The Two Works of Scripture, Part 3: The Judgment of Works

[Study Aired May 5, 2026]

Recap and Orientation

Parts 1 and 2 have established the two categories of works and the passage from one to the other. The works of the natural order — dead works produced by the Adamic nature, whether profane, moral, or religious — cannot justify because they proceed from a source in which the quickening spirit has not yet come. The works wrought in God — the works of the spiritual order produced through the indwelling Spirit — cannot be manufactured by human effort but must be received in the Worker who takes up residence in the believer. The work of God is believing; the fruit of faith is works wrought in God; the apparent tension between Paul and James dissolves when we recognize two kinds of works rather than two competing bases of salvation.

Part 3 now addresses the final element of the doctrine: the universal judgment of works. Scripture teaches plainly that every work will be brought into account, tested, and rewarded or burned. Far from contradicting the doctrine of justification by faith, this judgment vindicates the apostolic pattern with finality. Every work that was wrought in God endures; every work that was wrought in the flesh burns — regardless of the label under which it was performed.

The Universal Judgment of Works

The principle that every work will be judged is not a New Testament novelty — it is the conclusion of the wisest man in Israel: For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil (Ecc 12:14). Paul grounds the same universal principle in the character of God Himself: Who will render to every man according to his deeds (Rom 2:6). These are not threatening words for those who have entered the rest of Hebrews 4 and ceased from their own works — they are the promise that what the indwelling Worker has produced will not be forgotten. Every work will be brought into account. Scripture speaks of two judgments in which this accounting takes place.

Of the believer’s judgment Paul writes: For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad (2Co 5:10). The Greek word rendered “judgment seat” is bema (G968) — not a criminal court but a raised platform of accounting and award, the same word used for the athletic victor’s platform where prizes were given to those who had run and prevailed. The Corinthians knew the bema as a specific stone structure in their own forum, the very platform before which Paul had stood (Acts 18:12-17). When Paul invokes it here he is not describing a trial of condemnation — for there is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus (Rom 8:1) — but an accounting of what each believer built, where every work is disclosed according to its substance and rewarded or lost accordingly.

Of the unbeliever’s judgment John writes: And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works… And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire (Rev 20:12, 15). The unbeliever’s works are the evidence, not the cause, of his exclusion. His works belong entirely to the natural order because he never entered the spiritual; no Worker has indwelt him; nothing he produced belonged to the living order.

These two judgments together, when understood, do not threaten the doctrine of justification by faith — they complete it. Works are the final witness of what faith has or has not produced. The fire does not determine who is in Christ; it discloses what was wrought in those who were, and the absence of works wrought in God in those who were not.

1 Corinthians 3: The Testing of Believers’ Works

The most searching passage on the judgment of believers’ works is Paul’s architectural image in 1 Corinthians 3. Having established that the foundation of the Christian life is Christ alone — For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ (1Co 3:11) — Paul turns to the materials each believer builds upon that foundation.

Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire (1Co 3:12-15).

Six materials in two categories. Gold, silver, and precious stones share one property: they endure fire. Wood, hay, and stubble share the opposite: they burn. The distinction is not in how a work appears to observers but in where it originated. Two men may preach the same sermon — one from the flesh, one from the indwelling Spirit — and only the fire of that day will reveal which was gold and which was stubble. Gold, silver, and precious stones are works wrought in God; wood, hay, and stubble are works of the natural order produced by the flesh of a believer whose foundation is Christ but whose materials are mixed.

The sobering implication is that a regenerate believer can build much of his life with the natural order’s materials. Paul names this condition plainly in the verses immediately before the fire-test: I could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ… for ye are yet carnal (1Co 3:1-3). In Christ — the foundation is secure. Yet carnal — the materials are mixed. The flesh and the Spirit are contrary the one to the other within the same believer (Gal 5:17), and Christ Himself warned that the two cannot be mixed without cost — no man putteth new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out (Mat 9:17) — for the walk determines which produces the day’s labor. A believer who walks according to the flesh, even while resting on Christ for salvation, accumulates wood, hay, and stubble — works that bear the believer’s name but were not wrought by Christ. On the day of manifestation the fire speaks, and these materials return to the ash from which their nature always belonged.

What belongs to the natural order returns to ash; what was wrought in God cannot be burned away, for it was never the believer’s own production to begin with. The Spirit confirms this through John: Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them (Rev 14:13). The labors cease at death; the works follow. Works wrought in God cannot be consumed by fire — they are His, and what is His endures the fire.

This evaluation is not only a future event. To each of the seven churches Christ declares the same opening word: I know thy works (Rev 2:2, 2:9, 2:13, 2:19, 3:1, 3:8, 3:15). The Worker who dwells within is already examining what is being built — not with condemnation for those whose foundation is Christ, but with the clear-eyed knowledge of one who sees the difference between gold and stubble long before the fire speaks. The day of manifestation will not surprise Him; it will confirm what He has known all along.

He himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire (1Co 3:15). The believer’s person is preserved because his foundation is Christ; his reward is lost because his materials were flesh. The foundation is not in jeopardy; the building upon the foundation is. The question every day poses is not whether Christ is the foundation — for those who are in Him, He is — but whether today’s labor will prove gold or stubble when the fire speaks.

Matthew 7: Religious Works Rejected

If 1 Corinthians 3 warns the believer about materials that burn though the foundation endures, Matthew 7 warns the professing Christian about works that will be named “iniquity” though performed in Christ’s very name. This is the devastating capstone of the doctrine of dead works.

Not everyone 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. 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? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity (Mat 7:21-23).

The passage is devastating because the works in view are not immorality. They are not works of the flesh in the Galatians 5 sense. They are religious works of the most impressive kind — prophesying, casting out devils, performing wonderful works — and they are performed in Christ’s name. The name is invoked; the vocabulary is Christian; the outward shape is ministry. Yet Christ calls the whole catalog iniquity and names the workers as those whom He never knew.

The category of dead works therefore includes more than moral failure and more than ceremonial law-keeping. It includes religious ministry, spiritual gifts, and miraculous deeds performed by the old man in the flesh, even when the name of Christ is borne upon them. The reason Christ gives is telling: I never knew you. The issue is not the label on the work but the relationship from which the work proceeds. Where Christ has not known the worker — where no indwelling, no yielding to the Worker within has ever taken place — the works, however impressive, are dead works. They return to ash before the throne no matter how many they appeared to bless.

The warning functions as a flare to every generation of the church. Religious activity is not proof of life in the Spirit. Even miraculous activity is not proof of life in the Spirit. Sincere invocation of Christ’s name is not proof of life in the Spirit. The only proof is the Worker’s indwelling presence, manifesting in works wrought in God rather than merely wrought under His name. The question this passage leaves with every reader is not whether the work impresses observers but whether the Worker knows the one performing it. If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature (2Co 5:17). Apart from that new creation, the most spectacular labor is still the old Adam’s — belonging to the natural order and dead.

Matthew 25: Works as Evidence

The sheep-and-goats scene in Matthew 25 has been taken by some as proof that salvation itself turns upon works — that acts of mercy toward Christ’s brethren are the basis of entrance to the kingdom. A careful reading reveals the opposite: works are the evidence of kingdom-belonging, not its basis. A still more careful reading reveals that the sheep and the goats are not two permanently separate groups of people but the two natures within each of us — the old man and the new — brought at last to their final separation before the King.

And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats (Mat 25:32). The shepherd does not bring two separate flocks from two separate fields. He divides what was gathered together — one assembly, two natures within it. The old man and the new man have coexisted in the believer throughout the walk. The day of judgment is the day of their final separation, when the King at last divides within each of us what the fire of 1 Corinthians 3 has already been testing: what was wrought in God and what was wrought in the flesh.

Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world (Matt 25:34). The kingdom is prepared — and prepared from the foundation of the world, before any of the works in question could have been performed. The sheep-nature inherits what has been laid up for it; it does not purchase the inheritance with its deeds.

The list of deeds that follows — feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the imprisoned — is confirmatory evidence rather than meritorious cause. Observe the response of the sheep-nature: Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? (Mat 25:37). What was recounted to them is not recognized as what they stand on before God. They are surprised by it. Works wrought in God are not performed to earn anything. They flow naturally from the indwelling Christ, the way a branch bears fruit — not by striving but because of what it is connected to. They are the evidence that the Shepherd’s Spirit produced in His sheep the very compassion they exhibited toward Christ’s brethren — as you have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me (Mat 25:40).

The goat-nature, conversely, is set aside not because it failed to perform a certain quantity of works but because no works wrought in God ever appeared in it. The goat-nature belongs entirely to the natural order — the labor of the old man who never received the Worker, who never entered the rest, who never bore the fruit that would testify to Christ’s indwelling. When the book is opened there is nothing on the spiritual side because no spiritual life ever proceeded from it. The age-lasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels (Mat 25:41) is the appointed chastisement for what the natural order produced — not the final destination of a person but the consuming judgment of the old man within, whose works return to ash as all natural things must: I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth (Eze 28:18), and what remains of the natural becomes ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the LORD of hosts (Mal 4:3). The fire does not end the story; it clears the ground for what the spiritual order will walk upon.

This is how the universal judgment of works harmonizes with salvation by grace through faith. Works do not save, but works reveal whether the indwelling Worker has been at work. The tree is known by its fruit; the man is known by his works; the root of each being whether the old Adam still reigns or the Last Adam has entered in to work. The separation the King performs is not a sorting of persons into permanent categories — it is the final, decisive division within the whole man between what was natural and what was spiritual, what was dead and what was living, what was the old Adam’s and what was the Last Adam’s.

Conclusion: The Worker Glorified

The two works of Scripture, rightly seen, declare a single testimony: Christ is the Worker, and every valid work is finally His. The old man’s labor, however religious, was dead works because the source was the natural man as God created him — a living soul subject to vanity by God’s own purpose (Rom 8:20), a natural shadow ordained to foreshadow the spiritual reality to come. The new man’s labor is living work because the source is the quickening spirit, and God Himself worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure (Php 2:13). The shadow did not fail; it succeeded perfectly in revealing that a Worker must come who could accomplish in His people what they could never accomplish on their own.

This is not a narrative of rescue from calamity but the unfolding of a sovereign design. Humanity was not created in spiritual perfection and afterward corrupted; humanity was created a living soul, earthy, natural, subject to vanity by the One who subjected it in hope (Rom 8:20-21; 1Co 15:45-47). The first Adam’s inability was not defect but design, for that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual (1 Cor 15:46). The very dead works of the old man served the plan by making visible the need and glory of the Last Adam, the quickening spirit, the living Worker who would dwell in His people and accomplish through them the works prepared before the foundation of the world.

The apparent tensions in Scripture’s testimony concerning works—between faith and works, between Paul and James, between grace and judgment—dissolve when we see that Scripture speaks with one voice about the natural and the spiritual. Faith is the entrance; works are the manifestation; grace is the foundation; and judgment is the final disclosure of which works were wrought in God and which were not. The gold, silver, and precious stones endure because they were Christ’s working; the wood, hay, and stubble burn because they were the flesh’s labor even in a believer’s life. The religious works of Matthew 7 are rejected because the Worker never knew the worker. The sheep-and-goats catalog of Matthew 25 vindicates the indwelling Christ in those who belong to Him and exposes His absence in those who do not. The fire reveals what the day has hidden, and the Worker is glorified in His works through His people.

For those in Christ, the ancient burden has been lifted. We do not labor to become accepted; we labor because we have been accepted. We do not strive to build righteousness; we walk in the good works prepared for us. We do not work in order to become God’s workmanship; we are His workmanship, and therefore we work. The weariness of dead works gives way to the rest of the one who has entered in—For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his (Heb 4:10). The old Adam has ceased. The Last Adam works, and the works that now appear in the believer’s life are no longer the monument of self-effort but the testimony of the indwelling Christ, from whom, through whom, and to whom are all things (Rom 11:36).

Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual… For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them (1Co 15:46; Eph 2:10).

“God divided the light from the darkness”

(Pro 28:12-16)

[Study Aired April 30, 2026]

Many of the proverbs in God’s word have contrasting light and dark statements that act like contrasting colours in the natural world. The natural things do reveal spiritual truths as we read in (Rom 1:20). One can find webpages with examples of contrasting colours at work. For example, the effect of orange appearing more orange, and blue more vibrantly blue when they are set beside each other.

Rom 1:20  For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

Complementary colors – Wikipedia

The same principle is true with many of the proverbs that relay the positive and negative example of some particular subject in scripture to make both sides of the coin brighter in our heavens. God works continually through contrast that are both the same to him as we go from glory to glory (2Co 3:18) at the hand of the Master Potter who is dragging us to Christ (Joh 6:44), working out this process within us both to will and to do of God’s good pleasure (Isa 45:7 , Psa 139:12 , Php 2:12-13). God does not do the evil, but he does facilitate such an evil experience at the hands of those who are being humbled in this life, which in time will be everyone (Eph 1:11 , Ecc 1:13).

Ecc 1:11 There is no remembrance of former generations, And also for those who shall come after us, A remembrance of them shall not continue With those who shall come afterward.”
Ecc 1:12 I myself, the Assembler, came to be king over Israel in Jerusalem.”
Ecc 1:13 I applied my heart to inquiring and exploring by wisdom concerning all that is done under the heavens:it is an experience of evil Elohim has given to the sons of humanity to humble them by it. (CLV)

The old man and the new man within us are needful for the workmanship of His hands to be brought to see more clearly through this contrast that we are guilty of all, and chief of sinners, or as David was inspired to say, just as Saul of Tarsus did in their own words “you [Tony] are the man” (2Sa 12:7 , 1Ti 1:15). The only thing that is acceptable to God in us is Christ (Eph 1:6) who is the new creation (2Co 5:17).

Eph 1:6  To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

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

Christ is being formed within His body the church today (Col 1:24), and that’s why Paul was rejoicing because he was blessed to endure all that suffering he was going through in his day with the people of God, via the much tribulation (2Co 11:23-30), that must be a part of our lives if we are going to be in that blessed and holy first resurrection (Act 14:22 , Php 1:29 , 2Ti 2:12).

Pro 28:12  When righteous men do rejoice, there is great glory: but when the wicked rise, a man is hidden.

Pro 28:12 When the righteous are glad there is great felicity everywhere, Yet when the wicked rise humanity must lie low.”[CLV]

Pro 28:12  When the righteous triumph, there is great glory; But when the wicked rise, men hide themselves. [ASV]

Christ is our righteousness and if we are granted to endure to the end of this life to be those saviours that come up on Mount Zion (Oba 1:21) there will be great rejoicing from the saints at that time. In (Job 38:4-7) we read a typical statement of the great rejoicing of the morning stars that sang together. What they were rejoicing over is found in the context of the words which are typical of the body of Christ who are also measured and supported upon “the corner stone thereof” which represents Christ (Eph 2:20 , 1Pe 2:6). Again Paul was rejoicing as we rejoice knowing that Christ is being formed within the church (Col 1:24).

Job 38:4  Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.
Job 38:5  Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it?
Job 38:6  Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof;
Job 38:7  When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

Col 1:24  Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you,(Heb 11:26) 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 wicked have risen in the lives of God’s elect and are being destroyed by the brightness of Christ’s coming within (2Th 2:2-8). Now we are hidden in the Lord, being judged first (1Pe 4:17), as God’s workmanship that is hidden from the world (1Co 2:7 , 1Pe 3:4).

1Co 2:7  But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:

1Pe 3:4  But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.

Outwardly evil men and seducers are waxing worse and worse at the end of this age (2Ti 3:13) and that is also a typical statement that Christ made reminding us that the outward wars and rumours of wars and breakdown of society (Mar 13:7 , 2Ti 3:1-9) are types and shadows of what has come to be realized is within us and needs to be destroyed by Christ. This is the first and perhaps most obvious contrasting proverb we’re looking at, where we learn that it is within us that light will come out of darkness as the Lord mercifully judges us and leads us unto repentance in this age (Tit 2:12-13 , Heb 12:6). This concept stems back to our title where the first use of the word light and darkness are used in the bible in (Gen 1:4), revealing the means by which God would work with His workmanship until the very end when He is all in all, and there is no more darkness (1Co 12:6 , 1Co 15:28 , Eph 1:23)

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

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

Eph 1:23  Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.

What must be destroyed by the brightness of His coming into our heavens:

2Ti 3:1  This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
2Ti 3:2  For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
2Ti 3:3  Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
2Ti 3:4  Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
2Ti 3:5  Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
2Ti 3:6  For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts,
2Ti 3:7  Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
2Ti 3:8  Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith.
2Ti 3:9  But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was.

Pro 28:13  He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.

Covering our sins is the same as despising God’s goodness that leads us unto repentance “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper” (Rom 2:4). We will not prosper spiritually with such a hardened heart, and therefore this section of the proverb is contrasted with the miracle that must occur in our lives as God give the increase by softening our hearts and making them contrite and broken (Isa 66:2 , Psa 51:17). It it with that heart alone that we can confess our faults from our heart and be shown mercy from our heavenly Father “but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy“. Again we see contrast here that is simply showing God’s elect that no one comes out of Egypt which typifies the bondage of sin except by the strong hand of our Lord, the fit man who takes us through our wilderness experience of evil (Joh 8:32-36 , Lev 16:21).

Rom 2:4  Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?

Isa 66:2  For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.

Psa 51:17  The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

He that covereth his sins shall not prosper:

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?
Joh 8:34  Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.

“but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy“

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.

Pro 28:14  Happy is the man that feareth alway: but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief.

If we are as He is in this life (1Jn 4:17) then we are going to be blessed to have this Godly fear working within us so that we may be heard, in that we fear God as Christ did in the days of his flesh (Heb 5:7 , Eph 5:30).

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

Heb 5:7  Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared;

Eph 5:30  For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.

If we don’t continue to hear him (Joh 8:31 , Mat 24:13) are hearts will be hardened, and this is the litmus test as to who it is that has God’s spirit within them or not (1Jn 4:3-6).

1Jn 4:3  And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.
1Jn 4:4  Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.
1Jn 4:5  They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.
1Jn 4:6  We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.

Without Christ’s spirit working within us it is impossible to not have our hearts hardened as the love of many will wax cold because of iniquity abounding at the end of this age (Mat 24:12-13), due to the fact that God is not saving everyone in this age but a few who have been blessed to have their eyes and ears opened, and kept open, in order to hear Christ’s parables that reveal the kingdom of God within us (Mat 22:14 , Luk 17:21). The obvious contrast here is that you will either be given a heart that fears God until the end of this age, or  you won’t, saying my Lord delays his coming (Mat 24:48-50)!

Mat 24:12  And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
Mat 24:13  But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
Mat 22:14  For many are called, but few are chosen.

Pro 28:15  As a roaring lion, and a ranging bear; so is a wicked ruler over the poor people.

There is no direct contrast with this proverb that is simply showing us in type and shadow how wicked Satan is, who is likened unto “a roaring lion” or a “ranging bear“. The “wicked ruler” is the god of this world (2Co 4:3-4) who has kept the world in spiritual poverty from the garden of Eden “a wicked ruler over the poor people“.

2Co 4:3  But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:
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.

He is like a “roaring lion” that wanders around, roaming, and searching and seeking who can destroy, all according to the counsel of God’s own will (Eph 1:11). He is likened unto a “roaring lion” seeking whom he may destroy (1Pe 5:6-8), which is why we must always be on our guard, ever vigilant (2Co 2:10-11). The positive use of a lion is the Lion of the tribe of Judah who is destroying all the false doctrines within us, giving us victory over the lies of the devil. The positive use of a bear in scripture is also in connection with the destruction of false doctrines that are in this story being likened unto children that were destroyed by a bear (2Ki 2:24)

1Pe 5:6  Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
1Pe 5:7  Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
1Pe 5:8  Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

2Co 2:10  To whom ye forgive any thing, I forgive also: for if I forgave any thing, to whom I forgave it, for your sakes forgave I it in the person of Christ; [“Humble yourselves“]
2Co 2:11  Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.

2Ki 2:24  And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them.

Pro 28:16  The prince that wanteth understanding is also a great oppressor: but he that hateth covetousness shall prolong his days.

When we are wanting and lacking in understanding we can feel oppressed and be oppressive due to the lack of good judgment, wisdom, and insight, that are all qualities that God is forming within the body of Christ. “The prince that wanteth understanding is also a great oppressor“.(1Co 10:11 , 1Ki 12:1-14).

1Ki 12:8  But he forsook the counsel of the old men, which they had given him, and consulted with the young men that were grown up with him, and which stood before him:
1Ki 12:9  And he said unto them, What counsel give ye that we may answer this people, who have spoken to me, saying, Make the yoke which thy father did put upon us lighter?
1Ki 12:10  And the young men that were grown up with him spake unto him, saying, Thus shalt thou speak unto this people that spake unto thee, saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, but make thou it lighter unto us; thus shalt thou say unto them, My little finger shall be thicker than my father’s loins.
1Ki 12:11  And now whereas my father did lade you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke: my father hath chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.
1Ki 12:12  So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king had appointed, saying, Come to me again the third day.
1Ki 12:13  And the king answered the people roughly, and forsook the old men’s counsel that they gave him;
1Ki 12:14  And spake to them after the counsel of the young men, saying, My father made your yoke heavy, and I will add to your yoke: my father also chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.

We are to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ (2Pe 3:18). Solomon in the positive view of his life typifies Christ, and his son and those who He put in charge are a good example of someone lacking understanding, reflecting this covetous me first attitude that has been dominating so many rulers throughout the ages “but he that hateth covetousness shall prolong his days “.

Next week will continue to look at how God is dividing the light from darkness within us, and how this process is being revealed in His word, and in particular via the proverbs we are studying.

Spiritual Significance of Numbers – The Number Thirteen

Thirteen Signifies Rebellion, Lawlessness and Divine Judgment, but it also Signifies Divine Mercy and Unity

[Study Aired February 15, 2026]

The Biblical significance of the number thirteen, like all numbers, has both a negative and a positive application. It often signifies rebellion, lawlessness, and divine judgment, but it also signifies divine mercy, spiritual unity, and the promise of redemption. 

Rebellion and Defiance:

The number 13 frequently appears in contexts of rebellion. In Genesis 14:4 the thirteenth year marks the rebellion of kings against Chedorlaomer:

Gen 14:1  And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations;
Gen 14:2  That these made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar.
Gen 14:3  All these were joined together in the vale of Siddim, which is the salt sea.
Gen 14:4  Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled.

Nimrod rebelled against God. He founded Babel in defiance of God’s command to go out and fill the earth:

Gen 8:15  And God spake unto Noah, saying,
Gen 8:16  Go forth of the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons’ wives with thee.
Gen 8:17  Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee, of all flesh, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth.

Gen 9:7  And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein.

Gen 10:8  And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth.
Gen 10:9  He was a mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD.
Gen 10:10  And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.

Judas Iscariot was the 13th guest at the Last Supper before he left to betray Christ. This a one example of how the number 13 is associated with betrayal and spiritual apostasy in scripture.

Mat 26:20  Now when the even was come, he sat down with the twelve.
Mat 26:21  And as they did eat, he said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me.
Mat 26:22  And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto him, Lord, is it I?
Mat 26:23  And he answered and said, He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me.
Mat 26:24  The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born.
Mat 26:25  Then Judas [the thirteenth at the last supper], which betrayed him, answered and said, Master, is it I? He said unto him, Thou hast said.

Thirteen is One Plus Twelve

Thirteen combines the number 1, signifying the unity of all things in God, The Father, and 12 signifying foundations, especially the foundations of Christ and His Christ:

1Co 3:11  For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
1Co 3:12  Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;
1Co 3:13  Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.

1Co 8:6  But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ [our foundation], by whom are all things, and we by him.

The Positive Application of the Number Thirteen

There were thirteen marches around Jericho. There were six days of marching once each day followed by marching seven times on the seventh day (6 days plus 7 times on the seventh day = 13 marches). The fall of Jericho signifies the fall of Babylon, and it involved marching around the city 13 times (6 days + 7 times on the 7th day), resulting in victory through obedience.  

The Lord’s Priests are given 13 cities which served as “cities of refuge for the slayer,” signifying the dwellings of the Lord’s merciful kings and priests:

Jos 21:13  Thus they gave to the children of Aaron the priest Hebron with her suburbs, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Libnah with her suburbs,
Jos 21:14  And Jattir with her suburbs, and Eshtemoa with her suburbs,
Jos 21:15  And Holon with her suburbs, and Debir with her suburbs,
Jos 21:16  And Ain with her suburbs, and Juttah with her suburbs, and Bethshemesh with her suburbs; nine cities out of those two tribes.
Jos 21:17  And out of the tribe of Benjamin, Gibeon with her suburbs, Geba with her suburbs,
Jos 21:18  Anathoth with her suburbs, and Almon with her suburbs; four cities.
Jos 21:19  All the cities of the children of Aaron, the priests, were thirteen cities with their suburbs.

Thirteen bulls are offered in sacrifice on the first day of the seven days of the feast of Tabernacles. These thirteen bulls signify the abundant mercy and power which will be manifested at the beginning of the reign of the Lord’s kings and priests who will rule with Him for a thousand years:

Num 29:12  And on the fifteenth day of the seventh month [the first day of the feast] ye shall have an holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work, and ye shall keep a feast unto the LORD seven days:
Num 29:13  And ye shall offer a burnt offering, a sacrifice made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD; thirteen young bullocks, two rams, and fourteen lambs of the first year; they shall be without blemish:

Joseph was elevated from prison to the throne of Egypt in the thirteenth year of His captivity:

Gen 37:1  And Jacob dwelt in the land wherein his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan.
Gen 37:2  These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren; and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives: and Joseph brought unto his father their evil report.

Joseph Sold by His Brothers

Gen 37:12  And his brethren went to feed their father’s flock in Shechem.
Gen 37:13  And Israel said unto Joseph, Do not thy brethren feed the flock in Shechem? come, and I will send thee unto them. And he said to him, Here am I.
Gen 37:14  And he said to him, Go, I pray thee, see whether it be well with thy brethren, and well with the flocks; and bring me word again. So he sent him out of the vale of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.
Gen 37:15  And a certain man found him, and, behold, he was wandering in the field: and the man asked him, saying, What seekest thou?
Gen 37:16  And he said, I seek my brethren: tell me, I pray thee, where they feed their flocks.
Gen 37:17  And the man said, They are departed hence; for I heard them say, Let us go to Dothan. And Joseph went after his brethren, and found them in Dothan.
Gen 37:18  And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him.
Gen 37:19  And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh.
Gen 37:20  Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams.
Gen 37:21  And Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands; and said, Let us not kill him.
Gen 37:22  And Reuben said unto them, Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, and lay no hand upon him; that he might rid him out of their hands, to deliver him to his father again.
Gen 37:23  And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stript Joseph out of his coat of many colours that was on him;
Gen 37:24  And they took him, and cast him into a pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it.
Gen 37:25  And they sat down to eat bread: and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and, behold, a company of Ishmeelites came from Gilead with their camels bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt.
Gen 37:26  And Judah said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood?
Gen 37:27  Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmeelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother and our flesh. And his brethren were content.
Gen 37:28  Then there passed by Midianites merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmeelites for twenty pieces of silver: and they brought Joseph into Egypt.

Gen 41:39  And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath shewed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art:
Gen 41:40  Thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than thou.
Gen 41:41  And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt.
Gen 41:42  And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph’s hand, and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck;
Gen 41:43  And he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried before him, Bow the knee: and he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt.
Gen 41:44  And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I am Pharaoh, and without thee shall no man lift up his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.
Gen 41:45  And Pharaoh called Joseph’s name Zaphnathpaaneah; and he gave him to wife Asenath the daughter of Potipherah priest of On. And Joseph went out over all the land of Egypt.
Gen 41:46  And Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt.

17 plus 13 = 30 years of age. Joseph was delivered from prison in his 13^th year of slavery.

A few years back Sandi and I were in an airport which did not have a gate thirteen. I pointed it out to her. Thirteen is popularly and superstitiously considered to be a number for bad luck. We talk about “Friday the thirteenth” as an ‘unlucky day’, but that superstition has its roots in the fact that thirteen, in its negative connotation, signifies rebellion against God. Anyone who knows God and Christ knows that there is no such thing as ‘luck.’ Anyone who knows Christ has nothing to fear from the number thirteen.

Rom 11:36 For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.

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:

That word ‘all’ takes the concept of luck completely out of the equation.

We saw earlier that the first mention of this number 13 was associated with the rebellion of the cities of Canaan again Chedolaomer and his allies in the thirteenth year of their subjugation. Now let’s look at the second mention of this number:

Gen 17:24 And Abraham was ninety years old and nine, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.
Gen 17:25 And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.
Gen 17:26 In the selfsame day was Abraham circumcised, and Ishmael his son.

Ishmael is God’s very first “rejected… broken off… cut off… of your father the devil… seed of Abraham”. Ishmael now signifies:

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?
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 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.

These are the words which typify God’s “Son of the bondwoman” children of Abraham (Gal 4:30-31)

Joh 8:38 I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father.
Joh 8:39 They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. 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. 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.

How can Christ say “I know you are Abraham’s seed… [and] if you were Abraham’s children…” in the same breath to the same people? Here is why He can do that:

Joh 6:62  What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before?
Joh 6:63  It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

That is always the case with Christ’s words. “All things are become new”:

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

Christ has gone from dealing with the things of the flesh to dealing with the things of the spirit. The letters of the words which are used to express the things of the spirit appear in many cases to completely contradict the point being made, and they cannot be followed by those whose eyes have been darkened and given ears that are “dull of hearing”.

Here is the scripture. Here is the very reason Christ spoke to the Jews only in parables “and without a parable spake He not unto them.”

Mat 13:10  And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
Mat 13:11  He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
Mat 13:12  For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
Mat 13:13  Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
Mat 13:14  And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:
Mat 13:15  For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
Mat 13:16  But blessed are your eyes, for they see [the spirit of The Word]: and your ears, for they hear [the spirit of The Word].
Mat 13:17  For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.

Mat 13:34  All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them: [Lazarus and the rich man is a parable]

“Seeing they see not… hearing they hear not” sounds completely contradictory to the natural man while it makes perfect sense to the mind of the spirit.

Rev 17:8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.

“Is not and yet is…?” How much more blatant a contradiction can be made in the eyes of those who cannot see the hidden things of the spirit behind every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God? This principle extends to Christ who is called both ‘a slain Lamb’ and a ‘lion’ in the same breath:

Rev 5:1  And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals. [This book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ]
Rev 5:2  And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?
Rev 5:3  And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon.
Rev 5:4  And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon.
Rev 5:5  And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.
Rev 5:6  And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.
Rev 5:7  And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne.
Rev 5:8  And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.

Getting back to the number thirteen… it is associated with the strength of the flesh. When offered as a sacrifice for sin, it has great spiritual strength. Thirteen oxen sacrificed on the first day of the feast of Tabernacles signify the strength of those who offer themselves as a living sacrifice in this present age:

Num 29:13 And ye shall offer a burnt offering, a sacrifice made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD; thirteen young bullocks, two rams, [and] fourteen lambs of the first year; they shall be without blemish:
Num 29:14 And their meat offering [shall be of] flour mingled with oil, three tenth deals unto every bullock of the thirteen bullocks, two tenth deals to each ram of the two rams,

It is when we think that the things we do are done by our strength that we find ourselves in negative significance of the number thirteen… rebellion against God. Everything the flesh attempts to accomplish on its own ends up as rebellion against God:

Pro 14:4 Where no oxen are, the crib is clean: but much increase is by the strength of the ox.

There are those who think that God reveals his Truth only to His more mature sons. Nothing could be further from the Truth:

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.

Mat 11:25 At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.

Regardless of how long we have known the Lord or how mature we may be, whenever we fail to be as teachable as a young child, we are treading on dangerous ground:

Mat 18:1  At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?
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 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?

It was pointed out to me by a ‘babe in Christ’ that Christ was born in a manger where beasts come to eat. A spiritually mature believer is as humble as a little child.

Mat 18:4  Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

‘Thirteen’ in the book of Esther

Est 3:1 After these things did king Ahasuerus promote Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him, and set his seat above all the princes that were with him.

Est 3:12 Then were the king’s scribes called on the thirteenth day of the first month, and there was written according to all that Haman had commanded unto the king’s lieutenants, and to the governors that [were] over every province, and to the rulers of every people of every province according to the writing thereof, and [to] every people after their language; in the name of king Ahasuerus was it written, and sealed with the king’s ring.

Est 9:1 Now in the twelfth month, that is, the month Adar, on the thirteenth day of the same, when the king’s commandment and his decree drew near to be put in execution, in the day that the enemies of the Jews hoped to have power over them, (though it was turned to the contrary, that the Jews had rule over them that hated them;)

Here again we see both the negative and the positive application of this number thirteen. The thirteenth day intended for Israel’s destruction was turned into the day of their deliverance.

In summary, while 13 signifies rebellion and judgment, it also signifies God’s mercy, His fidelity to His covenant, and our ultimate victory, reflecting both the positive and the negative nature of the Cloud which came between Israel and the Egyptians at the Red Sea. That Cloud was Christ, and Christ is The Word, His own Word (Exo 14: 19-20).

1 Samuel 6:1–21 The Philistines Return the Ark

[Study Aired February 9, 2026]

Introduction

Today, we shall look at how the Philistines sent back the ark with rich gifts to the Lord, to make an atonement for their sin. The study also looks at the reaction of the men of Beth shemesh in Israel when the ark came to them. Finally, the study focuses on the judgment of the Lord on the men of Beth shemesh for looking inside the ark. 

The Ark Returned to Israel

1Sa 6:1  And the ark of the LORD was in the country of the Philistines seven months. 

The ark being in the possession of the Philistines for seven months indicates the time our flesh or the beast is given power over us to continue for forty-two months. This forty-two months is the complete period of time (significance of the number seven) in our lives when we are under the dominion of our flesh. In other words, it is the complete time that our flesh symbolized by the Philistines, sits in our hearts and minds claiming himself to be God.  

The number forty-two in the negative context signifies our spiritually dead state when we are under the dominion of our flesh, as shown in the following verses:

2Ki 2:24  And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them.

2Ki 10:14  And he said, Take them alive. And they took them alive, and slew them at the pit of the shearing house, even two and forty men; neither left he any of them.

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.

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. 

1Sa 6:2  And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, What shall we do to the ark of the LORD? tell us wherewith we shall send it to his place. 
1Sa 6:3  And they said, If ye send away the ark of the God of Israel, send it not empty; but in any wise return him a trespass offering: then ye shall be healed, and it shall be known to you why his hand is not removed from you. 

The Philistines calling for the Priests and Diviners means that when we are overcome by the flesh, during our time in Babylon, we tend to seek direction of how to worship the Lord from our leaders in Babylon. It is insightful to note that the response of priests and diviners is that being healed is through our giving to the Lord. This is the mantra of the church system of this world or Babylon, that is, we must always offer something to the Lord to be healed. However, we know from the word of the Lord that this is false doctrine. Rather, it is the Lord who first gave to us and is always giving to us. 

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. 

2Co 9:8  And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work: 
2Co 9:9 (As it is written, He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor: his righteousness remaineth forever. 

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

The Lord is not our enemy, He is the enemy of sin in our lives and will stop at nothing to destroy the flesh within us His elect first, and the people of this world in an age to come.

Job 19:26  And after my skin (flesh) has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, 
Job 19:27 whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. My heart faints within me! 

1Sa 6:4  Then said they, What shall be the trespass offering which we shall return to him? They answered, Five golden emerods, and five golden mice, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines: for one plague was on you all, and on your lords. 
1Sa 6:5  Wherefore ye shall make images of your emerods, and images of your mice that mar the land; and ye shall give glory unto the God of Israel: peradventure he will lighten his hand from off you, and from off your gods, and from off your land. 

According to the word of the Lord, a trespass offering involves a sacrifice of a ram which represents Christ. It is the blood of Christ which cleanses us from our sins. 

Lev 5:14  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 
Lev 5:15  If a soul commit a trespass, and sin through ignorance, in the holy things of the LORD; then he shall bring for his trespass unto the LORD a ram without blemish out of the flocks, with thy estimation by shekels of silver, after the shekel of the sanctuary, for a trespass offering: 
Lev 5:16  And he shall make amends for the harm that he hath done in the holy thing, and shall add the fifth part thereto, and give it unto the priest: and the priest shall make an atonement for him with the ram of the trespass offering, and it shall be forgiven him. 

1Jn 1:7  But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. 

As we can see, the Philistines’ trespass offering was not in accordance to the word of the Lord, but according to their own intuition. For example, the Lord has stated categorically that mice are unclean, and therefore the golden mouse image created by the Philistines to appease the Lord is still abhorrent to Him.

Lev 11:29  “The following swarming creatures that move on the ground are unclean for you-moles, mice, and all types of lizards: (GW)

Isa 66:17  People make themselves holy and prepare themselves for their garden rituals. They go into the garden and devour pork, disgusting things, and mice. “They will come to an end at the same time,” declares the LORD.

When we are full of the flesh, we do not do things according to the rules of the Lord. In our imagination, we think that giving is a substitute for a guilt or trespass offering. Many think that as long as they are giving to the church through the money they offer or the services they render to the church, the Lord will override their sins. It is the blood of Christ which cleanses us of sin. As Paul stated, if we are to compete, then we must compete according to the rules. We must come to see who we really are – that we are beasts before the Lord, before the Lord comes to cleanse us from all righteousness through His blood shed for our sake.

Psa 73:22  So foolish was I, and ignorant: I was as a beast before thee. 

2Ti 2:5  And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully. 

1Sa 6:6  Wherefore then do ye harden your hearts, as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? when he had wrought wonderfully among them, did they not let the people go, and they departed? 

A key indicator of our spiritually dead state in some time past is the stubbornness of our hearts and minds as portrayed by the Pharaoh and the Egyptians when they were oppressing the people of Israel and would not let them go. When we are under the dominion of our flesh as symbolized by the capture of the ark by the Philistines, it takes the Lord’s mighty hand to release us from our bondage. This mighty hand involves the judgment of the Lord on our flesh. 

Exo 3:20  And I will stretch out my hand, and smite Egypt with all my wonders which I will do in the midst thereof: and after that he will let you go. 
Exo 3:21  And I will give this people favour in the sight of the Egyptians: and it shall come to pass, that, when ye go, ye shall not go empty:
Exo 3:22  But every woman shall borrow of her neighbour, and of her that sojourneth in her house, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment: and ye shall put them upon your sons, and upon your daughters; and ye shall spoil the Egyptians.

As shown in Exodus 3:21, through the suffering that we endure, we not only learn righteousness as our flesh dies, but we are spiritually enriched in Him as our eyes of understanding are enlightened, just as the Israelites left Egypt enriched with gold, silver and raiment. 

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

1Sa 6:7  Now therefore make a new cart, and take two milch kine, on which there hath come no yoke, and tie the kine to the cart, and bring their calves home from them: 
1Sa 6:8  And take the ark of the LORD, and lay it upon the cart; and put the jewels of gold, which ye return him for a trespass offering, in a coffer by the side thereof; and send it away, that it may go.

When we are full of the flesh, symbolized by the Philistines in possession of the ark, we worship the Lord according to what our carnal minds say as we see the Philistines laying the ark of the covenant on a cart instead of the shoulders of Levite (Kohathite) men. However, when the Lord comes to us with the spirit of His mouth and His brightness into our lives, those times of ignorance, the Lord ignores.

Act 17:30  The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 
Act 17:31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”  (ESV)

Exo 25:14  Put the poles through the rings on the sides of the ark in order to carry it.
Exo 25:15  The poles must stay in the rings of the ark. Never remove them. 

It is important to note in verse 7 that the new cart to carry the ark was to be drawn by two young dairy cows that have never been yoked. These two young dairy cattle are beasts and since we are beasts, these two cattle represent false witnesses of Christ who parade in the church system of this world or Babylon, supposedly feeding the Lord’s flock with milk.

Psa 73:22  So foolish was I, and ignorant: I was as a beast before thee. 

A yoke is a wooden beam used to connect two oxen, allowing them to work together as a team to pull heavy agricultural loads like plows or carts. The fact that these young cows have never been yoked means that these supposed men of God are not given to working with one another. In other words, they work as individuals and do not work as a team. We see this in the churches of this world where their leaders work alone. Although some of these churches have elders, they only play an advisory role which these pastors override according to their whims. These men of God do not play according to the rules that the Lord has established in His word as seen in verse 8 where the Philistines take the ark and place it upon the cart drawn by the cattle. The Book of Joel gives a glimpse of the characteristics that these supposed men of God are capable of.

Joe 2:3  Fire devours before them, and behind them a flame burns. The land is like the garden of Eden before them, but behind them a desolate wilderness, and nothing escapes them.
Joe 2:4  Their appearance is like the appearance of horses, and like war horses they run.
Joe 2:5  As with the rumbling of chariots, they leap on the tops of the mountains, like the crackling of a flame of fire devouring the stubble, like a powerful army drawn up for battle. 
Joe 2:6  Before them peoples are in anguish; all faces grow pale. 
Joe 2:7  Like warriors they charge; like soldiers they scale the wall. They march each on his way; they do not swerve from their paths. 
Joe 2:8  They do not jostle one another; each marches in his path; they burst through the weapons and are not halted. 
Joe 2:9  They leap upon the city, they run upon the walls, they climb up into the houses, they enter through the windows like a thief. 
Joe 2:10 The earth quakes before them; the heavens tremble. The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining. 

As we shall see later in this study, the ark on the cart, driven by the two young cattle was being taken to the people of Israel. This shows that everything is for our sake with the end result being for our good. 

1Co 3:21  Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours
1Co 3:22 Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; 

The cart with the jewel of gold in it shows us that even in our deplorable state where we are overwhelmed by our flesh in which we are not playing according to the rules, are all ordained of the Lord for our sake. In other words, our flesh occupying the place of God in our hearts and minds is to give the Lord the occasion that He is seeking to come with His judgment, resulting in us learning righteousness and also being endowed with the keys of the kingdom of heaven symbolized by the jewels of gold accompanying the ark.

1Sa 6:9  And see, if it goeth up by the way of his own coast to Bethshemesh, then he hath done us this great evil: but if not, then we shall know that it is not his hand that smote us: it was a chance that happened to us. 
1Sa 6:10  And the men did so; and took two milch kine, and tied them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home: 
1Sa 6:11  And they laid the ark of the LORD upon the cart, and the coffer with the mice of gold and the images of their emerods. 
1Sa 6:12  And the kine took the straight way to the way of Beth shemesh, and went along the highway, lowing as they went, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left; and the lords of the Philistines went after them unto the border of Beth shemesh.

Beth shemesh is a border town of Israel with its Philistine neighbors. The name means house of the sun. It therefore signifies the church of the firstborn. Being a border town with the Philistines, it means that it signifies our journey with Christ where we are still grappling with sin as we come to know Christ. It must be noted here in these verses that although the means of transporting the ark of the covenant was not according to the Lord’s prescribed method of carrying the ark, the ark went in the direction of where it belongs – to Israel or the Lord’s elect. This is to let us know that in our initial stages of our walk with Christ as His elect, our flesh, denoted by the Philistines, helps us. This is clearly demonstrated by Abraham, a symbol of the Lord’s elect, being brought close to the land of Canaan (Haran) by his father Terah, when the Lord first appeared to Abraham to leave Mesopotamia. 

Act 7:2  Stephen answered, “Brothers and fathers, listen to me. The God who reveals his glory appeared to our ancestor Abraham in Mesopotamia. This happened before Abraham lived in Haran. 
Act 7:3  God told him, ‘Leave your land and your relatives. Go to the land that I will show you.’ 
Act 7:4 “Then Abraham left the country of Chaldea and lived in the city of Haran. After his father died, God made him move from there to this land where we now live. (GW)

Gen 11:31  Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot (son of Haran), and his daughter-in-law Sarai, wife of his son Abram. They set out together from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. When they came as far as Haran, they stayed there. (GW) 

Another witness to this is the following verse:

Isa 60:16  Thou shalt also suck the milk of the Gentiles, and shalt suck the breast of kings: and thou shalt know that I the LORD am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob. 

The Ark Returns to Israel

1Sa 6:13  And they of Bethshemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley: and they lifted up their eyes, and saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it. 
1Sa 6:14  And the cart came into the field of Joshua, a Bethshemite, and stood there, where there was a great stone: and they clave the wood of the cart, and offered the kine a burnt offering unto the LORD. 
1Sa 6:15  And the Levites took down the ark of the LORD, and the coffer that was with it, wherein the jewels of gold were, and put them on the great stone: and the men of Bethshemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices the same day unto the LORD. 

It is significant to note that the people of Bethshemesh were reaping the wheat harvest in the valley when the ark came to them. As indicated, the people of Bethshemesh represent our initial walk with the Lord when we were babies in Christ. The people of the Philistines being judged because of the ark of the covenant in their midst is to let us know that our judgment starts while we are full of the flesh in Babylon. However, when we come to the house of the sun or the church of the Lord’s elect, we are still grappling with sin. The time of the wheat harvest signifies the time for us to know our sins and be judged as our eyes are being opened to understand the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven.

Num 32:23  “If you don’t do all these things, you will be sinning against the LORD. You can be sure that you will be punished (judged) for your sin. 

The following verses show us that the time of wheat harvest is the time of knowing our sins:

Jdg 15:1  But it came to pass within a while after, in the time of wheat harvest, that Samson visited his wife with a kid; and he said, I will go in to my wife into the chamber. But her father would not suffer him to go in.

1Sa 12:17  Is it not wheat harvest to day? I will call unto the LORD, and he shall send thunder and rain; that ye may perceive and see that your wickedness is great, which ye have done in the sight of the LORD, in asking you a king.

Mat 13:30  Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.

In Judges 15:1, Samson’s father-in-law’s refusal to let Samson see his wife brought about a chain of events which made Samson aware of the wickedness of the Philistines (our flesh), and this happened during the time of the wheat harvest.  In verse 13, the people of Beth Shemesh rejoiced when they saw the ark. It is a time of rejoicing, when the Lord comes to us with the spirit of His mouth and His brightness to destroy our flesh. 

Isa 25:9  And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the LORD; we have waited for him, we will be and rejoice in his salvation. 
Isa 25:10 For in this mountain shall the hand of the LORD rest, and Moab shall be trodden down under him, even as straw is trodden down for the dunghill.

Moab to be trodden down in Isaiah 25:10 means that when the Lord comes to us, our flesh shall be destroyed. Joshua means ‘Jehovah saved’ and therefore, the ark coming to rest in the field of Joshua implies that when the Lord comes to us with the spirit of His mouth and His brightness, that is the beginning of the process of us being saved. The people of Beth Shemesh offering a burnt offering and sacrifices unto the Lord in verses 14 and 15 means that when the Lord comes to us, our response is to offer our bodies as living sacrifices to the Lord.

Rom 12:1  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 
Rom 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

1Sa 6:16  And when the five lords of the Philistines had seen it, they returned to Ekron the same day. 
1Sa 6:17  And these are the golden emerods which the Philistines returned for a trespass offering unto the LORD; for Ashdod one, for Gaza one, for Askelon one, for Gath one, for Ekron one; 
1Sa 6:18  And the golden mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, both of fenced cities, and of country villages, even unto the great stone of Abel, whereon they set down the ark of the LORD: which stone remaineth unto this day in the field of Joshua, the Bethshemite. 

The negative application of the number five means famine of the word of the Lord which brings us to spiritual poverty. Therefore, these five lords of the Philistines represent our domination by our flesh which brings us to spiritual poverty through the famine of the word of the Lord. 

Gen 45:11  And there will I nourish thee; for yet there are five years of famine; lest thou, and thy household, and all that thou hast, come to poverty.

The names of the cities of these Philistines give us insight into what happens to our lives when we are dominated by our flesh. Ashdod means ‘a ravager’ or ‘a destroyer.’ We know that the devil is the destroyer. This implies that when we are overwhelmed by our flesh, we are under the control of the devil who powers our flesh.

Joh 10:10  The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. 

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? 

Gaza means ‘strong.’ Our flesh is stronger than our will as he is empowered by the devil. This implies that even though we desire to do good, our flesh overpowers us to do the wrong things. 

Rom 7:18  I know that nothing good lives in me; that is, nothing good lives in my corrupt nature. Although I have the desire to do what is right, I don’t do it. 
Rom 7:19 I don’t do the good I want to do. Instead, I do the evil that I don’t want to do. (GW) 

Askelon means ‘weighing place.’ When we are of the flesh, it is like coming to a weighing place and finding out that we do not measure up to the standard of the Lord. 

Rom 7:23  But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
Rom 7:24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? 

Gath means ‘winepress.’ It stands for the Lord’s judgment. The Lord will not relent in dealing with our flesh until He has destroyed it. Because of our flesh, we face intense, multi-directional pressures as the Lord’s hand of judgment becomes heavy on us. However, through the grace of the Lord, we are sustained by His power to endure without being completely destroyed. All of these pressures are to bring us to learn righteousness so that we will be in Him.

2Co 4:8  We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 
2Co 4:9 Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;  

Ekron means ‘eradication.’ The purpose of the ark becoming possessed by the Philistines is to give the Lord the occasion for Him to come and judge our flesh with the purpose of eradicating or completely destroying our flesh. 

The Lord Smote the Men of Bethshemesh

1Sa 6:19  And he smote the men of Beth shemesh, because they had looked into the ark of the LORD, even he smote of the people fifty thousand and threescore and ten men: and the people lamented, because the LORD had smitten many of the people with a great slaughter. 
1Sa 6:20  And the men of Beth shemesh said, Who is able to stand before this holy LORD God? and to whom shall he go up from us? 
1Sa 6:21  And they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kirjath-jearim, saying, The Philistines have brought again the ark of the LORD; come ye down, and fetch it up to you. 

As indicated earlier, the men of Beth shemesh represent our early walk with Christ. The men of Beth shemesh looking into the ark signifies our inclination to validate the presence of the Lord instead of walking by faith, at this point in our walk. This is to give the Lord the occasion He is seeking to come and judge us, with the view of destroying our old man or flesh. Most versions of the Bible record seventy men as those killed by the Lord’s judgment. The number seventy in the negative context signifies the Lord’s judgment which leads to the destruction of our flesh.

Jdg 9:56  Thus God rendered the wickedness of Abimelech, which he did unto his father, in slaying his seventy brethren: 

2Ki 10:7  And it came to pass, when the letter came to them, that they took the king’s sons, and slew seventy persons, and put their heads in baskets, and sent him them to Jezreel.

The sending to Kirjath-jearim for them to come and fetch the ark is an indication of our inability to see that the Lord’s judgment brings righteousness. Therefore we want to avoid the Lord’s judgment just like our brothers and sisters in the churches of this world who shun the Lord’s judgment. When we have this mentality, we suffer in vain. 

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. 

May the Lord grant us the grace not to suffer in vain. Amen!

1 Samuel 4:1–22 The Glory had Departed From Israel

[Study Aired January 26, 2026]

Today’s study can be put under three sections. The first one is about the Philistines engaging the Israelites in a battle. The second one deals with the capturing of the ark by the Philistines. The last section has to do with the death of Eli and his two sons. 

The Philistines Engaged the Israelites in a Battle

1Sa 4:1  And the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out against the Philistines to battle, and pitched beside Ebenezer: and the Philistines pitched in Aphek. 
1Sa 4:2  And the Philistines put themselves in array against Israel: and when they joined battle, Israel was smitten before the Philistines: and they slew of the army in the field about four thousand men. 

Here in verse 1, the word of Samuel is the word of the Lord. The word of Samuel being heard by all Israel implies that we are without excuse of not knowing the word of the Lord regarding what He requires of us. The Lord always seeks for an occasion to come to us with His judgment so that we are without excuse of not knowing His word.

Rom 1:18  For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
Rom 1:19  Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. 
Rom 1:20  For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

For example, when the Lord wanted to judge the Philistines who had dominion over the Israelites, He sought for an occasion through Samson to engage the Philistines in a battle. Israel here represents the Lord’s people who are used to being dominated by the flesh, signified by the Philistines. At a certain stage of our walk with Christ, we have to come to know that we are no match as far as our flesh is concerned. In other words, the Lord wants us to know our spiritual depravity before He comes to us with the spirit of His mouth and His brightness to deliver us.

Jdg 14:1  And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines. 
Jdg 14:2  And he came up, and told his father and his mother, and said, I have seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines: now therefore get her for me to wife. 
Jdg 14:3  Then his father and his mother said unto him, Is there never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson said unto his father, Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well. 
Jdg 14:4 But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the LORD, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines: for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel.

Verses 1 and 2 therefore show us how the Lord causes us to be overcome by the flesh (represented by the Philistines) to give Him the occasion that He is seeking to come into our lives to judge the flesh. Israel being smitten by the Philistines in verse 2 is to show us our inability to overcome the flesh before the Lord comes to us with the spirit of His mouth and His brightness to overcome the flesh on our behalf. 

Gal 5:17  For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 

It is instructive to note that the number of the Israelites killed by the Philistines was 4,000 (4 x 10 x 10 x 10) men. The number four means the whole of the matter under discussion. The number 10 means the fullness of the flesh. The three tens means that our spiritual maturity through the process of judgment begins with us realizing that our flesh had dominated us to the fullest extent. In other words, the whole of the Lord’s elect must be overcome by the flesh before the Lord comes to us with His judgment to bring us to maturity. For example, Gideon, a symbol of the Lord’s elect, had to be overcome by the flesh (Midianites) before He was given victory over them.

Jdg 6:12  And the angel of the LORD appeared to him and said to him, “The LORD is with you, O mighty man of valor.” 
Jdg 6:13 And Gideon said to him, “Please, my lord, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all his wonderful deeds that our fathers recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the LORD has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian.” 

Jdg 8:4  And Gideon came to the Jordan and crossed over, he and the 300 men who were with him, exhausted yet pursuing. 

Jdg 8:7 So Gideon said, “Well then, when the LORD has given Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, I will flail your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers.” (ESV)

1Sa 4:3  And when the people were come into the camp, the elders of Israel said, Wherefore hath the LORD smitten us to day before the Philistines? Let us fetch the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of Shiloh unto us, that, when it cometh among us, it may save us out of the hand of our enemies. 

In our spiritual poverty, we behave just like the elders of the people of Israel, who do not understand that the Lord has occasioned our defeat by the flesh. Our thinking at that time of our walk was that if only we have the tangible presence of the Lord, signified by the ark with us, we shall be saved from our flesh. The elders of Israel here are a symbol of the leaders of the church system of this world or Babylon who have no clue as to what it takes for the Lord to grant us victory over the flesh. This is what it takes to overcome the flesh:

Gal 5:16  This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. 

Rom 8:13  For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. 
Rom 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. 

The spirit here is the word of the Lord and therefore walking in the spirit is living according to the word of the Lord. As we have been shown in the word, we have to understand the word of the Lord in the spirit and not the letter, which kills. 

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.

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

To be able to walk in the spirit implies that we are able to understand the Lord’s words in the spirit. This is achieved through the Lord’s judgment of our flesh which is the same as hearing the voice of the Lord in the fire.

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

Walking in the spirit and not fulfilling the desires of the flesh therefore implies that as we are given to know the mysteries of the kingdom, our flesh is being judged, and it is through this that we learn righteousness or learn not to fulfill the desires of the flesh.

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

1Sa 4:4  So the people sent to Shiloh, that they might bring from thence the ark of the covenant of the LORD of hosts, which dwelleth between the cherubims: and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God. 
1Sa 4:5  And when the ark of the covenant of the LORD came into the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the earth rang again. 

Shiloh represents the church system of this world or Babylon. As indicated, the ark symbolizes the presence of the Lord. The people sending to Shiloh to bring the ark means that it is the church system of this world which seeks to validate the presence of the Lord through signs and wonders. It is important to note the mention of Hophni and Phinehas with the ark of the covenant of God. This is what we know about Hophni and Phinehas from previous studies:

The mention of Hophni and Phinehas as priests of the Lord at that time in Shiloh is to make us aware of the deplorable state of the leaders of the church system of this world which we were ushered into at the beginning of our walk with Christ. This is what the word of the Lord says about Hophni and Phinehas, who were sons of Eli, the high priest:

1Sa 2:12  Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial; they knew not the LORD. 

1Sa 2:17 Wherefore the sin of the young men was very great before the LORD: for men abhorred the offering of the LORD. 

According to Strong, the sons of Eli being referred to as sons of Belial is to show us their deplorable state as they epitomize wickedness. One of the principles of the word of the Lord is the is, was, and will be nature. If at the time of Hannah, the leaders of the church system of her day were sons of wickedness, then it means that the situation today is the same, that is, evil men are in leadership. 

Rev 1:8  I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty. 

Mic 3:11  Your leaders exchange justice for bribes. Your priests teach for a price. Your prophets tell the future for money. But they rely on the LORD when they say, “After all, the LORD is with us. Nothing bad will happen to us.” 
Mic 3:12 Because of you, Zion will be plowed like a field, Jerusalem will become a pile of rubble, and the temple mountain will become a worship site covered with trees. (GW)  

Jer 5:30  A wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land; 
Jer 5:31 The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof? 

Our brothers and sisters in the church system of this world, represented by the physical Jews, require a sign, while the people of this world (Greeks) seek after wisdom. 

1Co 1:22  For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: 
1Co 1:23 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; 

The Israelites requesting for the ark means requesting for signs and wonders. What this means is that our brothers and sisters in the church system validate the presence of the Lord through signs and wonders. This is what causes them to be deceived as we shall see in this study.

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

2Th 2:9  Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, 
2Th 2:10  And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 
2Th 2:11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: 

The great shouting that greeted the presence of the ark in the midst of the Israelites is what we see today in the churches of this world as we see great excitement greet the performance of signs and wonders in the midst of the churches of this world.  They think the Lord has come in their midst just as the Israelites thought that the Lord was with them in their battle against the Philistines.

The Capturing of the Ark by the Philistines 

1Sa 4:6  And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, What meaneth the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews? And they understood that the ark of the LORD was come into the camp. 
1Sa 4:7  And the Philistines were afraid, for they said, God is come into the camp. And they said, Woe unto us! for there hath not been such a thing heretofore. 
1Sa 4:8  Woe unto us! who shall deliver us out of the hand of these mighty Gods? these are the Gods that smote the Egyptians with all the plagues in the wilderness. 

To understand these verses, we need to know the relationship of the devil with our flesh which is represented by the Philistines. The devil is the one who influences our flesh. Our flesh is the beast which is empowered by the devil. 

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

Verses 6 to 8 show us that the Philistines were afraid and were wondering who shall deliver them from the hands of the mighty Gods, when they heard that the ark of the covenant has come in the midst of the Lord’s people. When Christ comes to us to begin our walk with Him, the power of our flesh is initially subdued. This is what it means for the beast (our flesh) to have a deadly wound. Verses 6 to 8 therefore show us the nervousness of our flesh when Christ comes to us to begin our journey. 

1Sa 4:9  Be strong, and quit yourselves like men, O ye Philistines, that ye be not servants unto the Hebrews, as they have been to you: quit yourselves like men, and fight. 
1Sa 4:10  And the Philistines fought, and Israel was smitten, and they fled every man into his tent: and there was a very great slaughter; for there fell of Israel thirty thousand footmen. 
1Sa 4:11 And the ark of God was taken; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were slain.

Over time, however, our flesh’s deadly wound is healed through the false doctrines propagated by false apostles, parading in the corridors of the churches of this world as the Lord’s elect.

2Co 11:13  For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. 
2Co 11:14  And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 
2Co 11:15 So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.

Therefore, we become worse off and are of no match to our flesh. As shown in verse 10, the great slaughter of the Israelites means that we were overwhelmed by our flesh. This scenario is what Apostle Peter described as follows:

2Pe 2:20  For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. 
2Pe 2:21  For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. 
2Pe 2:22 What the true proverb says has happened to them: “The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire.” 

It is important to note that the number of Israelites who fell that day amounted to thirty thousand footmen. The number thirty can be broken down as follows:

30,000 = 30x10x10x10. The number thirty on a positive note denotes reigning with Christ as shown in the following verses:

Gen 41:46  Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh and went through all the land of Egypt. 

2Sa 5:4  David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years.

On a negative note, the number thirty means the spiritual death of the Lord’s elect. 

Jdg 20:39  the men of Israel should turn in battle. Now Benjamin had begun to strike and kill about thirty men of Israel. They said, “Surely they are defeated before us, as in the first battle.” 

Num 20:29  And when all the congregation saw that Aaron had perished, all the house of Israel wept for Aaron thirty days.

Deu 34:8  And the people of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days. Then the days of weeping and mourning for Moses were ended. 

The Philistines’ slaughter of 30,000 men of Israel therefore signifies the fact that as the Lord’ elect, we become spiritually dead in Babylon as our flesh reaches its fullness. 

The ark of the Lord being taken by the Philistines in verse 11 signifies the man of sin or our flesh sitting in our temple or our hearts and minds, claiming himself to be God. 

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. 

As a result, we profane the name of the Lord among the people of this world during our time in the churches of this world.

Eze 36:20  And when they entered unto the heathen, whither they went, they profaned my holy name, when they said to them, These are the people of the LORD, and are gone forth out of his land. 
Eze 36:21 But I had pity for mine holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the heathen, whither they went. 

The death of the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, who represent the leaders of the church system of this world, is to let us know the spiritual bankruptcy or death of the leaders of the church system of the world or Babylon who are overcome by the flesh. 

Isa 56:9  All ye beasts of the field, come to devour, yea, all ye beasts in the forest. 
Isa 56:10  His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber. 
Isa 56:11  Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter. 
Isa 56:12 Come ye, say they, I will fetch wine, and we will fill ourselves with strong drink; and tomorrow shall be as this day, and much more abundant.

As shown in Isaiah 56:9, the leaders or the watchmen of the church system of this world are all devoured by the beasts of the field. That is to say that they are all dominated by the flesh which, in our study, is represented by the Philistines’ slaughter of the sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas. 

The Death of Eli

1Sa 4:12  And there ran a man of Benjamin out of the army, and came to Shiloh the same day with his clothes rent, and with earth upon his head. 
1Sa 4:13  And when he came, lo, Eli sat upon a seat by the wayside watching: for his heart trembled for the ark of God. And when the man came into the city, and told it, all the city cried out. 
1Sa 4:14  And when Eli heard the noise of the crying, he said, What meaneth the noise of this tumult? And the man came in hastily, and told Eli. 
1Sa 4:15  Now Eli was ninety and eight years old; and his eyes were dim, that he could not see. 

The man of Benjamin of the army of Israel, who escaped from the battle, rent his clothes and put earth upon his head is a symbol of the Lord’s elect. Rending one’s clothes and putting earth upon one’s head is a symbol of deep mourning and grief. It was a traditional Hebrew custom to express overwhelming sorrow, particularly upon hearing news of death, tragic loss, or national catastrophe.

Gen 37:34  And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days. 

As shown in the Book of Revelation, the Lord’s elect in this age, denoted by the two witnesses, are in a mourning mode as we carry the message of death of our old man or flesh through the Lord’s judgment.

Rev 11:3  And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.

The man of Benjamin informing the people of the city about what has happened shows us that in the fullness of time, the Lord’s elect will be given the opportunity to preach to our brothers and sisters in Babylon. As we know, a city in the Bible can represent Babylon or the church of the living God. In verse 13, we are shown that all the city was crying out after the message from the man of Benjamin. This means that as we preach to our brothers and sisters in Babylon in the fullness of time, they will also mourn just as we are mourning in this age.

In verse 15, we are shown that Eli could not see as his eyes were dim because of his age (ninety eight). Eli signifies the fading glory of the law of Moses which operates in the churches and in the world. When we are under the law of Moses, we cannot see the sons of God and their glorious liberty. 

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.

1Sa 4:16  And the man said unto Eli, I am he that came out of the army, and I fled to day out of the army. And he said, What is there done, my son? 
1Sa 4:17  And the messenger answered and said, Israel is fled before the Philistines, and there hath been also a great slaughter among the people, and thy two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God is taken. 
1Sa 4:18  And it came to pass, when he made mention of the ark of God, that he fell from off the seat backward by the side of the gate, and his neck brake, and he died: for he was an old man, and heavy. And he had judged Israel forty years. 

What the man from Benjamin told Eli is that he fled from the Philistines and that Eli’s two sons have been killed. He also mentioned that the ark had been captured by the Philistines. As the Lord’s elect, we are overcome by our flesh (the Philistines) before we are given to win the victory over our flesh. As indicated earlier, the ark of God is the presence of the Lord and this presence is in our hearts and minds. The capturing of the ark therefore means that our old man or flesh is the one sitting on the throne of God in our hearts and minds, thinking that he is God. 

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. 

Immediately he mentioned that the ark had been captured, Eli fell from his seat and in the process, broke his neck and died. As indicated, Eli signifies the fading glory of the law of Moses. The death of Eli means that Samuel is the one to take over the mantle. The death of Eli therefore means that faith has come to us, His elect, and therefore, we are no longer under the law of sin and death, as the Lord comes to us with the spirit of His mouth and His brightness. 

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. 

1Sa 4:19  And his daughter in law, Phinehas’ wife, was with child, near to be delivered: and when she heard the tidings that the ark of God was taken, and that her father in law and her husband were dead, she bowed herself and travailed; for her pains came upon her. 
1Sa 4:20  And about the time of her death the women that stood by her said unto her, Fear not; for thou hast born a son. But she answered not, neither did she regard it. 
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. 

Phinehas’ wife denotes the church system of this world or Babylon which is in bondage with her children. Her death shows us that the church system of this world is spiritually bankrupt. 

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

To understand the meaning of the glory departed from Israel, we need to know what the glory of the Lord represents. The first time the word “glory” was used in the Bible, it referred to the wealth of Laban as follows:

Gen 31:1  And he heard the words of Laban’s sons, saying, Jacob hath taken away all that was our father’s; and of that which was our father’s hath he gotten all this glory.

The second time glory was used in the Bible, it shows the wealth, the power and authority of Joseph in Egypt.

Gen 45:13  And ye shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that ye have seen; and ye shall haste and bring down my father hither.

These examples of the use of glory show us that the glory of the Lord has to do with His spiritual wealth, power and authority. Therefore, Phinehas’ wife naming her son Ichabod, which means that the glory is departed from Israel, implies that the children of the harlot woman (the church system of this world or Babylon) shall not be given to know the spiritual riches, power and authority of Christ. In other words, they have not been given to know 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.
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. 

We thank the Lord for this opportunity to know Him in this age. Amen.

The Spiritual Significance of Numbers – The Number Six- Part 2, Incomplete Mankind

[Study Aired January 18, 2026]

We paused our study with the statement that the number six is connected to the body of Christ.

The multiple of any number in God’s word will show us something about the original number but on a magnified scale. For instance, 12 represents our foundation, Christ, however (12 X 12) X (10 X 10 X 10) = 144,000, showing us that the 144,000 which represents the elect in the book of Revelation have their foundation in Christ as a witness (2), that is to say two twelves multiplied by each other and then multiplied by (3) tens that represent process and the perfection of the flesh adds up to 144,000.

The number for witness is 2, and there are 2 Adams which complete this witness that God is showing us in the flesh of man.

The first Adam in sinful flesh witnesses to us that mankind is incapable of obeying God without the Holy Spirit and that we are marred in the hand of the potter as the book of Jeremiah declares. Whatever obedience we have is based on the law for the lawless and not the spirit of Christ at first.

1Ti 1:9  Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,

The second Adam in sinful flesh is Jesus Christ, and He witnesses to us the very same thing; that flesh is incapable of obeying God without the Holy Spirit. We are marred in the hand of the potter as the book of Jeremiah declares.

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

Christ did not come to earth to boast about His sinful flesh. Rather, He made Himself of no reputation and became obedient unto death, and He knew there is none good but one, and that is God, the Father. Christ is coming to reveal the Father and show us what is possible in our own flesh once we have been given the power to overcome as He did.

Php 2:7  But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:

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

Mat 19:17  And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.

If we are losing our life, the life of the first Adam, and finding the life of the second Adam by way of having the comforter in us, then this free gift will be the work of grace and faith spoken of in Ephesians 2:8. This enables us to endure until the end and become as Christ is both now in earnest and when we go onto perfection as Christ himself did on the third day, which is the number that represents the resurrection and judgment and destruction of the flesh.

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

The resurrected and glorified creation God is forming is founded upon these two Adams. Christ is the first and the second Adam, the Alpha and the Omega, and everything in between. It is through Him that all this process is being accomplished, and without a resurrected life of Christ as our high priest we would be yet in our sins and unable to be found in Him at the resurrection.

Rom 5:8  But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Rom 5:9  Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
Rom 5:10  For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.

Christ is the power of the resurrection just as He is the power with which the physical creation was formed in an instant (the first Adam). In like manner the resurrected body of Christ will happen in a moment and in the twinkling of an eye (the then perfected second Adam).

Joh 11:25  Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:

Rom 1:20  For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

Joh 1:1  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Joh 1:2  The same was in the beginning with God.
Joh 1:3  All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

1Co 15:51  Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
1Co 15:52  In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed [From the first Adam to the second or last Adam].

Simply stated, 2 X 6 = 12 the witness of two Adams is needed to bring about the new man who is formed in righteousness, the righteousness of Christ.  That is how the number six is connected to the body of Christ. Christ is “the first and the last”:

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.

Rev 22:13  I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.

Both Adams must go through this process of witness. Mankind must first witness against themselves by our destructive and carnal nature which can only be changed by the true witness, the second Adam, Jesus Christ, dwelling within us.

We live every word of God, and so we must start off as that first beast which does not know Christ, and then in God’s perfect timing, we take on the new man, the second Adam, and go through a process which is founded on the foundation of Jesus Christ (12), and is only completed when we are judged and resurrected, or resurrected and judged depending on which resurrection God has preordained for anyone.

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

Joh 5:28  Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
Joh 5:29  And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life [the first resurrection, (Rev 20:5-6)]; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation [G2920: ‘krisis’, judgment, the great white throne judgment, (Rev 20:11-15)].

Act 4:12  Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

Rev 11:2  But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty [and] two months.

An interesting side note is that 42 divided by 6 = 7, showing us that the complete process for the flesh is found with 42 months of witnessing for Christ, and being witnessed against as well. Our 42 months are lived in the court, which is not measured, and then, if we are called and chosen and faithful and given the power to endure to the end, we witness to His power for 42 months, or three and a half years of which the two witnesses of Revelation 11 are a type.

Rev 11:2  But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.

Verse 1 of Revelation 11 talks about the measuring of the temple of God by a reed like unto a rod.

Rev 11:1  And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.

Isa 42:3  A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgement unto truth.

Christ is the one whom God uses to bring forth judgment unto truth, and Christ is represented by the number twelve which is the foundational measure by which all mankind must eventually be measured. The reed spoken of in Isaiah 42:3 is in fact Jesus Christ who is working within the elect of God and fashioning them as a master potter so that they can become a new creation which reflects the mind of Christ. As such they will be able to judge the nations without because they themselves have been given to judge the nations within themselves first, or going back to the first paragraph of this article, we are the first fruits after Christ, to be given dominion over all the beasts of the land within and without.

1Co 6:3  Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?

1Co 11:31  For if we would judge ourselves [now, in this age], we should not be judged [at the great white throne judgment, (Rev 20:11-15)].
1Co 11:32  But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.

Jas 1:18  Of his own will [Not our will but His] begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

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.

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

Gen 1:26  And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

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

For further clarification on the number (12) please see the article on this subject at:

The Number Twelve, along with this article which talks about the measuring of the temple as well at Rev 21:13-17

Christ’s Flesh was Judged as Well as His Body Which We Are

Christ was 33 when he died, and there was a process of judgment upon Christ’s flesh as the number 33 signifies. He did learn obedience by the things which He suffered and had to overcome His sinful flesh being tempted in all diverse manner as we are yet without sin.

Heb 4:15  For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

Jas 1:14  But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.

Heb 5:8  Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;

The number 33 could be looked at as two 3’s adding up to 6, the mark of man, and because there are two 3’s, we are shown that a witness is at hand as well as a process. The true and faithful witness, Jesus Christ, is going through a process of judgment on our behalf so we have a Savior who is not unfamiliar with our experience in this corruptible flesh.

Rev 3:14  And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;

Heb 2:17  Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.

Contrary to the false and damnable doctrine of a substitutionary atonement, it is now given to us to suffer with Christ on His behalf to fill up what is lacking of His afflictions:

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;

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:

Instead of being ‘substitutionary’ Christ’s sufferings are rather exemplary and a pattern for us to follow.

1Pe 2:21  For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: [“Fill up what is behind of His afflictions for His body’s sake, which is the church”, (Col 1:24)]

We don’t want to know Christ after the flesh, but rather as our faithful High Priest who, as the author and finisher of our faith, is now able to purify and comfort us with the same comfort which He received when He was a man.

2Co 5:16  Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more.

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

2Co 1:4  who comforteth us in all our affliction, that we may be able to comfort them that are in any affliction, through the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.

Heb 2:3  How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;

Heb 9:14  How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

The purification process

This purification process, which leads to salvation or the finishing of our faith, is demonstrated in the type and shadow of the man child and the maid child in the book of Leviticus chapter 12:1-8.

Lev 12:1  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Lev 12:2  Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a woman have conceived seed, and born a man child: then she shall be unclean seven days; according to the days of the separation for her infirmity shall she be unclean.
Lev 12:3  And in the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.
Lev 12:4  And she shall then continue in the blood of her purifying three and thirty days; she shall touch no hallowed thing, nor come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purifying be fulfilled.

Having given birth to a man child, the woman must go through the blood of her purifying for 33 days. The man child is represented as Christ and those who have Christ in them (i.e. the first fruits unto God).

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

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

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

The purifying of blood is tied to the word of God

John tells us that the word of God is likened to Christ’s flesh and blood, and if Christ is in us, those words are purified within our earthen vessel seven times as we are saved by grace and faith, which are free gifts from God.

Joh 6:53  Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.
Joh 6:54  Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.

Joh 6:58  This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live forever.

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

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

Psa 12:6  The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.

The number 33 shows us that with Christ within us, there is a witness of judgment upon our flesh if we are the man child with Christ in us (2 threes).

Therefore Christ as the man child (the second Adam) finishes His earthly ministry at 33, and the first Adam who is a type of Christ must also as a potential man child be subject to the same vanity of flesh which we all must go through as part of this process of purifying us to become eternal sons and daughters of God.

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

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,

The purifying that occurs with the first Adam is symbolic of the greater baptisms of fire which occur with Christ cleansing the temple within us, which temple we are. That which is natural is first and afterwards that which is spiritual. We have a natural judgment that comes upon our flesh by way of the law which is for the lawless, but until the judgment of Christ comes upon us in the spirit, we are only half way there so to speak. Both the man child and maid child are cleansed, there is one event to both of them (Ecc 9:2), but the man child (the elect and Christ) represents those who are judged now, and the maid child (the Church in the wilderness) will be judged, but their judgment takes twice as long, and the order of the judgment is different.

This does not mean that the man child does not have to experience living under the law, but rather it is by God’s plan and purpose that a few will experience judgment in this age by being dragged out of the maid child (Babylon) to become the man child that will one day be used to judge the world as the first-fruit kings and priests who are by God’s grace and faith reconciled so they may be saviors to the maid child (Babylon and the rest of humanity). Those who show mercy in judging the rest of mankind in the second resurrection are being saved now by this purification process of having God’s word cleanse them of all of the lies of Babylon.

Please see this article which clearly explains these points.

https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/what-is-meaning-of-the-law-birth-purification/

The ‘maidchild’ signifies all who are not ‘the manchild’. The doubling of the time to be purified when a maid child is born signifies the doubling of the time needed to purify all those who are not the man child and who are not in “the resurrection of life.”

Joh 5:27  And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.
Joh 5:28  Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
Joh 5:29  And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life [“the first resurrection”, (Rev 20:6)]; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation [G2920:’krisis’, judgment, the great white throne judgment].

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

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

1Co 15:46  Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.

1Ti 1:9  Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,

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

1Co 6:2  Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?

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

2Co 6:17  Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,

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

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

Eph 2:5  Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)

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.

Rom 11:30  For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:
Rom 11:31  Even so have these also now not believed [signified by the maidchild], that through your mercy [the mercy of the manchild] they also may obtain mercy.

If we add 33+33 we get 66 and can see that there is a witness therefore to the flesh telling us that Christ has to finish this process of redeeming the first Adam by taking on the Adamic flesh with the holy spirit within Himself and without measure as a man, and then saving mankind in God’s order by the hope of glory within us, which hope is Christ in us.

Christ is not just reconciling us unto God by His death, but also, being raised as our High Priest, He purifies us so we can become the second Adam as well.

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

Joh 3:34  For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him [unto Christ].

1Co 15:17  And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.
1Co 15:18 Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.
1Co 15:19  If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.

Rom 5:10  For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.

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

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:

Now if we consider the second part of this verse, we can see more clearly why the purification was 66 days for the maid child and only 33 days for the man child.

We will pause again at this point and find out what the one week plus 33 days for the purification of a manchild versus the two weeks plus 66 days for the purification of a maidchild signifies in our next and last study on the spiritual significance of the number six.

]]> https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/1-samuel-21-36-hannahs-prayer-and-song/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=1-samuel-21-36-hannahs-prayer-and-song Mon, 12 Jan 2026 16:06:10 +0000 https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/?p=35062 Audio Download

1 Samuel 2:1–36 Hannah’s Prayer and Song

[Study Aired January 12, 2026]

Today’s study can be put under five sections. The first one is about Hannah’s song of thanksgiving to the Lord for granting her a son, Samuel. The second one deals with how the Lord blessed the family of Elkanah and Hannah with many children after lending Samuel to the Lord. The third section focuses on the growth of Samuel and Hannah’s superintending care of Samuel as she clothed him every year. The fourth aspect of the study is about the wickedness of Eli’s sons and the rebuke of Eli. The study ends with a message of judgment by a prophet sent by the Lord regarding the wickedness of Eli’s sons.  

Hannah’s Prayer

1Sa 2:1  And Hannah prayed, and said, My heart rejoiceth in the LORD, mine horn is exalted in the LORD: my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies; because I rejoice in thy salvation. 
1Sa 2:2 There is none holy as the LORD: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God. 

Hannah’s prayer began with rejoicing in the Lord. The church must learn to rejoice in the Lord. This does not mean that we shall always have a rosy experience with the Lord all the time. As a matter of fact, we are to suffer in this age for His name’s sake. However, this rejoicing in the Lord is more inward even though outwardly, things may not be right. 

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

In verse 1, we are given the reason we must rejoice in the Lord. It is because He has favored us in this age to become part of His plan of salvation. As a result, He has availed to us all the resources we need so we can be partakers of His marriage feast at the end of the age. 

Php 4:19  But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. 
Php 4:20 Now unto God and our Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.  

2Co 9:8  And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work: 

As shown in verse 1, when we rejoice in the Lord, our horn is exalted in Him. Horn symbolizes strength. Therefore, as we rejoice in the Lord, our strength is increased in the Lord. 

Isa 40:29  He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. 
Isa 40:30  Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: 
Isa 40:31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. 

Another benefit of rejoicing in the Lord is that our mouth is enlarged over our enemies. Our mouths represent what we speak, and what we speak is dependent on what we know. Therefore, our mouth being enlarged over our enemies implies that as our knowledge of the Lord grows, we overcome the schemes of the adversary, the devil.

Luk 10:18  And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. 
Luk 10:19  Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. 
Luk 10:20 Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.

The Lord has shown us that by the things which are made, we come to know His eternal power and Godhead. As we are aware, the reason why some countries such as the USA, are very powerful is because of the knowledge they have which translates into developing advanced weapons. Therefore the power that we are given to tread on serpents and scorpions is the knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of God which the Lord has given to us. This power comes to us when the Holy Spirit comes into our lives as He teaches us to know the truth.

Rom 1:20  For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

Act 1:8  But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

Joh 16:13  Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.  

In Hannah’s prayer in verse 2, she mentioned that there is none holy as the Lord and that there is no rock like our God. A rock figuratively refers to a refuge. Therefore Hannah saying that there is no rock like our God means that it is only in Him that we can take refuge. All other forms of protection – money, education, etc. are in vain without Christ.

Psa 46:1  To the chief Musician for the sons of Korah, A Song upon Alamoth. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

1Sa 2:3  Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth: for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed. 

Here in verse 3, Hannah was referring to Peninnah’s boasting about the fact that she had more children than Hannah. As indicated in the previous study, Peninnah represents the church system of this world while Hannah signifies the church of the Lord’s elect. Peninnah’s boasting is consistent with the men of God of the church system of this world. When they speak, you can feel their sense of pride. Recently, I was driving home from work and just turned on the radio to one of the channels of one of the mainstream churches here in Ghana. The pastor who was preaching said that there is no way he can ever get sick. That is arrogance coming out of his mouth. As the Lord has shown us, pride or arrogance always comes before a fall. 

Pro 16:18  Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.  

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. 

Our actions being weighed by the Lord in verse 3 is another way of saying that the Lord weighs the spirit behind our actions. 

Pro 16:2  All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the LORD weigheth the spirits. 

1Sa 2:4  The bows of the mighty men are broken, and they that stumbled are girded with strength. 

In the Bible, the first time that the words ‘mighty men’ appeared referred to children of the union between the sons of God and the daughters of men. The sons of God in this case refers to those who lost their position as the Lord’s elect as they were seduced by the church system of their day. All those who come out of the church system are the mighty men referred to in verse Gen 6:4.

Gen 6:4  There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.

According to the word of the Lord, bows signify the bitter words or the false doctrines of our brothers and sisters in Babylon. As shown in Romans 9:32, they who stumbled in verse 4 symbolize those who live by the law of Moses. It is the church system that lives by the law of Moses.

Psa 64:3  Who whet their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words. 

Rom 9:32  Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone;

In conclusion, the bows of the mighty men broken and they who stumbled are girded with strength means that we, the Lord’s elect, who used to be under the law of Moses are now through faith, are strengthened as the Lord has made the words or the false doctrines of the church system of this world of no effect to us. 

1Sa 2:5  They that were full have hired out themselves for bread; and they that were hungry ceased: so that the barren hath born seven; and she that hath many children is waxed feeble. 

Those who are full and have hired themselves for bread in verse 5 are our brothers and sisters in the church system of this world who have to pay to receive the false doctrines from their pastors. We, His elect, on the other hand, are the hungry, who by the Lord’s grace, have been fed with the word of the Lord. As a result, we who are barren have the complete (the significance of the number seven) race of humanity as our children to be, while the church system of this world, who now has many children, has become unproductive (feeble). This is what happened to the Israelites during the time of Moses or the church in the wilderness. They ended their days in futility and their years in trouble.

Psa 78:33  Therefore their days did he consume in vanity, and their years in trouble. 

1Sa 2:6  The LORD killeth, and maketh alive: he bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up. 
1Sa 2:7  The LORD maketh poor, and maketh rich: he bringeth low, and lifteth up. 
1Sa 2:8  He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the LORD’S, and he hath set the world upon them. 

In verse 6, Hannah mentioned that the Lord kills and makes alive. He brings down to the grave and brings up. This is what it means for the Lord to make alive or bring up so that the poor is raised from the dust to sit among princes and set the world upon them: 

Mat 13:10  And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? 
Mat 13:11  He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. 
Mat 13:12  For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. 

Mat 13:16  But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. 
Mat 13:17  For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.

This is how the Lord kills and brings to the grave: 

Mat 13:13  Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. 
Mat 13:14  And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: 
Mat 13:15  For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. 

1Sa 2:9  He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail. 
1Sa 2:10  The adversaries of the LORD shall be broken to pieces; out of heaven shall he thunder upon them: the LORD shall judge the ends of the earth; and he shall give strength unto his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed. 
1Sa 2:11  And Elkanah went to Ramah to his house. And the child did minister unto the LORD before Eli the priest. 

The Lord keeping the feet of his saints means the Lord will lead us in the path of righteousness for His name’s sake. 

Psa 23:3  He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 

The wicked refers to those who depend on their own strength and not Christ. The wicked being silent in darkness implies that in this age, they cannot speak the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven because they are not given to know them. In verse 9, the reason the wicked are made silent in darkness is because by their own strength, they can do nothing. 

Joh 15:5  I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

Our adversary is the devil, and when the word is used in the plural, it includes all those who are influenced by the devil against us. As indicated in verse 10,  the adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces. In addition, out of  the heaven shall He thunder upon them as He judges them. What these statements mean is that no weapon formed or fashioned against the Lord’s elect shall prosper. 

1Pe 5:8  Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

1Sa 1:6  And her adversary (Peninnah) also provoked her sore, for to make her fret, because the LORD had shut up her womb.

Isa 54:17  No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD. 

The Lord giving strength to His king and exalting the horn of His anointed are basically the same in meaning. That means we shall be strengthened with might by the Holy Spirit. This is because horn suggests strength, and therefore our horn being exalted means our strength is being increased.

Eph 3:16  That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; 

In verse 11, Samuel (the child) ministering before Eli, the priest, is the same as ministering to the Lord. As the Lord has told us, whatever we do for one another, we have done it unto the Lord. 

Mat 25:40  And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. 

Eli’s Worthless Sons

1Sa 2:12  Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial; they knew not the LORD. 
1Sa 2:13  And the priests’ custom with the people was, that, when any man offered sacrifice, the priest’s servant came, while the flesh was in seething, with a fleshhook of three teeth in his hand; 
1Sa 2:14  And he struck it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; all that the fleshhook brought up the priest took for himself. So they did in Shiloh unto all the Israelites that came thither. 
1Sa 2:15  Also before they burnt the fat, the priest’s servant came, and said to the man that sacrificed, Give flesh to roast for the priest; for he will not have sodden flesh of thee, but raw. 
1Sa 2:16  And if any man said unto him, Let them not fail to burn the fat presently, and then take as much as thy soul desireth; then he would answer him, Nay; but thou shalt give it me now: and if not, I will take it by force. 
1Sa 2:17  Wherefore the sin of the young men was very great before the LORD: for men abhorred the offering of the LORD.

According to Strong, the sons of Eli being referred to as sons of Belial is to show us their deplorable state as they epitomize wickedness. One of the principles of the word of the Lord is the ‘is, was, and will be’ nature. If at the time of Hannah, the leaders of the church system of her day were sons of wickedness, then it means that the situation today is the same; that is, evil men are in leadership. 

Rev 1:8  I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty. 

Mic 3:11  Your leaders exchange justice for bribes. Your priests teach for a price. Your prophets tell the future for money. But they rely on the LORD when they say, “After all, the LORD is with us. Nothing bad will happen to us.” (GW)

Jer 5:30 A wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land; 
Jer 5:31 The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof? 

In verses 13 to 17, we see the grievous sins committed by the sons of Eli, who were priests. They profaned the offering of the Lord in favor of their personal gains. The Lord in His wisdom had provided for priests who help with the congregation’s sacrifices. However, the sons of Eli seized for themselves some of the part of the sacrifice of the peace-offering as they were not content with the portion the Lord had given to them. 

Lev 7:34  For the wave breast and the heave shoulder have I taken of the children of Israel from off the sacrifices of their peace offerings, and have given them unto Aaron the priest and unto his sons by a statute forever from among the children of Israel. 

If we look around us, we can see the sins of Eli’s sons being committed  in the church system of this world. Pastors think they have the right to use the offering of the people in the way they want. Although in most churches they may have a group of elders, these people only serve as advisory to the pastor. As we know, advise is only a recommendation which can be taken or rejected. In other words, these pastors have the final say in all issues pertaining to the churches. This is how Isaiah describes the pastors’ rule over the church system of today which is consistent with the behavior of Eli’s sons:

Isa 56:11  Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter.     

In verse 12, the Lord stated the underlying problem with the leaders of the church system of this world – they knew not the Lord. Actually, these leaders are men serving their lusts with the offerings of the Lord. As a result, many in the church system of this world abhor the offerings of the Lord as shown in verse 17.

Jdg 2:10  And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel. 

The verse above highlights a cycle where each generation of the church system claims to know the Lord, but in reality, they do not, leading to spiritual debauchery. We were part of this cycle of decadence until the Lord reached out to us with the spirit of His mouth and His brightness. 

1Sa 2:18  But Samuel ministered before the LORD, being a child, girded with a linen ephod. 
1Sa 2:19  Moreover his mother made him a little coat, and brought it to him from year to year, when she came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice. 

As indicated earlier, Samuel ministering to Eli, the high priest is the same as ministering to the Lord. In other words, as we serve each other, we are ministering to the Lord.

Mat 25:40  And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

The mention that Samuel was a child here in verse 18 is to let us know that we all start our walk with the Lord as babies in Christ needing the milk of the word of the Lord. However, we must not remain as children. We must progress to become mature being able to rightly divide the word of truth. 

Heb 6:1  Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, 
Heb 6:2  Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. 
Heb 6:3 And this will we do, if God permit.  

A linen ephod is one of the priestly garments. The full regalia or garments of the priest are as follows:

Exo 28:4  And these are the garments which they shall make; a breastplate, and an ephod, and a robe, and a broidered coat, a mitre, and a girdle: and they shall make holy garments for Aaron thy brother, and his sons, that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office.

As we are aware, the garment represents righteousness of Christ. It is important to note in verse 18 that Samuel was girded with only a linen ephod, which is only a part of the full regalia of a priest. This is to let us know that righteousness is not fully attained when we start our walk with Christ. As we grow through the Lord’s judgment of our old man or flesh and our insight into the word of the Lord increases, our righteousness also increases. In other words, being changed from glory to glory is a process which ultimately fulfills the promise that we will become “the righteousness of God.”  

2Co 3:18  But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. 

As indicated in verse 19, every year, the mother made Samuel a little coat. This means that our righteousness is progressive or gradual. It also implies that the role of the church, signified by Samuel’s mother, Hannah, is to help us in attaining the righteousness of God. This is achieved through what every joint supplies.

Eph 4:16  From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love. 

1Sa 2:20  And Eli blessed Elkanah and his wife, and said, The LORD give thee seed of this woman for the loan which is lent to the LORD. And they went unto their own home. 
1Sa 2:21  And the LORD visited Hannah, so that she conceived, and bare three sons and two daughters. And the child Samuel grew before the LORD. 

Hannah lent to the Lord and was not expecting anything in return. However, she received more than she had ever hoped for – she bore five more children. Having five children means that it was by grace through faith that she was blessed as a mother. It means that it is grace through faith that the church is bearing mature children. This grace is the chastening that we experience from the hand of the Lord.

Luk 6:34  And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again. 
Luk 6:35 But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. 

Eph 3:20  Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, 
Eph 3:21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen. 

The child Samuel growing before the Lord means that we must desire to know Him more and more as we see the day approaching.

Heb 6:1  Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, 
Heb 6:2  Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. 
Heb 6:3 And this will we do, if God permit.  

Eli Rebukes His Sons

1Sa 2:22  Now Eli was very old, and heard all that his sons did unto all Israel; and how they lay with the women that assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
1Sa 2:23  And he said unto them, Why do ye such things? for I hear of your evil dealings by all this people. 
1Sa 2:24  Nay, my sons; for it is no good report that I hear: ye make the LORD’S people to transgress. 
1Sa 2:25  If one man sin against another, the judge shall judge him: but if a man sin against the LORD, who shall intreat for him? Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto the voice of their father, because the LORD would slay them. 
1Sa 2:26  And the child Samuel grew on, and was in favour both with the LORD, and also with men. 

As we can see in verses 22 to 25 above, Eli knew what his sons had done and referred their judgment to the Lord and told his sons that if a man sin against the Lord, who will pray for him? As we can see in the story, his sons did not listen to their father’s warning. Spiritually, what the sons of Eli were doing is the same as the man who slept with his father’s wife. When our behavior discredits the integrity of the church of the Lord’s elect, which is the wife of Christ, it is spiritually equal to sleeping with our father’s wife. This is the prescription for dealing with such issues:

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. 
1Co 5:3  For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed, 
1Co 5:4  In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
1Co 5:5  To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. 
1Co 5:6  Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? 
1Co 5:7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:   

We must remember that this story of the misdeed of Eli’s sons was written for our admonition. 

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. 

In verse 26, the child Samuel grew and was in favor before God and men. As we spiritually mature in our walk with Christ, we shall receive favor in the sight of the Lord and also with men.

The Lord Rejects Eli’s Household

1Sa 2:27  And there came a man of God unto Eli, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Did I plainly appear unto the house of thy father, when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh’s house? 
1Sa 2:28  And did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to offer upon mine altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before me? and did I give unto the house of thy father all the offerings made by fire of the children of Israel? 
1Sa 2:29  Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice and at mine offering, which I have commanded in my habitation; and honourest thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel my people? 
1Sa 2:30  Wherefore the LORD God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me forever: but now the LORD saith, Be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed. 

These verses show us that we cannot escape the judgment of the Lord when we persistently sin against Him. It is important to note that when Eli did not discipline his sons, the Lord regarded Eli as honoring his sons above Him. This implies that when we refuse to discipline our brothers and sisters in our midst who persistently lack moral judgment, and their deeds are known by the church, then we are refusing to honor the Lord at the expense of these brothers and sisters. If the church does not act, the whole church will become leavened.  

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

The verses also show us the character of the Lord. It reveals His patience, mercy, and compassionate nature, emphasizing His desire for repentance over quick judgment. It highlights His long-suffering love, and contrasts His divine patience with quick human tempers, showing His readiness to forgive and offer repeated opportunities for people to turn back to Him.

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

1Sa 2:31  Behold, the days come, that I will cut off thine arm, and the arm of thy father’s house, that there shall not be an old man in thine house. 
1Sa 2:32  And thou shalt see an enemy in my habitation, in all the wealth which God shall give Israel: and there shall not be an old man in thine house for ever. 
1Sa 2:33  And the man of thine, whom I shall not cut off from mine altar, shall be to consume thine eyes, and to grieve thine heart: and all the increase of thine house shall die in the flower of their age. 
1Sa 2:34  And this shall be a sign unto thee, that shall come upon thy two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas; in one day they shall die both of them. 
1Sa 2:35  And I will raise me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to that which is in mine heart and in my mind: and I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before mine anointed forever. 
1Sa 2:36  And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left in thine house shall come and crouch to him for a piece of silver and a morsel of bread, and shall say, Put me, I pray thee, into one of the priests’ offices, that I may eat a piece of bread. 

In verse 31, the Lord is saying that His judgment shall surely come. 

Hab 2:3  For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry. 

These verses show how the Levitical priesthood was to change to the priesthood of Christ which comes through the line of David of the tribe of Judah. It is Christ who was to be raised up as a faithful priest who will do according to that which was in the heart and mind of the Father. 

Act 2:29  Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day. 
Act 2:30 Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne

The unbelief of the priesthood of Eli and His sons brought us the priesthood of Christ, and so in a similar vein, it is through the unbelief of the church system of this world or Babylon that we have obtained mercy to serve as priests of the Lord. 

Rom 11:30  For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief: 
Rom 11:31  Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy. 
Rom 11:32  For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all. 
Rom 11:33  O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! 
Rom 11:34 For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?   

We therefore thank the Lord for His mercies towards us to be called and chosen in this age. Amen!

Gemstones: The Anointed Cherub in Eden: Understanding Ezekiel 28, Part 2

From Rebellion to Fulfillment: From External Covering to Internal Foundation

[Study Aired January 6, 2025]

The progression of precious stones in Scripture reveals a deliberate and purposeful movement in God’s design. What appears at first as ornamentation and external glory is shown, through judgment and refinement, to be preparatory rather than final. The numerical and structural patterns associated with these stones expose the limitation of the natural man and the necessity of transformation.

The breastplate of the high priest bore twelve stones set in gold—tribes carried externally before God through mediated righteousness. This arrangement, though ordered and divinely appointed, remained external. The people themselves were not transformed; they were represented. Scripture consistently testifies that such external glory cannot change the heart.

The description of the anointed cherub introduces a decisive shift. The twelve stones are reduced to nine, and gold is no longer merely a setting but stands alongside the stones themselves. This is not loss, but refinement. The reduction signals judgment, destruction and completion of the natural man under chastening. The gold is no longer framing what must be preserved; it is being tested with it.

This progression reveals that rebellion was not an accident of creation, nor was judgment an emergency response. God created humanity within a divine framework, knowing that the natural man—when adorned externally but unchanged inwardly—would exalt himself. This condition was permitted, even ordained, so that God’s purpose might be fulfilled through judgment rather than bypassed by external religion.

The final vision resolves what the earlier patterns only foreshadowed. In the New Jerusalem, twelve stones appear again—but now as foundations. They are no longer coverings, no longer carried, no longer mediated. They support the city itself. No gold is mentioned separately, because the God’s nature has been fully internalized. What was once external glory has become internal structure.

This movement—from external covering to internal foundation—reveals the entire redemptive arc. What was outward in the natural creation becomes inward in the spiritual. What once adorned is now what sustains. The stones that once symbolized Israel after the flesh become the foundations of the spiritual house of God.

Scripture affirms this transformation:

“Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone.” (Ephesians 2:19–20)

The natural man was never meant to remain clothed only in outward beauty. Nakedness in Scripture signifies spiritual poverty and need—a condition exposed when humanity stands apart from God’s righteousness. The church of Laodicea exemplifies this state, rich outwardly yet naked inwardly, counseled to seek gold refined by fire and true covering from Christ.

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

The stones that once served as temporary covering—like fig leaves fashioned by Adam—could never address the inward condition. God Himself demonstrated this when He replaced those coverings, pointing forward to the true provision that requires death, judgment, and transformation.

That true covering is Christ.

Christ: The True Covering and the Living Foundation

Christ fulfills what the stones could only signify. He does not merely adorn; He transforms. He does not cover temporarily; He becomes righteousness itself.

“For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” (Galatians 3:27)

To put on Christ is not to wear an external garment, but to receive a new nature. What the high priest bore upon stones, Christ bears within Himself. He does not carry our names symbolically; He carries us in truth, making continual intercession.

Likewise, Christ is not merely part of the foundation—He is the foundation.

“For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 3:11)

Those who are in Him are no longer adorned stones, but living ones:

“Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house.” (1 Peter 2:5)

The anointed cherub in Eden therefore represents humanity in the midst of God’s transformative work—created natural, adorned with glory, subjected to judgment, and refined through fire. What begins as external beauty must give way to internal substance. What begins as covering must become foundation. What begins in the first Adam must be fulfilled in the Last Adam.

This movement does not end in loss, but in consummation. It does not repair a failure, but completes God’s original intent—bringing forth a people no longer clothed in borrowed glory, but built upon Christ Himself, prepared as a bride made ready, and formed into a habitation of God in spirit and in truth.

The Bride Made Ready

The culmination of this pattern appears in the bride of Christ, who receives what the anointed cherub merely foreshadowed—not external decoration but internal transformation:

“Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Supper of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints” (Revelation 19:7-8).

The bride’s adornment is fine linen representing actual righteousness. Yet the city she inhabits displays precious stones as foundations—what was external covering in the natural has become internal foundation in the spiritual.

The anointed cherub in Eden, covered with nine precious stones and gold, represents not a fall from perfection but humanity in the midst of God’s transformative work—the natural foundation being tested by fire, the divine element being refined through judgment, completeness of the flesh being achieved through God’s chastening grace, all designed to bring us from the external to the internal, from the natural to the spiritual, from covering stones to being living stones in Christ’s eternal temple.

The Workmanship Prepared: Tabrets and Pipes

Ezekiel’s description of the anointed cherub includes a detail that is often overlooked, yet rich in spiritual meaning:

“The workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.” (Ezekiel 28:13)

These instruments were not developed over time, nor acquired through experience. They were prepared—fashioned by God and placed within the creature at creation. This statement reveals that humanity was created with an inherent capacity for expression, rhythm, and worship. Yet capacity does not equal fulfillment. What was prepared in the natural still required transformation to function spiritually.

The Hebrew word translated tabrets refers to a hand drum or tambourine, commonly associated with celebration and praise. The word translated pipes conveys the idea of hollowed spaces or channels—places through which breath or sound passes. Together, they speak of form and function, structure and expression, vessel and breath. Humanity was created as an instrument, designed to respond to God.

Yet Scripture makes a critical distinction: possessing instruments of worship is not the same as worshiping in spirit and truth. Jesus declared plainly:

“God is Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:24)

The natural man may possess talent, expression, and even religious activity, yet remain incapable of true worship apart from the work of God’s Spirit. This distinction explains why external forms of worship can coexist with inward rebellion.

Scripture provides a clear illustration through David and Saul. When Saul was troubled by an evil spirit, David’s playing brought temporary relief:

“And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took an harp, and played… so Saul was refreshed.” (1 Samuel 16:23)

Yet as Saul’s rebellion deepened, the same music no longer subdued the torment. Instead, it provoked violence:

“And the evil spirit from the LORD was upon Saul… and David played… And Saul sought to smite David even to the wall with the javelin.” (1 Samuel 19:9–10)

The instrument did not change; the heart did. The episode demonstrates that external ministry—no matter how skillful—cannot overcome a heart that resists God’s purpose. The natural capacity for worship cannot substitute for spiritual transformation.

This principle applies directly to the anointed cherub. The tabrets and pipes were present from creation, yet they existed in a natural state. Without refinement, what was meant for worship will be corrupted into self-expression, pride, or performance. This is why Scripture warns against honoring God with lips while the heart remains far from Him (Isaiah 29:13-14).

“Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men: Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.”

True worship emerges only when the inward man is renewed. Paul describes this transformation:

“Be renewed in the spirit of your mind.” (Ephesians 4:23)

Only then can the instruments prepared in us fulfill their purpose—not as expressions of self, but as vessels through which God is glorified.

The anointed cherub’s workmanship therefore testifies to design, not completion. Humanity was created with the ability to respond to God, yet dependent upon God to bring that response into alignment with truth. Worship, like righteousness, cannot be manufactured from the flesh. It must be formed through judgment, humility, and submission.

This prepares us for the next revelation in Ezekiel 28: the identity of the anointed cherub that covereth, and the proximity of humanity to God’s presence—set there by God Himself, yet unable to remain without transformation.

The Covering Cherub, Iniquity Revealed, and Fire from Within

Ezekiel continues the lamentation with language that reveals both divine appointment and inevitable judgment:

“Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so.” (Ezekiel 28:14)

This statement establishes God’s sovereignty over the cherub’s position. Nothing described in this passage is accidental or unauthorized. The cherub’s role was assigned, his proximity to God’s presence granted, and his function defined by God Himself. The anointing was not self-assumed, nor was the covering role usurped—it was given.

The term cherub consistently appears in Scripture in connection with God’s presence and restraint. Cherubim were placed at Eden’s gate to guard the way to the tree of life. Cherubim overshadowed the mercy seat, covering the place where blood would be applied. In every instance, they mark the boundary between God’s holiness and man’s access. That humanity is described as the “covering cherub” reveals both privilege and limitation—closeness without completion, access without permanence.

The text continues:

“Thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.” (Ezekiel 28:14)

The holy mountain signifies proximity to divine authority, while the stones of fire signify God’s purifying presence. Humanity was created near God’s glory, yet not immune to it. The nearness exposed what was present within.

The crucial turning point follows:

“Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.” (Ezekiel 28:15)

The perfection described here is completeness for purpose, not moral finality. The iniquity was found—revealed, brought to light. Scripture does not say it was introduced, injected, or caused by an external force. It emerged as the natural man functioned within divine proximity. This exposure was not failure; it was revelation.

The source of the iniquity is then named:

“By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence.” (Ezekiel 28:16)

The language of merchandise describes trafficking—exchange for gain. Spiritually, it reveals the tendency of the natural man to traffic in what God has given, using wisdom, beauty, and proximity to divine things for self-exaltation. This trafficking does not remain neutral; it produces violence—distortion, misuse, and corruption of what is holy.

The heart of the issue is identified plainly:

“Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness.” (Ezekiel 28:17)

What God gave as a gift became the basis for pride. Beauty became self-regard. Wisdom became self-rule. This is the essential nature of the carnal mind—to take what is given and claim it as its own.

Judgment follows, but its form is instructive:

“Therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee; it shall devour thee.” (Ezekiel 28:18)

The fire does not descend from outside; it arises from within. This is the same fire that Scripture elsewhere identifies as the testing of works and the revealing of truth. Pride collapses under the weight of divine exposure. What cannot endure God’s presence is consumed by it.

This fire reduces the covering cherub to ashes—not annihilation, but humbling. Ashes speak of mortality and surrender. The purpose is not destruction of being, but destruction of pretense.

Scripture affirms this refining purpose:

“Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.” (1 Corinthians 3:13)

Judgment exposes what is false so that what is true may remain. The cherub is removed from the mountain not because God abandons His purpose, but because that purpose requires transformation. What was external must give way to what is internal. What was near must become united.

The covering cherub cannot remain as covering. The function must pass. The judgment makes way for something greater—access not guarded by cherubim, but opened through Christ.

This prepares for the final movement of the passage: not destruction without hope, but transformation unto glory; not exile without return, but judgment that yields new creation.

From the Anointed Cherub to Christ Formed Within — God’s Purpose Fulfilled

Ezekiel 28 does not end in ruin, but in revelation. What begins with beauty and wisdom exposed by pride concludes with judgment that serves God’s redemptive purpose. The lamentation over the anointed cherub is not the record of a failed creation, but the unveiling of a divine process—one that moves inexorably from the natural to the spiritual, from external glory to internal transformation.

Humanity was created near God’s presence, adorned with wisdom and beauty, yet subject to vanity by God’s own design. The iniquity that was found was not unforeseen, nor was the judgment that followed corrective improvisation. Scripture declares plainly that creation was subjected to corruption in hope—with the intent that deliverance would follow (Romans 8:20–21). The exposure of pride, the fire from within, and the reduction to ashes all serve this single end: the removal of what is false so that what is true may remain.

The anointed cherub must decrease. External covering must give way to internal substance. What was once guarded by cherubim is now accessed through Christ. The way barred at Eden is opened not by bypassing judgment, but by fulfilling it.

This fulfillment is found entirely in Christ, the Last Adam. Where the first man was earthy, Christ is heavenly. Where the first bore glory externally, Christ embodies it fully. Where the cherub covered, Christ indwells. The transformation Ezekiel 28 anticipates is realized not through restoration of the old, but through the creation of the new.

Scripture testifies:

“As we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.” (1 Corinthians 15:49)

This is not metaphor alone—it is destiny. God’s purpose is not to preserve humanity in its first condition, but to conform it to the image of His Son. The fire that judges is the fire that refines. The death that humbles is the death that gives way to life.

What the anointed cherub foreshadowed, the bride of Christ embodies. She is no longer clothed in borrowed glory or adorned with temporary coverings. She is arrayed in righteousness formed within, prepared through judgment, and built upon an unshakable foundation. The stones that once served as covering now stand as structure. The gold once refined now endures.

This is the outcome God intended from the beginning—not repair of failure, but fulfillment of design. The natural man gives way to the spiritual. The first Adam yields to the Last. Pride is consumed, wisdom is purified, and what remains is a people fashioned not merely to stand before God, but to be His dwelling place.

Thus, Ezekiel 28 reveals more than judgment; it reveals hope. It shows us who we were, why we were created so, and what God is accomplishing through fire and grace. The anointed cherub is not the end of the story. Christ formed within is.

“That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.” (Ephesians 4:22–24)

Here the purpose is complete. God’s wisdom stands vindicated. Judgment has done its work. And what remains is not ashes—but glory.

From Rebellion to Fulfillment: From External Covering to Internal Foundation

The progression of precious stones in Scripture reveals a deliberate and purposeful movement in God’s design. What appears at first as ornamentation and external glory is shown, through judgment and refinement, to be preparatory rather than final. The numerical and structural patterns associated with these stones expose the limitation of the natural man and the necessity of transformation.

The breastplate of the high priest bore twelve stones set in gold—tribes carried externally before God through mediated righteousness. This arrangement, though ordered and divinely appointed, remained external. The people themselves were not transformed; they were represented. Scripture consistently testifies that such external glory cannot change the heart.

The description of the anointed cherub introduces a decisive shift. The twelve stones are reduced to nine, and gold is no longer merely a setting but stands alongside the stones themselves. This is not loss, but refinement. The reduction signals judgment, destruction and completion of the natural man under chastening. The gold is no longer framing what must be preserved; it is being tested with it.

This progression reveals that rebellion was not an accident of creation, nor was judgment an emergency response. God created humanity within a divine framework, knowing that the natural man—when adorned externally but unchanged inwardly—would exalt himself. This condition was permitted, even ordained, so that God’s purpose might be fulfilled through judgment rather than bypassed by external religion.

The final vision resolves what the earlier patterns only foreshadowed. In the New Jerusalem, twelve stones appear again—but now as foundations. They are no longer coverings, no longer carried, no longer mediated. They support the city itself. No gold is mentioned separately, because the God’s nature has been fully internalized. What was once external glory has become internal structure.

This movement—from external covering to internal foundation—reveals the entire redemptive arc. What was outward in the natural creation becomes inward in the spiritual. What once adorned is now what sustains. The stones that once symbolized Israel after the flesh become the foundations of the spiritual house of God.

Scripture affirms this transformation:

“Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone.” (Ephesians 2:19–20)

The natural man was never meant to remain clothed only in outward beauty. Nakedness in Scripture signifies spiritual poverty and need—a condition exposed when humanity stands apart from God’s righteousness. The church of Laodicea exemplifies this state, rich outwardly yet naked inwardly, counseled to seek gold refined by fire and true covering from Christ.

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

The stones that once served as temporary covering—like fig leaves fashioned by Adam—could never address the inward condition. God Himself demonstrated this when He replaced those coverings, pointing forward to the true provision that requires death, judgment, and transformation.

That true covering is Christ.

Christ: The True Covering and the Living Foundation

Christ fulfills what the stones could only signify. He does not merely adorn; He transforms. He does not cover temporarily; He becomes righteousness itself.

“For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” (Galatians 3:27)

To put on Christ is not to wear an external garment, but to receive a new nature. What the high priest bore upon stones, Christ bears within Himself. He does not carry our names symbolically; He carries us in truth, making continual intercession.

Likewise, Christ is not merely part of the foundation—He is the foundation.

“For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 3:11)

Those who are in Him are no longer adorned stones, but living ones:

“Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house.” (1 Peter 2:5)

The anointed cherub in Eden therefore represents humanity in the midst of God’s transformative work—created natural, adorned with glory, subjected to judgment, and refined through fire. What begins as external beauty must give way to internal substance. What begins as covering must become foundation. What begins in the first Adam must be fulfilled in the Last Adam.

This movement does not end in loss, but in consummation. It does not repair a failure, but completes God’s original intent—bringing forth a people no longer clothed in borrowed glory, but built upon Christ Himself, prepared as a bride made ready, and formed into a habitation of God in spirit and in truth.

The Bride Made Ready

The culmination of this pattern appears in the bride of Christ, who receives what the anointed cherub merely foreshadowed—not external decoration but internal transformation:

“Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Supper of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints” (Revelation 19:7-8).

The bride’s adornment is fine linen representing actual righteousness. Yet the city she inhabits displays precious stones as foundations—what was external covering in the natural has become internal foundation in the spiritual.

The anointed cherub in Eden, covered with nine precious stones and gold, represents not a fall from perfection but humanity in the midst of God’s transformative work—the natural foundation being tested by fire, the divine element being refined through judgment, completeness of the flesh being achieved through God’s chastening grace, all designed to bring us from the external to the internal, from the natural to the spiritual, from covering stones to being living stones in Christ’s eternal temple.

The Workmanship Prepared: Tabrets and Pipes

Ezekiel’s description of the anointed cherub includes a detail that is often overlooked, yet rich in spiritual meaning:

“The workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.” (Ezekiel 28:13)

These instruments were not developed over time, nor acquired through experience. They were prepared—fashioned by God and placed within the creature at creation. This statement reveals that humanity was created with an inherent capacity for expression, rhythm, and worship. Yet capacity does not equal fulfillment. What was prepared in the natural still required transformation to function spiritually.

The Hebrew word translated tabrets refers to a hand drum or tambourine, commonly associated with celebration and praise. The word translated pipes conveys the idea of hollowed spaces or channels—places through which breath or sound passes. Together, they speak of form and function, structure and expression, vessel and breath. Humanity was created as an instrument, designed to respond to God.

Yet Scripture makes a critical distinction: possessing instruments of worship is not the same as worshiping in spirit and truth. Jesus declared plainly:

“God is Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:24)

The natural man may possess talent, expression, and even religious activity, yet remain incapable of true worship apart from the work of God’s Spirit. This distinction explains why external forms of worship can coexist with inward rebellion.

Scripture provides a clear illustration through David and Saul. When Saul was troubled by an evil spirit, David’s playing brought temporary relief:

“And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took an harp, and played… so Saul was refreshed.” (1 Samuel 16:23)

Yet as Saul’s rebellion deepened, the same music no longer subdued the torment. Instead, it provoked violence:

“And the evil spirit from the LORD was upon Saul… and David played… And Saul sought to smite David even to the wall with the javelin.” (1 Samuel 19:9–10)

The instrument did not change; the heart did. The episode demonstrates that external ministry—no matter how skillful—cannot overcome a heart that resists God’s purpose. The natural capacity for worship cannot substitute for spiritual transformation.

This principle applies directly to the anointed cherub. The tabrets and pipes were present from creation, yet they existed in a natural state. Without refinement, what was meant for worship will be corrupted into self-expression, pride, or performance. This is why Scripture warns against honoring God with lips while the heart remains far from Him (Isaiah 29:13-14).

“Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men: Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.”

True worship emerges only when the inward man is renewed. Paul describes this transformation:

“Be renewed in the spirit of your mind.” (Ephesians 4:23)

Only then can the instruments prepared in us fulfill their purpose—not as expressions of self, but as vessels through which God is glorified.

The anointed cherub’s workmanship therefore testifies to design, not completion. Humanity was created with the ability to respond to God, yet dependent upon God to bring that response into alignment with truth. Worship, like righteousness, cannot be manufactured from the flesh. It must be formed through judgment, humility, and submission.

This prepares us for the next revelation in Ezekiel 28: the identity of the anointed cherub that covereth, and the proximity of humanity to God’s presence—set there by God Himself, yet unable to remain without transformation.

The Covering Cherub, Iniquity Revealed, and Fire from Within

Ezekiel continues the lamentation with language that reveals both divine appointment and inevitable judgment:

“Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so.” (Ezekiel 28:14)

This statement establishes God’s sovereignty over the cherub’s position. Nothing described in this passage is accidental or unauthorized. The cherub’s role was assigned, his proximity to God’s presence granted, and his function defined by God Himself. The anointing was not self-assumed, nor was the covering role usurped—it was given.

The term cherub consistently appears in Scripture in connection with God’s presence and restraint. Cherubim were placed at Eden’s gate to guard the way to the tree of life. Cherubim overshadowed the mercy seat, covering the place where blood would be applied. In every instance, they mark the boundary between God’s holiness and man’s access. That humanity is described as the “covering cherub” reveals both privilege and limitation—closeness without completion, access without permanence.

The text continues:

“Thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.” (Ezekiel 28:14)

The holy mountain signifies proximity to divine authority, while the stones of fire signify God’s purifying presence. Humanity was created near God’s glory, yet not immune to it. The nearness exposed what was present within.

The crucial turning point follows:

“Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.” (Ezekiel 28:15)

The perfection described here is completeness for purpose, not moral finality. The iniquity was found—revealed, brought to light. Scripture does not say it was introduced, injected, or caused by an external force. It emerged as the natural man functioned within divine proximity. This exposure was not failure; it was revelation.

The source of the iniquity is then named:

“By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence.” (Ezekiel 28:16)

The language of merchandise describes trafficking—exchange for gain. Spiritually, it reveals the tendency of the natural man to traffic in what God has given, using wisdom, beauty, and proximity to divine things for self-exaltation. This trafficking does not remain neutral; it produces violence—distortion, misuse, and corruption of what is holy.

The heart of the issue is identified plainly:

“Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness.” (Ezekiel 28:17)

What God gave as gift became the basis for pride. Beauty became self-regard. Wisdom became self-rule. This is the essential nature of the carnal mind—to take what is given and claim it as its own.

Judgment follows, but its form is instructive:

“Therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee; it shall devour thee.” (Ezekiel 28:18)

The fire does not descend from outside; it arises from within. This is the same fire that Scripture elsewhere identifies as the testing of works and the revealing of truth. Pride collapses under the weight of divine exposure. What cannot endure God’s presence is consumed by it.

This fire reduces the covering cherub to ashes—not annihilation, but humbling. Ashes speak of mortality and surrender. The purpose is not destruction of being, but destruction of pretense.

Scripture affirms this refining purpose:

“Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.” (1 Corinthians 3:13)

Judgment exposes what is false so that what is true may remain. The cherub is removed from the mountain not because God abandons His purpose, but because that purpose requires transformation. What was external must give way to what is internal. What was near must become united.

The covering cherub cannot remain as covering. The function must pass. The judgment makes way for something greater—access not guarded by cherubim, but opened through Christ.

This prepares for the final movement of the passage: not destruction without hope, but transformation unto glory; not exile without return, but judgment that yields new creation.

From the Anointed Cherub to Christ Formed Within — God’s Purpose Fulfilled

Ezekiel 28 does not end in ruin, but in revelation. What begins with beauty and wisdom exposed by pride concludes with judgment that serves God’s redemptive purpose. The lamentation over the anointed cherub is not the record of a failed creation, but the unveiling of a divine process—one that moves inexorably from the natural to the spiritual, from external glory to internal transformation.

Humanity was created near God’s presence, adorned with wisdom and beauty, yet subject to vanity by God’s own design. The iniquity that was found was not unforeseen, nor was the judgment that followed corrective improvisation. Scripture declares plainly that creation was subjected to corruption in hope—with the intent that deliverance would follow (Romans 8:20–21). The exposure of pride, the fire from within, and the reduction to ashes all serve this single end: the removal of what is false so that what is true may remain.

The anointed cherub must decrease. External covering must give way to internal substance. What was once guarded by cherubim is now accessed through Christ. The way barred at Eden is opened not by bypassing judgment, but by fulfilling it.

This fulfillment is found entirely in Christ, the Last Adam. Where the first man was earthy, Christ is heavenly. Where the first bore glory externally, Christ embodies it fully. Where the cherub covered, Christ indwells. The transformation Ezekiel 28 anticipates is realized not through restoration of the old, but through the creation of the new.

Scripture testifies:

“As we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.” (1 Corinthians 15:49)

This is not metaphor alone—it is destiny. God’s purpose is not to preserve humanity in its first condition, but to conform it to the image of His Son. The fire that judges is the fire that refines. The death that humbles is the death that gives way to life.

What the anointed cherub foreshadowed, the bride of Christ embodies. She is no longer clothed in borrowed glory or adorned with temporary coverings. She is arrayed in righteousness formed within, prepared through judgment, and built upon an unshakable foundation. The stones that once served as covering now stand as structure. The gold once refined now endures.

This is the outcome God intended from the beginning—not repair of failure, but fulfillment of design. The natural man gives way to the spiritual. The first Adam yields to the Last. Pride is consumed, wisdom is purified, and what remains is a people fashioned not merely to stand before God, but to be His dwelling place.

Thus, Ezekiel 28 reveals more than judgment; it reveals hope. It shows us who we were, why we were created so, and what God is accomplishing through fire and grace. The anointed cherub is not the end of the story. Christ formed within is.

“That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.” (Ephesians 4:22–24)

Here the purpose is complete. God’s wisdom stands vindicated. Judgment has done its work. And what remains is not ashes—but glory.

The Spiritual Significance of Numbers – Number Three

[Study Aired January 4, 2026]

The number three signifies that a process is taking place. The ultimate purpose of every process we see taking place in scripture is the process of judgment with whatever this number is connected. The three times repeated vision of Peter in the house of Simon the tanner, which led to the gospel going to the Gentiles, also led to you and I being “the house of God which is now being judged (1Pe 4:17). This number three signifies that a process is taking place, and that process is ultimately the process which in the fullness of time is to be administered to the whole world:

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

‘The inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness”, but  learning takes time, and the only way any of us learn righteousness is through the process of being judged by the fiery trials and tribulations of this life:

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

Being tried  requires going to trial, and the trial of our faith is a fiery trial which reveals all the self-righteousness and corruption of our rebellious carnal mind. The process of judgment is even now taking  place in the lives of Christ’s elect:

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

Judgment is a process which is not done and over with all at once in a ten-second ‘sinner’s prayer.’ The process of judgment is the greater significance of the number three.

In this study we will examine many of the entries in scripture where the number three appears, and we will demonstrate how this number is associated with the concept of this process taking place. In the end we will see that everything the Lord is doing in this process is leading to the judgment of all men in their own order:

1Co 15:22  For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
1Co 15:23  But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.
1Co 15:24  Then cometh the end [‘the end’ harvest, (Exo 23:16)], when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.

Exo 23:14  Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year.
Exo 23:15  Thou shalt keep [1] the feast of [Passover and] unleavened bread: (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt: and none shall appear before me empty:)
Exo 23:16  And [2, Pentecost] the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field: and [3, Tabernacles] the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field.
Exo 23:17  Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord GOD.

The “three times in the year” signifies the three seasons of spiritual growth we will all experience in our spiritual walk. Our initial Passover experience as “carnal… babes in Christ” (1Co 3:1-4), our Pentecost experience, when we begin to mature, and our Tabernacles experience, when we are “chastened and scourged and we begin  to die daily [and] suffer with Christ” (1Co 15:31, Php 1:29, 1Pe 4:13). God does not ‘chasten and scourge’ carnal babes in Christ. That is the Passover stage of our conversion. At that Passover part of our process, all we know is “Christ and Him crucified”:

1Co 2:1  And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God.
1Co 2:2  For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.

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

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

It is not until the Pentecost part of the process of our spiritual experience that we can begin to appreciate the need for deep repentance and spiritual discipline which leads to understanding the function of the Lord’s goodness and His grace:

Psa 107:25  For he [The Lord] commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof [The fiery trials of life].
Psa 107:26  They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble.
Psa 107:27  They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits’ end.
Psa 107:28  Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses.
Psa 107:29  He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.
Psa 107:30  Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven.
Psa 107:31  Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!

The “goodness” of Psalm 107:31 is the same “goodness” of this verse in Romans:

Rom 2:4  Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?

It is in the third part of the process of our conversion that we are finally given the maturity to appreciate The Truth of these verses:

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;

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:

1Pe 4:13  But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.

Being given to understand that our suffering with Christ fills up what is lacking of His suffering is the beginning of the third step in the process of our judgment which “must begin at the house of God” (1Pe 4:17) in this present time:

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

The process of God’s judgment began with Christ, who was “made sin for us” and whose “sinful flesh” was not capable of inheriting the kingdom of God and had to be rejected and replaced with a resurrected spiritual body:

Rom 8:3  For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: [Christ was “made sin” yet never  once committed a transgression of the “law of the spirit”]

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

2Co 5:21  For the man who knew no sin was made sin [made “sinful flesh”] on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him.

Before His resurrection from the dead Christ did not pass through a locked door, but as a spiritual body, He could appear as “flesh and bone”, and yet He could simply appear in a locked room.

Luk 24:36  And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.
Luk 24:37  But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit.
Luk 24:38  And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts?
Luk 24:39  Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.
Luk 24:40  And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet.

“A spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have” is not Christ denying the truth of 1 Corinthians 15:44. Spirits had many times appeared as “flesh and bones”, such as when the Lord ate with Abraham and Sarah, when He wrestled with Jacob and here in this room where He is demonstrating that the tomb was indeed empty, and He was “raised a spiritual body” capable of being handled and capable of eating a meal with physical men:

Luk 24:41  And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat?
Luk 24:42  And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb.
Luk 24:43  And he took it, and did eat before them.

All the fiery trials and the suffering “of this present time” (Rom 8:18) are just the ‘beginning of the judgment of God which is now on His house’ (1Pe 4:17). The judgment which “begin[s] at the house of God” does not end there. It culminates in the “great white throne… judgment” which will be the third season of the three seasons of God’s work of bringing all mankind into judgment and will completely destroy death to the extent that all death will be replaced with life in everyone who has ever drawn breath:

Joh 3:17  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

1Co 15:55  O death, where is thy sting? O grave [G86: ‘hades’], where is thy victory?

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

As long as one person remains in the grave, death will still have a sting and a victory. However, we are assured that:

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

For all the Babylonian ministers who maintain that ‘will have all men to be saved’ means that Christ simply ‘desires that all men be saved’, but He would never do anything contrary to our own fabled ‘free will’, consider this great Truth:

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

Mankind’s will is worked by God’s desire. For that reason salvation for “all in Adam” does not depend on the will of men:

Job 23:14  For he performeth the thing that is appointed for me: and many such things are with him.

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

It is manifested throughout scripture that what God desires is what He does, and if He desires the salvation of all in Adam, then that is what He is in the process of doing through His three steps of the judgment of all men of all time, signified by the three harvest seasons of the holy days which God gave to Israel.

Here are the three outward dispensations in which the Lord is working with His creatures:

1) “From the beginning:”

Mar 10:6 But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female.

2) Moses and the law of Moses:

Mat 19:8 He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.

Luk 16:16 The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it.

3) The “time of reformation”

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

This “time of reformation” is the time in which God matures His work as He reforms this vessel of clay. What is impossible for the carnal mind to understand is that as this part of God’s work with the flesh is being accomplished, a new spiritual man is being brought forth in a resurrection. We experience the resurrection now only in down-payment (“earnest”) form:

Rom 6:3  Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
Rom 6:4  Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
Rom 6:5  For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be [future tense] also in the likeness of his resurrection:

Eph 1:13  In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
Eph 1:14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

This “redemption of the purchased possession” is the first resurrection. It is the shedding of this vessel of clay once and for all. It is not just an “earnest” or down-payment, but it is taking full possession of a spiritual body in resurrection from among the dead, as the captain of our salvation has already experienced.

When Peter was found by Cornelius the Roman centurion, he was feeding Christ’s sheep at the house of Simon the tanner in Joppa. Just before Cornelius’ three  Gentile messengers knocked on the door of the home of Simon the tanner in Joppa the holy spirit three times showed Peter a vision of unclean animals and told Peter… “Arise Peter, slay and eat.” Three  times Peter answered, “Not so Lord; for I have never eaten anything common or unclean.” The people who Peter at that time considered to be “common and unclean” and unworthy of being spiritually fed were knocking on the door of his host, Simon the tanner. Even after being shown that he was not to “call any man common or unclean”, it was still a slow, hard, and trying process for Peter to accept the Truth that God was taking the gospel to the Gentiles. Peter struggled many long years, after having the three times repeated vision of unclean creatures which he was commanded “Arise Peter, slay and eat.” The Lord made it clear to Peter that the three visions corresponded with the three Gentile men knocking on the door of Simon the tanner. In the very next chapter Peter was obliged to explain why he had decided to entered the home of the Gentile, Cornelius, a Roman centurion, and this what Peter said about the significance of his three visions in which he was three times commanded to eat unclean food:

Act 10:25  And as Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him, and fell down at his feet, and worshipped him.
Act 10:26  But Peter took him up, saying, Stand up; I myself also am a man.
Act 10:27  And as he talked with him, he went in, and found many that were come together.
Act 10:28  And he said unto them, Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean.

Even after this miraculous event in the house of Cornelius, the Gentile Roman centurion it still required a process of many years for Peter to extricate himself from the “carnal commandment” Israel had been given to separate themselves from the Gentiles.

Here is an event which took place several years after Peter was honored to be the first apostle to share the gospel with a Gentile:

Gal 2:11  But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed.
Gal 2:12  For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision.
Gal 2:13  And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation [hypocrisy].

This story is given to demonstrate to us the spiritual significance of the number three. Three signifies the fact that a process is taking place. Our old man is daily being judged and being burned out of each of us, and ‘the world within us is learning righteousness.’ Both judgment and learning require time and experience, and time and experience produce the process being judged. The fact that both Peter and Barnabas struggled to accept what the Lord had revealed to them demonstrates the significance of the number three. It signifies the process of being judged:

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

This is not just a history lesson about Peter’s struggles. This is an admonition for you and me to guard against any tendency to be respecters of persons because of income, race or social standing. Our only consideration is to please our Lord. We are to seek to worship God in spirit and in Truth. We are not to be men-pleasers. If we seek to please men, we are not fit to feed Christ’s sheep:

Joh 4:23  But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

Gal 1:10 For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.

Peter, setting us an example, immediately repented of His hypocrisy, and said this at the Jerusalem conference of Acts 15:

Act 15:7  And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe.
Act 15:8  And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us;
Act 15:9  And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.
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?
Act 15:11  But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.

We will now examine how this process is revealed in the words of scripture:

Christ’s words demonstrate that no good is accomplished without going through the process of being judged:

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

Joh 2:19 Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.

The “three years old” sacrifices the Lord required of Abraham demonstrates that the only sacrifice acceptable to God is one which has endured the chastening process of being judged:

Gen 15:9 And he said unto him, Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon.

Christ, along with His ‘two witnesses’, brought the news of a barren wife bringing forth a manchild, and bringing about the destruction of Sodom, which signifies the destruction of Babylon the great:

Gen 18:1 And the LORD appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day;
Gen 18:2 And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground,

Gen 18:6 And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead [it], and make cakes upon the hearth.

Gen 18:20  And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous;
Gen 18:21  I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know.
Gen 18:22  And the [two] men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the LORD.

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.

The “three tenth deals” of the “meat offering” signify that it also is part of the process of judgment:

Lev 14:10 And on the eighth day he shall take two he lambs without blemish, and one ewe lamb of the first year without blemish, and three tenth deals of fine flour for a meat offering, mingled with oil, and one log of oil.

The three branches of the vine in the dream of Pharaoh’s butler signify the process of his release from prison.

Gen 40:10 And in the vine were three branches: and it was as though it budded, and her blossoms shot forth; and the clusters thereof brought forth ripe grapes:

Gen 40:13 Yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thine head, and restore thee unto thy place: and thou shalt deliver Pharaoh’s cup into his hand, after the former manner when thou wast his butler.

Here are a few negative applications of how the number three signifies a process is working:

Gen 40:18 And Joseph answered and said, This is the interpretation thereof: The three baskets are three days:
Gen 40:19 Yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thy head from off thee, and shall hang thee on a tree; and the birds shall eat thy flesh from off thee.

Exo 10:22 And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven; and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days:

Exo 15:22 So Moses brought Israel from the Red sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water.

Num 22:28 And the LORD opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam, What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times?

Three hundred pieces of silver signify the process of the redemption of the Lord’s elect:

Gen 45:22 To all of them he gave each man changes of raiment; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver, and five changes of raiment.

Going into the wilderness for three days signifies the beginning of the process of being separated from our old man:

Exo 5:3 And they said, The God of the Hebrews hath met with us: let us go, we pray thee, three days’ journey into the desert, and sacrifice unto the LORD our God; lest he fall upon us with pestilence, or with the sword.

 Our fruit is not edible until after three years:

Lev 19:23 And when ye shall come into the land, and shall have planted all manner of trees for food, then ye shall count the fruit thereof as uncircumcised: three years shall it be as uncircumcised unto you: it shall not be eaten of.

It takes two cycles of three years to bring us to our year of rest in Christ:

Lev 25:21 Then I will command my blessing upon you in the sixth year, and it shall bring forth fruit for three years.

After three years we are given to feed the Levite who ministers to us and the fatherless and widows who are among us:

Deu 14:28 At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase the same year, and shalt lay it up within thy gates:
Deu 14:29  And the Levite, (because he hath no part nor inheritance with thee,) and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, which are within thy gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hand which thou doest.

The Lord’s Word is divided into three parts, signifying that its revelation is a process:

Luk 24:44 And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.

Even our deception by the lies of Babylon are revealed to be a process which takes time:

Rev 16:13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.

Rev 8:12 And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.
Rev 8:13 And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound!

Three men, Cain, Balaam, and Korah, signify the process of apostasy:

Jud 1:11 Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core.

Christ presence in every generation is expressed in three ways… 1) Is, 2) Was, and 3) Is to come:

Rev 1:4 John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne;

Rev 1:8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.

Rev 1:18 I [am] he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
Rev 1:19 Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter;

Three principles govern the proper understanding of the Word of God and those three are 1) the letter of the word, 2) the spiritual meaning behind the letter of the word and 3) the sum of thy word [‘a multitude of counselors’].

1Co 2:12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world [the letter of the Word], but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
1Co 2:13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth [The letter of the Word], but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
1Co 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know [them], because they are spiritually discerned.

Psa 119:160 The sum of Your word is truth, And every one of Your righteous ordinances is everlasting (ASV, ESV, etc.).

Pro 11:14  Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety.

Pro 15:22  Without counsel purposes are disappointed: but in the multitude of counsellors they are established.

Pro 24:6  For by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war: and in multitude of counsellors there is safety.

Gemstones: The Anointed Cherub in Eden: Understanding Ezekiel 28 – Part 1

[Study Aired December 30, 2025]

Introduction

Ezekiel 28 stands among the most layered and spiritually demanding passages in all of Scripture. Though often approached as a historical prophecy against the rulers of ancient Tyre, the chapter itself presses far beyond the limits of earthly kingship. It begins with a judgment against the prince of Tyre—a man whose heart was lifted up in pride—and then moves to a lamentation over the king of Tyre, described in language that transcends any merely human ruler. This second figure is said to have been in Eden, clothed with precious stones, anointed as a covering cherub, walking in the midst of stones of fire. Such language demands a spiritual reading, for it cannot be satisfied by historical circumstance alone.

Scripture instructs us that spiritual truths are not discerned by the natural mind, nor are eternal realities confined to what is outwardly seen:

“But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” (1 Corinthians 2:14)

“While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:18)

For this reason, Ezekiel 28 must be approached according to the pattern Scripture itself establishes—precept upon precept, line upon line, allowing God’s Word to interpret God’s Word:

“For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little.” (Isaiah 28:10)

When read in this way, the passage reveals not the fall of a celestial being (Satan), but a divinely ordered pattern concerning humanity itself. The king of Tyre is presented as an archetypal figure, describing man as he was created—complete for purpose, adorned with glory, yet natural and subject to vanity. This condition was not the result of an unforeseen failure, but of God’s sovereign design.

The apostle Paul states this plainly:

“For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope.” (Romans 8:20)

Humanity was created in a natural, earthy state—full of beauty and wisdom, yet vulnerable to pride and self-exaltation. This was not a fall from spiritual perfection, but the necessary first stage in God’s redemptive purpose. As Scripture declares, “that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual” (1 Corinthians 15:46).

Ezekiel 28 therefore serves as a revelation of this divine process. It exposes the nature of the first man, the carnal mind, and the pride inherent in external glory. At the same time, it points forward to God’s solution—judgment not unto destruction, but unto transformation; fire not to annihilate, but to refine; and the ultimate purpose of conforming humanity to the image of Christ, the Last Adam.

This study will examine the imagery of Eden, precious stones, gold, judgment, and the anointed cherub within the full witness of Scripture. By tracing these patterns from the Law to the Prophets and into their fulfillment in Christ, we will see that Ezekiel 28 reveals God’s wisdom in creating man natural, judging him righteously, and transforming him spiritually—bringing forth sons conformed to the image of His Son.

The Prince and King: Two Distinct Judgments

Ezekiel 28 deliberately separates its prophecy into two distinct addresses: one directed to the prince of Tyre and another to the king of Tyre. This distinction is essential, for the language, scope, and spiritual depth of each passage differ markedly. The prophet is not merely repeating himself; he is unveiling two related but distinct aspects of judgment—one temporal and one archetypal.

The judgment against the prince of Tyre addresses a man operating within the realm of earthly power. God declares:

“Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thine heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou art a man, and not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God.” (Ezekiel 28:2)

Here, the emphasis is unmistakable: “thou art a man, and not God.” The prince represents human authority exercised in pride, wisdom corrupted by self-exaltation, and confidence rooted in prosperity rather than dependence upon God. His claim to divinity is not expressed through theology, but through posture— “I sit in the seat of God.” This is the carnal mind enthroning itself.

The prince’s wisdom, trade, and wealth become the instruments of his deception. His success persuades him that he is self-sufficient, blurring the boundary between creature and Creator. Scripture consistently identifies this progression: wisdom producing increase, increase fostering self-trust, and self-trust culminating in exaltation of self as God.

This pattern appears elsewhere in Scripture, most notably in the prophetic language spoken against Babylon:

“For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven… I will be like the most High.” (Isaiah 14:13–14)

It also finds expression in the apostolic warning concerning the man of sin:

“So that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.” (2 Thessalonians 2:4)

Scripture defines that temple clearly:

“Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you…?” (1 Corinthians 6:19)

The prince of Tyre therefore represents the old man—the carnal nature enthroned within the human vessel, asserting autonomy, wisdom, and authority apart from God. This is not merely a political problem; it is a spiritual condition shared by all humanity in its natural state.

God’s judgment upon the prince reflects this reality:

“Behold, therefore I will bring strangers upon thee… and they shall defile thy brightness.” (Ezekiel 28:7)

The very wisdom and splendour that elevated the prince become the means of his humiliation. His judgment takes place “in the midst of the seas,” a phrase Scripture interprets as peoples and multitudes (Revelation 17:15). He is brought down through the same system that once exalted him, revealing the futility of human glory rooted in commerce, influence, and self-rule.

The prophecy then shifts. No longer does God address the prince, but now commands a lamentation for the king of Tyre. The language immediately moves beyond earthly categories:

“Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God…” (Ezekiel 28:12–13)

Unlike the prince, the king is not addressed merely as a ruler among nations. He is placed in Eden. He is clothed with precious stones. He is described as created, anointed, and set by God. These details cannot be confined to a historical monarch, nor do they describe a contemporary political authority. The scope has expanded.

The transition from prince to king marks a movement from manifest pride to origin, from outward rule to inward condition, from present authority to foundational identity. The king of Tyre represents not a specific man, but man as he was created—humanity in its original, natural state, adorned with glory yet vulnerable to corruption.

Where the prince shows what the carnal mind becomes when exalted, the king reveals what the carnal nature is, even before judgment manifests openly. Together, the two figures form a complete picture: the prince displays the fruit, the king reveals the root.

This twofold structure is not accidental. It allows Scripture to reveal both the operation of pride in time and the origin of that pride in creation. The prince is judged for what he does; the king is lamented for what he is. The former is temporal and visible; the latter is archetypal and foundational.

Understanding this distinction is essential. Without it, Ezekiel 28 collapses into confusion. With it, the passage unfolds as a coherent revelation of humanity’s condition—created natural, elevated in beauty, corrupted through pride, and destined for judgment that leads not to annihilation, but to transformation.

The Anointed Cherub in Eden: Created Natural, Not Fallen

The lamentation over the king of Tyre introduces language that immediately transcends the realm of historical kingship. The figure described is said to have been in Eden, adorned with precious stones, created by God, and anointed as a covering cherub. Such imagery cannot be confined to a Phoenician ruler, nor does it describe a political office. Instead, Scripture draws our attention back to origins—to creation itself.

“Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God…” (Ezekiel 28:12–13)

These words describe completeness, beauty, and divine placement. Yet they also describe a created being—one brought forth by God, not eternal, not self-existent. The text states plainly that this figure was created, and that what followed unfolded according to God’s sovereign purpose.

For centuries, this passage has been misapplied to a supposed fall of Satan from heaven. However, Scripture itself does not support such a narrative. Christ declared unequivocally concerning the devil:

“He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth.” (John 8:44)

The adversary was not righteous and then corrupted; he was a murderer from the beginning. Likewise, God declares:

“I have created the waster to destroy.” (Isaiah 54:16)

These statements dismantle the idea of a pristine spiritual being who fell into evil. Instead, Scripture presents creation as proceeding according to divine intent, with each element formed for its purpose—including those instruments used in judgment and testing.

The anointed cherub in Ezekiel 28 therefore does not represent a fall from spiritual perfection, but humanity as it was created—complete for purpose, yet natural. Paul explains this foundational truth:

“For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope.” (Romans 8:20)

Humanity did not choose this condition; it was imposed by God Himself, and it was imposed in hope. The condition of vanity was not a curse resulting from divine failure, but a necessary stage in God’s redemptive design.

This is further clarified by the order Scripture establishes between the natural and the spiritual:

“Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.” (1 Corinthians 15:46)

The first man was created natural—earthy, visible, temporal. He was not created immortal, incorruptible, or spiritually complete. He was created fit for purpose as the first Adam.

The word translated “perfect” in Ezekiel 28:15 is the Hebrew tamim, meaning complete, whole, or sound. It does not mean morally flawless or spiritually finished. It describes something fully formed for its intended function. Adam was perfect in this sense—fully equipped as the natural man, lacking nothing required of the first creation. Yet that very completeness included susceptibility to pride, self-exaltation, and corruption.

This explains the statement:

“Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.” (Ezekiel 28:15)

The iniquity was not implanted later by accident, nor did it arise from an unforeseen rebellion. It was found—brought to light, made manifest—according to God’s purpose. As Paul explains, creation was subjected to this condition so that deliverance might follow.

David acknowledged this reality when he wrote:

“Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.” (Psalm 51:5)

This is not a lament over inherited guilt from a fallen perfection, but an acknowledgement of humanity’s natural condition from the beginning. We are formed earthy, subject to corruption, dependent upon God for transformation.

The anointed cherub in Eden therefore represents humanity in its original state—placed in proximity to God’s glory, adorned with beauty and wisdom, yet natural and incomplete with respect to spiritual life. This condition was not an error to be corrected, but a foundation upon which God would build something greater.

Scripture confirms that the natural was never meant to remain:

“The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.” (1 Corinthians 15:47)

Ezekiel 28 reveals this pattern in prophetic form. The cherub is created, adorned, and set by God—yet destined to pass through judgment, fire, and humbling so that what is natural might give way to what is spiritual. The passage does not describe a cosmic accident, but a divinely ordered process leading from the first Adam to the Last.

The Divine Pattern of Precious Stones: From Twelve to Nine to Twelve

The precious stones described in Ezekiel 28 are not ornamental details added for poetic effect. Scripture consistently uses stones as identifiers of people, covenantal order, and spiritual structure. When the stones of Ezekiel 28 are examined alongside the Law and the Revelation of Jesus Christ, a deliberate and progressive pattern emerges—one that reveals God’s purpose in moving humanity from the natural to the spiritual.

This pattern appears in three primary scriptural settings:

1. The high priest’s breastplate
2. The anointed cherub in Eden
3. The foundations of the New Jerusalem

Each setting reveals a different stage in God’s redemptive work.

The High Priest’s Breastplate — Twelve Stones Set in Gold

Under the Law, the high priest bore a breastplate containing twelve precious stones, each engraved with the name of a tribe of Israel:

“And thou shalt set in it settings of stones, even four rows of stones: the first row shall be a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle: this shall be the first row. And the second row shall be an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond. And the third row a ligure, an agate, and an amethyst. And the fourth row a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper: they shall be set in gold in their inclosings” (Exodus 28:17-20).

These stones were not free-standing; they were set in gold. The tribes were carried before God externally, upon the breastplate, mediated through priestly service. This arrangement represents Israel after the flesh—chosen, ordered, and adorned, yet still natural and dependent upon an external system of righteousness.

The numerical pattern is instructive. Twelve stones combined with gold (13) form a composite picture that Scripture elsewhere associates with rebellion and insufficiency. Israel served twelve years, but rebelled in the thirteenth (Genesis 14:4). The flesh, even when placed within a divinely appointed structure, cannot bring forth spiritual life. External glory does not resolve internal corruption.

The breastplate therefore reveals the limitation of outward religion: beauty without transformation, order without life.

The Anointed Cherub in Eden — Nine Stones and Gold

The description of the anointed cherub introduces a significant change:

“Every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold.” (Ezekiel 28:13)

Unlike the breastplate, only nine stones are named. Gold is still present, but no longer merely as a setting—it stands alongside the stones. This shift is deliberate.

Throughout Scripture, the number nine is consistently associated with judgment, completeness of testimony, and chastening. The pre-flood patriarchs lived into their nine hundreds and then died. Israel was judged after nine years under Hosea (2 Kings 17). Judgment reaches its fullness before transition occurs.

Here, nine stones plus gold form a new composite picture: completion of the natural man (10) under judgment (9). This is no longer rebellion through external religion, but refinement through exposure and testing. Gold, representing what is of God, is no longer merely framing the stones; it is being refined with them.

This corresponds precisely with Scripture’s teaching:

“For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth… For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby” (Hebrews 12:6, 10-11).

The anointed cherub is not glorified; he is being prepared. The stones serve as covering, but that covering is temporary. Judgment is underway, to begin the destruction of the carnal mind and to bring the natural man to completion so that transformation may follow.

“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. And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you. For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed, In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” (1 Corinthians 5:1-8)

The Foundations of the New Jerusalem — Twelve Stones Alone

The final appearance of precious stones occurs in Revelation:

“And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald; the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolyte; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst” (Revelation 21:19-20).

Here, twelve stones appear once more—but with a crucial distinction. They are no longer a covering. They are no longer set in gold. They are foundations.

The text explains their identity:

“And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.” (Revelation 21:14)

This is no longer Israel after the flesh, nor humanity under judgment. This is the completed spiritual structure—God’s dwelling place with man. The divine nature once symbolized by gold has been fully internalized. There is no external framework because no separation remains.

The progression is unmistakable:

Breastplate: Stones externally set in gold

Cherub: Stones serving as temporary covering alongside gold

City: Stones themselves become the foundation

What was external becomes internal. What was decorative becomes structural. What once adorned now supports.

The Pattern Reveals God’s Purpose

This progression reveals God’s intent from the beginning. Humanity was never meant to remain externally adorned but internally transformed. The natural man must pass through judgment so that the divine nature may be fully integrated.

Paul describes this transformation plainly:

“If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature.” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

The stones of Ezekiel 28 therefore belong to a process, not a final state. They testify that God works through stages—natural glory, judgment, and spiritual completion. The anointed cherub stands between the breastplate and the city, between shadow and substance, between the first Adam and the Last.

This pattern prepares us for what follows: the role of judgment, fire, and refinement in bringing forth what is eternal.

Gold: The Divine Element Through Judgment

Gold occupies a unique place in Scripture. Unlike base metals, it does not corrode, decay, or lose its substance under pressure. For this reason, gold consistently represents what is most precious, enduring, and incorruptible in God’s sight. When Scripture speaks of gold in connection with fire, it is revealing not destruction, but refinement.

The first mention of gold establishes this principle:

“And the gold of that land is good.” (Genesis 2:12)

Gold is declared “good” not because it is untouched by fire, but because it can endure fire without being consumed. This enduring quality makes gold an apt symbol of what is of God—what remains when all that is corruptible is removed.

God’s law reveals how purification works:

“Only the gold, and the silver… everything that may abide the fire, ye shall make it go through the fire, and it shall be clean.” (Numbers 31:22–23)

Fire does not destroy gold; it exposes and removes what is not gold. This principle governs God’s work in humanity. Judgment is not arbitrary punishment but a necessary process through which what is false is consumed and what is true is revealed.

The prophets consistently describe God’s judgment in these terms:

“And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God” (Zechariah 13:9)

“But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap: And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness” (Malachi 3:2–3)

The fire of God is purposeful, measured, and redemptive. It is applied not to annihilate, but to prepare a people capable of offering righteousness.

This refining fire is not external only; it works inwardly. Peter makes this clear:

“That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.” (1 Peter 1:7-9)

Faith itself is refined through trial, just as gold is refined through heat. The outward affliction corresponds to an inward transformation.

This is precisely the context in which gold appears in Ezekiel 28. Gold is listed alongside the precious stones of the anointed cherub—not as ornamentation, but as an element undergoing refinement. The cherub’s judgment culminates in a striking declaration:

“Therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee; it shall devour thee.” (Ezekiel 28:18)

The fire originates from within. This is not foreign destruction imposed from without, but internal purification. The same principle appears in the apostolic witness:

“Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire.” (1 Corinthians 3:13)

The fire tests works, not identity. What cannot endure is consumed; what is of God remains. Even when loss occurs, salvation is not negated:

“If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.” (1 Corinthians 3:14-15)

Judgment, then, is not God’s abandonment of the creature, but His commitment to transformation. It is the means by which pride is humbled, self-exaltation is burned away, and true substance is revealed.

This is why Christ counsels the church of Laodicea:

“I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire.” (Revelation 3:18)

The church lacked nothing outwardly, yet possessed nothing enduring inwardly. Gold tried in fire is not acquired through prosperity or knowledge, but through submission to God’s refining work.

The anointed cherub’s experience reflects this same reality. The gold that once adorned now enters the fire. What was external is drawn inward. What was merely covering is tested to determine what can endure.

God’s judgment is therefore not contrary to His love; it is the expression of it:

“For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth.” (Hebrews 12:6)

The purpose is not punishment, but participation—“that we might be partakers of his holiness” (Hebrews 12:10). Fire produces purity, and purity prepares for communion.

Gold, when refined, loses nothing of its nature—only what was never truly gold. Likewise, judgment removes what is carnal, leaving what is of God intact. Through this process, the natural man reaches completion, making way for spiritual transformation.

The fire that refines gold is the same fire that prepares living stones to become a spiritual house. It is the fire that consumes pride, trafficked religion, and self-will, while revealing faith, obedience, and truth. This refining work stands at the center of God’s purpose, bridging the natural and the spiritual, the first Adam and the Last.