explains, he preaches the gospel free of charge so as not to abuse this authority and hinder babes in Christ from coming to the truth. James is quite bold towards the rich in his admonition and doles out some harsh words to those who conscionably pay wages and don’t do it.

Jas 5:1 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you!
Jas 5:2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten.
Jas 5:3 Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped up treasure in the last days.
Jas 5:4 Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.
Jas 5:5 You have lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury; you have fattened your hearts as in a day of slaughter. (NKJV). (Abridged from other Elders all speaking the same thing who likewise think it not stealing ~ how can a Christ steal from himself?).

In light of this, God asks: What will be our answer to him, our “recompense,” our compensation to him unwittingly to us, spiritually seen in one of the two resurrections? Well, the following verses in Matthew 22, and particularly verse 12, prophecy us as dumbstruck to Christ for our requital, our payment to him. We, the created at the hands of the supreme creator, have nothing personally or by our works that can ever “recompense” Him!

Jer 2:23  How canst thou say, I am not polluted, I have not gone after Baalim? see thy way in the valley [for our cause, the Vally of Jehoshaphat], know what thou hast done: thou art a swift dromedary traversing her ways; 
Jer 2:24  A wild ass used to the wilderness, that snuffeth up the wind [of every Grecian/Epecurean] at her pleasure; in her occasion who can turn her away? all they that seek her will not weary themselves; in her month [equal to the men of Sodom-like unrestrained passion to know the Angels of the Lord’s new doctrines] they shall find her.

Mat 22:11  And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man [you and I – hopefully not] which had not on a wedding garment: 
Mat 22:12  And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. 
Mat 22:13  Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Mat 22:14  For many are called, but few are chosen.

Mat 13:39  The enemy that sowed them [the tares] is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world [at your preordained timely death]; and the reapers are the angels [Christ’s Christs {plural}].
Mat 13:40  As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.
Mat 13:41  The Son of man shall send forth his angels [His Christs], and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;
Mat 13:42  And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
Mat 13:43  Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

It is the only “few [who] are chosen” who are to be the Elect, the Bride of Christ, who will be first to “shine forth as the sun.” So, we had better “hear” while it is yet called “today” and know who was addressing us. We, like our good friend, Job, ostentatiously have many Epicurean words and doctrines in this life to express, but to listen closely to that ‘still small voice’ of God is often far from us.

Job 32:17  I said, I will answer also my part, I also will shew mine opinion.
Job 32:18  For I am full of matter, the spirit within me constraineth me. [scarcely]
Job 32:19  Behold, my belly is as wine which hath no vent; it is ready to burst like new bottles.
Job 32:20  I will speak, that I may be refreshed: I will open my lips and answer.
Job 32:21  Let me not, I pray you, accept any man’s person, neither let me give flattering titles unto man.
Job 32:22  For I know not to give flattering titles; in so doing my maker would soon take me away.

Significations of Joel 3:17 – 21:

Consequently,

Joe 3:17  So shall ye know that I am the LORD your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more. 

That is to say, your corruptible flesh assuredly contains NOTHING of any worth to me! That all will come to know the glory of God. Thus, no strangers will ever pass through her since the old corruptible Jerusalem of the flesh is gone, trodden down, first under the feet of his Elect, and thoroughly in the Lake of Fire by every man since Adam to the end of the One Thousand Year reign under the rod of iron.

Rev 21:21  And the twelve gates [of the Heavenly Jerusalem, the Lord’s Wife]  were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.
Rev 21:22  And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it [As are a husband and wife one in each other].
Rev 21:23  And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. 
Rev 21:24  And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it.
Rev 21:25  And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there.
Rev 21:26  And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it.
Rev 21:27  And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

Joe 3:18  And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth of the house of the LORD, and shall water the valley of Shittim. 

Notice that the water of Christ’s word gives life to the valley of Shittim from whence the dense and beautifully grained hardwood of the acacia tree, known as Shittim wood, was used in the Temple of God.

Rev 22:1  And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.
Rev 22:2  In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
Rev 22:3  And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:
Rev 22:4  And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.
Rev 22:5  And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.

Our former Babylonian selves used to trumpet to each other and any poor, deluded soul who would innocently listen that the New Jerusalem would physically replace the one being destroyed this very day in the Middle East, together with her worldwide collective of Jews who say that they are Jews and are not. That Mount of Olives and Jerusalem would cleave in two, and the entire world would come to Christ through the physical Jews and the river of water flowing out of it to water the hungry world devoid of knowing Christ. That strong delusion, in part, comes from outwardly believing the following verses in Zechariah:

Zec 14:3  Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.
Zec 14:4  And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.
Zec 14:5  And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.
Zec 14:6  And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark:
Zec 14:7  But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.
Zec 14:8  And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be.
Zec 14:9  And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one. 

Accordingly, the Epicurean ideologies of Egypt, Tyre, Greece, Sodom, and Old Jerusalem, all represented as Babylon, and her lying doctrines that promised tremendous physical wealth and AI knowledge integrated with the human mind will be violently ground to powder. The spiritual children of Judah, the ‘Lord’s Christs’ will in Him, take vengeance upon their Joeseph-like brothers and sisters, who spilt spiritual blood represented by them magically twisting their husband’s word to substantiate their Sodom-like lusts.

Gen 50:15 And when Joseph’s brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, Joseph will peradventure hate us, and will certainly requite us all the evil which we did unto him.

Joe 3:19  Egypt shall be a desolation, and Edom shall be a desolate wilderness, for the violence against the children of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land. 

Jer 25:11  And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.
Jer 25:12  And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith the LORD, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual desolations.

Rev 18:1  And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.
Rev 18:2  And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.
Rev 18:3  For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.
Rev 18:4  And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
Rev 18:5  For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.
Rev 18:6  Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double.
Rev 18:7  How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.
Rev 18:8  Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.
Rev 18:9  And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning,
Rev 18:10  Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.
Rev 18:11  And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more:
Rev 18:12  The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble,
Rev 18:13  And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men.
Rev 18:14  And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all.
Rev 18:15  The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing,
Rev 18:16  And saying, Alas, alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls!
Rev 18:17  For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,
Rev 18:18  And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city!
Rev 18:19  And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.
Rev 18:20  Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her.
Rev 18:21  And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.
Rev 18:22  And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee;
Rev 18:23  And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived.
Rev 18:24  And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.

Joe 3:20  But Judah [meaning, first, the Lord’s Elect, and following, the world] shall dwell for ever, and [the New Heavenly…] Jerusalem from generation to generation. 
Joe 3:21  For I will cleanse their blood that I have not cleansed: for the LORD dwelleth in Zion. 

The cleansing of the world’s blood is upon their timely death at the end of the One Thousand Year Rule.

Heb 9:22  And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. 
Heb 9:23  It was, therefore, necessary that the patterns of things [We are the pattern, the fleshy representation of God being recreated in his image] in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.

Rev 21:1  And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea [no more flesh]
Rev 21:2  And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
Rev 21:3  And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.

“… for the LORD dwelleth in Zion”, the Heavenly Jerusalem, his wife, and she, in Him as one with their children, the world collectively in the Father forever more.

Amen.

Ezekiel 33:21–33 The City of Jerusalem Had Been Captured

[Study Aired October 7, 2024]

INTRODUCTION

Today’s study is about the condition of those who were left as remnants after the invasion of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans and the desire of these remnants to inherit the land which they believed they, as descendants of Abraham, were entitled to it. The Lord’s response through Ezekiel was that they were not worthy of the inheritance of Abraham because of their sins.

The rest of the chapter focuses on the unwillingness of the people of Israel to obey the word of the Lord proclaimed by Ezekiel. The Lord also promised that everything that He has said through Ezekiel shall come to pass in the fulness of time. That is what will make the people of Israel recognize that a prophet has indeed been among them.

Eze 12:21  And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Eze 12:22  Son of man, what is that proverb that ye have in the land of Israel, saying, The days are prolonged, and every vision faileth?
Eze 12:23  Tell them therefore, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will make this proverb to cease, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel; but say unto them, The days are at hand, and the effect of every vision.
Eze 12:24  For there shall be no more any vain vision nor flattering divination within the house of Israel.
Eze 12:25  For I am the LORD: I will speak, and the word that I shall speak shall come to pass; it shall be no more prolonged: for in your days, O rebellious house, will I say the word, and will perform it, saith the Lord GOD. 

The Report from a Fugitive

Eze 33:21  And it came to pass in the twelfth year of our captivity, in the tenth month, in the fifth day of the month, that one that had escaped out of Jerusalem came unto me, saying, The city is smitten. 

The number ‘twelve’ is the number of Christ. It also means foundation. That of the number ‘ten’ signifies the completeness or fulness of the flesh. The number ‘five’ is a symbol of grace through faith. ‘On the fifth day of the tenth month in the twelfth year of the captivity of the Lord’s people’ signifies that it is when the sins of our flesh have reached their fulness or become complete during our time in the physical churches of this world, or Babylon, that Christ comes to us with His judgement (grace) to begin the walk of faith as we leave behind the Law of Moses. That is the time that we escape from Jerusalem as fugitives when we become aware that the city is smitten or taken. What this implies is that our exit from Babylon is when we come to the realization that the city of Jerusalem is smitten or the churches of this world are under the dominion of the evil one.

This brings to mind Psalm 124 where the Lord has caused us to escape as fugitives from the snare of the fowler as follows:

Psa 124:1  A Song of degrees of David. If it had not been the LORD who was on our side, now may Israel say;
Psa 124:2  If it had not been the LORD who was on our side, when men rose up against us:
Psa 124:3  Then they had swallowed us up quick, when their wrath was kindled against us:
Psa 124:4  Then the waters had overwhelmed us, the stream had gone over our soul:
Psa 124:5  Then the proud waters had gone over our soul.
Psa 124:6. Blessed be the LORD, who hath not given us as a prey to their teeth. 
Psa 124:7 Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers: the snare is broken, and we are escaped. 
Psa 124:8  Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth.

The snare of the fowler in Psalm 124 refers to the attractiveness of the churches of this world and their false doctrines. These false doctrines refer to the waters which overwhelmed us including the stream and the proud waters which went over our soul in Psalm 124:4-5.

Our exit from Babylon is initiated by the Lord coming to us with the Spirit of His mouth and His brightness. That is when we come to see who the harlot woman really is. That is the time that we begin to understand the spiritual meaning of the Lord’s words.

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

Rev 17:3  So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
Rev 17:4  And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:
Rev 17:5  And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. 
Rev 17:6  And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.

The Lord Opened Ezekiel’s Mouth to Speak

Eze 33:22  Now the hand of the LORD was upon me in the evening, afore he that was escaped came; and had opened my mouth, until he came to me in the morning; and my mouth was opened, and I was no more dumb.   

The news that the city of Jerusalem is smitten is not good news to hear when we have spent all our time in the city and are therefore in love with the city or Babylon. As shown in verse 22, the Lord prepares our hearts before we are given to receive such news. The hand of the Lord being upon Ezekiel, a type of the Lord’s elect, in the evening before the fugitive came with the news, was to prepare him for the message from the fugitive who represents the Lord’s elect.

Psa 10:17  LORD, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear:

1Ch 29:18  O LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, our fathers, keep this forever in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of thy people, and prepare their heart unto thee:

The man who fled from Jerusalem to meet Ezekiel in the morning signifies the Lord leading us from Babylon to meet the Lord’s elect. The morning represents the time that the morning star, who is Christ, comes to us with His words. That is when we hear the mysteries of the kingdom of the Lord spoken to us by His elect symbolized here by Ezekiel. The time that Ezekiel was made dumb was when he was with the exiled people of Israel who in this case represent Babylon, since the word of truth would not have profited them.

Eze 3:26  And I will make thy tongue cleave to the roof of thy mouth, that thou shalt be dumb, and shalt not be to them a reprover: for they are a rebellious house.

Psa 39:9  I was dumb, I opened not my mouth; because thou didst it.

The fugitive, who represents the Lord’s elect, hearing the word of the Lord from Ezekiel, confirms the fact that we speak wisdom to them who are mature, that is, the Lord’s elect. It is instructive to note that the Lord gave a sign to Ezekiel that when he sees a man who has escaped from Jerusalem, then he shall speak. That is to suggest that the words of the Lord are for the Lord’s elect in this age.

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

Eze 33:23  Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 
Eze 33:24  Son of man, they that inhabit those wastes of the land of Israel speak, saying, Abraham was one, and he inherited the land: but we are many; the land is given us for inheritance. 

As indicated in the previous studies, the word of the Lord coming to Ezekiel signifies the Lord coming to His elect with the spirit of His mouth and His brightness. What this means is that the Lord coming to His elect is to judge them for the destruction of their flesh. The coming of the Lord is also to illuminate His words so that we can understand the mysteries of the kingdom of God.

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

Verse 24 shows us our mindset when we were in the physical churches of this world, or Babylon. The ‘wastes of the land’ of Israel refer to the spiritual degradation state of our lives when we were living in Babylon. At that time, we thought we were Abraham’s seed and therefore we regarded the Lord’s promise to Abraham as His promise to us. This is the Lord’s promise to Abraham about the land of Canaan on the day the Lord made a covenant with him:

Gen 15:18  In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates: 

As the Lord’s elect, we are Abraham’s seed and therefore are recipients of the Lord’s promise to Abraham. Spiritually, the land here in Genesis 15:18 symbolizes our bodies which we must possess to please the Lord. It is insightful to note that Abraham was promised not only the land but the rivers of Egypt and that of Euphrates. This implies that possessing our bodies involves possessing the false doctrines of this world. That means not living according to these false doctrines.

In His life here on earth, the Lord demonstrated how we can overcome the pull of the flesh to possess our bodies by walking on the sea, which signifies the flesh of mankind. Peter, who is a symbol of the elect, followed His example and started walking on the sea initially, towards Jesus. However, when he became afraid when he saw the boisterous waves, he started to sink. Jesus saved him but questioned him for doubting.

Mat 14:23  And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone.
Mat 14:24  But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary.
Mat 14:25  And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.
Mat 14:26  And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.
Mat 14:27  But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.
Mat 14:28  And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. 
Mat 14:29  And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. 
Mat 14:30  But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. 
Mat 14:31  And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? 

This whole episode is to demonstrate to us that our victory over the flesh is through faith, and the word of the Lord makes us aware that this faith is not ours but the Lord’s.

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

In verse 24 of our study for today, the people of Israel who remained in the land after the Chaldean invasion thought that just because they were physically related to Abraham they are entitled to the land. In other words, our brothers and sisters in Babylon think that they are Abraham’s seed and therefore, they can possess their bodies. Their reliance on the law of Moses means that their walk is not that of faith and therefore they cannot possess their bodies, or overcome the flesh. The next verses show us why they are disqualified from receiving the promise of Abraham.

Eze 33:25 Wherefore say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Ye eat with the blood, and lift up your eyes toward your idols, and shed blood: and shall ye possess the land? 

Here in this verse, we are given a list of what we were doing in Babylon which disqualified us from receiving the land promised to Abraham or being given to possess our bodies as living sacrifices to the Lord. The first thing mentioned here is eating meat with blood in it. Eating meat with blood in it signifies imbibing false doctrines which causes us to hate our brothers and sisters. As Apostle John indicated, hating our brother or sister spiritually means committing murder. During our time in Babylon, we hated the Lord’s elect and therefore were guilty of the blood of Christ and His messengers.

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

Looking for our idols for help means depending on our false doctrines which have become our idols of the heart and therefore prevent us from knowing our Lord Jesus Christ. No wonder we are deceived into thinking that we are Abraham’s seed and therefore we shall inherit the land.

Eze 14:3  Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face: should I be enquired of at all by them? 
Eze 14:4  Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I the LORD will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols;

Eze 33:26  Ye stand upon your sword, ye work abomination, and ye defile everyone his neighbour’s wife: and shall ye possess the land? 

The sword here is put in a negative context. The negative aspect of sword refers to words that are spoken which destroy us. The sword therefore refers to the lying words and false doctrines of the adversary.

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

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

Standing upon our sword means relying on our false doctrines instead of the truth of the word of the Lord. In this case, our works become an abomination to the Lord. That is to say that we engage in idolatry, which means we worship another Jesus, instead of our Lord Jesus Christ.

2Co 11:3  But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
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.

In verse 26, we are also guilty of defiling our neighbor’s wife. In the parable of the Good Samaritan, the Lord showed us who spiritually signifies our neighbor.

Luk 10:36  Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? 
Luk 10:37  And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise. 

From the parable, we can see that our neighbor is one who has shown us mercy. We know that it is our Lord Jesus Christ who has shown us mercy and therefore is our neighbor. Defiling our neighbor’s wife is therefore doing evil to the Lord’s bride. This is the same as what happened in the Corinthian church where a man defiled his father’s wife.

1Co 5:1  It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father’s wife.
1Co 5:2  And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you.

We are therefore not different from this man. In our time in Babylon, we polluted the Lord’s elect who were captives in Babylon with false doctrines. The Lord is therefore asking us whether we really deserve to possess the land, or our bodies, in view of our sins during this time of our walk in Babylon.

The Remnants Shall be Judged

Eze 33:27  Say thou thus unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; As I live, surely they that are in the wastes shall fall by the sword, and him that is in the open field will I give to the beasts to be devoured, and they that be in the forts and in the caves shall die of the pestilence. 

In view of our sins as described in the preceding verses, we are to face the Lord’s judgement. Here in verse 27, the Lord is applying His judgement tools to correct us. These tools are ‘the sword’, ‘pestilence’ and ‘noisome beasts’. If we continue to remain in the ruined cities or Babylon, then we shall fall by the sword, that is, be deceived by false doctrines. The open fields represent the world. If we continue to conform our lives according to the standards of this world, then we shall be devoured by the beasts of the field. That is to say that we shall live according to the dictates of our flesh. The ‘caves and forts’ in verse 27 symbolize anything that we depend on or hide in. These shall be taken away by the Lord through pestilence.

‘Pestilence’ comes from the Hebrew word “deber” which means ‘murrain’ or ‘plague’. ‘Murrain’ means ‘destruction’, and the only place that the word was used in the Bible was in the fifth plague in Egypt when there was widespread destruction of cattle of the Egyptians:

Exo 9:1  Then the LORD said unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh, and tell him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me.
Exo 9:2  For if thou refuse to let them go, and wilt hold them still,
Exo 9:3  Behold, the hand of the LORD is upon thy cattle which is in the field, upon the horses, upon the asses, upon the camels, upon the oxen, and upon the sheep: there shall be a very grievous murrain.

The Lord uses pestilence when we have gotten far away from Him. For example, when the children of Israel were in Egypt, the Lord used pestilence to get their attention. The Lord’s use of pestilence means that the people of Israel were given over to the devil, which in this case was represented by Pharoah who caused the people of Israel to be under great affliction.

Lev 26:25  And I will bring a sword upon you, that shall avenge the quarrel of my covenant: and when ye are gathered together within your cities, I will send the pestilence among you; and ye shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy.

Exo 1:8  Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph.

Exo 1:11  Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses.

Exo 1:14  And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in the  morter, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field: all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigour.

Exo 3:7  And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;

When the Lord got the people of Israel’s attention, He came to help them as the people drew closer to the Lord. Today, the Lord still uses pestilence to get our attention when we have drifted far from Him. For example, in the Corithian church, Paul gave over the man who slept with his father’s wife to the devil so that he may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

Eze 33:28  For I will lay the land most desolate, and the pomp of her strength shall cease; and the mountains of Israel shall be desolate, that none shall pass through. 
Eze 33:29  Then shall they know that I am the LORD, when I have laid the land most desolate because of all their abominations which they have committed. 

Verses 28 and 29 continues with the Lord’s judgment of our old man, or flesh. When a land is laid desolate, all kinds of wild animals roam about looking for something to devour. When our bodies, which are represented by the land, are not being offered as a living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to the Lord, then our bodies are dominated by our flesh that is empowered by the devil. In this case, our bodies can be described as being “desolate”. The “pomp of the strength of the land ceasing” means that our old man, or flesh, shall be destroyed through the Lord’s judgement. The “mountains of Israel” are places of idol worship which refers to the idols of false doctrines in our hearts and minds. It is in our hearts and minds, which is the seat of the our old man, who thinks that he is God. The judgement of the Lord, therefore, cleanses our hearts and minds such that “the none” can pass through. That is to say that the flesh cannot dominate us again.

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

In verse 29, we can see that the Lord’s judgement results in us coming to know Him.

Our Inability to Obey the Word of the Lord

Eze 33:30  Also, thou son of man, the children of thy people still are talking against thee by the walls and in the doors of the houses, and speak one to another, everyone to his brother, saying, Come, I pray you, and hear what is the word that cometh forth from the LORD. 
Eze 33:31  And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth they shew much love, but their heart goth after their covetousness. 

These verses show us our state when we were in the physical churches of this world or Babylon. We desire to hear the word of the Lord, but to do according to what we hear, is the problem. We therefore worship the Lord with our mouth but our hearts were far away from Him.

Isa 29:13  And the Lord said: “Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men,
Isa 29:14  therefore, behold, I will again do wonderful things with this people, with wonder upon wonder; and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the discernment of their discerning men shall be hidden.”

Mat 15:7  You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said:
Mat 15:8“This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; 
Mat 15:9  in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.” 

During this period of our walk with the Lord in Babylon, we were the four angels bound by the river Euphrates. In other words, we were captives of the false doctrines of man’s wisdom and tradition, which is represented by the river Euphrates that nourished Babylon. No wonder we were not able to worship the Lord acceptably in Babylon.

Psa 137:1  By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.
Psa 137:2  We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof.
Psa 137:3  For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion.
Psa 137:4  How shall we sing the LORD’S song in a strange land? 

In the fulness of time, the Lord gave the command for us to be loosed from the river Euphrates so that we can hear the voice coming from the four horns of the golden altar which is before the Lord. What this means is that we are given the strength of the Lord to be able to do according to what we hear from His words.

Rev 9:13  And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, 
Rev 9:14  Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. 
Rev 9:15  And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.

Eze 33:32  And, lo, thou art unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument: for they hear thy words, but they do them not. 
Eze 33:33  And when this cometh to pass, (lo, it will come,) then shall they know that a prophet hath been among them. 

These verses continue to let us know our deplorable state in the churches of this world. Here in verse 32, the Lord is saying that during this stage of our walk in Babylon, when we hear from the Lord’s elect represented here by Ezekiel, we regard them as nothing more than singers with beautiful voices who sing love songs, or musicians with instruments. We listen to their words but we do not do them. Jesus, in His ministry here on earth, also said the same thing about us during this period of our walk in Babylon, in another way as follows:

Mat 11:15  He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
Mat 11:16  But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows,
Mat 11:17  And saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented.
Mat 11:18  For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil.
Mat 11:19  The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children.

From the Lord’s words, we can see that the reason we were not able to do what we hear was simply because we did not have the power to carry them out until we are loosed from the river Euphrates. In the fulness of time, we, as the Lord’s elect, are given the power to understand the words of the Lord’s elect and to do them. That is when we come to realize who really are the Lord’s elect, signified here as a prophet in verse 33. It is this time of our walk with Christ that we are able to say, “blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord”.

Mat 23:37  O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
Mat 23:38  Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.
Mat 23:39  For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.

May the Lord be praised for opening our eyes to see and ears to hear the mysteries of the kingdom of the Lord!! Amen!!

[Posted May 3, 2024]

Thanks Mike,

That cleared it up well for me.

As far as what’s going on over in the middle east, I guess all we can do is follow our Lord’s will Psalms 122:6   Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee.

Always in the love of God,
K____

Hi K____,

I am thankful you were helped.

I do need to point out who the ‘Jerusalem’ is for whose peace we are instructed to pray. The Lord reveals to us that from His perspective “Jerusalem which now is… is Agar [Hagar], and is in bondage with her children [and] will not be made heir with the son of the free woman… Jerusalem above the mother of us all”:

Gal 4:21  Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law?
Gal 4:22  For it is written that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman.
Gal 4:23  But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise.
Gal 4:24  Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar.
Gal 4:25  For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children.
Gal 4:26  But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.
Gal 4:27  For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband.
Gal 4:28  Now we [Gentile converts], brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise.
Gal 4:29  But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now.
Gal 4:30  Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.
Gal 4:31  So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.

From God’s perspective it is those who are in Christ, with absolutely no regard to physical descent or physical pedigree, who are the children of Abraham. It is not the physical Jews nor is it physical Christians who say ‘Lord, Lord’ but will not do the things He says’, like “Love thine enemies… resist not evil… turn the other cheek”, etc. etc.

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

Christ goes on in the very next verses to say:

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

The whole Christian world who believes we are to fight and kill our enemies and the enemies of Israel are building their “house… without a foundation” and the coming storm will cause that house to fall and the ruin of that house will be great”.

There is not one Christian minister in a thousand who would dare say that “Hagar answers to Jerusalem which now is and is in bondage with her children”, simply because God has not given them eyes that see nor ears that hear… the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven:

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 [Jews who believed on Christ but had no use for His words (John 8)]
Mat 13:12  For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.

These are the same ‘Jews’, signifying the Christian churches, who tell us to support physical Israel, or we will be cursed. These are the same Jews who were Abraham’s physical descendants, and who believed on Christ, and yet they wanted to kill him:

Joh 8:30  As he spake these words, many [Jews] believed on him.
Joh 8:31  Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
Joh 8:32  And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
Joh 8:33  They answered him, [we are Christians, we support Israel], and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?
Joh 8:34  Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin [Whoever ignores ‘Love your enemies, resist not evil, turn the other cheek].
Joh 8:35  And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever.
Joh 8:36  If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.
Joh 8:37  I know that ye are Abraham’s seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you [The same as saying, ‘I know you claim to be Christians, but my word has no place in you’].
Joh 8:38  I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father [You are of your father the devil (Christians or Jews who say ‘Lord, Lord’ but do not do the things He says Luk 6:46)].
Joh 8:39  They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father [‘We are Christians, we support Israel’]. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham.
Joh 8:40  But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham.
Joh 8:41  Ye do the deeds of your father [‘Go fight and kill for God and country and ignore what Christ says’]. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.
Joh 8:42  Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.
Joh 8:43  Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word.
Joh 8:44  Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
Joh 8:45  And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.
Joh 8:46  Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me?
Joh 8:47  He that is of God heareth God’s words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.

“You cannot hear My Word” does not mean they did not literally hear. It means they are not given to do what Christ says to do.

If we are not “given” to understand that the Jewish religion of Christ’s day signifies the Christian religion of our day, the New Testament will mean nothing to us. If Christ were to return in the weak flesh He came in two thousand years ago, with the same doctrine He brought at that time, it would be professing Christians who would be the first to say, as our presidents all believe… “Turn the other cheek is not good foreign policy.”

One of our presidents said those very words and was given a standing ovation. Another president said that he would be the hero of both the Christian community and the LGBTQ+ community. The Truth is:

Mat 6:24  No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

Luk 16:13  No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

Without fail, the rejected master in this age will always be Christ and His uncompromising doctrines.

The ‘Jerusalem’ for whose peace we are to be praying is to be found in these words which instruct us for whom we are to be praying:

Joh 17:9  I pray for them [“Jerusalem above” (Gal 4:26) those who do what Christ says to do (Luk 6:46)]: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.

Paul urges us to pray that we, those who do what Christ says, can live in peace in this present Christ-rejecting world. It is in complete accord with what Christ prayed to His Father the night of His apprehension by the Jews in John 17:9:

1Ti 2:1  I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;
1Ti 2:2  For kings, and for all that are in authority [Pray “for kings and for all in authority” to be saved in this present time? That is not what Paul is saying at all. Read the rest of this verse]; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.
1Ti 2:3  For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;
1Ti 2:4  Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth [Via “Your mercy” which they will receive “when Sodom… returns to her former estate” (Rom 11:31-32, Eze 16:55)].

This reveals “the peace of Jerusalem… Jerusalem above, the mother of us all” (Gal 4:26) for whom we are instructed to pray… “Not for the world but for those You have given Me” (Joh 17:9).

Praying you are given eyes that see and ears that hear,

YbiChrist, Mike

Audio Download

Ezekiel 4:1-17  The Siege of Jerusalem Symbolized

[Study Aired February 12, 2024]

Introduction

In today’s study, we are going to look at what the Lord told Ezekiel to do regarding an imminent siege of Jerusalem. In the ancient times, building a wall around a city served as the primary means of protection from an enemy. In times of war, if a city is fortified by its walls, then an enemy would surround the city wall and lay siege to it. The rationale to lay siege to a city is to starve the inhabitants of food and water which would result in the surrender of the inhabitants. Laying a siege often took months and even years, but ultimately, it was an effective way of conquering a people. 

In this study, the Lord was using Ezekiel to foretell an impending siege of Jerusalem. Sieges of ancient Israel serve as fitting allegories of how the Lord comes into our lives by causing us to surrender to Him when we are dominated by the flesh. Being dominated by the flesh serves as walls which keep the Lord from intervening in our circumstances. Although it causes a lot of suffering when we are under siege by the Lord, as we are starved of the word of the Lord which is our food and water, we end up surrendering to Christ. Let’s take a look at one of the sieges that Israel suffered and what came out of it. We should always remember that these things are written for our admonition of whom the end of our world is come. 

2Ki 6:24  Afterward Ben-hadad king of Syria mustered his entire army and went up and besieged Samaria.
2Ki 6:25  And there was a great famine in Samaria, as they besieged it, until a donkey’s head was sold for eighty shekels of silver, and the fourth part of a kab of dove’s dung for five shekels of silver.
2Ki 6:26  Now as the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, a woman cried out to him, saying, “Help, my lord, O king!”
2Ki 6:27  And he said, “If the LORD will not help you, how shall I help you? From the threshing floor, or from the winepress?” 
2Ki 6:28  And the king asked her, “What is your trouble?” She answered, “This woman said to me, ‘Give your son, that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.’ 
2Ki 6:29  So we boiled my son and ate him. And on the next day I said to her, ‘Give your son, that we may eat him.’ But she has hidden her son.” 
2Ki 6:30  When the king heard the words of the woman, he tore his clothes—now he was passing by on the wall—and the people looked, and behold, he had sackcloth beneath on his body— 
2Ki 6:31  and he said, “May God do so to me and more also, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat remains on his shoulders today.”
2Ki 6:32  Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him. Now the king had dispatched a man from his presence, but before the messenger arrived Elisha said to the elders, “Do you see how this murderer has sent to take off my head? Look, when the messenger comes, shut the door and hold the door fast against him. Is not the sound of his master’s feet behind him?” 
2Ki 6:33  And while he was still speaking with them, the messenger came down to him and said, “This trouble is from the LORD! Why should I wait for the LORD any longer?” (ESV)

From the siege, we can see how the people living in Samaria suffered. There was severe famine in Samaria such that a donkey’s head was sold for eighty shekels. One of the four sore judgments of the Lord is famine. As we are aware, famine signifies the lack of the word of the Lord.

Amo 8:11  Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD: 
Amo 8:12  And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it.

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

Samaria here represents Babylon where there is lack of truth of the word of the Lord. In the absence of the word of the Lord, we seek after the wisdom of men which is here represented by the donkey’s head. In the scriptures, a donkey, or an ass in the negative sense, symbolize the Lord’s children who have gone astray. Thus, a donkey’s head represents human wisdom and that is what is taught in Babylon, which we paid so much for during our days there in Babylon, just as the donkey’s head was very expensive in Samaria during the siege.  

Hos 8:8  Israel is swallowed up: now shall they be among the Gentiles as a vessel wherein is no pleasure.
Hos 8:9  For they are gone up to Assyria, a wild ass alone by himself: Ephraim hath hired lovers. 

Jer 2:23  How canst thou say, I am not polluted, I have not gone after Baalim? see thy way in the valley, know what thou hast done: thou art a swift dromedary traversing her ways;
Jer 2:24  A wild ass used to the wilderness, that snuffeth up the wind at her pleasure; in her occasion who can turn her away? all they that seek her will not weary themselves; in her month they shall find her.

The second effect of the siege which is also related to famine is that dove’s dung was sold for five shekels. A dove represents the Holy Spirit. When the Holy spirit is gone (Ichabod), that is, when the presence of the spirit is gone, we cling to the tangible residue of the spirit which is the letter of the word, which kills.  This comes at a cost. For example, being trained in the letter of the word in Bible schools are expensive ventures.

2Co 3:6  Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.

1Sa 4:21  And she named the child Ichabod, saying, The glory is departed from Israel: because the ark of God was taken, and because of her father in law and her husband.
1Sa 4:22  And she said, The glory is departed from Israel: for the ark of God is taken.

When the glory of the Lord has departed, the church becomes a place where we become worse off as we end up spiritually putting our sons and daughters to death. This is signified by the two women who killed and ate one of their children and were disputing about having the other child also killed for food.

Mat 23:15  Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.

It is in this dire situation of our siege that Christ comes to call us. However, our testimony would not be accepted by our brothers and sisters in Babylon as they regard us as “leprous” because of our message. We are therefore forced to come out of the cities since we are considered leprous. In the fullness of time, the Lord will come and use us as the four lepers outside the gates of the city of Samaria to bring abundance of food to the city. The four lepers mean the whole of the elect of every generation who will be used to bring the truth of the word of the Lord to all humanity.   

2Ki 7:3  And there were four leprous men at the entering in of the gate: and they said one to another, Why sit we here until we die? 
2Ki 7:4  If we say, We will enter into the city, then the famine is in the city, and we shall die there: and if we sit still here, we die also. Now therefore come, and let us fall unto the host of the Syrians: if they save us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall but die. 
2Ki 7:5  And they rose up in the twilight, to go unto the camp of the Syrians: and when they were come to the uttermost part of the camp of Syria, behold, there was no man there.

2Ki 7:10  So they came and called unto the porter of the city: and they told them, saying, We came to the camp of the Syrians, and, behold, there was no man there, neither voice of man, but horses tied, and asses tied, and the tents as they were. 

2Ki 7:16  And the people went out, and spoiled the tents of the Syrians. So a measure of fine flour was sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, according to the word of the LORD.

This story shows us that the Lord’s siege in our lives is for our benefit. With this in mind, let us look at what the Lord is trying to tell us about the impending siege of Jerusalem.

Eze 4:1  “And you, son of man, take a brick and lay it before you, and engrave on it a city, even Jerusalem. 
Eze 4:2  And put siegeworks against it, and build a siege wall against it, and cast up a mound against it. Set camps also against it, and plant battering rams against it all around. 
Eze 4:3  And you, take an iron griddle, and place it as an iron wall between you and the city; and set your face toward it, and let it be in a state of siege, and press the siege against it. This is a sign for the house of Israel. (ESV)

In these verses, the Lord told Ezekiel to demonstrate a siege against the city of Jerusalem as a sign for the house of Israel. Ezekiel was to engrave the name of Jerusalem on a brick and to prepare a siege against the brick, which represents Jerusalem. As we indicated in the introductory portion of the study, it is when we are dominated by the flesh that the Lord forces us to surrender to Him by laying siege against us. The fact that Jerusalem was going to be under siege demonstrates that they had gone astray. 

Isa 1:21  How is the faithful city become an harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers. 
Isa 1:22  Thy silver is become dross, thy wine mixed with water: 
Isa 1:23  Thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves: every one loveth gifts, and followeth after rewards: they judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them.

As we know, Jerusalem, which is and is in bondage with her children, symbolizes Babylon or the physical churches of this world. The false doctrines in Babylon which had become the idol of the hearts of its children have become a wall that bars the Lord from coming to His elect in Babylon. The Lord therefore raises a siege against us in Babylon to cause us to surrender to Him. 

Eze 14:1  Then certain of the elders of Israel came to me and sat before me.
Eze 14:2  And the word of the LORD came to me:
Eze 14:3  “Son of man, these men have taken their idols into their hearts, and set the stumbling block of their iniquity before their faces. Should I indeed let myself be consulted by them?
Eze 14:4  Therefore speak to them and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Any one of the house of Israel who takes his idols into his heart and sets the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and yet comes to the prophet, I the LORD will answer him as he comes with the multitude of his idols, 
Eze 14:5  that I may lay hold of the hearts of the house of Israel, who are all estranged from me through their idols.

In verse 3, Ezekiel was required to use an iron griddle as an iron wall between him and the city. The use of iron demonstrates to us the inflexible decision by both parties – Ezekiel and Jerusalem. In this case, Ezekiel represents Christ, and Jerusalem signifies Babylon. This means that there is no way the Lord will abandon the siege in this life, and in the same manner, our brothers and sisters in Babylon have resolved not to surrender to Him in this life. In other words, the Lord is never going to relent in His siege of Babylon and likewise, our brothers and sisters are not going to surrender to the Lord in this age!! The Lord told Ezekiel in verse 3 that this siege will be a sign for the house of Israel. In the Bible, signs on a positive note can mean the Lord’s deliverance as shown in the following verses:

Dan 6:27  He delivereth and rescueth, and he worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, who hath delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.

Jer 32:21  And hast brought forth thy people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs, and with wonders, and with a strong hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with great terror;

What this implies is that this siege by the Lord will work for the good of the people of Israel or Babylon. It is through this siege of Jerusalem that we became starved for the word of the Lord which precipitated our exit from Babylon to become saviors for our brothers and sisters in Babylon and the rest of the world.  

Oba 1:21  And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD’S. 

Eze 4:4  Lie thou also upon thy left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it: according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon it thou shalt bear their iniquity. 
Eze 4:5  For I have laid upon thee the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days: so shalt thou bear the iniquity of the house of Israel. 
Eze 4:6  And when thou hast accomplished them, lie again on thy right side, and thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days: I have appointed thee each day for a year. 

As we have seen in the Bible, it is only our Lord Jesus Christ who bore our iniquity. Ezekiel represents the Lord Jesus who bore our iniquity while He was living here on earth. As He is, so are we. We are the live goat that was set free into the wilderness to bear the iniquity of the people of Israel. Our suffering here on earth therefore complements the suffering of Christ. 

Lev 16:8  And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for the scapegoat.
Lev 16:9  And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the LORD’S lot fell, and offer him for a sin offering.
Lev 16:10  But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness. 

Col 1:24  Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church:

The number of days that Ezekiel was required to lie on his left side was 390 days. The number 3 means the process of spiritual maturity through judgment. The number 9 means God’s judgment. Ezekiel also symbolizes the elect. What this means is that throughout our lives here on earth, we are being judged, or going through suffering, as we fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ. That is how we bear the iniquity of our brothers and sisters in Babylon and the world, just as Christ did for all humanity. From a physical perspective, the 390 days, which is equivalent to 13 months, represent the duration of the siege of Jerusalem by the Chaldean army if we take out the five months interval that the Chaldean army withdrew when they heard of the Egyptian army’s approach.  

Jer 52:4  And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, and pitched against it, and built forts against it round about. 
Jer 52:5  So the city was besieged unto the eleventh year of king Zedekiah. 
Jer 52:6  And in the fourth month, in the ninth day of the month, the famine was sore in the city, so that there was no bread for the people of the land.
Jer 37:5  Then Pharaoh’s army was come forth out of Egypt: and when the Chaldeans that besieged Jerusalem heard tidings of them, they departed from Jerusalem. 
Jer 37:6  Then came the word of the LORD unto the prophet Jeremiah, saying, 
Jer 37:7  Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Thus shall ye say to the king of Judah, that sent you unto me to enquire of me; Behold, Pharaoh’s army, which is come forth to help you, shall return to Egypt into their own land. 
Jer 37:8  And the Chaldeans shall come again, and fight against this city, and take it, and burn it with fire.

Ezekiel is also required to lie on the right side for forty days, with a day equivalent to a year. The number forty can signify the duration of the Lord’s judgment. It can also symbolize the period of time that we are found lacking the ability to know the Lord’s ways as we persist in our evil ways. What we are being told is that the siege of the Lord in our lives is to bring us to acknowledge that of our own selves, we cannot worship the Lord, and therefore we have to surrender to Him to take control of our lives.

Gen 7:17  And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased, and bare up the ark, and it was lift up above the earth.

Gen 8:6  And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made:

Psa 95:10  Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways:

Eze 4:7  Therefore thou shalt set thy face toward the siege of Jerusalem, and thine arm shall be uncovered, and thou shalt prophesy against it. 

Here in Verse 7, Ezekiel is told to set his face toward the siege of Jerusalem and his arm shall be uncovered. As we have indicated, Ezekiel represents Christ. Thus, setting his face toward the siege in Jerusalem describes the Lord’s unwavering determination to persevere with the siege of Babylon. It is through this siege that the Lord’s arm shall be uncovered; that is to say that as a result of the siege, the works of the Lord shall be made known. Just as the Lord prophesied against Jerusalem during His days, we are also called to do the same. That is, part of our calling entails making known to those who will hear us, the siege of Babylon (Jerusalem) which has resulted in the lack of the truth of the word of the Lord. This is one of the Lord’s words against Jerusalem while He walked here on earth. As He is, so are we. We are to make known to our brothers and sisters in Babylon of this siege when an opportunity avails itself. 

Mat 23:13  But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.
Mat 23:14  Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.
Mat 23:15  Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.

Mat 23:37  O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
Mat 23:38  Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.
Mat 23:39  For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.

Eze 4:8  And, behold, I will lay bands upon thee, and thou shalt not turn thee from one side to another, till thou hast ended the days of thy siege.

As the Lord’s elect, we are restrained by the hand of the Lord through the Holy Spirit regarding our actions until we have achieved our purpose here on earth.

Pro 29:18 Where there is no vision, the people cast off restraint; But he that keepeth the law, happy is he. (ASV)

2Th 2:6  And now ye know that which restraineth, to the end that he (the beast within) may be revealed in his own season. 
2Th 2:7  For the mystery of lawlessness doth already work: only there is one that restraineth now, until he be taken out of the way.

The Lord sometimes even uses the devil to restrain us. For example, the Lord used the devil to restrain Paul from going to Thessalonica. 

1Th 2:17  But we, brethren, being taken from you for a short time in presence, not in heart, endeavoured the more abundantly to see your face with great desire.
1Th 2:18 Wherefore we would have come unto you, even I Paul, once and again; but Satan hindered us.

Eze 4:9  Take thou also unto thee wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentiles, and millet, and fitches, and put them in one vessel, and make thee bread thereof, according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon thy side, three hundred and ninety days shalt thou eat thereof.
Eze 4:10  And thy meat which thou shalt eat shall be by weight, twenty shekels a day: from time to time shalt thou eat it. 
Eze 4:11  Thou shalt drink also water by measure, the sixth part of an hin: from time to time shalt thou drink. 
Eze 4:12  And thou shalt eat it as barley cakes, and thou shalt bake it with dung that cometh out of man, in their sight. 
Eze 4:13  And the LORD said, Even thus shall the children of Israel eat their defiled bread among the Gentiles, whither I will drive them. 

During our time in Babylon when we were under siege, there was famine of the word of the Lord. This is symbolized by the measured amount of food, meat and water that we received. In verse 12 the barley cake was to be baked with the dung that comes out of a man, thus defiling the bread to be consumed. This implies that in Babylon, the word of the Lord is defiled with human wisdom which comes out of our bodies if we are to please the Lord. The defiled word of the Lord is the false doctrines of human wisdom and traditions. Verse 13 emphasizes the point that in Babylon, we eat defiled words of the Lord among the people of the world. 

Rev 6:5  And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. 
Rev 6:6  And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine. 

Mar 7:5  Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashen hands? 
Mar 7:6  He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. 
Mar 7:7  Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
Mar 7:8  For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do. 
Mar 7:9  And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.
Mar 7:10  For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death: 
Mar 7:11  But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free.
Mar 7:12  And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother; 
Mar 7:13  Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye. 

Eze 4:14  Then said I, Ah Lord GOD! behold, my soul hath not been polluted: for from my youth up even till now have I not eaten of that which dieth of itself, or is torn in pieces; neither came there abominable flesh into my mouth.
Eze 4:15  Then he said unto me, Lo, I have given thee cow’s dung for man’s dung, and thou shalt prepare thy bread therewith. 

Until the Lord comes to us with His brightness, we always think that we have not taken in any false doctrine of man’s tradition and wisdom. Ezekiel’s comment that his soul has not been polluted as he has not eaten any abominable flesh is the same as Peter saying that he has not eaten anything that is common or unclean when the Lord came to Him in a dream. It is as the Lord begins to unveil the mysteries of the kingdom to us that we come to see that we have taken in false doctrines all along. 

Act 10:9  On the morrow, as they went on their journey, and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour: 
Act 10:10  And he became very hungry, and would have eaten: but while they made ready, he fell into a trance,
Act 10:11  And saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth: 
Act 10:12  Wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air. 
Act 10:13  And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat. 
Act 10:14  But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean. 

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

As a result of Ezekiel’s petition, the Lord allowed him to use cow’s dung for man’s dung. This is to tell us that the defiled word of the Lord which is eaten by our brothers and sisters in Babylon is better than the wisdom and traditions of this world without Christ.

Eze 4:16  Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, behold, I will break the staff of bread in Jerusalem: and they shall eat bread by weight, and with care; and they shall drink water by measure, and with astonishment: 
Eze 4:17  That they may want bread and water, and be astonied one with another, and consume away for their iniquity. 

To break the staff of bread in Jerusalem means to bring about famine of the word of the Lord in Babylon. This famine comes as a result of the siege brought about by the Lord. Whenever bread and water are weighed and measured out for consumption, then it implies that famine is biting hard. As we are aware, famine represents the lack of the truth of the word of the Lord in Babylon. In Ezekiel 14:13, we are given a reason why the Lord brings famine to His people through a siege.

Eze 14:13  Son of man, when the land sinneth against me by trespassing grievously, then will I stretch out mine hand upon it, and will break the staff of the bread thereof, and will send famine upon it, and will cut off man and beast from it:

It is because the people had sinned against the Lord that there was famine. The laying of siege in our lives by the Lord is an inescapable experience. This is what the Lord did to His own people of Judah, which we must live it out in our lives as His elect:

2Ki 25:1  And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he, and all his host, against Jerusalem, and pitched against it; and they built forts against it round about.
2Ki 25:2  And the city was besieged unto the eleventh year of king Zedekiah. 
2Ki 25:3  And on the ninth day of the fourth month the famine prevailed in the city, and there was no bread for the people of the land. 
2Ki 25:4  And the city was broken up, and all the men of war fled by night by the way of the gate between two walls, which is by the king’s garden: (now the Chaldees were against the city round about:) and the king went the way toward the plain. 
2Ki 25:5  And the army of the Chaldees pursued after the king, and overtook him in the plains of Jericho: and all his army were scattered from him. 
2Ki 25:6  So they took the king, and brought him up to the king of Babylon to Riblah; and they gave judgment upon him.
2Ki 25:7  And they slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him with fetters of brass, and carried him to Babylon.

These things are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. 

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

May the Lord continue to sustain us in Him to do that which is pleasing in His sight. Amen!!

Acts 21:10-19  The Will of the Lord is Being Done

[Study Aired August 20, 2023]

Act 21:10  And as we tarried there many days, there came down from Judaea a certain prophet, named Agabus.
Act 21:11  And when he was come unto us, he took Paul’s girdle, and bound his own hands and feet, and said, Thus saith the Holy Ghost, So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle, and shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.
Act 21:12  And when we heard these things, both we, and they of that place, besought him not to go up to Jerusalem.
Act 21:13  Then Paul answered, What mean ye to weep and to break mine heart? for I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.
Act 21:14  And when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, The will of the Lord be done.
Act 21:15  And after those days we took up our carriages, and went up to Jerusalem.
Act 21:16  There went with us also certain of the disciples of Caesarea, and brought with them one Mnason of Cyprus, an old disciple, with whom we should lodge.
Act 21:17  And when we were come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly.
Act 21:18  And the day following Paul went in with us unto James; and all the elders were present.
Act 21:19  And when he had saluted them, he declared particularly what things God had wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry.

In our last study Paul had just arrived in Caesarea in the house of Philip the deacon/evangelist.

Act 21:10  And as we tarried there many days, there came down from Judaea a certain prophet, named Agabus.

Paul is now in Caesarea in the home of Philip, the deacon turned evangelist. He had bypassed Ephesus because he was determined to be in Jerusalem for the day of Pentecost, already having been told by the holy spirit that “bonds and afflictions” were waiting for him at Jerusalem:

Act 20:16  For Paul had determined to sail by Ephesus, because he would not spend the time in Asia: for he hasted, if it were possible for him, to be at Jerusalem the day of Pentecost.

Act 20:22  And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there:
Act 20:23  Save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me.

The word ‘Pentecost’ means ‘count fifty’ or ‘fifty count’ because it was fifty days from the days of unleavened bread, which feast we are told Paul spent at Philippi:

Act 20:4  And there accompanied him into Asia Sopater of Berea; and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus; and Gaius of Derbe, and Timotheus; and of Asia, Tychicus and Trophimus.
Act 20:5  These going before tarried for us at Troas.
Act 20:6  And we sailed away from Philippi after the days of unleavened bread, and came unto them to Troas in five days; where we abode seven days.

These seven men, plus Luke, are Paul’s traveling companions. Luke is the eighth man traveling with Paul to carry a gift from all the Gentile churches up to “the poor saints… at Jerusalem”:

Rom 15:26  For it hath pleased them of Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor saints which are at Jerusalem.

After the days of unleavened bread, Paul and his traveling companions spent five days traveling from Philippi to Troas, and they spent another seven days in Troas. That is twelve of the fifty days Paul needed to get to Jerusalem before Pentecost. It took another day for Paul to walk the 25 miles (40 kilometers) from Troas to Assos:

Act 20:13  And we went before to ship, and sailed unto Assos, there intending to take in Paul: for so had he appointed, minding himself to go afoot.
Act 20:14  And when he met with us at Assos, we took him in, and came to Mitylene.

That day of walking and then sailing to Mitylene was the thirteenth day since leaving Philippi after the days of unleavened bread.

Mitylene is a city on the island of Lesbos, which is visible from Assos. “We took him in and came to Mitylene” presents that part of his journey as taking place on that same day.

Act 20:15  And we sailed thence, and came the next day over against Chios; and the next day we arrived at Samos, and tarried at Trogyllium; and the next day we came to Miletus.

It took another day to get to the island of Chios. That would be the fourteenth day, then another day to get to Samos, on the fifteenth day after leaving Philippi. Paul and his traveling companions would have arrived at Miletus on the sixteenth day.

I wondered why Trogyllium did not appear on the maps of Paul’s journeys, and I discovered that:

“Trogillium is on the cape where the Turkish mainland comes within a kilometer of the Greek island of Samos.” (https://www.ephesustoursguide.com/must-see-places-in-turkey/trogyllium.html)

It was here in Miletus, 30 miles south of Ephesus, that Paul sent for the elders of Ephesus:

Act 20:16  For Paul had determined to sail by Ephesus, because he would not spend the time in Asia: for he hasted, if it were possible for him, to be at Jerusalem the day of Pentecost.
Act 20:17  And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of the church.

If it took Paul a whole day to walk across the 25 miles of the peninsula from Troas to Assos then it would have taken a man at least a day to go to Ephesus and at least another day for the elders of Ephesus to go the thirty miles south to Miletus. That is assuming they all Immediately dropped what they were doing and came just as soon as Paul sent word.

We are up to at least eighteen days having passed since the days of unleavened bread and the elders of Ephesus are just arriving in Miletus. Paul speaks to the elders of Ephesus on the nineteenth day and warns them that some of them will become grievous wolves, speaking perverse things to draw away disciples after themselves. He also tells them on that day that “ye… shall see my face no more”.

On that day, the nineteenth since the days of unleavened bread, Paul told the Ephesian elders:

Act 20:25  And now, behold, I know that ye all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, shall see my face no more.
Act 20:26  Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men.
Act 20:27  For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.
Act 20:28  Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.
Act 20:29  For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.
Act 20:30  Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.
Act 20:31  Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.

After leaving the Ephesian elders in Miletus, Paul and his traveling companions go to the island of Coos. That would be day twenty, “and the day following unto [the island of] Rhodes [day 21] and from thence to Patara [day 22]. At least three weeks and one day, twenty-two days, have passed since Paul and his companions kept the “the days of unleavened bread” in Philippi. Now Paul and company begin the longest leg of their journey, sailing from Patara to Tyre:

Act 21:1  And it came to pass, that after we were gotten from them [the Ephesian elders in Miletus], and had launched, we came with a straight course unto Coos, and the day following unto Rhodes, and from thence unto Patara:
Act 21:2  And finding a ship sailing over unto Phenicia, we went aboard, and set forth.
Act 21:3  Now when we had discovered Cyprus, we left it on the left hand, and sailed into Syria, and landed at Tyre: for there the ship was to unlade her burden.

Here is the map we have been using to follow Paul and his “traveling companions”:

https://www.conformingtojesus.com/images/webpages/pauls_third_missionary_journey1.jpeg

The wording leads us to believe that they did not stop on the island of Cyprus and went straight to Tyre from Patara. That being so, they no doubt got to Tyre much quicker than if they had been disembarking and having to “find [another] ship” going their way, as has been related to us up to this time. I Googled the question, “How many days did Paul spend sailing from Patara to Tyre?” This is what I got:

“The second ship sailed directly from Patara to Tyre. Since it didn’t make overnight stops at ports, it would have easily averaged 67 miles (108 kilometers) per day to cover the 400 miles in 6 days.” (End Quote)

Here is our breakdown of the number of days that have passed by the time Paul reaches Tyre after leaving Philippi:

5 days from Philippi to Troas
7 days in Troas (Acts 20:6)
1 day (25 miles; 40 kilometers) from Troas to Assos (Acts 20:13) and then sail
to Mitylene which can be seen from Assos (Acts 20:14)
1 day from Mitylene to Chios (Acts 20:15)
1 day from Chios to Samos/Trogyllium (Acts 20:15)
1 day from Samos/Trogyllium to Miletus (Acts 20:15)
1 day for a messenger to travel from Miletus to Ephesus (Acts 20:17)
1 day for the elders to travel from Ephesus to Miletus (Acts 20:18)
1 day (estimated) spent with the Ephesian elders in Miletus (Acts 20:18-38)
1 day from Miletus to Cos (Acts 21:1)
1 day from Cos to Rhodes (Acts 21:1)
1 day from Rhodes to Patara (Acts 21:1)
6 days (400 miles sailing 67 miles per day) from Patara to Tyre (Acts 21:2-3)
28 days total

Paul would have arrived in Tyre on the 28^th day since the days of unleavened bread. There are twenty-two days more until Pentecost when he and his traveling companions arrive in Tyre, and we are told:

Act 21:4  And finding disciples, we tarried there [in Tyre] seven days: who said to Paul through the Spirit, that he should not go up to Jerusalem.
Act 21:5  And when we had accomplished those days, we departed and went our way; and they all brought us on our way, with wives and children, till we were out of the city: and we kneeled down on the shore, and prayed.
Act 21:6  And when we had taken our leave one of another, we took ship; and they returned home again.

Twenty-eight plus seven equals thirty-five. There are now just 15 days until Pentecost, and Paul and his company are leaving Tyre for Ptolemais:

Act 21:7  And when we had finished our course from Tyre, we came to Ptolemais, and saluted the brethren, and abode with them one day.

If it took a day to get to Ptolemais, and they spent a day with the brothers there, we are now up to day thirty-seven since leaving Philippi. There are now only thirteen days left before Pentecost.

Act 21:8  And the next day we that were of Paul’s company departed, and came unto Caesarea: and we entered into the house of Philip the evangelist, which was one of the seven; and abode with him.

If it took another day to travel to Caesarea from Ptolemais, Paul would have arrived at Philip’s house in Caesarea on the thirty-eighth day with twelve more days to Pentecost:

Act 21:10  And as we tarried there many days, there came down from Judaea a certain prophet, named Agabus.

Tyre, Ptolemais, and Caesarea were all Jewish churches which were establish upon the persecution which arose about Stephen, and yet they are all very fond of the apostle Paul.

Act 11:19  Now they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen travelled as far as Phenice, and Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to none but unto the Jews only.

This is the same Agabus who had come from Jerusalem to Syrian Antioch way back before Paul and Barnabas had made their first missionary journey. When Agabus had come down to Antioch, he prophesied of a drought which prompted the church at Antioch to send aid to the saints in Judea, and they sent it by Paul and Barnabas:

Act 11:25  Then [soon after the stoning of Stephen] departed Barnabas to Tarsus, for to seek Saul:
Act 11:26  And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.
Act 11:27  And in these days came prophets from Jerusalem unto Antioch.
Act 11:28  And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the Spirit that there should be great dearth throughout all the world: which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar.
Act 11:29  Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judaea:
Act 11:30  Which also they did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul.

Act 21:11  And when he [Agabus, a certified prophet of God] was come unto us, he took Paul’s girdle, and bound his own hands and feet, and said, Thus saith the Holy Ghost, So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle, and shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.

This is the positive application of being “bound hand and foot”. It is the futile attempt of the adversary to stop the work of the Lord’s anointed, stopping them physically from either walking or working with their hands in the Lord’s service. Yet it is an evident and manifested fact that the epistles Paul wrote from his prison house in Rome have never ceased to be used by God to spread His gospel throughout all the world in every generation. Being “bound hand and foot” by this evil world and being “dead in the streets of Babylon the great serves only to magnify the gospel of the kingdom of God within the heavens of His disciples.

Php 1:12  But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel;
Php 1:13  So that my bonds [“bind hand and foot” (Act 21:11)] in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places;
Php 1:14  And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

Rev 14:6  And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,

Here is the negative application of being bound ‘hand and foot’:

Mat 22:11  And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment:
Mat 22:12  And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless.
Mat 22:13  Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Mat 22:14  For many are called, but few are chosen.

Act 21:12  And when we heard these things, both we, and they of that place, besought him not to go up to Jerusalem.

“We” are Luke and Paul’s other traveling companions who mistook the work of the holy spirit to prepare Paul’s heart for the trials that were just around the corner… they mistook this preparation for an admonition to avoid Jerusalem.

“They of that place” were those in Philip’s house and the church at Caesarea. They, too, thought that a prophecy of coming events was an admonition to avoid those impending events. Paul was mature enough to know that it is only “through much tribulation that we must enter the kingdom of heaven”, and that it is only “if we suffer with Him, we will be also glorified together with Him.” Their comments were in the same vein as Peter’s when he rebuked Jesus for saying He would be killed.

Mat 16:22  Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.

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

2Ti 2:12  If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:

Act 21:13  Then Paul answered, What mean ye to weep and to break mine heart? for I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.

As Paul later tells us up front:

Php 1:29  For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake;

That is the exact opposite of “the voice of a stranger” which will always “speak unto us smooth things”:

Isa 30:9  That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the LORD:
Isa 30:10  Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits:

The Lord’s sheep know His voice, and they also recognize the words of a stranger who is ‘speaking smooth things and prophesying deceits’:

Joh 10:4  And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.
Joh 10:5  And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.

This next verse reveals that even Paul’s traveling companions and “they of that place” knew that whatever took place happened only by “the will of the Lord”:

Act 21:14  And when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, The will of the Lord be done.

“The will of the Lord [is] being done… in “all things” because that is exactly what the Lord tells us is the case:

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.

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:

The sovereignty of God extends to even the worst sin ever committed, and the Lord makes that very clear:

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.

Act 21:15  And after those days we took up our carriages, and went up to Jerusalem.

“Those days” were the “many days” mentioned in verse ten which Paul and his traveling companions spent in the house of Philip there in Caesarea:

Act 21:10  And as we tarried there many days, there came down from Judaea a certain prophet, named Agabus.

We have accounted for the passage of thirty-eight days since Paul and his traveling companions left Philippi after the days of unleavened bread, with the intent of being in Jerusalem by the day of Pentecost.  When Paul arrived at Philip’s house there were only 12 days left before Pentecost.

Caesarea is a two-day journey to Jerusalem. Paul could conceivably have spent ten days with Philip in Caesarea and still have time to be in Jerusalem by Pentecost.

The “we” of verse 15 would have been Paul, and Luke and the seven men traveling with him to bring the gift of their Gentile congregations up to the suffering saints in Judea and Jerusalem to be distributed by the Jerusalem elders.

Act 20:4  And there accompanied him into Asia Sopater of Berea; and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus; and Gaius of Derbe, and Timotheus; and of Asia, Tychicus and Trophimus.

Act 21:16  There went with us also certain of the disciples of Caesarea, and brought with them one Mnason of Cyprus, an old disciple, with whom we should lodge.

Mnason of Cyprus apparently also had a house in Jerusalem at which it had been arranged for Paul and his company to lodge. The body of Christ provides for its own in every city, and it does so with cheerfulness:

2Co 9:7  Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.

Paul Visits James for the Last Time

Act 21:17  And when we were come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly.

The decrees of the elders of Acts 15 had been being shared by Paul with all the churches he established, and while there were false prophets accusing Paul of teaching the Jews among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, James and all the elders who knew Paul knew that was a lie being told by false brothers. Therefore “When we were come to Jerusalem the [true] brethren received us gladly.”

Act 21:18  And the day following Paul went in with us unto James; and all the elders were present.

This particular ‘James’ is not the “James, the brother of John” who was killed by Herod at the time Barnabas and Saul had taken a gift from the church at Syrian Antioch up to Jerusalem during the days of unleavened bread shortly before their first missionary journey. This ‘James’ is the brother of Christ and the author of the book of James.

Act 12:1  Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church.
Act 12:2  And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.
Act 12:3  And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. (Then were the days of unleavened bread.)

We know this is the Lord’s brother because Paul mentions “James, the Lord’s brother” as the apostle who was at Jerusalem when he first came back to Jerusalem from Damascus, three years after his conversion on the road just outside of Damascus:

Gal 1:19  But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord’s brother.

Paul informs us that Christ had appeared to His brother James alone after His resurrection. Notice the order of these various appearances after His resurrection:

1Co 15:3  For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
1Co 15:4  And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
1Co 15:5  And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:
1Co 15:6  After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.
1Co 15:7  After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.
1Co 15:8  And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.
1Co 15:9  For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
1Co 15:10  But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

Here in 1 Corinthians 15:5 and Luke 24:34 are the only two scriptures which tell us that Peter was the first apostle to see the Lord after His resurrection. Paul also says “He was [later] seen of James; then of all the apostles” at his ascension for the last time.

Here Paul tells us that “[Christ] was seen of James”, and then he informs us that “James the Lord’s brother” was made one of the apostles (Gal 1:19) by the time Paul returned to Jerusalem after his first three years of his ministry in Damascus. This demonstrates the high regard Paul gave to “James the brother of the Lord” as the leader of the church in Jerusalem:

Act 21:18  And the day following Paul went in with us unto James; and all the elders were present.

It had been agreed many years earlier that Paul and Barnabas would concentrate their efforts on “going to the Gentiles” while Peter and the other Jewish apostles would go to the Jews first:

Act 15:28  For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things;
Act 15:29  That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.

Gal 2:9  And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision.

Paul and Silas shared these “decrees of the apostles and elders at Jerusalem” with all the churches “as they went” on their journeys.

Act 16:4  And as they went through the cities, they delivered them the decrees for to keep, that were ordained of the apostles and elders which were at Jerusalem.

Those decrees expected the Jews to continue observing the law of Moses while the Gentiles were to do “no such thing” as we will see in our next study:

Act 21:23  Do therefore this that we say to thee: We have four men which have a vow on them;
Act 21:24  Them take, and purify thyself with them, and be at charges with them, that they may shave their heads: and all may know that those things, whereof they were informed concerning thee, are nothing; but that thou thyself also walkest orderly, and keepest the law.
Act 21:25  As touching the Gentiles which believe, we have written and concluded that they observe no such thing, save only that they keep themselves from things offered to idols, and from blood, and from strangled, and from fornication.

This is a temporary agreement which lasted until the temple was destroyed. It initiated a period called “the time of reformation” which we all live as we come out from under the burdens of Babylon and into the freedom from all the traditions of men and all the ‘bondage under the elements of this world’ (Gal 4:1-10, Col 1:8-20).

Heb 9:10  Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation.

Act 21:19  And when he had saluted them, he declared particularly what things God had wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry.

The Lord has ordained that a reformation requires a certain amount of time in the lives of every man.

The point we need to understand is that there was no doctrine of ‘two administrations’ which was intended by the holy spirit to keep the Jews separated from the Gentiles in perpetuity.

Php 1:27  Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the [singular] gospel;

Rom 3:30  Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith.

Eph 4:3  Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Eph 4:4  There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
Eph 4:5  One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
Eph 4:6  One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

Lest there be any question of whether the Jews were intended to remain under the law of Moses, Paul makes clear that “wall of partition between us [is being] broken down”:

Eph 2:11  Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;
Eph 2:12  That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:
Eph 2:13  But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
Eph 2:14  For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; [“The decrees of the elders… and the holy ghost” stating that the Jews much continue to keep the law of Moses]
Eph 2:15  Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;
Eph 2:16  And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:
Eph 2:17  And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.
Eph 2:18  For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
Eph 2:19  Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;

What a wonderful message! Why would anyone want to return to a burden “which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?”

Act 15:10  Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?

Gal 3:1  O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?
Gal 3:2  This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
Gal 3:3  Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?
Gal 3:4  Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain.

Gal 3:23  But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.
Gal 3:24  Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
Gal 3:25  But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.
Gal 3:26  For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

It is the churches of the great harlot system, with all their laws and traditions, which are the modern ‘schoolmaster’ from whom we are being delivered.

In our next study we will see that even Paul was still “under a schoolmaster” at this time in his life.

[Study Aired February 12, 2023]

Act 8:1  And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles.
Act 8:2  And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him.
Act 8:3  As for Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison.
Act 8:4  Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word.
Act 8:5  Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them.
Act 8:6  And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did.
Act 8:7  For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed.
Act 8:8  And there was great joy in that city.
Act 8:9  But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one:
Act 8:10  To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God.
Act 8:11  And to him they had regard, because that of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries.
Act 8:12  But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.
Act 8:13  Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done.
Act 8:14  Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John:
Act 8:15  Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost:
Act 8:16  (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)
Act 8:17  Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.
Act 8:18  And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money,
Act 8:19  Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost.
Act 8:20  But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.

In our last study, Stephen had been stoned to death and became the first Christian to die for His faith in Christ. That stoning was supervised by a young man named Saul:

Act 7:58  and they cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.

This chapter begins by pointing out that the young man, Saul, consented to Stephen’s death, and then we are informed that the church came under great persecution at the time of Stephen’s stoning:

Act 8:1  And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles.

The whole church was still all Jewish and was still believing that physical Israel was God’s chosen nation. The first question they asked after Christ’s resurrection reveals that they believed Christ would very soon appear in power and deliver physical Israel from her Roman oppressors and establish physical Israel as the chief nation on earth. There was yet no concept of a spiritual seed of Abraham which included the Gentiles. This question reveals just how spiritually immature the apostles themselves were at the time of the resurrection of Christ:

Act 1:3  To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:
Act 1:4  And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me.
Act 1:5  For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
Act 1:6  When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?

The apostles were not yet given the understanding of the things of the spirit, and when Christ spoke to them “of things pertaining to the kingdom of God”, they were conflating “the kingdom of God” with the carnal nation of physical Israel.

These Christians who “were all scattered abroad” were not yet scattered beyond Israel. They were scattered “throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria”, and the apostles themselves were not scattered at all. They were all still in Jerusalem, still believing that physical Jerusalem was to be the capital of the coming kingdom of God they had been commissioned to proclaim:

Luk 8:1  And it came to pass afterward, that he went throughout every city and village, preaching and shewing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God: and the twelve were with him,

Luk 9:1  Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases.
Luk 9:2  And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick.

Luk 9:60  Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.

When the Pharisees had asked Christ about this coming kingdom, He had told them that His kingdom was an inward kingdom, but neither the Pharisees nor His disciples had a spiritual bone in their bodies at that time, and they were still looking for a physical kingdom:

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

Christ certainly was not telling the Pharisees that the kingdom of God was within them. What He was saying is that the kingdom of God is within those it is within.

In the very next verse He is speaking to His disciples, and if any of us had heard these words with no spiritual insights we, too, would have been led to believe that soon after His death and resurrection the kingdom of God would come to this earth:

Luk 17:22  And he said unto the disciples, The days will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and ye shall not see it.
Luk 17:23  And they shall say to you, See here; or, see there: go not after them, nor follow them.
Luk 17:24  For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day.
Luk 17:25  But first must he suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation.

It is true that Christ did not say, “Immediately after I suffer many things and immediately after I am rejected of this generation the Son of Man will appear to establish His kingdom as the lightning lightens out of one part under heaven and shines unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day.” His words would certainly lead one to believe that His kingdom was imminent. Indeed, His kingdom did come on the day of Pentecost when the holy spirit for the first time ever entered into and took up residence within the one hundred and twenty people who were in the upper room on that day. However, even after the holy spirit had come into the disciples, it would still be several years before they understood that being a physical Jew without Christ did not make one a ‘Jew’ at all:

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

Christ had made these statements also:

Mar 9:1  And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power.

Mar 14:25  Verily I say unto you, I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine, until that day that I drink it new in the kingdom of God.

The apostles Peter, James and John, “saw the kingdom of God come with power” the very next week as the very next verse explains with the conjunction ‘and’:

Mar 9:2  And after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth them up into an high mountain apart by themselves: and he was transfigured before them.
Mar 9:3  And his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them.
Mar 9:4  And there appeared unto them Elias with Moses: and they were talking with Jesus.
Mar 9:5  And Peter answered and said to Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.
Mar 9:6  For he wist not what to say; for they were sore afraid.
Mar 9:7 And there was a cloud that overshadowed them: and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him.
Mar 9:8  And suddenly, when they had looked round about, they saw no man any more, save Jesus only with themselves.
Mar 9:9  And as they came down from the mountain, he charged them that they should tell no man what things they had seen, till the Son of man were risen from the dead.
Mar 9:10  And they kept that saying with themselves, questioning one with another what the rising from the dead should mean.

The apostles did not understand the meaning of “rising from the dead”. How could they possibly understand what “the kingdom of God is within you” meant?

There is no doubt the disciples and the apostles all thought the physical kingdom of God was imminent in their day. They were not yet given to understand the full meaning of “the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:20-21).

Judaea and Samaria are both within Israel, and there is yet no understanding of the gospel going to the Gentiles. Peter has not yet been sent to the house of Cornelius the Gentile Roman Centurion, and Saul of Tarsus has not yet been converted. In fact, it is at this point Saul makes the persecution of all Christians his life’s occupation:

Act 8:2  And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him.
Act 8:3  As for Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison.
Act 8:4  Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where [within Israel] preaching the word.
Act 8:5  Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them.

Christ had earlier told His disciples they were not to go to the Samaritans. He commissioned them to tell only the house of Israel that “The kingdom of heaven is at hand”:

Mat 10:5  These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not:
Mat 10:6  But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
Mat 10:7  And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.

This is the first time anyone has gone to speak to the Samaritans since Christ spent a few days with them when He witnessed to the woman at Jacob’s well:

Joh 4:28  The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men,
Joh 4:29  Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?
Joh 4:30  Then they went out of the city, and came unto him.

Joh 4:39  And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did.
Joh 4:40  So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they besought him that he would tarry with them: and he abode there two days.
Joh 4:41  And many more believed because of his own word;
Joh 4:42  And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world.

Christ had been well received by the Samaritans, and Philip capitalized upon the work Christ had done:

Act 8:6  And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did.
Act 8:7  For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed.
Act 8:8  And there was great joy in that city.

Here we are given another example of a Jew who believed in Christ but did not abide in His word as Christ told us in:

Joh 8:30  As he spake these words, many believed on him.

It certainly doesn’t happen overnight, but it is only in our patience that the words of Christ within us give us dominion over sin in our lives:

Luk 21:19  In your patience possess ye your souls.

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

We are now introduced to just such a Jewish believer; one who believes in Christ but is not given to abide in and “continue in [His] Word”:

Act 8:9  But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one:
Act 8:10  To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God.
Act 8:11  And to him they had regard, because that of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries.

These “sorceries” are the same “sorceries” associated with Babylon the great, the mother of harlots:

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.
Isa 47:2  Take the millstones, and grind meal: uncover thy locks, make bare the leg, uncover the thigh, pass over the rivers.
Isa 47:3  Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen: I will take vengeance, and I will not meet thee as a man.
Isa 47:4  As for our redeemer, the LORD of hosts is his name, the Holy One of Israel.
Isa 47:5  Sit thou silent, and get thee into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called, The lady of kingdoms.
Isa 47:6  I was wroth with my people, I have polluted mine inheritance, and given them into thine hand: thou didst shew them no mercy; upon the ancient hast thou very heavily laid thy yoke.
Isa 47:7  And thou saidst, I shall be a lady for ever: so that thou didst not lay these things to thy heart, neither didst remember the latter end of it.
Isa 47:8  Therefore hear now this, thou that art given to pleasures, that dwellest carelessly, that sayest in thine heart, I am, and none else beside me; I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know the loss of children:

Rev 18:7  How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.

Isa 47:9  But these two things shall come to thee in a moment in one day, the loss of children, and widowhood: they shall come upon thee in their perfection for the multitude of thy sorceries, and for the great abundance of thine enchantments.

Rev 18:8  Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.
Rev 18:9  And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning,

Isa 47:10  For thou hast trusted in thy wickedness: thou hast said, None seeth me. Thy wisdom and thy knowledge, it hath perverted thee; and thou hast said in thine heart, I am, and none else beside me.
Isa 47:11  Therefore shall evil come upon thee; thou shalt not know from whence it riseth: and mischief shall fall upon thee; thou shalt not be able to put it off: and desolation shall come upon thee suddenly, which thou shalt not know.
Isa 47:12  Stand now with thine enchantments, and with the multitude of thy sorceries, wherein thou hast laboured from thy youth; if so be thou shalt be able to profit, if so be thou mayest prevail.

Rev 18:23  And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived.
Rev 18:24  And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.

Isa 47:13  Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels. Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save thee from these things that shall come upon thee.
Isa 47:14  Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame: there shall not be a coal to warm at, nor fire to sit before it.
Isa 47:15  Thus shall they be unto thee with whom thou hast laboured, even thy merchants, from thy youth: they shall wander every one to his quarter; none shall save thee.

This is the spirit of this ‘Samaritan Simon’. He believed in Christ, but he did so for personal gain and not to glorify God and not for the benefit of his brothers and sisters in Christ. This is the spirit of all the prosperity ministers who cannot see that the apostle John says these words in Isaiah 47 are actually referring to Babylon the Great as “that great city wherein our Lord was crucified”, and Paul tells  us that “Jerusalem which now is and is in bondage with her children” is the anti-type of Hagar, the bondwoman and her son Ishmael:

Gal 4:24  Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar.
Gal 4:25  For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children.
Gal 4:26  But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.

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.

Physical Jerusalem typifies the Lord’s apostate church. This is what the Lord says of His apostate people:

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

Rev 18:24  And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.

Act 8:12  But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.

This is physical water baptism, which is a mere ritual and like physical circumcision, does nothing to change the heart and mind. The church in this reformation dispensation is still living under the law of Moses as we all first do. We all know at the beginning of our calling that Christ has made all the changes He proclaimed in Matthew 5-7 where He quoted the law of Moses every time He said, “Ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time… love your neighbor and hate your enemy… eye for eye and tooth for tooth… swear only by the name of the Lord your God.”  Then He reformed the law of Moses with the words of His New Covenant when He taught saying… “but I say unto you… love your enemy… swear not at all… resist not evil… turn the other cheek…” etc. Philip and all the apostles are aware of those changes, but if Christ had not spoken to the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well, they would have been hesitant to go in unto Samaritans who were Jews who worshipped in Bethel and in Dan where Jereboam, the son of Nebat, has erected two golden calves and had established a separate society with separate festivals to keep the people of Israel from worshipping at Jerusalem. “By little and by little” the Lord is opening the eyes and hearts of his Jewish disciples to accept the all-encompassing depth and width of His kingdom.

Act 8:13  Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done.

There is all the proof needed to demonstrate that water baptism changes nothing. Simon the sorcerer “was baptized”, but as we will see in our next study, he was not at all converted and still had the same self-centered heart and mind. ‘Believing in Christ’ does not make one a “disciple indeed”. A true “disciple indeed” will continue in and abide and remain in the Lord’s words and His doctrines through thick and thin and through persecution and much tribulation:

Joh 8:30  As he spake these words, many believed on him.
Joh 8:31  Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
Joh 8:32  And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
Joh 8:33  They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? [‘We are professing Christians, how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?’]
Joh 8:34  Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.
Joh 8:35  And the servant abideth [of sin] not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever.
Joh 8:36  If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

According to the BT+ the name ‘Simon’ is defined as ‘Peter’ or ‘petros’, meaning ‘stone’. As with every word, there is both a positive and a negative application. Simon Peter was a “lively stone” in the Lord’s house. Simon the sorcerer of Samaria has been given a “stony heart” which is not revealed to be changed to “a heart of flesh” in this age.

Eze 36:26  A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
Eze 36:27  And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.

1Pe 2:5  Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

This Samaritan ‘Simon’ is given the same name as ‘Simon Peter’, but as we will see, he is not at all Peter.

Like Ananias and Sapphira, who sold their land and lied about how much of the proceeds they had given to the church, this ‘Simon of Samaria’ is introduced to us with the conjunction ‘but’. Here are those introductions side by side:

Ananias the liar:

Act 5:1  But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession,
Act 5:2  And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

Simon the sorcerer:

Act 8:9  But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one:

Both Ananias and Simon of Samaria sought preeminence among the Lord’s people without having a humble servant’s spirit, which is the spirit of Christ.

Nevertheless, the work of the holy spirit through Philip was used by the Lord to begin to open the eyes of the apostles to the fact that physical Jerusalem was not the center of the universe, and Peter and John were sent to Samaria to further the Lord’s work among the apostate Jewish Samaritans. When I use the word ‘apostate’ here I am not referring to apostatizing from the faith of Christ. I use it to refer to the fact that the Samaritans had apostatized from keeping the holy days of Moses in Jerusalem as the woman at the well told Christ:

Joh 4:19  The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.
Joh 4:20  Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.

The Samaritans were the despised outcasts of the people of God in Christ’s day, just as David was an outsider in the days when King Saul sought to kill him.

Act 8:14  Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John:
Act 8:15  Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost:
Act 8:16  (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)
Act 8:17  Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.
Act 8:18  And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money,
Act 8:19  Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost.
Act 8:20  But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.

Without adding to or taking away from the words of scripture, we can observe that both Philip and the apostles, Peter and John, were gracious toward Simon, until his actions revealed what was actually in his heart. Simon had been baptized in water by Philip, but Peter and John did not lay hands on him to receive the holy spirit. Peter had discerned that Simon was not a man who had been dragged to the Lord by the Lord’s chastening grace. Rather this ‘Simon’ still possessed a “stony heart” which actually believed that he had something to offer the Lord, and he had no idea why the apostles were not the least bit interested in his money.

In our next study we will see that the apostle Peter tells Simon to repent of this presumptuous spirit and pray that the Lord will forgive him of “this wickedness”. Peter has learned and now knows the Truth of the Lord’s words which were spoken while He was still here in a body of flesh and blood, when He told His disciples:

Joh 6:41  The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven.
Joh 6:42  And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven?
Joh 6:43  Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves.
Joh 6:44  No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw [G1670: ‘helkuo’, drag] him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
Joh 6:45  It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.

Every part of the body of Christ is first “taught of God” and is “dragged [to] Him” before being brought into His corporate body. This principle applied to Peter himself:

Mat 16:13  When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?
Mat 16:14  And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.
Mat 16:15  He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
Mat 16:16  And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
Mat 16:17  And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.

Peter knew and understood the truth of those words of the Lord, and he immediately rebuked this spirit which assumes it can buy off the God of Creation. “Thy money perish with you because you have thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money” is not a solicitous spirit one might have as he bears with the weak. The holy spirit has given Peter to understand that this person is not yet being shown who Christ is. Neither Christ nor His Christ will be bribed.

Php 3:18  (For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ:
Php 3:19  Whose end is destruction [of their old man], whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)
Php 3:20  For our conversation [G4175: ‘politeuma’, citizenship] is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:
Php 3:21  Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.

‘Enemies of the cross of Christ’ despise hearing of His judgments. They much prefer to hear smooth things (Isa 30:10), telling themselves they are ‘encouraging and helping others’ when the truth is they are doing others a disservice and spiritually spoiling those who are weak in the faith by failing to prepare them for the promised persecutions which come with being faithful to Christ and His doctrines.

Isa 30:10  Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits:

2Ti 3:12  Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
2Ti 3:13  But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.
2Ti 3:14  But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;

The gospel of Christ is not the smooth-talking enchantments and sorceries of Simon of Samaria. Rather, the true gospel of Christ acknowledges that serving Christ in this present evil age entails “fiery trials… suffering with [Him] and much persecution”. The gospel of Christ also includes the promise of the reward of being manifested as the sons of God, a  promise which far outweighs all the hardships of our faithfulness in this present evil age:

Rom 8:17  And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
Rom 8:18  For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
Rom 8:19  For the earnest expectation of the creature [mankind] waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.

Rom 8:35  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
Rom 8:36  As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
Rom 8:37  Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
Rom 8:38  For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
Rom 8:39  Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Song of Solomon 6:1-13 – Part 11, Together in the Garden of Love Solomon and His Bride Delight in Each Other

[Study Aired January 21, 2023]

“… thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women. (2Sa 1:26)

We continue the Song of Solomon – Part 11 in the third person with the daughters of Jerusalem’s fascination with the short-term veneration of their sister, the Shulamite’s election of high honor. They do not realize that their shared joy will be turned bitter 2,500 + years later at an indeterminate date of Christ’s return.

Son 6:1 Whither is thy beloved gone, O thou fairest among women? whither is thy beloved turned aside? that we may seek him with thee. 

Together in the Garden of Love

Son 6:2 My beloved is gone down into his garden, to the beds of spices, to feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies. 
Son 6:3 I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine: he feedeth among the lilies. 

Solomon and His Bride Delight in Each Other

Son 6:4 Thou art beautiful, O my love, as Tirzah, comely as Jerusalem, terrible as an army with banners.
Son 6:5 Turn away thine eyes from me, for they have overcome me: thy hair is as a flock of goats that appear from Gilead. 
Son 6:6 Thy teeth are as a flock of sheep which go up from the washing, whereof every one beareth twins, and there is not one barren among them. 
Son 6:7 As a piece of a pomegranate are thy temples within thy locks.
Son 6:8 There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines, and virgins without number.
Son 6:9 My dove, my undefiled is but one; she is the only one of her mother, she is the choice one of her that bare her. The daughters saw her, and blessed her; yea, the queens and the concubines, and they praised her.
Son 6:10 Who is she that looketh forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners? 
Son 6:11 I went down into the garden of nuts to see the fruits of the valley, and to see whether the vine flourished, and the pomegranates budded. 
Son 6:12 Or ever I was aware, my soul made me like the chariots of Amminadib. 
Son 6:13 Return, return, O Shulamite; return, return, that we may look upon thee. What will ye see in the Shulamite? As it were the company of two armies.

There are shocking spiritual correlations in the first verse of chapter 6.

Son 6:1 Whither [H575 ~ Hebrew an – “where”] is thy beloved gone, O thou fairest among women? whither is thy beloved turned aside? that we may seek him with thee.

Christ is espoused to one wife, the younger, much smaller and last “army” of the two. (Rom 9:12-13) The daughters of Jerusalem unconsciously initiate the early stages of imagining that they too will share in the Groom’s love (“… that we may seek him with thee”), duplicated much later by Babylonian Christianity stating, that they, too, have a husband. They are yet to tragically realize that they are the rich man looking across the chasm separating them from Lazarus with no part in the First Resurrection.

Luk 16:19 There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:
Luk 16:20 And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, 
Luk 16:21 And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
Luk 16:22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; 
Luk 16:23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 
Luk 16:24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.
Luk 16:25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.
Luk 16:26 And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.

Rev 18:7 How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow. (see all of Rev 18).

Gen 19:5 And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them. 

Mat 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Mat 7:22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
Mat 7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Of course, the Shulamite wasn’t remotely concerned about where her beloved had gone; she precisely knew that He was in her spirit, and she was in His. The 1,000 daughters of old Jerusalem, Solomon’s court, were indeed Egypt and Sodom. They were unwittingly blinded, as were the men of Sodom and equally witless for their fiery trials on the Eighth Day.

Son 6:2 My beloved is gone down into his garden, to the beds of spices, to feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies. 

To goatish Sodom today, verse 2 evokes the only nature they know. That accord feeds their raunchy natural appetites for that verse’s imagery; they are not given to see any spiritual applications, nor do they wish to enquire. To them, scripture is to be viewed plainly, even when poetically written; that is how it is understood. Nothing will dissuade them from that sensual focus on the flesh.

Even while giving life to torrid imaginations, the sanctity and unity of agreement in marital acts are uniquely between a husband and wife, especially if their actions authentically glorify Christ in their hearts. The Body of Christ is joyfully aware of more direct and vivid imagery in chapter 7 of unashamed love-making that single folk are adept at mitigating its potential rulership in their hearts through long and detailed tarrying upon its ‘wine’ (Pro 23:29-30).

Heb 13:4 Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.

The marriage bed is defiled by illicit sex and lingering upon sexual activities that don’t accentuate Christ. If it was a crime to think about sex, then the Song of Solomon wouldn’t have been included in scripture. The spirit of intent for what we do with our thoughts condemns us.

2Ti 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
2Ti 3:17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

Suppose a married couple are the inheritors of flavourless intimacies, perhaps through parents or their former thunder and lightning sermons in Babylon, and it has trampled any Shulamite inquisitiveness. In that case, it is between them and the Lord. The spirit resulting from the couple’s interactions is what counts, not creative sexual callisthenics. However, remember that the Shulamite, in all purity in the “natural”, doesn’t half-step her righteous lust for her Lord. ALL aspects of her every action reflect the vital spiritual content that doesn’t cause the negative effects of drunkenness from wine ~ for the major part, this is why her Lord’s love is better than wine! With no thought for an apology, she wholeheartedly gives herself to her Lord!

Rom 14:13 Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way. 
Rom 14:14 I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself: but to him that esteemeth any thing to be unclean, to him it is unclean. 
Rom 14:15 But if thy brother be grieved with thy meat, now walkest thou not charitably. Destroy not him with thy meat, for whom Christ died [It is only whoremongering and adulterous actions that would grieve the spirit for their doctrinally connected fornications].
Rom 14:16 Let not then your good be evil spoken of: 
Rom 14:17 For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. 
Rom 14:18 For he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God, and approved of men.
Rom 14:19 Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another [If you have faith in your actions in marriage, have it to yourselves].
Rom 14:20 For meat destroy not the work of God. All things indeed are pure; but it is evil for that man who eateth with offence.
Rom 14:21 It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak [Normally, anything that happens in a marriage’s bedroom is between the husband, wife and God, and thus shouldn’t give occasion for another to stumble; especially since we do not uncover another’s nakedness, specifically spiritually].
Rom 14:22 Hast thou faith? have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth. 
Rom 14:23 And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.

Col 3:1 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek [Mat 6:33] those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
Col 3:2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
Col 3:3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.

Subsequently, from those scriptures, Son 6:2 shouldn’t be a killjoy to a husband and wife’s intimacies! To the Shulamite, they amplify her arousal!

Son 6:2 My beloved is gone down into his garden, to the beds of spices, to feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies.

We know that the first “garden” [H1588] conceived is the Garden of Eden.

Gen 2:8 And the LORD God planted a garden [1588] eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. 
Gen 2:9 And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

Garden – H1588
– Original: גּן
– Transliteration: Gan
– Phonetic: gan
– Definition: n, m/f 
garden, enclosure
enclosed garden
(fig. of a bride)
garden (of plants) n pr loc
Garden of Eden
– Origin: from H1598
– TWOT entry: 367a
– Part(s) of speech: 
– Strong’s: From H1598; a garden (as fenced): – garden.

Total KJV Occurrences: 43

The lurid imaginations in the natural, hold great significance since the Bride’s righteous fruit makes her the Bride of Christ and is a result of her God-given “fenced” virginity from first being found in the field in her blood all the way to her being the Bride. 

The deliberate ironic tragedy in the natural is that sin in spirit was hers while in Eden, the Garden that became fenced which she represents. 

The Garden of Eden held within it the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and the tree of life. Our Lord is the first instance of a ‘man’ going down to his garden. He went down to his garden ‘panting’ in vain for his creation’s righteousness.

Gen 3:9 And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? 
Gen 3:10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.

Gen 3:23 Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.
Gen 3:24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

That garden of Old Jerusalem and Israel in the wilderness, Christ’s first wife, was fenced off from the tree of life just as everyone in Israel other than the high priest was fenced off from the holy of holies. The Shulamite, the heavenly Jerusalem above, brings forth the fruit of her spiritual womb through delightedly wrestling face-to-face in spiritual union with the Lord, the tree of life. She no longer sees her face-to-face through a glass, darkly but has excitedly become the mirror of her Lord; he in her and she in Him.

Peniel means “face of God” (H6439). Jacob, upon wrestling all night with God, says in:

Gen 32:30 And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: [H6439] for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.

Jacob set the path of Israel painfully in us to eventually see Christ as he is, face-to-face with Shulamite enthusiasm. At first, the derivative of H6439 is H6437 and means to “turn toward [darkness or light] or to look back”, which was Israel’s harlot ways.  In our former ways we sullenly turn toward our Lord following chastisement and soon after turn away when all is working our way wonderfully.

In previous SOS studies, we have reviewed the meaning of spices and, to some degree, lilies, yet “… to feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies” is to be exquisitely joyful in shared kisses because of the Hebrew origin of “lilies” is H7797 and means to “exult, rejoice; be cheerful”. The young Shulamite woman is us feeding on our Lord’s sweet-scented word.

Son 6:3 I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine: he feedeth among the lilies. 

Son 1:7  Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest, where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon: for why should I be as one that turneth aside by the flocks of thy companions?

This is a major part of my feeding the flock; though speaking about deciphering tongues, my part also is discerning deceit:

1Co 14:24  But if all prophesy, and there come in one unbelieving or unlearned, he is reproved by all, he is judged by all;
1Co 14:25 the secrets of his heart are made manifest; and so he will fall down on his face and worship God, declaring that God is among you indeed.

While not claiming to have been inspired to tease out every spiritual understanding in the Song of Solomon, chapter 5, I hesitate to say, for the most part the entire book doesn’t appear to present startlingly new revelations. As I’ve insinuated in its previous studies, the Shulamite frequently speaks in the third person from the standpoint of her assured election above her sisters of physical Jerusalem. From her humble God-given eminence, she often “charges” them with moral (spiritual) cautions. Her sisters in Jerusalem today are Egypt, Sodom and Babylon, and are not yet alerted to the shocking difference between them and her. Her passionate praises for her beloved in the verses to be studied (Son 5:10-16) are only spiritually understood by her and her Husband.

All stops are out, and nobody more enthusiastically believes every word than the Shulamite as she adventurously praises her Lord.

So, we continue with Shulamite’s “primary theme” of protracted and enthusiastic anticipation for her wedding since (Lord willing) every joint hearing this study is Her.

Son 5:10  My beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand. 
Son 5:11 His head is as the most fine gold, his locks are bushy, and black as a raven. 
Son 5:12 His eyes are as the eyes of doves by the rivers of waters, washed with milk, and fitly set. 
Son 5:13 His cheeks are as a bed of spices, as sweet flowers: his lips like lilies, dropping sweet smelling myrrh. 
Son 5:14 His hands are as gold rings set with the beryl: his belly is as bright ivory overlaid with sapphires. 
Son 5:15 His legs are as pillars of marble, set upon sockets of fine gold: his countenance is as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars. 
Son 5:16 His mouth is most sweet: yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem. 

[Study Aired May 22, 2022]

Jer 39:1  In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, came Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon and all his army against Jerusalem, and they besieged it.
Jer 39:2  And in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, the ninth day of the month, the city was broken up.
Jer 39:3  And all the princes of the king of Babylon came in, and sat in the middle gate, even Nergalsharezer, Samgarnebo, Sarsechim, Rabsaris, Nergalsharezer, Rabmag, with all the residue of the princes of the king of Babylon.
Jer 39:4  And it came to pass, that when Zedekiah the king of Judah saw them, and all the men of war, then they fled, and went forth out of the city by night, by the way of the king’s garden, by the gate betwixt the two walls: and he went out the way of the plain.
Jer 39:5  But the Chaldeans’ army pursued after them, and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho: and when they had taken him, they brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to Riblah in the land of Hamath, where he gave judgment upon him.
Jer 39:6  Then the king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah in Riblah before his eyes: also the king of Babylon slew all the nobles of Judah.
Jer 39:7  Moreover he put out Zedekiah’s eyes, and bound him with chains, to carry him to Babylon.
Jer 39:8  And the Chaldeans burned the king’s house, and the houses of the people, with fire, and brake down the walls of Jerusalem.
Jer 39:9  Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive into Babylon the remnant of the people that remained in the city, and those that fell away, that fell to him, with the rest of the people that remained.
Jer 39:10  But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left of the poor of the people, which had nothing, in the land of Judah, and gave them vineyards and fields at the same time.
Jer 39:11  Now Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon gave charge concerning Jeremiah to Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, saying,
Jer 39:12  Take him, and look well to him, and do him no harm; but do unto him even as he shall say unto thee.
Jer 39:13  So Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard sent, and Nebushasban, Rabsaris, and Nergalsharezer, Rabmag, and all the king of Babylon’s princes;
Jer 39:14  Even they sent, and took Jeremiah out of the court of the prison, and committed him unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan, that he should carry him home: so he dwelt among the people.
Jer 39:15  Now the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah, while he was shut up in the court of the prison, saying,
Jer 39:16  Go and speak to Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring my words upon this city for evil, and not for good; and they shall be accomplished in that day before thee.
Jer 39:17  But I will deliver thee in that day, saith the LORD: and thou shalt not be given into the hand of the men of whom thou art afraid.
Jer 39:18  For I will surely deliver thee, and thou shalt not fall by the sword, but thy life shall be for a prey unto thee: because thou hast put thy trust in me, saith the LORD.

The first two verses of this chapter tell us how long the siege of Jerusalem lasted:

Jer 39:1  In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, came Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon and all his army against Jerusalem, and they besieged it.
Jer 39:2  And in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, the ninth day of the month, the city was broken up.

Jerusalem is the great whore in type in this story, and Isaiah makes that very clear in the very first chapter of his prophecy:

Isa 1:21  How is the faithful city become an harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers.

Isaiah even calls Jerusalem ‘Sodom’.

Isa 1:10  Hear the word of the LORD, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah.

Isa 3:8  For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah is fallen: because their tongue and their doings are against the LORD, to provoke the eyes of his glory.
Isa 3:9  The shew of their countenance doth witness against them; and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not. Woe unto their soul! for they have rewarded evil unto themselves.

The reason Jerusalem is signified by a harlot is to let us know that the great whore of Revelation 17-18 is a “Mystery” to this world:

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

The Greek word translated as ‘mystery’ is:

G3466
μυστήριον
mustērion
moos-tay’-ree-on

From a derivative of μύω muō (to shut the mouth); a secret or “mystery” (through the idea of silence imposed by initiation into religious rites): – mystery.

“Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots” is a ‘musterion’ because she is the Lord’s own apostate covenant people. What we all at first fail to realize is that God had a covenant with Noah and his seed long before He was in covenant with Abraham and his seed:

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;

While the only stipulations of this covenant are:

1) Gen 9:3  Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.

2) Gen 9:4(a)  But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.

3) Gen 9:4(b) “Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed”.

4) Gen 9:5  And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man’s brother will I require the life of man.

This is still a covenant with Noah and his seed (Gen 9:9), therefore all men are in covenant with God, and all religions of mankind are part of the whore and her daughters.

Jer 39:2  And in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, the ninth day of the month, the city was broken up.

From the tenth month of the ninth year to the fourth month of the eleventh year means that the siege lasted 18 months, or a year and a half, and the famine in the city was severe:

Jer 52:5  So the city was besieged unto the eleventh year of king Zedekiah.
Jer 52:6  And in the fourth month, in the ninth day of the month, the famine was sore in the city, so that there was no bread for the people of the land.

The number ‘nine’ as we all know, signifies judgment:

Jer 39:3  And all the princes of the king of Babylon came in, and sat in the middle gate, even Nergalsharezer, Samgarnebo, Sarsechim, Rabsaris, Nergalsharezer, Rabmag, with all the residue of the princes of the king of Babylon.

In our King James version of the bible, there appears to be six princes here, two of whom have the same name. We will not go into the meaning of all these names. If we had the time to do so, it would be easy to make the case that there are just three princes with the first name being their name and the second name being their title. Here is a cut and paste from the Jamison-Fausset-Brown Commentary on the titles attached to each first name:

“Nergalsharezer, Samgarnebo — proper names formed from those of the idols, Nergal and Nebo (2Ki 17:30, Isa 46:1).
Rab-saris — meaning “chief of the eunuchs.”
Rab-mag — chief of the magi; brought with the expedition in order that its issue might be foreknown through his astrological skill. Mag is a Persian word, meaning “great…powerful.” The magi were a sacerdotal [priest] caste among the Medes, and supported the Zoroastrian religion.”

Jer 39:4  And it came to pass, that when Zedekiah the king of Judah saw them, and all the men of war, then they fled, and went forth out of the city by night, by the way of the king’s garden, by the gate betwixt the two walls: and he went out the way of the plain.
Jer 39:5  But the Chaldeans’ army pursued after them, and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho: and when they had taken him, they brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to Riblah in the land of Hamath, where he gave judgment upon him.
Jer 39:6  Then the king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah in Riblah before his eyes: also the king of Babylon slew all the nobles of Judah.

As Jeremiah had prophesied, Zedekiah did indeed see the face of Nebuchadnezzar:

Jer 32:4  And Zedekiah king of Judah shall not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, but shall surely be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him mouth to mouth, and his eyes shall behold his eyes;

These are the words the Lord gave to Jeremiah, and Jeremiah remained faithful to these very unpopular and unpatriotic words. With His life at stake, Jeremiah repeated the words of the Lord to wicked King Zedekiah, just before the breach of the city by the armies of Babylon. This is from last week’s study:

Jer 38:13  So they drew up Jeremiah with cords, and took him up out of the dungeon: and Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.

As severe as the circumstances were, Jeremiah remained faithful to what the Lord had told him would be the fate of the king of the kingdom of apostate Judah, the Old Testament type of the great whore (Isa 1:21):

Jer 38:14  Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took Jeremiah the prophet unto him into the third entry that is in the house of the LORD: and the king said unto Jeremiah, I will ask thee a thing; hide nothing from me.
Jer 38:15  Then Jeremiah said unto Zedekiah, If I declare it unto thee, wilt thou not surely put me to death? and if I give thee counsel, wilt thou not hearken unto me?

This all happened, and it is all written down to let us know that the kingdom of our own old wicked ‘king… the man of sin’ within us, is doomed to destruction and was “made to be taken and destroyed”:

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

2Th 2:8  And then shall that Wicked [our old king] be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

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

Evil men like wicked King Nebuchadnezzar are the Lord’s sword which He uses to punish His own wayward elect:

Psa 17:13  Arise, O LORD, disappoint him, cast him down: deliver my soul from the wicked, which is thy sword:

The Lord even uses our own wicked old king as His sword to correct us.

Jer 2:19 Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord GOD of hosts.

The ten horns on the beast of Revelation 17 symbolize our flesh when it becomes aware of how the whore has deceived and abused the beast. It is our own carnal mind which will hate the great whore and will be used by the Lord to destroy that harlot system by “eating her flesh and burn[ing] her with fire” just as Nebuchadnezzar did in a literal sense, to Jerusalem:

Jer 39:7  Moreover he put out Zedekiah’s eyes, and bound him with chains, to carry him to Babylon.
Jer 39:8  And the Chaldeans burned the king’s house, and the houses of the people, with fire, and brake down the walls of Jerusalem.

While all of this has a primary inward application, Jeremiah would have been disobedient to the Lord to have only applied these words to Himself and failed to warn the great whore in whose kingdom He lived his physical life. Jeremiah had already been through the inward fire of the Lord’s Word and was now required by the Lord to proclaim an outward judgment upon the great whore of Isaiah 1:21 quoted above. The Lord first deceives us and burns out our own old man before He uses us to warn others. Jeremiah is a type of each of us:

Jer 20:7  O LORD, thou hast deceived me, and I was deceived: thou art stronger than I, and hast prevailed: I am in derision daily, every one mocketh me.
Jer 20:8  For since I spake, I cried out, I cried violence and spoil; because the word of the LORD was made a reproach unto me, and a derision, daily.
Jer 20:9  Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.
Jer 20:10  For I heard the defaming of many, fear on every side. Report, say they, and we will report it. All my familiars watched for my halting, saying, Peradventure he will be enticed, and we shall prevail against him, and we shall take our revenge on him.
Jer 20:11  But the LORD is with me as a mighty terrible one: therefore my persecutors shall stumble, and they shall not prevail: they shall be greatly ashamed; for they shall not prosper: their everlasting confusion shall never be forgotten.
Jer 20:12  But, O LORD of hosts, that triest the righteous, and seest the reins and the heart, let me see thy vengeance on them: for unto thee have I opened my cause.

This story of how the Lord delivered Jeremiah is written to encourage each of us to be faithful to the Words of the Lord even as ‘all our familiars watch for our halting’, hoping to see us cave into the pressures of the persecutions and tribulations which we must endure to the end:

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

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

Our physical brothers and our physical “familiars”, our friends and the society in which we live, will hate us and persecute us if we follow in the footsteps of Christ and do the things He commands us to do and abide in His words:

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

Joh 8:30  As he spake these words, many believed on him.
Joh 8:31  Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him [types of today’s Christians], If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
Joh 8:32  And ye shall know the truth [Christ], and the truth [Christ] shall make you free.

Jeremiah typifies those who know Christ and who depend on Him for their salvation even if they are threatened with physical death. It is only if we are willing to forfeit this life that the Lord will give us life:

Mat 10:34  Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.
Mat 10:35  For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.
Mat 10:36  And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household.
Mat 10:37  He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
Mat 10:38  And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.
Mat 10:39  He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.
Mat 10:40  He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.

Jeremiah had sunk down in the mire of the pit and was taken from the pit to witness the Lord’s judgment upon his enemies and all those who had persecuted him. So, it is with all of us who are given to remain faithful to the end:

Jer 39:9  Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive into Babylon the remnant of the people that remained in the city, and those that fell away, that fell to him, with the rest of the people that remained.
Jer 39:10  But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left of the poor of the people, which had nothing, in the land of Judah, and gave them vineyards and fields at the same time.

Leaving the poor of the land and giving them vineyards and fields is an entirely physical event in the history of this unfaithful nation with whom the Lord was in a covenant. Nevertheless, this event typifies these spiritual words from the mouth of our Lord:

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

The “poor in spirit” know they have what they have only as a gift from God and not of themselves. Those who take credit for their works are the opposite of being “poor in spirit”. Jeremiah knew that his life was spared by the Lord Himself and not because of anything he had done of himself. Jeremiah knew that Nebuchadnezzar’s heart was in the hands of the Lord:

Pro 21:1  The king’s heart [Your heart and my heart] is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.

The Lord had made Nebuchadnezzar aware of the prophecies of Jeremiah, and the Lord gave Jeremiah favor in the eyes of Nebuchadnezzar:

Jer 39:11  Now Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon gave charge concerning Jeremiah to Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, saying,
Jer 39:12  Take him, and look well to him, and do him no harm; but do unto him even as he shall say unto thee.
Jer 39:13  So Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard sent, and Nebushasban, Rabsaris, and Nergalsharezer, Rabmag, and all the king of Babylon’s princes;
Jer 39:14  Even they sent, and took Jeremiah out of the court of the prison, and committed him unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan, that he should carry him home: so he dwelt among the people.

This is an incredible honor being bestowed upon the Lord’s faithful elect. This event typifies the fulfillment of these inspired words:

Pro 16:7  When a man’s ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.
Pro 16:8  Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues without right.

There had been many days through the years of Jeremiah’s prophecies in which he had very “little with righteousness”. He has ‘very little’ while in the pit and in the prison, but he remained faithful to the Words of the Lord, and now the Lord was making “even his enemies to be at peace with him”.

The holy spirit concludes this chapter of Jeremiah by taking us back to Jeremiah’s time in the pit and in prison to remind us that when we receive the Lord’s elect, we are receiving the Lord Himself:

Mat 10:40  He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.

The Lord does not forget us when we remain faithful to Him and to His body of elect believers. He is “a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him”:

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

This is what the Lord had Jeremiah to prophesy concerning Ebedmelech the Ethiopian who had been used by the Lord to save Jeremiah’s life from death in the pit:

Jer 39:15  Now the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah, while he was shut up in the court of the prison, saying,
Jer 39:16  Go and speak to Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring my words upon this city for evil, and not for good; and they shall be accomplished in that day before thee.
Jer 39:17  But I will deliver thee in that day, saith the LORD: and thou shalt not be given into the hand of the men of whom thou art afraid.
Jer 39:18  For I will surely deliver thee, and thou shalt not fall by the sword, but thy life shall be for a prey unto thee: because thou hast put thy trust in me, saith the LORD.

As we just read in Hebrews 11:6, He that comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.

There are many examples throughout the Bible of how the Lord preserves His faithful through the trials He places upon them. Beginning with Abel, who was slain by his older brother, Enoch, who was taken away so he would not die, and then continuing on generation after generation, the Lord reveals how He delivered His faithful from those who would hurt them. But He first must give us the gift of “faith that He is” and that He will reward us for our fidelity to Him and to His promise of life. This promise of life is not necessarily in this present time, but life eonian in the ages to come.

I will conclude this study with a few verses on just how important it is that we have faith in the promises of God:

Eph 2:4  But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
Eph 2:5  Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
Eph 2:6  And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
Eph 2:7  That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
Eph 2:8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph 2:9  Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Eph 2:10  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

1Pe 1:9  Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.
1Pe 1:10  Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you:
1Pe 1:11  Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.
1Pe 1:12  Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.

Heb 11:1  Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Heb 11:2  For by it the elders obtained a good report.
Heb 11:3  Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
Heb 11:4  By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.
Heb 11:5  By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.
Heb 11:6  But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Heb 11:7  By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.
Heb 11:8  By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.
Heb 11:9  By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:
Heb 11:10  For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
Heb 11:11  Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised.
Heb 11:12  Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable.
Heb 11:13  These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
Heb 11:14  For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.
Heb 11:15  And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned.
Heb 11:16  But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.
Heb 11:17  By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,
Heb 11:18  Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called:
Heb 11:19  Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.
Heb 11:20. By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.
Heb 11:21  By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff.
Heb 11:22  By faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel; and gave commandment concerning his bones.
Heb 11:23  By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king’s commandment.
Heb 11:24  By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter;
Heb 11:25  Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;
Heb 11:26  Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.
Heb 11:27  By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.
Heb 11:28  Through faith he kept the passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them.
Heb 11:29  By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned.
Heb 11:30  By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days.
Heb 11:31  By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace.
Heb 11:32  And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets:
Heb 11:33  Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,
Heb 11:34  Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.
Heb 11:35  Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection:
Heb 11:36  And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment:
Heb 11:37  They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented;
Heb 11:38  (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.
Heb 11:39  And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:
Heb 11:40  God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.

It is only if we are given the ability to believe the Lord’s Words that we will be the overcomers and the recipients of all the promises made exclusively to the overcomers of Revelation 2 and 3:

1Jn 5:4  For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.

Let us all pray that the Lord, through His gift of faith, will give each of us “respect unto the recompense of the reward” and not treat our birthright with the lack of respect that Esau treated his birthright.

Dan 11:25-45  He Shall go Forth with Great Fury to Destroy…Yet He Shall Come to His End

[Study Aired February 21, 2022]

Dan 11:25  And he shall stir up his power and his courage against the king of the south with a great army; and the king of the south shall be stirred up to battle with a very great and mighty army; but he shall not stand: for they shall forecast devices against him. 
Dan 11:26  Yea, they that feed of the portion of his meat shall destroy him, and his army shall overflow: and many shall fall down slain. 
Dan 11:27  And both these kings’ hearts shall be to do mischief, and they shall speak lies at one table; but it shall not prosper: for yet the end shall be at the time appointed. 
Dan 11:28  Then shall he return into his land with great riches; and his heart shall be against the holy covenant; and he shall do exploits, and return to his own land. 
Dan 11:29  At the time appointed he shall return, and come toward the south; but it shall not be as the former, or as the latter. 
Dan 11:30  For the ships of Chittim shall come against him: therefore he shall be grieved, and return, and have indignation against the holy covenant: so shall he do; he shall even return, and have intelligence with them that forsake the holy covenant. 
Dan 11:31  And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate. 
Dan 11:32  And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits. 
Dan 11:33  And they that understand among the people shall instruct many: yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days. 
Dan 11:34  Now when they shall fall, they shall be holpen with a little help: but many shall cleave to them with flatteries. 
Dan 11:35  And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end: because it is yet for a time appointed. 
Dan 11:36  And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done. 
Dan 11:37  Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all. 
Dan 11:38  But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces: and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things. 
Dan 11:39  Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain. 
Dan 11:40  And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over. 
Dan 11:41  He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon. 
Dan 11:42  He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape. 
Dan 11:43  But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps. 
Dan 11:44  But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many. 
Dan 11:45  And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him. 

This second part of Daniel chapter 11 continues with the struggle between the kings of the South and the North, with Israel caught in between. The last few verses of the chapter are focused on the end of the Greek empire and the desecration of the temple in Jerusalem resulting in the abomination of desolation. In the previous review, we ended with the introduction of Antiochus Epiphanes, who became king of the North. He was not a legitimate heir to the throne but was able to acquire an army and take the throne by force in 187 BC. He seemed to have a special vendetta against Jerusalem. He was a thug and a madman.

Dan 11:21  And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries. 
Dan 11:22  And with the arms of a flood shall they be overflown from before him, and shall be broken; yea, also the prince of the covenant.
Dan 11:23  And after the league made with him he shall work deceitfully: for he shall come up, and shall become strong with a small people. 
Dan 11:24  He shall enter peaceably even upon the fattest places of the province; and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor his fathers’ fathers; he shall scatter among them the prey, and spoil, and riches: yea, and he shall forecast his devices against the strong holds, even for a time.

Inwardly, Antiochus represents the raging beast within us which stops at nothing in defiling the temple of God which is our bodies. As stated in verse 24 that the king shall devise plans against strongholds, but only for a time, the stronghold is Christ, and the reign of the old man or beast in our lives is limited.

Dan 11:25  And he shall stir up his power and his courage against the king of the south with a great army; and the king of the south shall be stirred up to battle with a very great and mighty army; but he shall not stand: for they shall forecast devices against him. 
Dan 11:26  Yea, they that feed of the portion of his meat shall destroy him, and his army shall overflow: and many shall fall down slain. 
Dan 11:27  And both these kings’ hearts shall be to do mischief, and they shall speak lies at one table; but it shall not prosper: for yet the end shall be at the time appointed.
Dan 11:28  Then shall he return into his land with great riches; and his heart shall be against the holy covenant; and he shall do exploits, and return to his own land.

Antiochus invaded Egypt in 169 BC. The king of Egypt was young and inexperienced, relying on advisors who did not serve him well, and he was defeated. In negotiations, neither king was honorable. Antiochus left Egypt the victor. On his way home, he looted the temple in Jerusalem and stationed a garrison there. He also defiled the temple by sacrificing unclean animals there.

Inwardly, we are just like the king of the South under assault by the king of the North, Antiochus. The beast within, empowered by the evil one, overcame us by desecrating our temple, which is our bodies. The statement in verse 26 that they that feed of the portion of his (the king of the South) meat shall destroy him is to let us know that the desecrating of our temple is the result of what we and our advisors in Babylon were feeding on, that is, the lies of the evil one. This is confirmed in verse 27 where both the king of the South and the king of the North spoke lies at one table. During our sojourn in Babylon, our father was the devil, so all that we knew were the lies of the devil.

Rev 12:9  And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

Joh 8:44  Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

Verse 28 states that the king of the North shall be against the holy covenant, and he shall do exploit. This is rendered in a simpler version of the word of Christ as follows:

Dan 11:28  Then the king of the north will return to his country with great treasures. But on the way, he will attack the religion of God’s people and do whatever else he pleases. (CEV)

To attack the religion of God’s people is to infuse lies regarding the word of Christ such that we do not see the glorious light of Christ.

2Co 4:4  In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

Dan 11:29  At the time appointed he shall return, and come toward the south; but it shall not be as the former, or as the latter. 
Dan 11:30  For the ships of Chittim shall come against him: therefore he shall be grieved, and return, and have indignation against the holy covenant: so shall he do; he shall even return, and have intelligence with them that forsake the holy covenant.

Outwardly, this prophecy was fulfilled as follows: After returning home, Antiochus decided to invade the South again. He was met by the Romans, who told him to “cease and desist.” He had no choice but to comply, but the incident left him completely humiliated, which seemed to make him more intent on violence against the people of God.

Inwardly, we experience the wrath of the devil as he realizes that his dominion over us is coming to an end. Just like Antiochus who realized that his kingdom expansion was coming to an end because of the rising power of the Romans, and therefore unleashed his fury on the people of God, the devil’s fury against us during the final stages of our sojourn in Babylon is intensified, and we become worse off as we imbibe every flood of false doctrines that he releases.

Rev 12:12  Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.

Rev 12:15  And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood. 
Rev 12:16  And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth. 

During our time in Babylon, we were the earth that swallowed up every flood cast out from the mouth of the serpent.

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

Dan 11:31  And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate. 
Dan 11:32  And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.

Outwardly, in his second attempt to loot the temple, Antiochus tried to buy off Jewish officials, and he stopped the daily sacrifices, but this time he was met by Jewish resistance. The Maccabean Revolt ensued in 167 BC.

Inwardly, our time in Babylon is characterized by the desecration of our temple which is our bodies. The climax of this desecration is when we begin to see the man of sin sitting in the temple of God and declaring himself as God. This is the abomination of desolation spoken by Daniel and by the Lord Jesus Christ.

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

Mat 24:15  “So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), 
Mat 24:16  then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 
Mat 24:17  Let the one who is on the housetop not go down to take what is in his house, 
Mat 24:18  and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. 
Mat 24:19  And alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! 
Mat 24:20  Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. 
Mat 24:21  For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. 
Mat 24:22  And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. 
Mat 24:23  Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. 
Mat 24:24  For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. 
Mat 24:25  See, I have told you beforehand. 
Mat 24:26  So, if they say to you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. 
Mat 24:27  For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 
Mat 24:28  Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather. (ESV)

It is when we see this abomination of desolation or the man of sin or the old man sitting in our temple that Christ comes with His brightness which is His word to destroy it.

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

The brightness of His coming is the fire of the word of the Lord which brings about the persecution and tribulation in our lives. This judgment is not a one-time event. It is a process of a lifetime which culminates in the great tribulation which is the seven plagues in the Book of Revelation.

Rev 15:1  And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God.

As Jesus told us, when we see this abomination of desolation, we must flee from Judea to the mountains (Mat 24:16). Judea here represents the apostate churches of this world or Babylon, which we must leave. Fleeing to the mountains means taking refuge in the Lord who is in the midst of His elect as the mountains here represent Christ and where we offer sacrifices pleasing to the Lord.

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.

Eze 20:40  For in mine holy mountain, in the mountain of the height of Israel, saith the Lord GOD, there shall all the house of Israel, all of them in the land, serve me: there will I accept them, and there will I require your offerings, and the firstfruits of your oblations, with all your holy things.

Verse 17 of Matthew chapter 24 says that those who are on the housetop should not go into the house to take anything from it. This is another way of saying that we are not to return to Babylon to carry along its false doctrines because of the judgment we may go through. The house here represents the apostate churches, and the housetop are those who have just escaped from the churches of this world as shown in the following verses:

Pro 21:9  It is better to dwell in a corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman in a wide house.

Pro 25:24  It is better to dwell in the corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman and in a wide house.

In verse 18 of Matthew 24, the man in the field must not turn back to take his cloak. As we are aware, the field is the world and so when Christ comes to us to judge us because of our worldliness, we must let go of our own righteousness. The women who are pregnant in verse 19 of Matthew 24 refer to Babylon who is revealed in the Book of Revelation as being pregnant with the manchild. Those nursing infants refer to our carnal state when the Lord comes to us with His brightness.

Rev 12:1  And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: 
Rev 12:2  And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. 

Verse 20 of Matthew 24 says that our flight should not be in the winter or the sabbath when the Lord comes to us in judgment. Negatively, the winter represents the period when we have become a prey of the beasts of the earth. This is the period when we are completely overcome by the beast within us. Our flight not being on the sabbath refers to the period in our lives when we have not found rest in Christ.

Isa 18:6  They shall be left together unto the fowls of the mountains, and to the beasts of the earth: and the fowls shall summer upon them, and all the beasts of the earth shall winter upon them.

Heb 4:4  For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works. 
Heb 4:5  And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest. 
Heb 4:6  Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief:

In conclusion, the Lord is telling us of the circumstances at the time we are given to know the abomination of desolation in our lives.

Another rendition of Daniel chapter 11 verse 32 in a simpler English is as follows:

With smooth words [of flattery and praise] he will turn to godlessness those who [are willing to] disregard the [Mosaic] covenant, but the people who [are spiritually mature and] know their God will display strength and take action [to resist]. (AMP)

On one hand, we were those who did wickedly against the covenant and were corrupted by flatteries.

Jud 1:16  These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men’s persons in admiration because of advantage.

As we grow in obedience, we become strong and are able to resist the devil as he flees from us. This is the time in our lives when we do exploits, that is, we are able to resist the devil through Christ.

Jas 4:7  Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Dan 11:33  And they that understand among the people shall instruct many: yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days. 
Dan 11:34  Now when they shall fall, they shall be holpen with a little help: but many shall cleave to them with flatteries. 
Dan 11:35  And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end: because it is yet for a time appointed. 
Dan 11:36  And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done. 
Dan 11:37  Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all. 
Dan 11:38  But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces: and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things. 
Dan 11:39  Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain.

Outwardly, the revolt met with mixed success and mixed support among the Jewish populace with some help from Rome — which later became an occupying power. Antiochus did whatever he wanted. He even proclaimed himself to be a god by taking the title Epiphanes. He chose the Sabbath as a day to worship him. He went far beyond his predecessors in arrogance. He relied on his own financial and military might.

Internally, our own effort to overcome the beast would not yield any success, as the beast represented here by Antiochus is empowered by the Lord to overcome us for a period of time signified by forty-two months.

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? 
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. 
Rev 13:8  And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

Dan 11:40  And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over. 
Dan 11:41  He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon. 
Dan 11:42  He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape. 
Dan 11:43  But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps. 
Dan 11:44  But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many. 
Dan 11:45  And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him. 

Outwardly, most of chapter 11 is focused on Antiochus Epiphanes, but he is only one king of the North among many. The event recorded from verses 40 to 45 refers to Antiochus’s successor (Antiochus V) and the end of the Greek Empire. The Romans who conquered Syria became the new “king of the North” and then went on to defeat the Greek king in Egypt (the king of the South) and the rest of the Mediterranean world, ultimately destroying the temple in Jerusalem in AD 70. Yet even the mighty Roman Empire fell and could not be helped.

As we have indicated in the previous review of this chapter, the time of the end is the time when the ends of the world are come. We, the elect, are the ones upon whom the time of the end is come as our world has come to an end. This means that what is written in chapter 11 is specifically referring to us.

1Co 10:11  Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

Verses 40 to 45 relate to the coming of the Roman empire which took control of many countries including Jerusalem. As we learned from Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in Daniel chapter 2, the Roman empire is the final worldly empire before Christ comes with His kingdom to destroy it and establishes the kingdom of this world as the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ. As we are aware, the number four means the whole of the matter under discussion. Thus, the fourth kingdom of the Roman empire to succeed the Greek empire represents the whole of the kingdoms of this world. This fourth kingdom of the Roman Empire is symbolized by iron. On a negative note, iron refers to us being instruments of death while in Babylon.

Num 35:16  And if he smite him with an instrument of iron, so that he die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death. 

Getting to the end of our sojourn in Babylon, we become murderers just as our father the devil is a murderer.

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

In the final analysis, we become worse off in Babylon as demonstrated by the physical destruction of Jerusalem by the Roman empire in AD 70. In other words, the habitation of the Lord within us becomes occupied by the beast, signified by Jerusalem being destroyed. However, Christ brings us to this deplorable state so that we can see clearly the abomination of desolation or the beast occupying the place of Christ in our hearts and minds. The revealing of this abomination of desolation ushers in the coming of Christ with His brightness in our lives to destroy the beast or the Roman empire so that the kingdom of our Lord is established in our hearts and minds. Later, this kingdom will be outward when the kingdoms of this world becomes the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ.

2Pe 2:18  For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error. 
2Pe 2:19  While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage. 
2Pe 2:20  For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.
2Pe 2:21  For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.
2Pe 2:22  But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.

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