“Whoso loveth instruction loveth knowledge” Part III
(“A man shall be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth”)

(Pro 12:14-21)

Pro 12:14 A man shall be satisfied with good by the fruit of [his] mouth: and the recompence of a man’s hands shall be rendered unto him.
Pro 12:15 The way of a fool [is] right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel [is] wise.
Pro 12:16 A fool’s wrath is presently known: but a prudent [man] covereth shame.
Pro 12:17 [He that] speaketh truth sheweth forth righteousness: but a false witness deceit.
Pro 12:18 There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword: but the tongue of the wise is health.
Pro 12:19 The lip of truth shall be established for ever: but a lying tongue [is] but for a moment.
Pro 12:20 Deceit [is] in the heart of them that imagine evil: but to the counsellors of peace [is] joy.
Pro 12:21 There shall no evil happen to the just: but the wicked shall be filled with mischief.

This second to last section of proverbs chapter twelve that we’ll look at is primarily focused on the subject of the fruit of our mouth, and how we are to rule over our lips. God’s people are a peculiar and zealous people in this world who are warning, through our actions and witnessing with God’s fear within us (1Pe 3:15-16), that the world around us is going to fall (Babylon has fallen Rev 18:2), and that we need to strive towards ‘saving ourselves from this untoward generation’ (Act 2:39-40).

1Pe 3:15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and [be] ready always to [give] an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:
1Pe 3:16 Having a good conscience;(1Jn 3:20) that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ.

It takes God’s cleansing of our temples (Heb 9:23, Rom 2:4) to know that Babylon is falling within us, as the life of Christ increases within us and we decrease (Joh 3:30, 2Co 6:17, Eph 1:6). We all miss it at first but the temple spoken of in (Joh 2:19) does not just represent modern day Christianity that is not torn down, rather Christ is speaking of His own body which is the church that must be torn down and rebuilt in three days, by coming out of her (Joh 2:19, Mat 12:40). This is another witness of how Babylon within us must fall, and a new creation be formed through Christ “To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved” (Joh 2:19, 2Co 5:17, Rev 21:5).

If God is working with us in this life we are going to see Babylon falling within us through the chastening and scourging process that we’ve been called unto that will in time bring us to be able to bring our tongue under control, and when our thoughts are under control our tongue will be as well (2Co 10:5-6, Jas 3:8).

2Co 10:5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
2Co 10:6 And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.

Jas 3:8 But the tongue can no man tame; [it is] an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.

Babylon will be busily trimming their lamps at the end of this age as God’s elect will also be (Mat 25:4-5), and iniquity will abound that can only be overcome by the faith of Christ, or extra oil He has promised those who have been predestined to endure unto the end (Mat 24:13). We know we are unprofitable servants having done that which “was our duty to do” (Luk 17:10) because God wrote those actions in our books, “both to will and to do of his good pleasure” which is to give us the kingdom of God that is now within us (Luk 18:8, Php 2:12-13)

Mat 25:4 But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
Mat 25:5 While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.

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.

God’s elect will be given the ability to wholeheartedly acknowledge the unprofitableness of our flesh and how only Christ can bring us to be scarcely saved (1Pe 4:18, Eph 2:8) vis-a-vis the extra oil that the body of Christ will be granted, making them prepared for those ‘end of age’ moments. If we think otherwise, the man of perdition will be right back on the throne of our hearts telling us surely we were the ones willing and doing the trimming of our own lamps (Rev 19:7-8, Php 2:12-13).

Rev 19:7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.
Rev 19:8 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.

Php 2:12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.(Luk 5:35, Act 17:11)
Php 2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of [his] good pleasure.

If we truly are given to love God’s instruction and love God’s knowledge, our diligence will be directed in a path of Godly fear that will have us being about our Father’s business in this life, speaking his words, and doing his works (Eph 2:10), as we lose our life (Mat 10:38-39) in order to build up the body of Christ, the church which is likened unto the ark that Noah built to the saving of his household (Heb 11:7).

Eph 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Mat 10:38 And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.
Mat 10:39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

Heb 11:7 By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.

With these verses as a backdrop to our study let’s look at the hope that we have today, if Christ is judging us as our hope of glory within (Col 1:27).

Pro 12:14 A man shall be satisfied with good by the fruit of [his] mouth: and the recompence of a man’s hands shall be rendered unto him.

It takes God’s reproach in our lives to purify our lips, and what He is reproaching is our iniquity (Isa 6:7).

Isa 6:7 And he laid [it] upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.

If we are blessed to have this experience of judgement in this life we will know that “the recompence of a man’s hand” that is rendered unto us has nothing to do with us, but rather what God does within us through Christ both to will and to do of His good pleasure (Php 2:12-13).

The “fruit” of God judging His elect in this age is being discussed in type and shadow in these verses (Heb 11:26-27).

Heb 11:26 Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.
Heb 11:27 By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.

Pro 12:15 The way of a fool [is] right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel [is] wise.

By God’s estimation a self-righteous man is a fool. A fool in his heart has said there is no God (Psa 14:1), and the believer may say, well that’s not me, but in reality that is you when you deny God as being the one who is doing the works within you, to which we have nothing to boast about (Rom 3:27, Eph 2:8).

Rom 3:27 Where [is] boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.

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

A fool is self-righteous and has no need to “hearkeneth unto [the] counsel” of the “wise“. We are told several times throughout scripture, being warned and admonished to heed such counsel, because we simply do not by nature (Pro 19:20, Pro 24:5-6).

Pro 19:20 Hear counsel, and receive instruction, that thou mayest be wise in thy latter end.

Pro 24:5 A wise man [is] strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength.
Pro 24:6 For by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war: and in multitude of counsellors [there is] safety.

Pro 12:16 A fool’s wrath is presently known: but a prudent [man] covereth shame.

The prudent man is the brother who mercifully covers the shame of his weaker younger brother who can’t help at this immature stage in his walk to openly or “presently” make known his foolishness that is manifested in wrath that demonstrates he has no control at this point over the entirety of his spirit (Pro 16:32).

Pro 16:32 [He that] is slow to anger [is] better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.

But God is merciful who not only bears our iniquity but also gives us the opportunity in due time to bear the iniquity of others in love. Notice how Joseph’s brothers acknowledge that they are the ones who brought this evil upon themselves (Gen 42:21), not yet acknowledging what Joseph is going to say to them in regard to God’s sovereignty (Gen 45:5).

Gen 42:21 And they said one to another, We [are] verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us.

Gen 45:5 Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.

Pro 12:17 [He that] speaketh truth sheweth forth righteousness: but a false witness deceit.

This proverb seems pretty self evident regarding speaking truth that is not possible without Christ in us, who is the truth (Joh 14:6). So too, we can speak the truth as a false witness with a deceitful heart, because speaking the truth in love or in righteousness is only made possible by the righteousness of Christ being shed abroad in our hearts by which we are saved (Rom 5:5, Rom 8:28). Christ, in other words, is our righteousness (1Co 1:30) and only Christ can be Christ! (1Jn 2:20, Mat 13:16)

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

Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, [Rom 5:5] to them who are the called according to [his] purpose.

1Co 1:30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus [Col 1:27], who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:

Pro 12:18 There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword: but the tongue of the wise [is] health.

If we look throughout history, it is the basest of men that God has used to demonstrate this spirit of speaking words that pierce like a sword, “There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword“. In that sense, this is the negative example of the two edged sword that witnesses against our flesh, but “the tongue of the wise [is] health“. We pierce the heart of others at first, leaving Mary who represents the true bride of Christ pierced in her heart for the revelation of her son’s plight that we are all guilty of (Luk 2:35).

Luk 2:35 (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed […”but the tongue of the wise [is] health“].

It takes God bringing us to acknowledge our own personal part in piercing Christ (Zec 12:10) and killing him, in order for us to then be able to have a tongue that is wise and able to bring the health of God’s word to others, “but the tongue of the wise [is] health“. God is dragging us to the tree of life (Joh 6:44) for that very purpose, to fulfill our joy as we “retaineth her” (Rev 1:3), so our earth and heaven can be founded and established through Christ (Pro 3:18-19, Mat 16:18, Mat 6:10).

Zec 12:10 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for [his] only [son], and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for [his] firstborn.

Pro 3:18 She [is] a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy [is every one] that retaineth her.
Pro 3:19 The LORD by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens.

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

Mat 6:10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as [it is] in heaven.

With that establishing of our hearts and minds, we can then care for our brothers and sisters both now and in the age to come, with encouraging words and admonitions of Truth that brings the healing we all need, “being oppressed of the devil” (Mal 4:2, Mat 9:35, Act 10:38, Rev 22:2).

Pro 12:18 There is talk that is like stabbings of a sword, Yet the tongue of the wise is healing.” (CLV)

Mal 4:2 But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.

Mat 9:35 And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.

Act 10:38 How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.

Rev 22:2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, [was there] the tree of life, which bare twelve [manner of] fruits, [and] yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree [were] for the healing of the nations.

Pro 12:19 The lip of truth shall be established for ever: but a lying tongue [is] but for a moment.

The lying tongue, unknowingly to the world, is within themselves, in Babylon (Pro 30:20), as it was with us in our former conversation (Eph 2:2-4). We didn’t believe we were wrong in our convictions of ‘truth’ at that time, but at God’s appointed time we came to learn of His eternal purpose for his children that involved our being strengthened, settled and established, “The lip of truth shall be established for ever” (Mat 16:18) in Christ (1Pe 5:10-11).

1Pe 5:10 But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle [you].
1Pe 5:11 To him [be] glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

Pro 12:20 Deceit [is] in the heart of them that imagine evil: but to the counsellors of peace [is] joy.

It is our own deceitful and wicked hearts (Jer 17:9) that wants us to stop examining ourselves and stop being introspective. However, as we die daily by keeping under ourselves, God will lead us unto repentance by His holy spirit so we can gain victory over sin in our life through Christ our hope of glory within (Rom 2:4, Eph 2:13-15).

Eph 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
Eph 2:14 For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition [between us];
Eph 2:15 Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, [even] the law of commandments [contained] in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, [so] making peace;

We become the fool spoken of in (Pro 26:12) when we stop seeing the need for the body of Christ in our lives and the safety that is found in a multitude of counsellors (Pro 11:14, Pro 24:6, Pro 20:18-19).

Pro 26:12 Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit? [there is] more hope of a fool than of him.

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

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

Pro 20:18 [Every] purpose is established by counsel: and with good advice make war.
Pro 20:19 He that goeth about [as] a talebearer revealeth secrets: therefore meddle not with him that flattereth with his lips.

Conversely, our peace and joy in this life comes when the understanding of His salvation is restored unto us (Psa 51:12-15), and in this we greatly rejoice, “but to the counsellors of peace [is] joy“, knowing that we serve a merciful God in heaven who, in time, will save all of His children, each man in his own order.

Psa 51:9 Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.
Psa 51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
Psa 51:11 Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.
Psa 51:12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me [with thy] free spirit.
Psa 51:13 [Then] will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.
Psa 51:14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: [and] my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.
Psa 51:15 O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.

Pro 12:21 There shall no evil happen to the just: but the wicked shall be filled with mischief.

Our former conversation in this world (Eph 2:1-3) was “filled with mischief“, and being the sinning machines we were made to be, it came to us naturally. The result of that mischievous spirit is that evil would happen to us, and if the Lord is working with us in this life He will deliver us from that spirit so that “There shall no evil happen to the just“. That means that the evil which wants to overtake us as it used to, will not be able to do so through Christ, through whom we are more than conquerors (Rom 8:35-39).

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

Through Christ we can now have dominion over sin as we go onto perfection on the third day as God’s little remnant that have been separated from the world, and for this very purpose of demonstrating the power of God that takes the weak of the world and brings them to love knowledge and love instruction, which will be the fruit of the mouth of God’s ‘kind of first fruits’ (Rom 9:27, Rom 11:5, Jas 1:18).

Rom 9:27 Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved:

Rom 11:5 Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.

Jas 1:18 Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

We’re not perfected, but we are going onto perfection (Php 3:14, Luk 13:32), we are not sinless, but we are sinning less, and confessing our faults, and knowing that the Lord is cleansing us through this great process we’ve been incredibly blessed (Heb 9:23, 1Pe 4:17-18) to be partakers of, for the rest of the world (1Jn 1:8, Rom 7:24-25, Oba 1:21).

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

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.

Pro 11:4-12 “Righteousness delivereth from death”

[Study Aired February 27, 2025]

Pro 11:4 Riches profit not in the day of wrath: but righteousness delivereth from death.
Pro 11:5 The righteousness of the perfect shall direct his way: but the wicked shall fall by his own wickedness.
Pro 11:6 The righteousness of the upright shall deliver them: but transgressors shall be taken in their own naughtiness.
Pro 11:7 When a wicked man dieth, his expectation shall perish: and the hope of unjust men perisheth.
Pro 11:8 The righteous is delivered out of trouble, and the wicked cometh in his stead.
Pro 11:9 An hypocrite with his mouth destroyeth his neighbour: but through knowledge shall the just be delivered.
Pro 11:10 When it goeth well with the righteous, the city rejoiceth: and when the wicked perish, there is shouting.
Pro 11:11 By the blessing of the upright the city is exalted: but it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked.
Pro 11:12 He that is void of wisdom despiseth his neighbour: but a man of understanding holdeth his peace.

In this section of chapter eleven we will explore the meaning of what true riches are in God’s mind and how He is bringing His children to have a great appreciation for the joy that has been set before us (Heb 12:2-3) so that we don’t set our affections on the temporal things of the earth that are passing (Heb 11:26, Gal 5:24, Col 3:2-3).

Heb 11:26 Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.

Gal 5:24 And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.

Col 3:2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
Col 3:3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.

The only way that an appreciation for things of the spirit can grow in us, is by the Lord delivering us from the deceitfulness of our flesh [Jer 17:9], that naturally wants the riches of this world, the immediate and deceitful bowl of pottage that represents “the flesh with the affections and lusts”(Gen 25:34) that will rob us of an eternal reward described in the following verses, (Mat 11:11, Php 3:8, Mat 10:28-31).

Lay hold of eternal life:

Mat 11:11 Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. [luk 17:20]

Php 3:8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord:[Eph 3:10] for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, [to continue to have the mind of Christ, is to win Christ (1Ti 6:12, 1Ti 6:19, Joh 17:2-3, Joh 3:15, Joh 6:45, Joh 6:68)

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

1Ti 6:19 Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.

Joh 17:2 As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.
Joh 17:3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

Joh 3:15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

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

Be content – Be stedfast:

If the Lord is working with us in this life, as our hope of glory within (Col 1:27), we will be learning to be content whether we have a little or a lot (Php 4:11-13) seeing our hearts will not, by God’s grace, be set on the temporal, but rather on the things above which will give us the hope and vision we need to stedfastly endure until the end of this life (Act 7:55-56, Joh 17:3).

Php 4:11 Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.

Act 7:55 But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven (Heb 3:14-15, Heb 6:19, 1Co 15:58, 1Pe 5:9, Heb 2:2), and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, [Joh 17:3, Heb 12:2]

Heb 3:14 For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;[Rev 3:3, Rev 3:11]
Heb 3:15 While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.

Heb 6:19 Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil;

1Co 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

1Pe 5:9 Whom resist stedfast in the faith [1Jn 5:4, 1Jn 5:14, Eph 6:16, Col 3:14, 1Co 13:2-3], knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.

Heb 2:2 For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward;
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;

Pro 11:4 Riches profit not in the day of wrath: but righteousness delivereth from death.

This opening proverb reminds us that our riches, which are analogous of our righteousnesses (Php 3:9), amount to nothing when God’s judgements come into our lives “in the day of wrath“. It will only be by the righteousness of Christ that we will sell all that we have and come and follow Christ who alone can “delivereth from death” (Mat 19:20-26).

Mat 19:20 The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?
Mat 19:21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.(Php 3:9)
Mat 19:22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.(Php 3:9)
Mat 19:23 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 19:24 And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
Mat 19:25 When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved?
Mat 19:26 But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible. [Joh 8:32, Joh 8:36, Joh 14:6]

Joh 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. [“righteousness delivereth from death“]

Joh 8:36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. [“righteousness delivereth from death“]

Joh 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. [“righteousness delivereth from death“]

Pro 11:5 The righteousness of the perfect^H8549 shall direct his way: but the wicked shall fall by his own wickedness.

We follow each other as we follow Christ (1Co 11:1) who makes it possible for us to live lives that are led by God’s spirit (Rom 8:14) that “shall direct his way”. The perfect^H8549 way or better way or more excellent way (1Co 12:31) is shown in (1Co 13:1-13), and that way is only made possible with the life of Christ within us (Rom 5:5, Col 1:27). That spirit within us bears witness that we can take on these qualities described in the word “perfect^H8549” hat describe our Lord and Saviour, and the new man within us (Rom 8:9).

“Perfect” H8549 tâmı̂ym taw-meem’
From H8552; entire (literally, figuratively or morally); also (as noun) integrity, truth: – without blemish, complete, full, perfect, sincerely (-ity), sound, without spot, undefiled, upright (-ly), whole. [Rom 8:1, Rom 8:9, Rom 8:14]. Total KJV occurrences: 91

Pro 11:6 The righteousness of the upright shall deliver them: but transgressors shall be taken in their own naughtiness.

God delivers us from our own selves everyday as we die daily (1Co 15:31), and he uses “the righteousness of the upright” to accomplish this (1Ti 4:14-16, Mat 4:19), which is His righteousness that we can only be drawn to as our Father drags us unto Christ in each other (Joh 6:44).

1Ti 4:14 Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery.
1Ti 4:15 Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all.
1Ti 4:16 Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them:(Joh 8:31-32) for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.

We are drawn to Christ in ourselves (Joh 6:44, Col 1:27) as well as in each other as we work out our own salvation with fear and trembling, not neglecting so great a salvation (Heb 2:3). Our being drawn to Christ within and without ourselves is what God is accomplishing within His workmanship, “both to will and to do of his good pleasure” which is to give us the kingdom (Php 2:12-13, Joh 4:14, Luk 12:32).

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;

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

It is the ‘kind of first fruits’ of God’s creation who are the first to come to acknowledge that there is no good thing is this flesh and so this section of the proverb, “but transgressors shall be taken in their own naughtiness”, is written to remind us of the fact that we must be “taken in their own naughtiness” and will suffer in this life through judgement so that we will continue to cease from sinning (Tit 2:12-13, 1Pe 4:1).

Pro 11:7 When a wicked man dieth, his expectation shall perish: and the hope of unjust men perisheth.

The wicked man in each of us must die, and Lord willing we will see our false aspirations torn down and destroyed by the brightness of Christ coming into our heavens as we die daily (2Th 2:2-5).

The opposite of the hope of glory within us (Col 1:27) is the hope that our carnal minds hold out that we can somehow glorify God by our own might and power, like the disciples who fished all day to learn this powerful lesson of where our power comes from (Joh 21:5-11).

Joh 21:5 Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They answered him, No. [our efforts produce no spiritual meat, only God can give this increase (1Co 3:6)]
Joh 21:6 And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes.

We live by every word of God and “the hope of unjust men perisheth” is something that must be lived in the elect’s lives in order to learn that only Christ’s righteousness within us will preserve us. “Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find“, and all else will be destroyed by the brightness of His coming into our heavens to cleanse us from our own iniquitous, self-righteous ways that cast the net all the day long on the left side of the ship, until the Lord comes along and tells us to do otherwise (Eze 33:13).

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

Pro 11:8 The righteous is delivered out of trouble, and the wicked cometh in his stead.

God is dealing with the sins of the Amorites in the elect’s life today, which is what “the righteous is delivered out of trouble” tells us. He is setting us free from sin, an aorist event that is unfolding in our lives, and so “the wicked cometh in his stead” is a reminder that we are not ‘once saved always saved’, but rather little and by little the Lord is giving us victory over the beasts of the land (Exo 23:30) or “the wicked that cometh in his stead” in this instance. God’s people will continue to overcome through His power within us that gives us nourishing victories (Num 14:9) as we battle the many giants that have been written in our books to overcome until we go unto perfection on the third day (Luk 13:32).

Pro 11:9 An hypocrite with his mouth destroyeth his neighbour: but through knowledge shall the just be delivered.

It’s easy for the flesh to think of some other hypocrite other than our own flesh, as was demonstrated in king David’s life, when he could easily see who the unjust person was in the story that the prophet Nathan brought to him, but was speaking about David who was ‘the man’ (2Sa 12:7).

In this story, David represents all the characters in this proverb (Pro 11:9) just as we do. Our hypocritical flesh has to be brought to a point, Lord willing, where we confess our iniquities (1Jn 1:9), and that event of forgiveness will happen if we are given to not despise God’s goodness (Rom 2:4) that came by way of Nathan the prophet, showing us that it is “through knowledge shall the just be delivered” as the Lord leads us unto repentance and blesses us so that the sword of his word does not depart from our house, as it makes war against our old man with a spiritually sharper than any two edged sword (Heb 4:12), typified by the sword of war that will not depart from David’s house going forward (2Sa 12:10, Psa 32:2).

Pro 11:10 When it goeth well with the righteous, the city rejoiceth: and when the wicked perish, there is shouting^H7440.

The city in this proverb represents the church where we rejoice in the Lord and again I say rejoice for the wonderful works that God is doing unto the sons of men (Psa 107:15), causing the man of sin to perish within me and bringing about great rejoicing for the new man that is being formed (Luk 15:7). When the wicked man within me perishes, it happens as a result of my being brought to acknowledge that he resides in me and must be destroyed by the brightness of Christ’s coming into the temple, bringing great rejoicing for the new man for whom “all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Rom 2:4, Rom 8:28-31).

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?

“Shouting” H7440 רִנָּה rinnâh rin-naw’
From H7442; properly a creaking (or shrill sound), that is, shout (of joy or grief): – cry, gladness, joy (Psa 30:5,), proclamation, rejoicing (Psa 126:6), shouting, sing (-ing), triumph. Total KJV occurrences: 33

Pro 11:11 By the blessing of the upright the city is exalted: but it is overthrown^H2040 by the mouth of the wicked.

“No man ever hated his own flesh” (Eph 5:29-30) is a proverb in itself that reminds us that with God’s spirit within us we can acknowledge that we are a many membered body, who are one bread and one spirit, and so when we bless one person in the body, the whole church that is represented by a city is exalted, “By the blessing of the upright the city is exalted“.

Conversely when we don’t guard out thoughts and actions we can negatively affect the church, as it is “overthrown by the mouth of the wicked” within us (Mar 9:42, Heb 12:15).

Mar 9:42 And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea.

Heb 12:15 Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;

“Overthrown” H2040 הָרַס hâras haw-ras’
A primitive root; to pull down or in pieces, break, destroy: – beat down, break (down, through), destroy (Psa 28:5), overthrow, pluck down, pull down, ruin, throw down, X utterly. Total KJV occurrences: 43

The goal we are working toward is to not offend or cause our brother to stumble (1Co 8:13), and we can rest assured that although God’s elect will be guilty of being “the mouth of the wicked” that overthrows the church, in the end if we are God’s children that spirit of disobedience will be burnt out of us and we will learn to walk in harmony with the rest of the body parts that make up the bride of Christ. The gates of hell will not prevail against the church in other words, and those gates are as much within each of us as they are in Babylon, that we will overcome by the gift God’s grace and the faith of Christ in our lives (Mat 16:18, Gen 4:7, Eph 2:8).

Pro 11:12 He that is void of wisdom despiseth his neighbour: but a man of understanding holdeth his peace.

Another way of saying “He that is void of wisdom despiseth his neighbour” is that without Christ [our wisdom] in our lives who softens our hearts and deepens His love within us (Rom 5:5-6), we would be easily sifted by the devil (Luk 22:31) and iniquity would abound in our heavens causing us to despise our neighbour as God’s love waxes cold within us (Mat 24:12-13).

Rom 5:5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.
Rom 5:6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.

Luk 22:31 And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:

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.

It is solely because of Christ within as our hope of glory that we can be men and woman of “understanding” who know how to hold our peace, and acknowledge that it is Christ who is growing us in that ability to be more than conquerors through him, our great King of “Peace” typified by the name Melchisedec.

Heb 7:1 For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him; 
Heb 7:2 To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace;

The title of our study, “Riches profit not in the day of wrath: but righteousness delivereth from death”, reminds us that today is a day of living and abiding in bodies of death, or the shadow of the valley of death as it’s called (Psa 23:4-5), and it is only by the righteousness of Christ that we will be delivered from our own self-important flesh that thinks it’s rich and increased with goods (Rev 3:17) when in fact it cannot inherit the kingdom of God unless, Lord willing, it is being destroyed today of these negative attributes “in the day of wrath”.

Psa 23:4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Psa 23:5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

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:

Pro 10:6-14 “Wise men lay up knowledge:
but the mouth of the foolish is near destruction”

[Study Aired February 6, 2025]

Pro 10:6 Blessings are upon the head of the just: but violence covereth the mouth of the wicked.
Pro 10:7 The memory of the just is blessed: but the name of the wicked shall rot.
Pro 10:8 The wise in heart will receive commandments: but a prating fool shall fall.
Pro 10:9 He that walketh uprightly walketh surely: but he that perverteth his ways shall be known.
Pro 10:10 He that winketh with the eye causeth sorrow: but a prating fool shall fall.
Pro 10:11 The mouth of a righteous man is a well of life: but violence covereth the mouth of the wicked.
Pro 10:12 Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins.
Pro 10:13 In the lips of him that hath understanding wisdom is found: but a rod is for the back of him that is void of understanding.
Pro 10:14 Wise men lay up knowledge: but the mouth of the foolish is near destruction.

Last week we discussed how the summer ‘being nigh’ is another way of saying that the kingdom of God is within us, and therefore ‘nigh at hand’ (Luk 21:29-31, Luk 17:21). We are exhorted and encouraged to fight a good fight of faith while it is called “day” (Joh 9:4), and “summer” (Luk 21:29-31), knowing that our labours in His vineyard are not in vain (1Co 15:58), and that in due season we will reap if we faint not (1Co 15:58, 2Co 4:1, 2Co 4:16, Gal 6:9, Eph 3:13).

Luk 21:29 And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees;
Luk 21:30 When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand.
Luk 21:31 So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand.(1Co 3:16)
Luk 17:21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

Joh 9:4 I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day:[“Wise men “lay up” knowledge”] the night cometh, when no man can work.

1Co 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.(Php 2:12-13) [“lay up”]

Tit 3:8 This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.

1Ti 6:19 Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.

2Co 4:1 Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not;

2Co 4:16 For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day (hope by which were saved – Col 1:27, 1Jn 3:2-3).

Gal 6:9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.(Luk 18:1, 1Th 5:17)

Eph 3:13 Wherefore I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.

Luk 18:1 And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;

This week we will continue to look at the mature fruits that become part of those whose lives are blessed to have the life of Christ within them through the summer when things grow, via the true vine (Joh 15:1) who makes it possible for that nourishment to reach the branches via the increase that our Father gives the bride of Christ in this age (Col 1:27, Rom 8:9, Eph 2:10, Rev 19:7-8, 1Co 3:6-7).

Eph 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Rev 19:7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.
Rev 19:8 And to her was granted (1Co 3:7) that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.

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

That increase that comes from God alone is accomplished through a process of judgement upon our old man of sin (1Pe 4:17-18) and the contrast of how light comes out of darkness which is in each of these proverbs is written in this manner to remind us that the seed, the word, the proverbs of God’s word must fall into the ground of our hearts and minds and die in order to bring forth fruit (Joh 12:24). This process of dying daily is the hallmark of someone that God is working with in this age as His workmanship, and the scarce victory that is given along the strait gate and narrow way (1Pe 4:18-19, Mat 7:14) bear witness that our overcoming will happen through the faith of Christ alone (Rom 3:27, 1Jn 5:4).

Joh 12:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.

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

1Pe 4:18 And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?
1Pe 4:19 Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.

Rom 3:27 Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.

Mat 7:14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

Christ is the word, or the one seed that God uses (Gal 3:16, Rom 8:9) in our hearts and minds to illuminate our heavens so we can see that need for his life which is juxtaposed against the carnal fleshly man within us who must die daily, and does die daily when we are baptized into Christ’s death (Rom 6:3); another way of saying we become part of that one seed, Jesus Christ, when we are a “corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit” (Joh 12:24).

Rom 6:3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?

It is a dying daily process that is being discussed in each of these proverbs that has been ordained by the Husbandman, God the Father, who tells us that we must patiently endure this process of seeing the light and dark side of the pillar within ourselves, in order to see the growth of this new life of Christ that will spring forth from our heavens (Rom 2:4, Jas 5:7-8, Luk 21:19, Mat 5:37, Joh 3:30).

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?

Jas 5:7 Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.
Jas 5:8 Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.

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

Mat 5:37 But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.

Joh 3:30 He must increase, but I must decrease.

Pro 10:6 Blessings are upon the head of the just: but violence covereth the mouth of the wicked.(Pro 10:11)
Pro 10:7 The memory of the just is blessed: but the name of the wicked shall rot.(Pro 10:16)
Pro 10:8 The wise in heart will receive commandments: but a prating fool shall fall.(Pro 10:10)

God will bless those who bless Him and His Christ (Gen 12:3), and Christ is the head of every man (1Co 11:3), but not every man has this knowledge (1Co 8:2, 1Co 8:7).

Gen 12:3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

1Co 11:3 But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.

1Co 8:2 And if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know.

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, by whom are all things, and we by him.
1Co 8:7 Howbeit there is not in every man that knowledge: for some with conscience of the idol unto this hour eat it as a thing offered unto an idol; and their conscience being weak is defiled.

Aside from the fact that the world does not know that all things are of God “of whom are all things”, and that there is one Lord Jesus Christ “by whom are all things”, the world is also blinded to the reality God’s elect are in Him, “we in him” in the Father, and are sustained by Christ, “we by him” (Joh 14:20), and that we who are being judged in this life (1Pe 4:17) are blessed with the mind of Christ that is burning up the mouth of the wicked within us, taking away that covering that did violence to the word of God and are now blessed to have a new name (Rev 2:17, Rev 3:11-12) that is no longer the name of the “wicked that shall rot”. We are sustained in other words, or preserved through that judgment in this life.

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

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

Rev 3:11 Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.
Rev 3:12 Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.

God has blessed the body of Christ to be brought into remembrance of the truth in such a way that our thoughts and actions which is Christ working in us, blesses us (Psa 1:1-3, Psa 23:3, Rom 8:14-15, Php 2:12-13, Joh 14:26). Our old man’s thoughts and actions are being destroyed by the brightness of Christ’s coming into our lives, and this is what blesses us (2Th 2:8). The name of the wicked that rots, represents the doctrine and the false beliefs that we initially hold onto until the Lord begins this work in our lives that destroys those spirits, those idols which were taught to us in Babylon by the false prophets who prophesied lies, as we all did in our appointed time (Jer 14:14).

Psa 1:1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
Psa 1:2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
Psa 1:3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

Psa 23:1 A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.(Psa 62:5-8)
Psa 23:2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
Psa 23:3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

Christ in us prepares our hearts to receive his commandments, which are life unto those who are blessed to keep them in this age (Rev 1:3). We are told that we will fall seven times in the wilderness (Pro 24:16) in order to burn out the vain words of the “prating^H8193 fool” within our heavens.

H8193 śâphâh    śepheth saw-faw’, sef-eth’ prating
(The second form is in dual and plural); Probably from H5595 or H8192 through the idea of termination (compare H5490); the lip (as a natural boundary); by implication language; by analogy a margin (of a vessel, water, cloth, etc.): – band, bank, binding, border, brim, brink, edge, language, lip, prating, ([sea-]) shore, side, speech, talk, [vain] words. Total KJV occurrences: 176

Pro 10:9 He that walketh uprightly walketh surely: but he that perverteth his ways shall be known.
Pro 10:10 He that winketh with the eye causeth sorrow: but a prating fool shall fall.

It is only by the hand of the fit man (Jesus Christ) who takes the scapegoat (God’s elect in type) into the wilderness (Lev 16:21) that anyone of us can “walketh uprightly walketh surely^H983”, as it is Christ who is working in us both to will and to do of our Father’s good pleasure which is to give us the kingdom of God that we now possess in earnest (Eph 1:14). The man of sin will be revealed because God will give Satan the power to cause us to pervert our ways, “he that perverteth his ways shall be known”, in the day of evil (Pro 16:4), of which we will repent of in this age if God will grant us that repentance as we are dragged to him to be set free from sin (Rom 2:4, Joh 6:44, Joh 8:36).

H983 beṭach beh’-takh surely
From H982; properly a place of refuge; abstractly safety, both the fact (security) and the feeling (trust); often (adverbially with or without preposition) safely: – assurance, boldly, (without) care (-less), confidence, hope, safe (-ly, -ty), secure, surely. Total KJV occurrences: 42

A man who causeth sorrow is spoken of as one who winketh^H7169 with the eye causing sorrow for others, and his living a life of lies as a “a prating fool” will cause him to fall. This thought of the prating fool is mentioned twice in this proverb to witness against our old man who is the prating fool except the Lord deliver us from ourselves (prating fool twice mentioned Pro 10:10, Pro 10:8). This is the man of sin in our life who cannot receive the light of God’s word and rejects it and comes not near it, narrowing his view of the light that he is not able to receive. Walking in darkness, the end of that man is that he will fall in the wilderness without the vision that comes from God’s commandments. The light and path for our new man is in Christ who prevents us from falling (Pro 29:18, Luk 17:33, 2Ti 4:18, 1Th 5:23).

Pro 29:18 Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.

Luk 17:33 Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.

2Ti 4:18 And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

1Th 5:23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

H7169 qârats kaw-rats’ winketh
A primitive root; to pinch, that is, (partially) to bite the lips, blink the eyes (as a gesture of malice), or (fully) to squeeze off (a piece of clay in order to mould a vessel from it): – form, move, wink. Total KJV occurrences: 5

Pro 10:11 The mouth of a righteous man is a well of life: but violence covereth the mouth of the wicked.
Pro 10:12 Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins.

Christ is symbolized as “a well of life” in God’s word, where those living waters are given to those who ask of Him (Joh 4:14-15). The “violence” on the other hand, that covers the mouth of the wicked is his own lies, his own misguided and deceived view of God’s word that we do violence to, as it is concealed by being wrapped around the idol of our own hearts at that time, “but violence covereth the mouth of the wicked” (Eze 14:4, Pro 16:4).

Joh 4:14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
Joh 4:15 The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.

Eze 14:4 Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I the LORD will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols;

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

When God’s word is understood and rightly administered in our lives, it is because God has dealt with the natural enmity or hatred that would naturally stir up strife. God’s love must be shed abroad in our hearts (Rom 5:5) making it possible for us to fervently cover a multitude of sins within the body of Christ to be healed of the hatred and strife of the natural man (Jas 5:16, 1Pe 4:8).

Rom 5:5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love^G26 of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

Jas 5:16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

1Pe 4:8 And above all things have fervent charity^G26 among yourselves: for charity^G26 shall cover the multitude of sins.

Our understanding comes from Christ, and Christ (our wisdom) is found within His body and manifest through the judgement of God upon our carnal fleshly minds that need to have his word burn out our iniquities via a rod (Pro 3:12), which represents His word that will chasten and scourge every son He receives (Heb 12:6, Rev 3:19).

Pro 3:12 For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.

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

Rev 3:19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.

Pro 10:13 In the lips of him that hath understanding wisdom is found: but a rod is for the back of him that is void of understanding.
Pro 10:14 Wise men lay up knowledge: but the mouth of the foolish is near destruction.

Verses 13 an 14 tells us that the foolish man within me must be destroyed for defiling the temple of God that I am (1Co 3:17-19), and the way that God does this is through His chastening grace that He brings to us, that teaches us to forsake ungodliness and worldly lust in this age (Tit 2:12-13, Heb 12:6).

1Co 3:17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.
1Co 3:18 Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise.
1Co 3:19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.

Tit 2:12 Teaching^G3811 us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
Tit 2:13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;

Heb 12:6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth^G3811, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

It is that chastening spoken of in (Tit 2:12, Heb 12:6), that makes it possible for us to first trust in God before the rest of the world (Eph 1:12, 2Co 1:9), and to come into this “knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord” that calls us to glory and virtue (2Pe 1:2-8)

Eph 1:12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.

2Co 1:9 But we had the sentence of death in ourselves (2Sa 12:9), that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead (Eph 2:6, Col 2:12):

2Pe 1:1 Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ:
2Pe 1:2 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,
2Pe 1:3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
2Pe 1:4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
2Pe 1:5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
2Pe 1:6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;
2Pe 1:7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
2Pe 1:8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

It is the ongoing trial of our faith, the sword of his word that does not depart from our house that brings us onto perfection on the third day (1Pe 1:7, Luk 13:32). It is by the grace through faith process that God’s elect are called unto (Eph 2:8) that we can continue to look “for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works” (Tit 2:14).

Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) (Heb 10:23).

Proverbs 2:1-22 – Paths of Judgment, of the Righteous, of Life

[Study Aired Nov 7, 2024]

In order for the body of Christ to increase and John the baptist within us to decrease, we must needs be judged in this life, which judgement is given to the body of Christ (1Pe 4:17) so that the mind of Christ can be formed within us (Joh 3:30, 1Co 2:16).

Joh 3:30 He must increase, but I must decrease

1Co 2:16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

When we are received of God, we are chastened of him and scourged; we are judged in other words (Heb 12:6-7) and told not to despise this process that His precious first fruit workmanship (Eph 2:10) is called unto (Heb 12:5).

We are promised that the judgement that God is executing on the body of Christ is going to preserve us in this life (1Co 11:31-32, Joh 8:36, Rom 8:31-37) so we don’t have to experience the second death, in the process of dying in this life by being given the power to fulfill God’s will and purpose (Rom 8:28). God’s will can only be fulfilled by our being given to be witnesses of these things (Act 5:32), “Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts” (Rev 20:14, 1Jn 2:16-17, Php 2:12-13, Rev 11:3, Zec 4:6).

1Jn 2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
1Jn 2:17 And the world passeth away [1Co 15:50], and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

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

These verses in (Luk 13:4-7) lead up to and explain what we must go through as the unproductive fig tree that will only begin to be productive as a result of judgement in our lives that is typified by this statement, “till I shall dig about it, and dung it”. The growth or increase we experience from the digging and dunging process is a gift of God that is given to the elect in this age (1Co 3:6, Eph 2:8).

Luk 13:4 Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem? [Do we think they were the chief of sinners or the apostle Paul only, or anyone else, (1Ti 1:15) or are we in agreement with what Paul quoted, in (Rom 3:10, Mat 23:29-30, Mat 24:34?]
Luk 13:5 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent (Rom 2:4), ye shall all likewise perish [and come up in the great white throne judgement (Rev 20:11)].

These first five verse are the important context that set the stage for how God creates the circumstances in our life so that we are repentant, “except ye repent“.

Luk 13:6 He spake also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none. [The ‘certain man’ is Christ.]
Luk 13:7 Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years (symbolizing our time in Babylon where judgement did not convert our souls (Jer 22:29), no fruit was borne, regardless of physical miracles, and overcoming vices in the flesh (2Th 2:9, Rev 13:13, Co 11:14-15, Joh 14:12-14) I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground? [rhetorical question by Christ, he knows why we must experience this exile in Babylon where we bear no spiritual fruit for a symbolic three years]
Luk 13:8 And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also (this year symbolizing the Day of the Lord “judgment – digging and dunging”) , till I shall dig about it, and dung it (Act 20:28-31).

Paul was called to dig and dung the fig tree in hopes that some fruit would be borne, becoming a true “dresser of his vineyard” who was once a blasphemer (1Ti 1:13).The churches of Babylon are represented by Paul at that time in his life, and like Paul, one day they will obtain mercy, because all their actions were done ignorantly and in unbelief (Gen 45:8).

1Ti 1:13 Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.

Gen 45:8 So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.

In this second chapter of Proverbs, we are admonished to not neglect this high calling (Heb 2:3) that we’ve been given as we seek the Lord with all our hearts, being promised that we will find him as a result of that pursuit that is being accomplished by the power of God’s holy spirit working within our lives both to will and do of His good pleasure (Deu 4:29, Php 2:12-13).

The dunging part of the analogy is very instructive as it typifies for us the dead and dying old man that is used as fertilizer to set the stage for our growth. The digging is also important to keep in mind as it symbolizes the labour that we are called unto so that we can enter into His rest (Heb 4:1-11, Tit 3:8).

Heb 4:9 There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.
Heb 4:10 For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.
Heb 4:11 Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.

Tit 3:8 This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.

The land rest that occurred every seven years back in old covenant times (Deu 15:1) was needful to enrich the land for future yield in the field. The symbolism is not telling us we just sit back and do nothing during that year of rest (Tit 3:8), rather that we must labour to enter into it, as we read in (Heb 4:11). The fruit that is borne out of a wholehearted pursuit of seeking the kingdom first and His righteousness is that we will be spiritually preserved with all that we need in this life in order to endure until the end (Mat 6:33). This is what the elect have been called unto and need to remain focused on all of their lives (1Co 15:57-58, Heb 11:6, Rom 7:24-25).

1Co 15:57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
1Co 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

After we have acknowledged this high calling and made our profession of faith (Php 3:14, Heb 4:13-14) and understand the need to dig and dung this fig tree, our direction and mindset must be singular as Paul stated, forgetting what is behind us and staying in the light (1Jn 1:7-9) with the hope that Christ will cleanse the inside of the cup and bring us unto perfection on the third day as the author and finisher of our faith (Php 3:8).

Heb 4:13 Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.
Heb 4:14 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens [our hearts and minds Col 1:27], Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.

This parable we have looked at in chapter thirteen of Luke is very connected to this second chapter of Proverbs, that admonishes us to receive God’s words and hide them like precious treasure in earthen vessels. Christ is our wisdom and we have this gift of his mind in these earthen vessels in this life (Col 3:3, 2Co 4:7). What we are to do with this mind of Christ is to not neglect it, as these proverbs will clearly state (Heb 2:3). Stirring up the spirit of God (1Ti 4:14) happens as result of our search that God promises us will result in our finding him (Heb 11:6). The fruit of that search will bring us to understand the fear of the Lord that we know is the “beginning of knowledge” (Pro 1:7).

A great deal of this second chapter also explains how Godly wisdom and our pursuit of it will keep us safe from the many lies and falsehoods in Babylon. There is a reward awaiting those who are given to lose their life today in pursuit of a right relationship with our husband Jesus Christ (Mar 10:28-31).

Mar 10:28 Then Peter began to say unto him, Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee [all the sins of the world (1Jn 2:16-17)].
Mar 10:29 And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel’s,
Mar 10:30 But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.
Mar 10:31 But many that are first shall be last; and the last first.

Pro 2:1 My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee;
Pro 2:2 So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding;
Pro 2:3 Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding;
Pro 2:4 If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures;
Pro 2:5 Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.

Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness…

(who receive my words, and hide my commandments, and incline your ear to wisdom, a doer of the word who is justified, crying after knowledge, lifting your voice with strong tears and are heard in that you fear God (Heb 5:7, Eph 5:30), who seek her first as silver and hid treasure, as silver representing the sanctification process that comes with the word of God being unearthed within us)

(Mat 5:6 , 2Co 11:27) because “Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God“.

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.

Pro 2:6 For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.
Pro 2:7 He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly.
Pro 2:8 He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints.
Pro 2:9 Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path.

Every good and perfect gift comes from above (Jas 1:17), and it is the LORD who is giving us the wisdom and knowledge and understanding. He lays up sound wisdom for the righteous and that wisdom is a buckler to those who walk uprightly, being led of the spirit of God (Rom 8:14). He leads us by still waters, he keeps the paths of judgement, and preserves the way of the saints through that judgement. If all of these affirming events are happening to us in this life through the faith of Christ (Php 2:12-13, Gal 2:20), “Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path“, and the spirit will bear witness of this along the way (Rom 8:15-16).

Rom 8:15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
Rom 8:16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:

Pro 2:10 When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul;
Pro 2:11 Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee:

Christ is the author and finisher of our faith who we look to (Heb 12:2), and the comforter leads us into all truth; that is how “wisdom entereth into thine heart“, and because we know it is the Lord working this in our lives (Php 2:12-13), we have great joy in knowing that we are his little flock (Luk 12:32 , Php 4:4), his workmanship, and this relationship is “pleasant unto thy soul“.

The fruit of this blessed relationship with Christ is that “Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee“.

Mat 9:17 Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved. [understanding the sum of God’s word old covenant and new covenant, how both can be profitable to the maturing Christian is what “both are preserved” means (2Ti 3:15)]

1Th 5:23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ

Jud 1:1 Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father (Joh 17:17), and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called:

Pro 2:12 To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things;
Pro 2:13 Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness;
Pro 2:14 Who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked;
Pro 2:15 Whose ways are crooked, and they froward in their paths:

When we seek the Lord and his wisdom, He leads us not into temptation (Mat 6:13) and we are delivered from evil, from the man that speaks froward things. By God’s grace we develop the ability to try the spirits whether they are of the Lord (1Jn 4:1) and we are preserved by the discretion and understanding that God gives his children. We foresee the evil and hide ourselves (Pro 27:12), we grow to truly understand what an enemy of the cross looks like, as those whose fruit identify them as such (Luk 6:43-45, 1Jn 3:7),”Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness; Who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked; Whose ways are crooked, and they froward in their paths“

Luk 6:43 For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
Luk 6:44 For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes.
Luk 6:45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.

1Jn 3:7 Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.

Pro 2:16 To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words;
Pro 2:17 Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God.
Pro 2:18 For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead.
Pro 2:19 None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life.

We are also delivered “from the strange woman” who represents Babylon, and we are kept safe “from the stranger which flattereth with her words“, again representing those who peddle the word of God and make merchandise of the many called (Mat 22:14). It is in Babylon that we “forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God” and don’t realize that in this state of captivity we are in a house that “inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead“. None that go unto her return again, unless they are dragged out of her and given to “ponder the path of life”(Pro 5:5-8), otherwise we could never” take hold of the paths of life that are found through Christ (Joh 6:44).

Pro 5:5 Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell. 
Pro 5:6 Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, her ways are moveable, that thou canst not know them.
Pro 5:7 Hear me now therefore, O ye children, and depart not from the words of my mouth.
Pro 5:8 Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her house:

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.

Pro 2:20  That thou mayest walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous.
Pro 2:21 For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it.
Pro 2:22 But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it. [another digging and dunging reference – those transgressors and the wicked within us, Lord willing, being rooted out in this life]

We have to go back to the statement found in verse ten (Pro 2:10), “When wisdom [Christ] entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul“, telling us that when God’s holy spirit is within us, Christ who is our wisdom, we can “walk in the way of good and keep the paths of the righteous“. It is only Christ who can be Christ (Col 1:27, Rom 8:9), who makes it possible for those that He dwells in to be “the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it“(Joh 8:31-32).

The elect remain in the land, “But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it“, first within us but also revealing that the elect are being talked about in these parables (Mat 24:40-51) that tell us some are taken and others remain in the earth. The ones remaining represent the elect who inherit the land, because we have been blessed to conquer the land within in this age, by the grace and faith of Christ (Eph 2:8).

Mat 24:40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
Mat 24:41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.

Our searching for wisdom and knowledge is not in vain (1Co 15:58). Christ is the tree of life who we are being dragged unto, to “lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her” (Pro 3:18).

Mat 24:42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
Mat 24:43 But know this, that if the goodman (Col 1:27) of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. [Pro 24:3, Psa 127:1]
Mat 24:44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. (Mat 25:4-8)
Mat 24:45 Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?
Mat 24:46 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.

Pro 3:18 She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her.

Zec 5:1-11 Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me

[Study Aired June 29, 2023]

Babylon is “cursed with a curse” because they have robbed God, and what they have robbed Him of is a life of dedication and fidelity to His word, which is impossible to accomplish without God’s spirit within us (Rom 8:9). It’s ridiculous to think that we could actually rob God of anything, seeing He owns everything (Psa 50:10). Mankind’s thieving ways demonstrate the spiritual condition of our hearts which are naturally against the spirit of God (Gal 5:17). With such a nature, we will rob and take that which is not ours to take, as demonstrated from the very get-go with Adam and Eve, but again these outward actions in the garden just demonstrate how we naturally misappropriate God’s word inwardly (Gen 3:6, Rom 1:20).

Gal 5:17  For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. 

Gen 3:6  And when the woman [typifying the spirit of the churches of Babylon] saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat [demonstrating our need to be under the law of Moses at first, the schoolmaster, which the tree of the knowledge of good and evil represents until we are dragged to the tree of life representing Christ (Joh 1:17, Rom 3:20, Rom 7:7)].

Zec 5:1  Then I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a flying roll.
Zec 5:2  And he said unto me, What seest thou? And I answered, I see a flying roll; the length thereof is twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof ten cubits.
Zec 5:3  Then said he unto me, This is the curse that goeth forth over the face of the whole earth: for every one that stealeth shall be cut off as on this side according to it; and every one that sweareth shall be cut off as on that side according to it.
Zec 5:4  I will bring it forth, saith the LORD of hosts, and it shall enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him that sweareth falsely by my name: and it shall remain in the midst of his house, and shall consume it with the timber thereof and the stones thereof. 
Zec 5:5  Then the angel that talked with me went forth, and said unto me, Lift up now thine eyes, and see what is this that goeth forth. 
Zec 5:6  And I said, What is it? And he said, This is an ephah that goeth forth. He said moreover, This is their resemblance through all the earth. 
Zec 5:7  And, behold, there was lifted up a talent of lead: and this is a woman that sitteth in the midst of the ephah. 
Zec 5:8  And he said, This is wickedness. And he cast it into the midst of the ephah; and he cast the weight of lead upon the mouth thereof. 
Zec 5:9  Then lifted I up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came out two women, and the wind was in their wings; for they had wings like the wings of a stork: and they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heaven. 
Zec 5:10  Then said I to the angel that talked with me, Whither do these bear the ephah?
Zec 5:11  And he said unto me, To build it an house in the land of Shinar: and it shall be established, and set there upon her own base. 

This section of Zechariah specifically shows us how we naturally go into Babylon, and only by the grace and faith of Christ, ‘come out of her my people’ (2Co 6:17). The imagery of a flying roll (Zec 5:1) and two women with the wings of a unclean bird called a stork, demonstrate how at first we carry the lies of Babylon throughout all our earth within, and outwardly we are all initially witnesses of another Jesus whose false gospel is made known, loud and clear from the abundance of our deceived hearts throughout the world. This is done via the churches that have been given power to do that. Those churches of Babylon are represented by the two women that have wings of a stork (Zec 5:9) and the flying roll is the word of God they bring to the great unwashed masses (Zec 5:1).

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,

We all must first go into Babylon, and by God’s great power be dragged out of her, presenting our bodies a living sacrifice through Christ (Rom 12:1-2) which is what the book of Malachi points to. Christ and His body are the means by which we will overcome all the lies that have been perpetrated by the devil throughout the years, in the land of Shinar (Zec 5:11), which represents the place where Mystery Babylon, the mother of harlots, thrives. The place where we ‘come out of her’ to be caught up to God in heaven is by the power of Christ in His people that is far higher than the powers and principalities that ruled us in Babylon; the wings of the unclean stork (Rev 12:5, Eph 2:6, Eph 1:19-21).

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.

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. 

Eph 2:6  And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: 

Eph 1:19  And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, [What the greatness of his power toward us produces  (Col 4:5-6, Jer 23:24, 1Th 5:16-18)]
Eph 1:20  Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,
Eph 1:21  Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:

Zec 5:1  Then I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a flying roll.

Right after we learn of the two witnesses who witnessed against Babylon (Zec 4:12-14), Zechariah says “then I turned.” This action of Zechariah turning symbolizes for God’s people that we know who we are, as our function in the Christ is to witness of these things (Luk 24:48), being those who observe and see and understand the lies that we’ve come out of by the grace and faith of Christ (Eph 2:8), which is what Zechariah’s statement “then I turned” typifies. 

Luk 24:48  And ye are witnesses of these things.

It is a lifelong journey coming out of Babylon and cleansing our heavens as we are sanctified by the spirit of God. We don’t turn once, say a ten-second sinner’s prayer and it’s all over. Rather we keep turning where the Lord would have us go to be His witnesses of these things in the earth, our whole life that has many seasons which concludes in our turning to dust again (Joh 17:17, Joh 6:63, Ecc 3:20). All that process of turning and seeing who we are, or where we were, is prophesied for us in Ezekiel 21:27 which shows us what God is doing with our old man who will be abased so that a new creation can increase and come forth (Eze 21:26-28).

Joh 17:17  Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

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

Eze 21:26  Thus saith the Lord GOD; Remove the diadem, and take off the crown: this shall not be the same: exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high [take off the false way by which you misappropriated the word of God, which can only happen through a process of judgment symbolized by the three overturnings].
Eze 21:27  I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him [Rev 4:10, Luk 17:10].
Eze 21:28  And thou, son of man, prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD concerning the Ammonites, and concerning their reproach; even say thou, The sword, the sword is drawn: for the slaughter it is furbished, to consume because of the glittering: 

With this in mind, we see the prophet Zechariah, who represents the elect turning and lifting up his eyes and looking and beholding a flying roll. That roll is not another gospel. It is the word of God (Gal 1:5-7), but it is wrapped around the idol of carnal hearts that naturally pervert the truth manifesting in a divided Christ. There are two gospels flying around in the heavens – one that is coming from the manifold wisdom of God made known by the church (Eph 3:10), and another that is a “flying roll” filling the world with lies, and must be overcome in our own heavens (Rev 9:2-3, Rev 12:14, 2Pe 2:19-20). 

Gal 1:5  To whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Gal 1:6  I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:
Gal 1:7  Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.

Eph 3:10  To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, 

Rev 9:2  And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. 
Rev 9:3  And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. 

Rev 12:14  And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle [the same symbolism as the unclean stork], that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent  [for an in-depth description on this symbolism, see Mike’s studies on Revelation 12, Rev 12:1-5 and Rev 12:14-17 in particular].

2Pe 2:19  While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage. 
2Pe 2:20  For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.

The negative smoke rises from the pits of Babylon (Rev 9:2) that we come out of, and the positive smoke ascends up to God “with the prayers of the saints” (Rev 8:4). A  review of the word roll^H4039 will help us see the negative and positive use of this word. 

Rev 9:2  And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.

Rev 8:4  And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel’s hand.

H4039 “Roll”
– Definition:
roll, book, writing 
– Origin: from H1556
– Part(s) of speech: Noun Feminine 
– Strong’s: From H1556; a roll: – roll volume. 
Total KJV Occurrences: 21 
roll, 20

Jer_36:2; Jer_36:4; Jer_36:6; Jer_36:14(2); Jer_36:20; Jer_36:21; Jer_36:23; Jer_36:25; Jer_36:27; Jer_36:28(2); Jer_36:29; Jer_36:32; Eze_2:9; Eze_3:1; Eze_3:2; Eze_3:3; Zec_5:1; Zec_5:2 

volume, 1
Psa_40:7

In Zechariah it represents the negative way in which we use God’s word at first in Babylon. In every instance it is talking about something that is written down, and more specifically, the word of God which is likened to the ephah in Zechariah 5:10. This “roll” talked about in the book of Zechariah is the word of God as Psalm 40:7 attests to in its use of this Strong’s number. What does a thief do but rob you of your possessions, which is what Babylon does with the words of God that are carried on unclean wings, the stork, that represents the carnal mind which can’t rightly divide the word of truth (Lev 11:13, Lev 11:19).

Zec 5:10  Then said I to the angel that talked with me, Whither do these bear the ephah^H374?

BDB Definition: Definition: a. a dry measure of quantity; b. the receptacle for measuring or holding that amount 

Strong’s Definition: an ephah or measure for grain; hence a measure in general

Psa 40:7  Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume^H4039 of the book it is written of me, 

BDB Definition: Definition: 1. roll, book, writing 

Strong’s Definition: From H1556; a roll: – roll volume. 

Zec 5:2  And he said unto me, What seest thou? And I answered, I see a flying roll; the length thereof is twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof ten cubits.

The roll’s dimensions, “the length thereof is twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof ten cubits”, reveals that this is the word of God that is going forth, actually ‘flying forth’ in the heavens of mankind, typifying what God’s quick and sharp two-edged sword of His word (Heb 4:12) can and will ultimately accomplish against the flesh of all mankind. It will not go forth in vain, and it will accomplish that which God has sent it out to do, and will not return void (Isa 55:11). What God has sent it to do is witness [2×10 = length of 20 cubits] against the flesh of mankind [10 cubits = breadth of 10 cubits] via a process of judgment [20 cubits + 10 cubits = 30 cubits], each man in his order (Isa 26:9, 1Co 15:22-27).

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

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

Zec 5:3  Then said he unto me, This is the curse that goeth forth over the face of the whole earth: for every one that stealeth shall be cut off as on this side according to it; and every one that sweareth shall be cut off as on that side according to it.

When the word goes forth, it is the light which reproves the darkness of our heart and shows us that we have stolen from God, “for every one that stealeth shall be cut off as on this side according to it“; and we have sworn falsely by God’s word as well, “every one that sweareth shall be cut off as on that side according to it.” The very subject of Malachi chapter three is about the curse that is upon all flesh for not being able to present our bodies a living sacrifice to God (Mal 3:8-9). When we try to gain our own salvation only knowing Christ after the flesh, we are crucifying Christ afresh by not seeing our need to follow Christ’s exemplary not substitutionary sacrifice by filling up what is behind of His afflictions for His body’s sake in our own lives (Col 1:24). That is when our old man becomes cursed in the positive sense as we are given to read, hear and keep the sayings of the prophecy (Rev 1:3), being crucified with Christ, our flesh being cursed for hanging on that tree of life, Christ, as our new man is blessed to now live by the faith of Christ (Gal 2:20, Deu 21:23).

Mal 3:8  Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. 
Mal 3:9  Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. 

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. 

Deu 21:23  His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; (for he that is hanged is accursed of God;) that thy land be not defiled, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.

Zec 5:4  I will bring it forth, saith the LORD of hosts, and it shall enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him that sweareth falsely by my name: and it shall remain in the midst of his house, and shall consume it with the timber thereof and the stones thereof.

The word of God comes forth into our lives, and then it begins its work of convicting us of our thieving ways, our falsehoods and lies, and it “shall remain in the midst of his house, and shall consume it with the timber thereof and the stones thereof.” This is all telling us that when we defile the temple of God, He will destroy the first temple with the timber and stones thereof and make it anew in the Potter’s hand (1Co 3:16-17, Jer 18:4). These are prophecies Zechariah is seeing of what God is going to do to all the world, each man in his own order, and for God’s elect today they reassure us of God’s power to burn up the wood, hay and stubble so that, Lord willing, we will go onto perfection on the third day, if He will permit (1Co 3:12-13, Heb 6:3).

1Co 3:16  Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
1Co 3:17  If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

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.

Zec 5:5  Then the angel that talked with me went forth, and said unto me, Lift up now thine eyes, and see what is this that goeth forth. 
Zec 5:6  And I said, What is it? And he said, This is an ephah that goeth forth. He said moreover, This is their resemblance through all the earth. 
Zec 5:7  And, behold, there was lifted up a talent of lead: and this is a woman that sitteth in the midst of the ephah.

The angel of the Lord, who is talking to Zechariah, provokes him to love and good works in type and shadow by telling him “Lift up now thine eyes, and see what is this that goeth forth.” Zechariah, who represents the young babe in Christ, says once again “What is it?” and the angel of the Lord who represents the church tells him, this is the word of God that is going forth into the whole world via the churches of Babylon, “This is an ephah that goeth forth. He said moreover, This is their resemblance through all the earth” (Php 1:15-19).

Php 1:15  Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will: 
Php 1:16  The one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds: 
Php 1:17  But the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the gospel. 
Php 1:18  What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice. [“This is an ephah that goeth forth. He said moreover, This is their resemblance through all the earth“]
Php 1:19  For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,

The ephah is the measure of grain that goes forth from God’s hand (Mar 4:14), and it goes out to this woman who represents Babylon who is in the midst of it, and it is “a talent of lead” that is being lifted up, which is a base metal representing all that the world can get out of God’s word, without the discerning spirit of God within them, or the trials of God that burns away those base metals and purifies the precious stones God is creating within the elect (Mal 3:17-18).

Mal 3:17  And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him. 
Mal 3:18  Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.

Zec 5:7  And, behold, there was lifted up a talent of lead: and this is a woman that sitteth in the midst of the ephah.
Zec 5:8  And he said, This is wickedness. And he cast it into the midst of the ephah; and he cast the weight of lead upon the mouth thereof. 

The woman who represents Babylon is “cast into the midst of the ephah.” That ephah represents the measure of God’s word which has “the weight of lead upon the mouth thereof.” The word of God is a curse to our old man while under “tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father” (Gal 4:1-7). The lead cast upon the mouth thereof is the law for the lawless and disobedient of (1Ti 1:9) under which we all must be until our mouths are purified with fiery trials that take us from the basest of metals, lead understanding, to precious words that have been purified in the fiery trials of life by which we are received of God (Isa 6:6-7, 1Pe 1:7, Heb 12:6). The lead covers the mouth of this basket which has the woman and the ephah within it, symbolizing how the word of God is closed off through spiritual blindness from Babylon for an appointed time (Mat 13:10-11, Rom 11:20,  Rom 11:30). 

For an in-depth look at this base metal, please read Mike’s study on Lead. Here are a few excerpts: 

“…corruptible base metals are used to describe the masses of unconverted, unenlightened, carnal, rebellious mankind. These metals are all refined from out of the earth. But a base metal, even when refined, is still a base metal.  In other words, it really is not that uncommon or of very much value to God. The fire that refines these metals can also consume them(Jer 6:29)

… Both lead and flesh will be consumed by the fire of God’s Word (Jer 6:29)

…Babylon is “a talent of lead” which “is the curse going into every house.””

Gal 4:1  Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all; 
Gal 4:2  But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father. 
Gal 4:3  Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world: 
Gal 4:4  But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
Gal 4:5  To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. 
Gal 4:6  And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.
Gal 4:7  Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. 

Isa 6:6  Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: 
Isa 6:7  And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.

Zec 5:9  Then lifted I up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came out two women, and the wind was in their wings; for they had wings like the wings of a stork: and they lifted up the ephahH374 between the earth and the heaven. 

H374‘êyphâh    ‘êphâh ay-faw’, ay-faw’

Of Egyptian derivation; an ephah or measure for grain; hence a measure in general: – ephah, (divers) measure (-s).  Total KJV occurrences: 40

The dream is one principle applies here (Gen 41:25), and the flying roll and the two women with the wings of a stork are telling us the same thing with different details. Zechariah representing the elect who has his eyes open to see in type “MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH”, not one harlot, harlots plural, two women flying to witness there are many churches that have gone out with “the wind was in their wings; for they had wings like the wings of a stork” representing those who have come out of the sea of humanity and are now “between the earth and the heaven” filling it with every foul spirit, every false doctrine symbolized by them doing this “and they lifted up the ephah^H374 between the earth and the heaven.”

When you are between the earth and the heaven and not in the third heaven, representing where God’s elect are raised in heavenly places (2Co 12:2-4, Eph 2:6), then you are at a stage where you are a “beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon” (Rev 13:11). Having the words of God and casting them behind us is what it means to have horns like a lamb, but speak as a dragon. Not resisting evil, condoning war, hating our enemies while saying we are Christians is what must be burned out of all those who are going to be in the blessed and holy first resurrection, and this love toward our enemy is connected to those who are blessed to develop “the patience and faith of the saints” (Rev 13:10)

2Co 12:2  I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven.
2Co 12:3  And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) 
2Co 12:4  How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.

Eph 2:6  And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: 

Rev 13:10  He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.
Rev 13:11  And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. 

Zec 5:10  Then said I to the angel that talked with me, Whither do these bear the ephah?

When we start seeing the hypocrisy in Babylon, we start seeing it in ourselves as well, and we start asking questions like, “Why do these churches “bear the ephah”?” We learn that Babylon, who is represented by the court in the temple, has been sacrificed for our sakes to do the heavy lifting of bearing the ephah so that the word can go forth to all nations, thus a few chosen out of those many called can emerge by God’s grace (Mat 22:14, Eph 2:8-9).

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

Eph 2:8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 
Eph 2:9  Not of works, lest any man should boast. 

Zec 5:11  And he said unto me, To build it an house in the land of Shinar^H8152: and it shall be established, and set there upon her own base.

What these two women with the stork wings do is fly into “the land of Shinar“, which is another word for Babylon, where they establish their own righteousness “upon her own base” which is where we all go at first (Php 3:9). 

H8152 “Shinar” 
– BDB = country of two rivers 
the ancient name for the territory later known as Babylonia or Chaldea 
– Strong’s: Probably of foreign derivation; Shinar a plain in Babylon: – Shinar.
– Proper Names Bible: (the city has changed its nature)

Only the Lord can build the true spiritual house (Psa 127:1) so building “an house in the land of Shinar: and it shall be established, and set there upon her own base” all represents our own righteousness, our many wonderful works which are really just a house build upon sand, and we have talents buried within the earth (Mat 7:24-27). When we operate in our flesh, we are cursed and robbing God of His glory that can and will be manifest in those who are blessed to “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” knowing it is “God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” Otherwise our talents are just being buried in the earth (Php 2:12-14).

Psa 127:1  A Song of degrees for Solomon. Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.

Mat 7:24  Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: [Rev 1:3, Psa 127:1] 
Mat 7:25  And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
Mat 7:26  And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
Mat 7:27  And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

Php 2:12  Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
Php 2:13  For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. 
Php 2:14  Do all things without murmurings and disputings: 

Exo 35:1-35  Whosoever is of Willing Heart, let him Bring an Offering to the Lord

[Study Aired January 30, 2023]

Exo 35:1  And Moses gathered all the congregation of the children of Israel together, and said unto them, These are the words which the LORD hath commanded, that ye should do them.
Exo 35:2  Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you an holy day, a sabbath of rest to the LORD: whosoever doeth work therein shall be put to death.
Exo 35:3  Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations upon the sabbath day.
Exo 35:4  And Moses spake unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, This is the thing which the LORD commanded, saying,
Exo 35:5  Take ye from among you an offering unto the LORD: whosoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it, an offering of the LORD; gold, and silver, and brass,
Exo 35:6  And blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats’ hair,
Exo 35:7  And rams’ skins dyed red, and badgers’ skins, and shittim wood,
Exo 35:8  And oil for the light, and spices for anointing oil, and for the sweet incense,
Exo 35:9  And onyx stones, and stones to be set for the ephod, and for the breastplate.
Exo 35:10  And every wise hearted among you shall come, and make all that the LORD hath commanded; 
Exo 35:11  The tabernacle, his tent, and his covering, his taches, and his boards, his bars, his pillars, and his sockets, 
Exo 35:12  The ark, and the staves thereof, with the mercy seat, and the vail of the covering, 
Exo 35:13  The table, and his staves, and all his vessels, and the shewbread, 
Exo 35:14  The candlestick also for the light, and his furniture, and his lamps, with the oil for the light,
Exo 35:15  And the incense altar, and his staves, and the anointing oil, and the sweet incense, and the hanging for the door at the entering in of the tabernacle,
Exo 35:16  The altar of burnt offering, with his brasen grate, his staves, and all his vessels, the laver and his foot, 
Exo 35:17  The hangings of the court, his pillars, and their sockets, and the hanging for the door of the court, 
Exo 35:18  The pins of the tabernacle, and the pins of the court, and their cords, 
Exo 35:19  The cloths of service, to do service in the holy place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, to minister in the priest’s office. 
Exo 35:20  And all the congregation of the children of Israel departed from the presence of Moses. 
Exo 35:21  And they came, every one whose heart stirred him up, and every one whom his spirit made willing, and they brought the LORD’S offering to the work of the tabernacle of the congregation, and for all his service, and for the holy garments. 
Exo 35:22  And they came, both men and women, as many as were willing hearted, and brought bracelets, and earrings, and rings, and tablets, all jewels of gold: and every man that offered offered an offering of gold unto the LORD.
Exo 35:23  And every man, with whom was found blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats’ hair, and red skins of rams, and badgers’ skins, brought them.
Exo 35:24  Every one that did offer an offering of silver and brass brought the LORD’S offering: and every man, with whom was found shittim wood for any work of the service, brought it.
Exo 35:25  And all the women that were wise hearted did spin with their hands, and brought that which they had spun, both of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine linen.
Exo 35:26  And all the women whose heart stirred them up in wisdom spun goats’ hair.
Exo 35:27  And the rulers brought onyx stones, and stones to be set, for the ephod, and for the breastplate;
Exo 35:28  And spice, and oil for the light, and for the anointing oil, and for the sweet incense. 
Exo 35:29  The children of Israel brought a willing offering unto the LORD, every man and woman, whose heart made them willing to bring for all manner of work, which the LORD had commanded to be made by the hand of Moses.
Exo 35:30  And Moses said unto the children of Israel, See, the LORD hath called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; 
Exo 35:31  And he hath filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship; 
Exo 35:32  And to devise curious works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, 
Exo 35:33  And in the cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of wood, to make any manner of cunning work.
Exo 35:34  And he hath put in his heart that he may teach, both he, and Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. 
Exo 35:35  Them hath he filled with wisdom of heart, to work all manner of work, of the engraver, and of the cunning workman, and of the embroiderer, in blue, and in purple, in scarlet, and in fine linen, and of the weaver, even of them that do any work, and of those that devise cunning work.

Chapter 35 is about the sabbath rest and Moses’ admonition for the people of Israel to give willingly for the building of the tabernacle of the Lord. It also touches on Bezaleel whom the Lord had prepared for the work of building the Tabernacle. Today’s study focuses on the spiritual significance of the sabbath rest and what it means to offer willingly for the building of the temple of the Lord, which is our bodies.

Exo 35:1  And Moses gathered all the congregation of the children of Israel together, and said unto them, These are the words which the LORD hath commanded, that ye should do them.
Exo 35:2  Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you an holy day, a sabbath of rest to the LORD: whosoever doeth work therein shall be put to death. 
Exo 35:3  Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations upon the sabbath day. 

Keeping the sabbath means entering into the Lord’s rest and therefore ceasing from our own strivings. In other words, we come to realize that we can of ourselves do nothing and therefore depend on the Lord wholly to do everything on our behalf. Knowing this is what will cause us to recognize that it is the Lord who sanctifies us.

Heb 4:9  There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. 
Heb 4:10  For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. 
Heb 4:11  Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.

In Exodus 31:14, we are warned that if we do not keep the sabbath, we shall be put to death or cut off from among the Lord’s people.

Exo 31:14  Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. 

In Hebrews 4:6, we are given a reason why many will not be able to keep the sabbath – because of unbelief. The reason that many do not believe is that their hearts have been hardened by the idols of the heart which say that we are responsible for our own actions as a result of having our own will. Believing in this false doctrine prevents us from surrendering everything to the Lord.

Heb 4:6  Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief:

As we are aware, the number six is the number of mankind. The six days we must work spiritually refer to our works before the Lord here on earth.  The seventh day is when we become complete in Christ as we are caught up with the Lord and shall rest from our labor here on earth as the kingdoms of this world become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ. 

Col 1:29  Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily. 

Rev 14:13  And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, 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.

In verse 3, kindling no fire during our observation of the sabbath day means that during the period that we are resting from our own striving, we are not to facilitate the serving of another Jesus through the idols of the heart symbolized by the queen of heaven in the verse below:

Jer 7:18  The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger.

Exo 35:4  And Moses spake unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, This is the thing which the LORD commanded, saying, 
Exo 35:5  Take ye from among you an offering unto the LORD: whosoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it, an offering of the LORD; gold, and silver, and brass, 
Exo 35:6  And blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats’ hair, 
Exo 35:7  And rams’ skins dyed red, and badgers’ skins, and shittim wood, 
Exo 35:8  And oil for the light, and spices for anointing oil, and for the sweet incense, 
Exo 35:9  And onyx stones, and stones to be set for the ephod, and for the breastplate.

What we need to understand in these verses is that we can only offer what the Lord has given to us. In Genesis, when Isaac asked Abraham about the lamb for the burnt offering, Abraham told him that God will provide for Himself a lamb. This is to affirm that whatever we offer to the Lord is because He has already given it to us. 

Gen 22:7  And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? 
Gen 22:8  And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.

1Co 4:7  For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it? 

Therefore, these verses show us what the Lord has given to us we are to offer back to Him willingly. The gold and silver we are to offer refer to the wisdom and understanding that we have received from the Lord through His words. 

Eze 28:4  With thy wisdom and with thine understanding thou hast gotten thee riches, and hast gotten gold and silver into thy treasures:

Giving back to the Lord for the building of the tabernacle is the same as giving to our brothers and sisters. We are to give back to our brothers and sisters the wisdom the Lord has given us through His words. This must be done freely and willingly, for freely we have received and freely we must give.  As our Lord said, when we give to our brothers and sisters, we have given it or offered it to the Lord.

Mat 25:37  Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 
Mat 25:38  And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 
Mat 25:39  And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 
Mat 25:40  And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

The brass we give as a freewill offering to the Lord is to remind us of our frail bodies of corruptible flesh and blood through which we are to offer ourselves as living sacrifices to the Lord. It is through this corruptible flesh and blood that our Lord Jesus offered Himself as an atonement for our sins and appeared before God. As He is, so are we in this life. It is through our corruptible flesh and blood, as we offer ourselves to the Lord, that He will save the world from their sins. 

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.

In addition to wisdom and understanding, we are told in verses 6 and 7 to offer fine linen, goat’s hair, rams’ skin dyed red, and badgers’ skin.  Fine linen represents the righteousness of the saints. As we walk in the Lord’s righteousness, it is like offering ourselves to the Lord as holy and acceptable sacrifice to the Lord.

Rev 19:8  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.

In order to understand the meaning of the goat’s hair, rams’ skin dyed and badgers’ skin, we need to comprehend how they are used in the tabernacle. All these items are to be used in the outer covering of the tabernacle or the temple of God. These coverings are what outsiders see. It is our righteousness that people see. If we are to build the house of God, then we must possess the righteousness of Christ. These items therefore signify the righteousness of the saints in Christ.

The colors blue, purple and scarlet signify all those in whom the Lord’s spirit is working to transform them from the first Adam to the last Adam, who is Christ. In conclusion, what we are being told in verse 6 is that the offering of those whom the Lord’s spirit is transforming, from the first Adam to Christ, the last Adam, is our bodies which we must offer as living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. As we are aware, this offering of our bodies as living sacrifices is the righteousness of the saints which comes through the Lord’s judgment of our old man.

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.

The oil for the light and the spices for anointing oil all refer to His spirit, which is His words. Our obedience to His words is our offering to the Lord which produces the sweet incense before Him.  All of these are required to build the house of God. We need to note that all of these items mentioned are available only to the priest who represents the elect. 

Num 4:16  And to the office of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest pertaineth the oil for the light, and the sweet incense, and the daily meat offering, and the anointing oil, and the oversight of all the tabernacle, and of all that therein is, in the sanctuary, and in the vessels thereof.

2Ch 29:11  My sons, be not now negligent: for the LORD hath chosen you to stand before him, to serve him, and that ye should minister unto him, and burn incense.

The ephod mentioned in verse 9 is the sacred garment to be worn by the priests. Two onyx stones are to be mounted in gold and fastened on the ephod’s shoulder pieces. These stones are to be engraved with the names of the 12 tribes of Israel with six names on one and six on the other. These stones represent the elect and our works as we are fastened to the Lord’s shoulder. This means that we are carried on the shoulders of the Lord. Being carried on the shoulder means that it is the Lord who does the work – we are only resting on His shoulders as He does the walking (leads us).

Luk 15:4  What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? 
Luk 15:5  And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing.

Exo 35:10  And every wise hearted among you shall come, and make all that the LORD hath commanded; 
Exo 35:11  The tabernacle, his tent, and his covering, his taches, and his boards, his bars, his pillars, and his sockets,

In verse 10, we are commanded by the Lord for us who are wise-hearted, that is, the elect, to make these items used in the temple of the Lord. The tabernacle with its covering and other related items represent our bodies which is the temple of God. To make our bodies the temple of God, is the work of Christ who comes to us with His words to destroy the old man or the beast within us, to make it habitable for Himself.  This old man has taken residence in our temple and is destroyed by the spirit of our Lord’s mouth (His words) when He comes to us with His brightness.

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

Exo 35:12  The ark, and the staves thereof, with the mercy seat, and the vail of the covering, 

The destruction of the old man paves the way for the ark and the mercy seat together with all the accessories related to the ark to be constructed and placed within the veil. The ark together with the mercy seat stands for the Lord coming to sit within our temple (hearts and mind) which is within the veil.

Exo 35:13  The table, and his staves, and all his vessels, and the shewbread,

The table and its accessories constitute where we eat. The showbread signifies the word of the Lord which is given to only the elect (the priest) to eat or to know.  It is within our hearts and mind that Christ comes with His brightness to cause our understanding to be enlightened to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven.

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.

Exo 35:14  The candlestick also for the light, and his furniture, and his lamps, with the oil for the light,

The candlestick signifies the church which is the source of the light in this world. The lamp is the word of the Lord which guides our walk. The oil is the Holy Spirit which comes to us to show us the truth of the Lord’s words. As indicated, the building of the church with all these items is the work of the Lord.

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

Psa 119:105  NUN. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

Rev 1:20  The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.

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.

Exo 35:15  And the incense altar, and his staves, and the anointing oil, and the sweet incense, and the hanging for the door at the entering in of the tabernacle,

Before the sweet incense is made, it must be crushed, broken or heated. We are the items that are used for the preparation of incense. As we are aware, incense represents the prayer of the saints. The making of the incense altar is through our fiery trials which causes our prayer to become a sweet aroma before the Lord. The anointing oil is made through a process which also speaks of our fiery trials and persecutions which causes us to bear a sweet odor of oil as we ready ourselves for our union with Christ. In other words, we become anointed of the Lord through a process which is alluded to in the following scriptures as beaten oil:

Exo 29:40  And with the one lamb a tenth deal of flour mingled with the fourth part of an hin of beaten oil; and the fourth part of an hin of wine for a drink offering.

Num 28:5  And a tenth part of an ephah of flour for a meat offering, mingled with the fourth part of an hin of beaten oil.

The anointing oil is the work of a perfumer who is our Lord Jesus Christ. It is through Him that we are judged to become anointed of the Lord.

Exo 35:16  The altar of burnt offering, with his brasen grate, his staves, and all his vessels, the laver and his foot, 
Exo 35:17  The hangings of the court, his pillars, and their sockets, and the hanging for the door of the court,
Exo 35:18  The pins of the tabernacle, and the pins of the court, and their cords, 

The building of the church is through the foundation laid by the Lord with His life as He was offered on the altar as a burnt offering for our sake. The altar of incense is a symbol of the realization of the redemptive work of Christ in dealing with sin in our lives. The hangings all represent us at various stages of our walk with the Lord. Being the hanging for the door of the court means it is through us that salvation will come to the world. 

Eph 1:7  In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;

Exo 35:19  The cloths of service, to do service in the holy place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, to minister in the priest’s office.

The priestly garments to cloth us refer to putting on the righteousness of Christ, which is the work of the Lord. This is achieved by the fiery trials that the Lord takes us through to learn righteousness.

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

Exo 35:20  And all the congregation of the children of Israel departed from the presence of Moses. 
Exo 35:21  And they came, every one whose heart stirred him up, and every one whom his spirit made willing, and they brought the LORD’S offering to the work of the tabernacle of the congregation, and for all his service, and for the holy garments. 
Exo 35:22  And they came, both men and women, as many as were willing hearted, and brought bracelets, and earrings, and rings, and tablets, all jewels of gold: and every man that offered offered an offering of gold unto the LORD.

The Lord wants us to be willing and not obligated to serve Him. On our own, there is no way we can be willing to serve the Lord. However, the Lord strengthens us to be willing to serve Him. A sign that we are willing is our desire to present ourselves as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to the Lord.

Psa 110:3  Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth.

The ornaments and gold that we are offering willingly are the joy we experience when we go through all kinds of trials as we serve the Lord, knowing that it is through these trials that we become mature in Him.

Jas 1:2  My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; 
Jas 1:3  Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. 
Jas 1:4  But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

Exo 35:23  And every man, with whom was found blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats’ hair, and red skins of rams, and badgers’ skins, brought them.
Exo 35:24  Every one that did offer an offering of silver and brass brought the LORD’S offering: and every man, with whom was found shittim wood for any work of the service, brought it.
Exo 35:25  And all the women that were wise hearted did spin with their hands, and brought that which they had spun, both of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine linen.
Exo 35:26  And all the women whose heart stirred them up in wisdom spun goats’ hair.
Exo 35:27  And the rulers brought onyx stones, and stones to be set, for the ephod, and for the breastplate;
Exo 35:28  And spice, and oil for the light, and for the anointing oil, and for the sweet incense.
Exo 35:29  The children of Israel brought a willing offering unto the LORD, every man and woman, whose heart made them willing to bring for all manner of work, which the LORD had commanded to be made by the hand of Moses.

The church of the firstborn is where we all supply what is needed for the building of the temple of the Lord within everyone. Each one of us has something to offer!!

Rom 12:3  For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
Rom 12:4  For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office:
Rom 12:5  So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.
Rom 12:6  Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;
Rom 12:7  Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching; 
Rom 12:8  Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness. 

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.

Exo 35:30  And Moses said unto the children of Israel, See, the LORD hath called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; 

According to Strong’s Dictionary, the name “Bezaleel” means “In the shadow of God.” As we indicated in a previous study, if we are called and chosen, then the Lord will prepare us under the shadow of His wings, which is the secret place of the Most High. In other words, the Lord prepares us in secret, away from the eyes of everyone. 

Psa 91:1  He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
Psa 91:2  I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. 

Psa 17:8  Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings,

Exo 35:31  And he hath filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship; 

The Lord equips us for the work of the ministry by filling us with the spirit of wisdom and understanding in the knowledge of Him. This verse is the same as saying the following:

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

As He is, so are we. Our Lord Jesus was equipped with the spirit of wisdom and understanding in the knowledge of God. We, too, are being filled with the spirit of wisdom and understanding in the knowledge of Him, just as the Lord did to Bezaleel.

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.

Isa 11:1  And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: 
Isa 11:2  And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;
Isa 11:3  And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: 
Isa 11:4  But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. 
Isa 11:5  And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.

Here in Isaiah, we are given to know what happens to us when the spirit of wisdom and understanding in the knowledge of the Lord comes to us. Firstly, this spirit of wisdom causes us to fear the Lord. This is affirmed by the fact that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.  The fear of the Lord causes us to walk in righteousness as the sun of righteousness rises upon us with healing in its wings. In addition, the fear of the Lord grants us the power to trample on the wicked. The wicked here is our flesh or our old man. In other words, we overcome the flesh.

Mal 4:2  But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.
Mal 4:3  And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the LORD of hosts.

Isa 11:5  And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.

Secondly, the spirit of wisdom comes with the judgment of our old man as the Lord will judge us (the poor) as He smites our old man with the rod of His mouth which is the word of the Lord. We are the earth in Isaiah 11:4 which the Lord shall smite with His words.

Isa 11:4  But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.

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

Exo 35:32  And to devise curious works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, 
Exo 35:33  And in the cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of wood, to make any manner of cunning work.

The spirit of wisdom and understanding in the knowledge of the Lord will cause us to do curious works in gold and silver and in brass. It will also help us in the cutting of stones and the carving of timber. If we can remember, our works, which please the Lord, are classified as gold, silver and precious stones as opposed to the works of the flesh, which include wood, hay and stubble. The work in gold, silver and stones therefore entails the fiery trials we go through to build upon the foundation the Lord has laid in our lives by building the temple of God within us. This means that the giving of the spirit of wisdom in our lives comes with its tribulation and persecution in our lives to refine us as we learn righteousness. The carving of wood in verse 33 refers to our works in wood or the works of the flesh which provide the opportunity for the Lord to come and destroy the old man with His fire (His words) to build a habitation for the Lord to dwell.

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.

Pro 26:20  Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out: so where there is no talebearer, the strife ceaseth.

The work to be carried out in our temple includes brass or copper, which is to remind us of our carnal state in Christ. The work in brass is therefore to show us that we were in our carnal state when the Lord came to us to give us the spirit of wisdom. The cunning work in brass therefore is the Lord’s work within our temple (our hearts and mind) to transform us from our carnal state to become a habitation for the Lord to dwell (become mature). Remember that this involves our being judged to learn righteousness.

Exo 35:34  And he hath put in his heart that he may teach, both he, and Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. 
Exo 35:35  Them hath he filled with wisdom of heart, to work all manner of work, of the engraver, and of the cunning workman, and of the embroiderer, in blue, and in purple, in scarlet, and in fine linen, and of the weaver, even of them that do any work, and of those that devise cunning work. 

The Lord had given Aholiab and the hearts of all that were wise-hearted to Bezaleel to help him with the work of the tabernacle. Aholiab means “Tent of his father.” Our bodies are the earthly tent of our Father, Jesus. Aholiab, therefore, represents the body of Christ or the Lord’s elect as we are given to work with the Lord (Bezaleel) in the building of the New Jerusalem for our Lord to dwell. This is affirmed by the fact that God has given Aholiab and all those who are wise-hearted to work with Bezaleel. Both Aholiab and the wise-hearted are the elect. 

2Co 5:1  Our bodies are like tents that we live in here on earth. But when these tents are destroyed, we know that God will give each of us a place to live. These homes will not be buildings that someone has made, but they are in heaven and will last forever. (CEV)

We are therefore co-workers with the Lord as we work together as a unit to achieve what God desires. That is, by building the church of God, which is the Lord’s body.  God has really honored us to be enlisted as co-workers in His great work of salvation. 

1Co 3:9  For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.
1Co 3:10  According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.

Being co-workers with Jesus, we are required to not receive the grace the Lord has given us in vain. As Paul indicated, the spirit of wisdom and understanding of the knowledge of the Lord which comes to us to qualify us as co-workers with Christ is accompanied with judgment of our old man to ensure that we do not receive the Lord’s grace in vain.

2Co 6:1  We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain.

May the Lord be merciful to us so that we do not receive the grace of the Lord in vain. Amen!!

[Study Aired October 16, 2022]

Jer 51:17  Every man is brutish by his knowledge; every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them.
Jer 51:18  They are vanity, the work of errors: in the time of their visitation they shall perish.
Jer 51:19  The portion of Jacob is not like them; for he is the former of all things: and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: the LORD of hosts is his name.
Jer 51:20  Thou art my battle axe and weapons of war: for with thee will I break in pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroy kingdoms;
Jer 51:21  And with thee will I break in pieces the horse and his rider; and with thee will I break in pieces the chariot and his rider;
Jer 51:22  With thee also will I break in pieces man and woman; and with thee will I break in pieces old and young; and with thee will I break in pieces the young man and the maid;
Jer 51:23  I will also break in pieces with thee the shepherd and his flock; and with thee will I break in pieces the husbandman and his yoke of oxen; and with thee will I break in pieces captains and rulers.
Jer 51:24  And I will render unto Babylon and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea all their evil that they have done in Zion in your sight, saith the LORD.
Jer 51:25  Behold, I am against thee, O destroying mountain, saith the LORD, which destroyest all the earth: and I will stretch out mine hand upon thee, and roll thee down from the rocks, and will make thee a burnt mountain.
Jer 51:26  And they shall not take of thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone for foundations; but thou shalt be desolate for ever, saith the LORD.
Jer 51:27  Set ye up a standard in the land, blow the trumpet among the nations, prepare the nations against her, call together against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashchenaz; appoint a captain against her; cause the horses to come up as the rough caterpillers.
Jer 51:28  Prepare against her the nations with the kings of the Medes, the captains thereof, and all the rulers thereof, and all the land of his dominion.
Jer 51:29  And the land shall tremble and sorrow: for every purpose of the LORD shall be performed against Babylon, to make the land of Babylon a desolation without an inhabitant.
Jer 51:30  The mighty men of Babylon have forborn to fight, they have remained in their holds: their might hath failed; they became as women: they have burned her dwellingplaces; her bars are broken.
Jer 51:31  One post shall run to meet another, and one messenger to meet another, to shew the king of Babylon that his city is taken at one end,
Jer 51:32  And that the passages are stopped, and the reeds they have burned with fire, and the men of war are affrighted.

This 51^st chapter of Jeremiah concerns the judgment of Babylon. It is very instructive to note that we have already read verses 17-19 way back in chapter 10 which was concerned with the judgment of the “house of Israel”:

Jer 10:1  Hear ye the word which the LORD speaketh unto you, O house of Israel:

Here are these two judgments. Jeremiah 10:14-16 is first:

Jer 10:14  Every man is brutish in his knowledge: every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them.
Jer 10:15  They are vanity, and the work of errors: in the time of their visitation they shall perish.
Jer 10:16  The portion of Jacob is not like them: for he is the former of all things; and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: The LORD of hosts is his name.

As we just read in verse one of this chapter, these words are addressed to Israel. The fact that the exact same words are repeated to Babylon demonstrates that apostatized Israel signifies Mystery Babylon the Great, and that the Lord’s apostate people were of the same mind as Babylon long before they were delivered over to Babylon. The words addressed to Babylon are the exact same words addressed to the Lord’s apostatized people:

Jer 51:17  Every man is brutish by his knowledge; every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them.
Jer 51:18  They are vanity, the work of errors: in the time of their visitation they shall perish.
Jer 51:19  The portion of Jacob is not like them; for he is the former of all things: and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: the LORD of hosts is his name.

Israel, the Lord’s own people, Judah and Jerusalem, His apostatized unfaithful wife, signifies “the great whore… Mystery Babylon the Great”:

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

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

The next verse here in chapter 51 tells us that “the portion of Jacob” is as the Lord’s “battle axe and weapons of war”. The way we serve as the Lord’s “battle axe and weapons of war” in His hand is the same way we become His ‘fire’ with which He is, was, and will be judging and purifying His people.

This is the way we become a “weapon of war” in the Lord’s hand:

Jer 5:14  Wherefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them.

Jer 23:29  Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?

It is only by being faithful to all the Lord’s Words that we can be His battle axe and His hammer, as the previous verse here in chapter 23 reveals:

Jer 23:28  The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the LORD.

Our study begins with the Lord contrasting His servants with the servants of the adversary. The contrast is between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent. Our first verse describes Mystery Babylon as the seed of the serpent. These words describe all who are “of [their] father the devil”:

Jer 51:17  Every man is brutish by his knowledge; every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them.
Jer 51:18  They are vanity, the work of errors: in the time of their visitation they shall perish.

It cannot be stated more clearly that idolatry signifies false doctrines… “his molten image is falsehood”. This statement that those false doctrines are “the work of errors” tells us that there is no such thing as a single lie. Every lie must be supported by another lie. Babylon, as we read in verse 7, is “a golden cup in the Lord’s hand”.

Jer 51:7  Babylon hath been a golden cup in the LORD’S hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations are mad.

It is with Babylon of old, with all its molten images and lying false doctrines that the Lord was, and still is, trying His people. Babylon of old, and Mystery Babylon in the New Testament, are still “the wicked… men of the world” who were and still are the Lord’s ‘sword’ and His ‘hand’ with which He chastens us:

Psa 17:13  Arise, O LORD, disappoint him, cast him down: deliver my soul from the wicked, which is thy sword:
Psa 17:14  From men which are thy hand, O LORD, from men of the world, which have their portion in this life, and whose belly thou fillest with thy hid treasure: they are full of children, and leave the rest of their substance to their babes.

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

It is through knowing that the Lord Himself is working all things, the good and the evil, after the counsel of His own will (Isa 45:7 and Eph 1:11) that we can be His “battle axe, and weapons of war”. The Lord used physical Babylon to chasten ancient Israel, and He is still using spiritual “Mystery Babylon” as His sword and His weapons of war in His hand to chasten and scourge His elect whom He loves (Heb 12:6). The Lord sends away His own people into Babylon because that is where their heart already is. Israel was serving other gods long before the Lord finally poured out His judgments upon them by giving them over to a merciless pagan king, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, who was also worshiping false lying idols.

Deu 28:20  The LORD shall send upon thee cursing, vexation, and rebuke, in all that thou settest thine hand unto for to do, until thou be destroyed, and until thou perish quickly; because of the wickedness of thy doings, whereby thou hast forsaken me.

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

Losing our first love is the same as losing our fear of the Lord (Rev 2:4). However, when the Lord’s chastening grace has done its purifying work, that fear of the Lord is reestablished because of the chastening and scourging we endured at that time. Having received double for our sins instills a greater fear than we had at the time of our first love.

Nebuchadnezzar’s merciless treatment of the Lord’s own nation typifies merciless Mystery Babylon whose doctrines have absolutely no mercy toward us. They threaten us with eternal torment if we do not show up every Sunday morning and pay our tithes and fight her fights and fall at the feet of her ministers.

Your tithes and offerings are their litmus test of your loyalty to this whore. If you are ever so unfortunate as to need her help while being held by her fear, she will tell you that “Social Security will meet the needs of the poor these days” which was the doctrine of the church I attended for ten years. After my 90-year-old uncle had faithfully paid tithes and offerings to his church for decades, when he had an automobile accident and needed someone to sit up with him, he was told, “Wait until your veteran benefits kick in and you can afford to pay someone from the church to sit up with you.” These personal experiences brought to mind these words of the Lord concerning the ministers of Mystery Babylon:

Mat 23:4  For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.

The Lord contrasts this slavish worship of false prophets who bring us into the “bitter” bondage of their false doctrines with the power and freedom from the lies and sins of Mystery Babylon:

Jer 51:19  The portion of Jacob is not like them; for he is the former of all things: and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: the LORD of hosts is his name.

The Lord uses wicked men of this world to be His hand to chasten and scourge His rebellious people.  He also uses His elect who are faithful to His words to warn us all of the disastrous fruits of our rebellion against Him and His words and His doctrines, as His “battle axe and weapons of war”. As we just read in Jeremiah 5:14, His words spoken faithfully in our mouths become ‘fire’ which will consume the Lord’s own people who rebel against Him. The Lord has also labeled His faithful prophets as His “hammer that breaketh in pieces”:

Jer 23:29  Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?

The Lord uses the symbols of ‘fire’ and the symbol of “a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces” to signify His “portion of Jacob”, His elect. Notice all the things He does with His words in our mouths:

Jer 51:20  Thou art my battle axe and weapons of war: for with thee will I break in pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroy kingdoms;
Jer 51:21  And with thee will I break in pieces the horse and his rider; and with thee will I break in pieces the chariot and his rider;
Jer 51:22  With thee also will I break in pieces man and woman; and with thee will I break in pieces old and young; and with thee will I break in pieces the young man and the maid;
Jer 51:23  I will also break in pieces with thee the shepherd and his flock; and with thee will I break in pieces the husbandman and his yoke of oxen; and with thee will I break in pieces captains and rulers.

Ten times we told ‘with thee’ I will judge and destroy the kingdom of the old man. The number ‘ten’ signifies corruptible, dying flesh throughout scripture, and “with thee”, as judges in the lake of fire, the Lord will “break in pieces… and… destroy [the] kingdom” of our old man, along with its powerful horses, chariots, men and women, old and young.

Number Ten – Completeness of the Flesh

It is the Lord’s elect, those who remain faithful to Him and His doctrines to the end, who are promised to be made kings and priests who will judge this world. After that He will use His faithful elect to judge angels with the very same fiery words with which we are ourselves being judged “according to our works” in this present time:

Rom 8:18  For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
Rom 8:19  For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.

1Co 3:13  Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.
1Co 3:14  If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
1Co 3:15  If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
1Co 3:16  Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

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 4:17  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 answer to Peter’s rhetorical question (1Pe 4:17) is that those who are not dying now, while judgment is “first… on the house of God”, will be the second to be judged at the “great white throne… judgment/lake of fire/second death”. It is “the second death” simply because those who are dying now are dying with the judgment which “first began at us”, whereas those not being judged in this present time, are not dying with judgment, and will therefore be the second to be judged. Being judged first must be accompanied by the process of dying daily. If not, judgment will accompany the death of the rebellious carnal mind in the great white throne judgment/lake of fire/second death.

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

As our dear sister, Ernie, pointed out this past week, the word ‘after’ here in Hebrews 9:27 is:

G3326
μετά
meta
met-ah’
A primary preposition (often used adverbially); properly denoting accompaniment; “amid” (local or causal); modified variously according to the case (genitive case association, or accusative case succession) with which it is joined; occupying an intermediate position between G575 or G1537 and G1519 or G4314; less intimate than G1722, and less close than G4862): – after (-ward),X that he again, against, among, X and, + follow, hence, hereafter, in, of, (up-) on, + our, X and setting, since, (un-) to, + together, when, with (+ -out). Often used in composition, in substantially the same relations of participation or proximity, and transfer or sequence.

Total KJV occurrences: 462

The first use of a word in scripture is always very instructive of how it is meant to be understood. Following that principle, here is a cut and paste from an email our brother Tony Cullen sent us this week, which makes this point very well:

“Taking the first entry of this Strong’s number in Matthew 1:23, we can see how the word could have been better translated in Hebrews 9:27

“Mat 1:23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with^G3326 us.

“Thank you sister Ernie for sharing your revelation with us today!

Your grateful brother, Tony” (End Quote)

We must all leave our first love, our Maker and Creator. We are not aware at that time of the severity of our evil works in believing the lies of the serpent, but in doing so we, by the Lord’s design, become the servants and children of our “father the devil” even as we “believe on [Christ]” (Joh 8:44):

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

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 8:44  Ye [who believe but do not “continue in my word”] 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.

Jer 51:24  And I will render unto Babylon and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea all their evil that they have done in Zion in your sight, saith the LORD.

“Their evil that they have done in Zion in your sight” can refer to the evil the Chaldeans do to us, as well as referring to the evil done to Babylon by the Lord’s ‘battle axe [and] weapons of war’. Either way it refers to the Lord’s vengeance against Babylon, and in type “the evil that they have done in your sight” refers to “the vengeance of the Lord and of His temple” as we were twice told in recent studies:

Jer 50:28  The voice of them that flee and escape out of the land of Babylon, to declare in Zion the vengeance of the LORD our God, the vengeance of his temple.

Jer 51:11  Make bright the arrows; gather the shields: the LORD hath raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes: for his device is against Babylon, to destroy it; because it is the vengeance of the LORD, the vengeance of his temple.

The Lord shows us all His judgments upon Mystery Babylon in our sight. It will take place in this present time for the few who are called and chosen and faithful to the end. The Lord showed King David that it will also take place in the lake of fire upon “them that obey not the gospel of God”. Of course, ‘the lake of fire’ is not specifically mentioned, but this is what the Lord revealed to King David:

Psa 73:3  For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
Psa 73:4  For there are no bands in their death: but their strength is firm.
Psa 73:5  They are not in trouble as other men; neither are they plagued like other men.
Psa 73:6  Therefore pride compasseth them about as a chain; violence covereth them as a garment.
Psa 73:7  Their eyes stand out with fatness: they have more than heart could wish.
Psa 73:8  They are corrupt, and speak wickedly concerning oppression: they speak loftily.
Psa 73:9  They set their mouth against the heavens, and their tongue walketh through the earth.
Psa 73:10  Therefore his people return hither: and waters of a full cup are wrung out to them.
Psa 73:11  And they say, How doth God know? and is there knowledge in the most High?
Psa 73:12  Behold, these are the ungodly, who prosper in the world; they increase in riches.
Psa 73:13  Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocency.
Psa 73:14  For all the day long have I been plagued, and chastened every morning.
Psa 73:15  If I say, I will speak thus; behold, I should offend against the generation of thy children.
Psa 73:16  When I thought to know this, it was too painful for me;
Psa 73:17  Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end.
Psa 73:18  Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction.
Psa 73:19  How are they brought into desolation, as in a moment! they are utterly consumed with terrors.
Psa 73:20  As a dream when one awaketh; so, O Lord, when thou awakest, thou shalt despise their image.

King David did not use the words ‘white throne judgment/lake of fire/second death’, but he is speaking of “their end” – the end of all those who will have a part in “the resurrection of damnation” [Greek: ‘krisis’, judgment].

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

This is how they are brought into desolation… in a moment” (Psa 73:19):

Jer 51:25  Behold, I am against thee, O destroying mountain, saith the LORD, which destroyest all the earth: and I will stretch out mine hand upon thee, and roll thee down from the rocks, and will make thee a burnt mountain.

Mystery Babylon “destroys all the earth” both inwardly and outwardly, because it is through the rebellious religions of this world that “the first man, Adam, the son of God” is being destroyed. Just as the Lord showed King David that the rich of this world will be “cast down into destruction” even if “there are no bands in their death [in “this present time” (Rom 8:18)], neither are they plagued like other men” in this life. He is also showing Jeremiah that mystery Babylon, which is destroying all the earth, will herself also be destroyed and be “made… a burnt mountain”.

The next few verses inform us of just how thoroughly the Lord will destroy Mystery Babylon:

Jer 51:26  And they shall not take of thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone for foundations; but thou shalt be desolate for ever, saith the LORD.
Jer 51:27  Set ye up a standard in the land, blow the trumpet among the nations, prepare the nations against her, call together against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashchenaz; appoint a captain against her; cause the horses to come up as the rough caterpillers.
Jer 51:28  Prepare against her the nations with the kings of the Medes, the captains thereof, and all the rulers thereof, and all the land of his dominion.
Jer 51:29  And the land shall tremble and sorrow: for every purpose of the LORD shall be performed against Babylon, to make the land of Babylon a desolation without an inhabitant.

These words perfectly describe the work which the Lord is doing to Mystery Babylon in each of His elect. When we read, “Prepare the nations against her”, we must acknowledge that since she “destroyed all the earth”, these nations are the very nations she sat upon and destroyed with all her spiritual fornication and false, lying doctrines (vs 25). The thoroughness with which this is accomplished is expressed in the book of Revelation, which informs us that the commandment to “blow the trumpet” (vs 27) is done with “seven… trumpets”:

Rev 8:1  And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.
Rev 8:2  And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets.

The seventh trumpet is the seven last plagues, and it is the seventh plague which informs us that all the trumpets and the plagues comprise the judgment of “great Babylon”:

Rev 16:17  And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.
Rev 16:18  And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.
Rev 16:19  And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath [The seven last plagues (Rev 15:1)].

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

Rev 16:20  And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.
Rev 16:21  And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.

What does ‘hail’ signify in the scriptures? We are not left to guess. The holy spirit tells us:

Isa 28:2  Behold, the Lord hath a mighty and strong one, which as a tempest of hail and a destroying storm, as a flood of mighty waters overflowing, shall cast down to the earth with the hand.

The Lord has just informed us He will destroy His enemies, including and especially Mystery Babylon, with His “mighty and strong one” which He likens to “a tempest of hail and a destroying storm and a flood of mighty waters”. We are told that this ‘hail’ and these ‘flood of mighty waters… shall cast down to the earth with the hand”. What exactly is it which the hail and the storm of mighty waters cast down? Verse 17 answers this question:

Isa 28:17  Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.

‘The hail’ and ‘the mighty flood of waters’ are both the same thing. They signify the words of Truth which are so abhorred by the mighty men of Mystery Babylon who are the purveyors of all the lying false doctrines of that great world-wide harlot system. Every man identifies with his own thoughts. Every man is ruled over by the doctrines he believes and to which he yields his life:

Jer 51:17  Every man is brutish by his knowledge; every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them.
Jer 51:18  They are vanity, the work of errors: in the time of their visitation they shall perish.

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

“The cup of her fornication” is filled with all the deadly, lying false doctrines of Mystery Babylon and Mystery Babylon is all the religions of mankind. It is through her lying rebellious false doctrines that Mystery Babylon has made all men to drink, and yet “in His day”, when the Lord appears as lightning which is seen from one side of heaven to the other side of heaven, those ‘heavens’, which signify the hearts and minds of all men, will at that moment begin to be purged of all those lying false doctrines by the ‘hail and the flood of mighty waters’ which are the fiery words of Christ in Himself and in His Christ who will speak only His Truthful words faithfully, and ‘in His day’ His elect will be given power to make those words the law of the land:

Luk 17:24  For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day.

“In His day” the Lord will work conditions on this earth to be such as they will cause all men to acknowledge that “His day” has arrived, and all the lies of all “the mighty men of Babylon” will be revealed for what they are to the extent that there will be no fight left in ‘the mighty men of Babylon’ nor in the ‘ten horns’ which are on the beast upon which the woman sits (Rev 17:16-17).

Jer 51:30  The mighty men of Babylon have forborn to fight, they have remained in their holds: their might hath failed; they became as women: they have burned her dwellingplaces; her bars are broken.

‘Egypt’ and ‘Babylon’ are both symbols of that which enslaves the Lord’s people, but “In His day” the Lord will turn the tables and give the dominion of this earth over to His faithful elect. “In His day” when the time is come, “The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout” (1Th 4:17) and will make the heart of the men of Egypt to “become as women”:

Isa 19:1  The burden of Egypt. Behold, the LORD rideth upon a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it.
Isa 19:2  And I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians: and they shall fight every one against his brother, and every one against his neighbour; city against city, and kingdom against kingdom. [We are witnessing the fulfilment of this prophecy in this present world]
Isa 19:3  And the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst thereof; and I will destroy the counsel thereof [To the extent that ‘Egypt’ cannot legally distinguish a boy from a girl]: and they shall seek to the idols, and to the charmers, and to them that have familiar spirits, and to the wizards.
Isa 19:4  And the Egyptians will I give over into the hand of a cruel lord; and a fierce king shall rule over them, saith the Lord, the LORD of hosts.
Isa 19:5  And the waters shall fail from the sea, and the river shall be wasted and dried up.

Isa 19:8  The fishers also shall mourn, and all they that cast angle into the brooks shall lament, and they that spread nets upon the waters shall languish. [All of the false ministers of Egypt]
Isa 19:9  Moreover they that work in fine flax, and they that weave networks, shall be confounded. [“our righteousnesses are as filthy rags”]
Isa 19:10  And they shall be broken in the purposes thereof, all that make sluices and ponds for fish.

Isa 19:12  Where are they? where are thy wise men? and let them tell thee now, and let them know what the LORD of hosts hath purposed upon Egypt.
Isa 19:13  The princes of Zoan are become fools, the princes of Noph are deceived; they have also seduced Egypt, even they that are the stay of the tribes thereof [“They shall believe a lie” (2Th 2:10-11)].
Isa 19:14  The LORD hath mingled a perverse spirit in the midst thereof: and they have caused Egypt to err in every work thereof, as a drunken man staggereth in his vomit.

Egypt is merely an earlier type of Babylon:

Jer 51:31  One post shall run to meet another, and one messenger to meet another, to shew the king of Babylon that his city is taken at one end,
Jer 51:32  And that the passages are stopped, and the reeds they have burned with fire, and the men of war are affrighted.

Look at how accurate this prophecy of the fall of physical Babylon was. It all happened to them, and it was all written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the ages have come (1Co 10:11):

The physical fall of physical Babylon typifies the spiritual fall of Mystery Babylon the Great, who we are “in the spirit in the wilderness”:

Rev 17:1  And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:
Rev 17:2  With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.
Rev 17:3  So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.

The destruction of physical Babylon came as a complete surprise to Babylon and her king, and it happened just as both Revelation and Daniel tell us… “in the same hour… that night” (Dan 5:5, 30).

Dan 5:1  Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand.
Dan 5:2  Belshazzar, whiles he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem; that the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, might drink therein.
Dan 5:3  Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem; and the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, drank in them.
Dan 5:4  They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone.
Dan 5:5  In the same hour came forth fingers of a man’s hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaister of the wall of the king’s palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote.
Dan 5:6  Then the king’s countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another.
Dan 5:7  The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. And the king spake, and said to the wise men of Babylon, Whosoever shall read this writing, and shew me the interpretation thereof, shall be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.
Dan 5:8  Then came in all the king’s wise men: but they could not read the writing, nor make known to the king the interpretation thereof.
Dan 5:9  Then was king Belshazzar greatly troubled, and his countenance was changed in him, and his lords were astonied.
Dan 5:10  Now the queen, by reason of the words of the king and his lords, came into the banquet house: and the queen spake and said, O king, live for ever: let not thy thoughts trouble thee, nor let thy countenance be changed:
Dan 5:11  There is a man in thy kingdom, in whom is the spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of thy father light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, was found in him; whom the king Nebuchadnezzar thy father, the king, I say, thy father, made master of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers;
Dan 5:12  Forasmuch as an excellent spirit, and knowledge, and understanding, interpreting of dreams, and shewing of hard sentences, and dissolving of doubts, were found in the same Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar: now let Daniel be called, and he will shew the interpretation.

The words, “There is a man in your kingdom” reveals to us that the Lord’s elect are made known to the rulers of this world, and that man is Daniel, who typifies “one of the seven angels” who makes known to the king of Babylon within us, the “man of sin” within us, who typifies all ‘Mystery Babylon’. This man is the angel who shows us the imminent fate of Babylon:

Rev 17:1  And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:

Dan 5:13  Then was Daniel brought in before the king. And the king spake and said unto Daniel, Art thou that Daniel, which art of the children of the captivity of Judah, whom the king my father brought out of Jewry?
Dan 5:14  I have even heard of thee, that the spirit of the gods is in thee, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom is found in thee.
Dan 5:15  And now the wise men, the astrologers, have been brought in before me, that they should read this writing, and make known unto me the interpretation thereof: but they could not shew the interpretation of the thing:
Dan 5:16  And I have heard of thee, that thou canst make interpretations, and dissolve doubts: now if thou canst read the writing, and make known to me the interpretation thereof, thou shalt be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about thy neck, and shalt be the third ruler in the kingdom.
Dan 5:17  Then Daniel answered and said before the king, Let thy gifts be to thyself, and give thy rewards to another; yet I will read the writing unto the king, and make known to him the interpretation. [We do witness against this world]
Dan 5:18  O thou king, the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honour:
Dan 5:19  And for the majesty that he gave him, all people, nations, and languages, trembled and feared before him: whom he would he slew; and whom he would he kept alive; and whom he would he set up; and whom he would he put down.
Dan 5:20  But when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him:
Dan 5:21  And he was driven from the sons of men; and his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild asses: they fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven; till he knew that the most high God ruled in the kingdom of men, and that he appointeth over it whomsoever he will.
Dan 5:22  And thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this;
Dan 5:23  But hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified:
Dan 5:24  Then was the part of the hand sent from him; and this writing was written.
Dan 5:25  And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.
Dan 5:26  This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it.
Dan 5:27  TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.
Dan 5:28  PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.

Dan 5:30  In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain.
Dan 5:31  And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old.

When Babylon finally fell within each of us, it was a “short work the Lord worked”. There will be an outward fall of the Mystery Babylon out of which we have all come. “In His day” that work will also be “a short work”:

Rom 9:28  For he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth.

While it is a painful, agonizing “experience of evil” it still works a good work of humbling us and making us seek to be faithful to “every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God”, fearing to add to or take away from it or to so much as “think above that which is written”:

Deu 4:2  Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.

Rev 22:18  For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
Rev 22:19  And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

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.

1Co 4:6  Now these things, brothers, I applied to myself and Apollos for your sakes, so that in us ye might learn not to think above that which is written, so that ye may not be puffed up, one over the one against the other. (ACV)

If we are granted to fear to add to or take away from the words of God and we are afraid to even “think above that which is written”, then we, too, can say with the apostle Paul:

1Co 2:16  For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

That was Paul’s assurance to us, and that was the prayer of the apostle Peter:

2Pe 3:18  But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.

Dan 1:1–21  Daniel Purposed in His Heart not to Defile Himself with the King’s Meat

[Study Aired November 1, 2021]

Dan 1:1  In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon unto Jerusalem, and besieged it. 
Dan 1:2  And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with part of the vessels of the house of God: which he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his god; and he brought the vessels into the treasure house of his god. 
Dan 1:3  And the king spake unto Ashpenaz the master of his eunuchs, that he should bring certain of the children of Israel, and of the king’s seed, and of the princes; 
Dan 1:4  Children in whom was no blemish, but well favoured, and skilful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science, and such as had ability in them to stand in the king’s palace, and whom they might teach the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans. 
Dan 1:5  And the king appointed them a daily provision of the king’s meat, and of the wine which he drank: so nourishing them three years, that at the end thereof they might stand before the king. 
Dan 1:6  Now among these were of the children of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: 
Dan 1:7  Unto whom the prince of the eunuchs gave names: for he gave unto Daniel the name of Belteshazzar; and to Hananiah, of Shadrach; and to Mishael, of Meshach; and to Azariah, of Abednego. 
Dan 1:8  But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. 
Dan 1:9  Now God had brought Daniel into favour and tender love with the prince of the eunuchs. 
Dan 1:10  And the prince of the eunuchs said unto Daniel, I fear my lord the king, who hath appointed your meat and your drink: for why should he see your faces worse liking than the children which are of your sort? then shall ye make me endanger my head to the king. 
Dan 1:11  Then said Daniel to Melzar, whom the prince of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,
Dan 1:12  Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink. 
Dan 1:13  Then let our countenances be looked upon before thee, and the countenance of the children that eat of the portion of the king’s meat: and as thou seest, deal with thy servants. 
Dan 1:14  So he consented to them in this matter, and proved them ten days. 
Dan 1:15  And at the end of ten days their countenances appeared fairer and fatter in flesh than all the children which did eat the portion of the king’s meat. 
Dan 1:16  Thus Melzar took away the portion of their meat, and the wine that they should drink; and gave them pulse. 
Dan 1:17  As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom: and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams. 
Dan 1:18  Now at the end of the days that the king had said he should bring them in, then the prince of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. 
Dan 1:19  And the king communed with them; and among them all was found none like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: therefore stood they before the king. 
Dan 1:20  And in all matters of wisdom and understanding, that the king enquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in all his realm. 
Dan 1:21  And Daniel continued even unto the first year of king Cyrus. 

The Book of Daniel is generally accepted to be written by Daniel, who travelled to Babylon with a group of young Israelite nobles, men of promise whom the conquering power of Babylon felt could be of use in service. This movement to Babylon was part of the first of three deportations (605, 597, and 586 BC) carried out by the Babylonians in Israel after they subdued Jerusalem and King Jehoiakim. The book is divided into two parts – Daniel Chapters 1–6 deals with narratives regarding Daniel and his three companions, and Daniel Chapters 7-12 contains prophetic visions seen by Daniel which are in sync with the Book of Revelation.

Dan 1:1  In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon unto Jerusalem, and besieged it.

The Book of Daniel starts with the exile of Daniel and other young Israelites to Babylon. As we are aware, Babylon represents the religions of this world, including Christianity. The name Jehoiakim means ‘Jehovah will raise’. So, as part of our walk with Christ, our Lord raises a storm in our lives represented here by the invasion of Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians in Jerusalem.

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

The fact that it was the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim signifies that the storm raised by the Lord is part of the process of spiritual completion through judgment. This means that our going to Babylon is part of the process of maturing in Christ. The prophets of the Old Testament and our brothers and sisters in Babylon were/are not given this understanding, and so they wondered why God would bring them such suffering. Let’s look at Habakkuk for example. He wondered why God would send the Chaldeans to destroy His people. This is what God told Habakkuk:

Hab 1:5  Behold ye among the heathen, and regard, and wonder marvellously: for I will work a work in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be told you.
Hab 1:6  For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the land, to possess the dwellingplaces that are not theirs.
Hab 1:7  They are terrible and dreadful: their judgment and their dignity shall proceed of themselves.
Hab 1:8  Their horses also are swifter than the leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves: and their horsemen shall spread themselves, and their horsemen shall come from far; they shall fly as the eagle that hasteth to eat. 
Hab 1:9  They shall come all for violence: their faces shall sup up as the east wind, and they shall gather the captivity as the sand. 
Hab 1:10  And they shall scoff at the kings, and the princes shall be a scorn unto them: they shall deride every strong hold; for they shall heap dust, and take it.

These Chaldeans represent the leaders of the physical churches of this world whose messages make us worse off. We used to also propagate such messages until God’s light started shining in our lives.

2Co 11:13  For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.
2Co 11:14  And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
2Co 11:15  Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.

2Pe 2:20  For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.

Our lack of understanding of what our Lord is doing by sending us to Babylon, just like Habakkuk, makes us question our Lord as follows:

Hab 1:13  Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he?

A critical ingredient in dealing with sin is when we come to see that we are indeed the worst sinners and cannot help ourselves. This is a prerequisite to positioning us to take hold of the righteousness of Christ as we learn not to depend on ourselves. That is what our life in Babylon under judgment does. It brings forth the worst in us so we can know who we are. Knowing who we are serves as a catalyst to learning righteousness as our Lord takes this opportunity to come to us through judgment.

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

1Ti 1:15  This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.
1Ti 1:16  Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.

Dan 1:2  And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with part of the vessels of the house of God: which he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his god; and he brought the vessels into the treasure house of his god.

Our time in Babylon is all designed by the Lord as signified by the Lord giving Jehoiakim into the hands of the Babylonians. The carrying of the vessels of the house of God into the house of the Babylonian god is the same as taking the fair jewels of the Lord’s gold and silver and committing whoredom with them. This means that during our time in Babylon, we all used the word of God to propagate false doctrines, thus, creating images of another Jesus (the god of the Babylonians).

Eze 16:17  Thou hast also taken thy fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given thee, and madest to thyself images of men, and didst commit whoredom with them,

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

Dan 1:3  And the king spake unto Ashpenaz the master of his eunuchs, that he should bring certain of the children of Israel, and of the king’s seed, and of the princes;

Here the king signifies God, and Ashpenaz represents our Lord and savior Jesus. Ashpenaz means ‘I will make prominent the sprinkled’. Sprinkled means to cover with small drops or particles of substance. So, we are the small drops or particles that the Lord is making us prominent. Verse 3 also speaks of our election before the foundations of the world as we must be of Israel’s descent and from a royal background. Since nobody chooses whether he/she will be born an American, Israelite, Australian, etc. and whether he/she will be from a royal descent, it means that we do not contribute to our election and were chosen before the world began.

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

We, the elect, are from a royal descent.

1Pe 2:9  But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

Dan 1:4  Children in whom was no blemish, but well favoured, and skillful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science, and such as had ability in them to stand in the king’s palace, and whom they might teach the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans.

A high paying job requires higher standards of qualification. As God’s children, we are required to possess the qualifications stated in verse 4 in order to inherit the promise. We were called from darkness and did not have a clue as to what righteousness was all about. But God has predestinated us to be a holy people, skillful in wisdom and understanding. So, in verse 4 here, our God is calling those things which are not as though they were.

Rom 4:17  (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.

We are therefore called to be without blemish, well favored, skillful in wisdom, cunning in knowledge and understanding science. To be without blemish signifies we must be holy and without fault.

1Pe 1:14  As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance:
1Pe 1:15  But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;
1Pe 1:16  Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

As God’s children, we are well favored.

Luk 1:28  And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. 

We are required to be skillful in wisdom.

Pro 9:10  The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding. 

1Co 2:6  Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought: 
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:

We must be cunning in knowledge. As stated in Proverbs 9:10, understanding the ways of God is being cunning in knowledge.

Pro 9:10  The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.

We must understand science. We must know how the knowledge called science can easily derail our faith.

1Ti 6:20  O Timothy, guard the doctrine which has been entrusted to you, avoiding profane, empty babblings, and contradictions of false knowledge that is called science;
1Ti 6:21  Through which some, who are personally professing these false views, have missed the mark concerning the faith. Grace be with you. Amen.

Having the ability to stand in the king’s palace is laying down our lives for the sake of Christ as portrayed by Esther when she approached the King in his palace knowing she may lose her life. In other words, if we love our lives, we will not be able to stand before the king in his palace. On the other hand, if we lose our lives, we shall surely be able to stand before the king in his palace.

Est 4:16  Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish.

Joh 12:25  He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.

As stated in verse 4, the whole essence of our lives here on earth is for the Lord to teach us the learning and tongue of the chaldeans. The term “chaldea” came to include practically all of Babylonia and was virtually synonymous with the neo-Babylonian empire. Chaldea means ‘clod breakers’. A clod refers to a lump of earth or clay. So what we are being told here is that our Lord, represented here by Ashpenaz, is teaching us the language of the spirit of those who have broken down their earthen vessels of clay to conform to the image of Christ.

2Co 4:7  But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.

Dan 1:5  And the king appointed them a daily provision of the king’s meat, and of the wine which he drank: so nourishing them three years, that at the end thereof they might stand before the king.

The positive application of the daily provision of the king’s meat refers to the word of God that our Lord is making us understand which is able to give us an inheritance. To stand before the king is to be given an inheritance or reward.

Act 20:32  And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.

The negative application of this daily provision of the king’s meat refers to false doctrines, that is worldly wisdom, which is not consistent with the word of God. When we walk in the flesh, we are attracted to these false doctrines which are lies. The fact that this daily provision is appointed by the king is to let us know that it is the Lord Who opens our eyes to see and our ears to hear the word of God, and it is also Him Who deceives us with false doctrines.

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.

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:
2Th 2:12  That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Verse 5 also mentioned that the king’s meat and wine are for the purpose of nourishing the selected royals for a period of three years. The three years signify our process of spiritual completion through the fiery word of God. In other words, as we are feeding on the word of God, tribulation and persecution will arise to put to death the old man and at the same time nourish the new man. This is what will make it possible for us to stand before the king.

Mat 13:21  Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.

Psa 105:19  Until the time that his word came: the word of the LORD tried him.

Dan 1:6  Now among these were of the children of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: 
Dan 1:7  Unto whom the prince of the eunuchs gave names: for he gave unto Daniel the name of Belteshazzar; and to Hananiah, of Shadrach; and to Mishael, of Meshach; and to Azariah, of Abednego.

These verses give the original name of Daniel and the other three Hebrew young men and the names given to them by the Prince of the eunuchs. The significance of being given these names are as follows:

Daniel means ‘Judge of God’. We cannot be judges if we ourselves have not been judged. In this life therefore, we are being judged. The name Daniel is also to make us aware of the role we will play in bringing all humanity to Christ through judgment at the lake of fire age.

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

The prince of the eunuchs named Daniel Belteshazzar, which means ‘Lord of the straitened treasure’. Straightened is defined as characterized by poverty. We are those in poverty or poor in spirit. The treasure of the poor in spirit is the light of the knowledge of the glory of God.  So, the changing of the name Daniel to Belteshazzar is to let us know that through judgment we grow or mature in the knowledge of the glory of God.

2Co 4:6  For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
2Co 4:7  But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.

Hananiah represents ‘Jehovah has favored’. God has indeed favored us by causing us to see and to hear His words. Hananiah’s name was changed to Shadrach which means ‘command of (the god) Aku’. The English phrase “command of” can mean having knowledge or mastery of something. The changing of the name Hananiah to Shadrach signifies that, through God’s favor, we do not become ignorant of the devices of the devil but have the knowledge or mastery of the devil’s schemes.

2Co 2:11  Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.

Mishael means ‘Who is what God is’. Here we are asked a question as to who bears God’s likeness. It is we, the elect, who are being molded into His likeness.

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.

The name Mishael was changed to Meshach which stands for ‘guest of the king’. When we have been molded into the likeness of Christ, we shall become the guest of the king at the marriage supper.

Azariah means ‘Jehovah has helped’. His name was changed to Abednego which means ‘a servant of Nebo’ which means prophet. So, through the help of our Lord, we shall become the servants of Jesus Christ, the greatest prophet.

Dan 1:8  But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. 

As we indicated earlier, the daily portion of king’s meat and wine for the Hebrew young men can have a positive or a negative application. In this verse, it is applied negatively, which means that the king’s meat and the wine signify false doctrine which characterized the Babylonian system. Such doctrines defile our heavens and make us unworthy to stand before our king. This is what happens to us after imbibing such doctrines:

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

Like Daniel, we must have no tolerance for false doctrines. We must therefore, ask the Lord to remove all the false doctrines in our heavens that defile us.

Heb 13:9  Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein.
Heb 13:10  We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle.

If we want to serve at the altar where we offer our bodies as living sacrifices, then we must not be carried away by divers and strange doctrines.

Dan 1:9  Now God had brought Daniel into favour and tender love with the prince of the eunuchs.

Daniel having favor and tender love with the prince of the eunuchs is another way of saying that we, the elect, are loved and favored by the Lord. This favor and love causes us to walk in a way that pleases the Lord and in so doing, we are able to live in peace with man.

Jer 31:3  The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.

Pro 16:7  When a man’s ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.

Dan 1:10  And the prince of the eunuchs said unto Daniel, I fear my lord the king, who hath appointed your meat and your drink: for why should he see your faces worse liking than the children which are of your sort? then shall ye make me endanger my head to the king. 
Dan 1:11  Then said Daniel to Melzar, whom the prince of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, 
Dan 1:12  Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink. 
Dan 1:13  Then let our countenances be looked upon before thee, and the countenance of the children that eat of the portion of the king’s meat: and as thou seest, deal with thy servants. 
Dan 1:14  So he consented to them in this matter, and proved them ten days. 

What these verses are saying are that we are being measured by the word of God or by the standard of our Lord Jesus Christ. As our eyes are being opened and our ears are hearing, we must conform to the image of Christ.

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.
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. 

The reed is a measuring device, and the fact that the reed is like a rod means that when we do not measure up to the standard of Christ, we will be disciplined. We can see here that it is only the elect, represented by Daniel and the three Jewish boys, who are being measured. Our brothers and sisters in the churches of this world, together with the rest of humanity are not being measured in this age.

We are being measured over a period of ten days. The number ten means the fullness of the flesh. Thus, as long as we are in this body of flesh, we are being measured to the standard of Christ.

It is only when we measure up to the standard of Christ that we shall become part of the new Jerusalem which shall descend out of heaven from God. Our gathering today is a foretaste of this New Jerusalem. At that time, there will not be any rod since we are measuring up to the standard of Christ. However, we are currently experiencing judgment in various ways to attest to the fact that we are being measured and disciplined by the rod.

Rev 21:10  And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,
Rev 21:11  Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal; 
Rev 21:12  And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: 
Rev 21:13  On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates.
Rev 21:14  And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
Rev 21:15  And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof. 

We can see that all the numbers mentioned concerning the new Jerusalem are twelve, which is the number of Christ of which we are being measured. The fact that there are four Hebrew young men means that all the elect in every generation is being measured with the reed like a rod.

Dan 1:15  And at the end of ten days their countenances appeared fairer and fatter in flesh than all the children which did eat the portion of the king’s meat. 
Dan 1:16  Thus Melzar took away the portion of their meat, and the wine that they should drink; and gave them pulse. 

This is to assure us that at the end of our journey here on earth, we shall surely measure up to the standard of Christ. We must be assured that what our Lord starts, He is able to finish!! If we do not have this confidence or hope, then we are just trying to see if it will work, which is not of faith. It does not matter where we are now about our spiritual condition, our Lord is able to turn things around for our good!! Oh, that men will praise the Lord for His wonderful works towards us. He will surely bring us to our safe haven.

Php 1:6  Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

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 children who did eat of the portion of the king’s meat and wine are our brothers and sisters in Babylon. The food they eat brings leanness.

Dan 1:17  As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom: and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.

The four children here stand for the whole of the race of God’s elect. The statement “God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom” is another way of saying that the elect shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of our Lord’s house, and He shall make them drink of the rivers of His pleasures.

Psa 36:7  How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings.
Psa 36:8  They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures.
Psa 36:9  For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.
Psa 36:10  O continue thy lovingkindness unto them that know thee; and thy righteousness to the upright in heart.

The statement “and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams” is the same as what our Lord told Aaron and Miriam that with Moses, he speaks mouth to mouth and not in dark speeches.

Num 12:5  And the LORD came down in the pillar of the cloud, and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam: and they both came forth. 
Num 12:6  And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream. 
Num 12:7  My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house. 
Num 12:8  With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the LORD shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses? 

Dan 1:18  Now at the end of the days that the king had said he should bring them in, then the prince of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar.
Dan 1:19  And the king communed with them; and among them all was found none like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: therefore stood they before the king. 
Dan 1:20  And in all matters of wisdom and understanding, that the king enquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in all his realm. 

At the end of our walk here on earth, our Lord and Master Jesus will bring us to stand before the Father blameless. The wisdom and understanding we are being given by the Lord will surpass all the wisdom of this world and its religions.

Col 1:22  In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:
Col 1:23  If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;

The story of Solomon’s encounter with Christ seeks to let us know that our Lord is preparing us to have a wise and understanding heart which will be unequalled by any flesh. That is what will qualify us to assume rulership in the age to come. Solomon here is representing the elect, and what was said to Solomon is what our Lord is saying to us today!!

1Ki 3:12  Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee.
1Ki 3:13  And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honour: so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days.

2Ch 1:1  And Solomon the son of David was strengthened in his kingdom, and the LORD his God was with him, and magnified him exceedingly.

Dan 1:21  And Daniel continued even unto the first year of king Cyrus. 

King Cyrus was the divine instrument for the release of the Jews from the Babylonian exile (Isaiah 44:28 and Isaiah 45:1-14). A few years after the fall of Babylon, Cyrus issued a proclamation which permitted the Jews to return to their own land. He restored the sacred vessels of the temple which had been carried to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar (Ezra 1:1-11). So, we can see that King Cyrus here represents the Lord Jesus Christ. This is affirmed by the meaning of the name Cyrus which signifies ‘possess thou the furnace’. It is only Christ who can possess our furnace or deliver us from our affliction.

The statement “And Daniel continued even unto the first year of king Cyrus” is to let us know that as we continue to grow in Christ, we shall be of one mind with Christ. The number one or the first year of Cyrus’s reign here means unity with Christ.

Php 2:5  Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:

1Co 1:10  Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

Gospels In Harmony – The Final Judgment

Mat 25:31-46

[Study Aired September 21, 2021]

Mat 25:31  When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
Mat 25:32  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 25:33  And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
Mat 25:34  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:
Mat 25:35  For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
Mat 25:36  Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
Mat 25:37  Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
Mat 25:38  When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
Mat 25:39  Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
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.
Mat 25:41  Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
Mat 25:42  For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
Mat 25:43  I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
Mat 25:44  Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
Mat 25:45  Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
Mat 25:46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

Today’s study Christ shares the process of mankind’s judgment with his disciples.

Mat 25:31  When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:

Our first verse tells us the timing of when Christ enters our heavens and sits upon His throne of glory. It is the combination of Christ and His angels, the messengers with His word in them, sharing the truth with us. Sitting upon the throne represents our time of judgment. The religions of the world believe this is not directed toward the elect of God but a future group of people, and they are partly right. What they don’t understand is that we are all given life in a particular order, and we are all judged.

Psa 96:13 Before the LORD: for he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with right eousness, and the people with his truth.

Psa 98:9 Before the LORD; for he cometh to judge the earth: with righteousness shall he judge the world, and the people with equity.

Act 17:30-31 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.

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

2Co 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.

1Pe 4:17-18 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? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?

Rev 20:11-12 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. 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.

Our next verses tell us there is a process of judgment and what takes place.

Mat 25:32 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 25:33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

“All nations” in these scriptures represent everyone’s doctrines, the understanding of those doctrines, and each person’s way of life.

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

In the Revelation study on the website, this verse is explained to show us how the nations are our way of life and our doctrines. Here is an excerpt of that study and the link to the full study.

Rev 17:12-18

“Again, “the dream is one”, and the symbols of this vision are one. These waters are the “people, and multitude, and nations, and tongues of the “two hundred thousand, thousand” false doctrines which ascend up out of the bottomless pit within us to darken our Sun and our air, and keep us in the darkness which is our false Babylonian doctrines. These waters are this beast on which the woman sits, and over whom she rules with “the bondage of the elements of this world.” These waters and these peoples are all within us submitting to the teachings and doctrines of this great harlot until the appointed time when the beasts we are will rebel against the strength and influence of this harlot. Whenever this woman within us comes into conflict with this beast within us, the brute beast we are will always win that battle, and will hate the hypocrisy of the harlot we also are.”

The division of the sheep and goats represents the truths of Christ being separated from the lies of Satan in our minds. The sheep are the righteous ways of Christ in us, and the goats are the ways of Satan, our unrighteousnesses, which are the merchandise we receive either by Christ and His holy angels or of our father the devil and his angels.

Rev 18:12-14 The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble, And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men. And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all.

The right and left hands represent the power these doctrines have in our lives.

Exo 15:6-7 Thy right hand, O LORD, is become glorious in power: thy right hand, O LORD, hath dashed in pieces the enemy. And in the greatness of thine excellency thou hast overthrown them that rose up against thee: thou sentest forth thy wrath, which consumed them as stubble.

Ecc 10:2 A wise man’s heart is at his right hand; but a fool’s heart at his left.

Mat 26:64 Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.

Mar 14:62 And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.

Luk 22:67-69 Art thou the Christ? tell us. And he said unto them, If I tell you, ye will not believe: And if I also ask you, ye will not answer me, nor let me go.Hereafter shall the Son of man sit on the right hand of the power of God.

Here is what happens with those on His right hand.

Mat 25:34 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:
Mat 25:35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
Mat 25:36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

In the beginning of everyone’s walk with Christ it is questioned what is happening. Also, this in not a one-time event but a continual happening until God is all in all – the elect first and then to all mankind.

Mat 25:37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
Mat 25:38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
Mat 25:39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?

Everyone is first a carnal babe in Christ and cannot understand the doctrines of Christ and must grow into understanding.

1Co 3:1-3 And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. 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. For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?

We ask the questions because we are not able to bear the spiritual understanding of Christ’s doctrines. Here is Christ’s answer.

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.

Now here is what is happening to doctrines of the world within each of us.

Mat 25:41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
Mat 25:42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
Mat 25:43  I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
Mat 25:44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
Mat 25:45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
Mat 25:46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

Christ once again is telling us the same thing He has told us in earlier parables: “One shall be taken, and the other left.”

Luk 17:34 I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.

These parables are all about the kingdom of heaven, and as you all know and understand, this kingdom is within us and must be cleansed of all filth. This is done through “everlasting (age-abiding) punishment”. Our mind must be renewed from having the mind of Satan and changed to having the mind of Christ.

Rom 12:1-2 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. 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.

The doctrines within everyone are judged by fire and every doctrine is judged in the order ordained by God. We first are given the way of the world, and by the renewing of our minds, we are given the way of Christ. This continues until our mind is completely changed. I will end our study with Proverbs 2.

The Value of Wisdom

Pro 2:1 My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God. For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly. He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints. Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path. When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul; Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee: To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things; Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness; Who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked; Whose ways are crooked, and they froward in their paths: To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words; Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God. For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead. None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life. That thou mayest walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous. For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it. But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it.

[Study Aired September 2, 2021]

1Ki 4:1  So king Solomon was king over all Israel.
1Ki 4:2  And these were the princes which he had; Azariah the son of Zadok the priest,
1Ki 4:3  Elihoreph and Ahiah, the sons of Shisha, scribes; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud, the recorder.
1Ki 4:4  And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the host: and Zadok and Abiathar were the priests: 
1Ki 4:5  And Azariah the son of Nathan was over the officers: and Zabud the son of Nathan was principal officer, and the king’s friend:
1Ki 4:6  And Ahishar was> over the household: and Adoniram the son of Abda was over the tribute.
1Ki 4:7  And Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel, which provided victuals for the king and his household: each man his month in a year made provision.
1Ki 4:8  And these are their names: The son of Hur, in mount Ephraim:
1Ki 4:9  The son of Dekar, in Makaz, and in Shaalbim, and Bethshemesh, and Elonbethhanan:
1Ki 4:10  The son of Hesed, in Aruboth; to him pertained Sochoh, and all the land of Hepher:
1Ki 4:11  The son of Abinadab, in all the region of Dor; which had Taphath the daughter of Solomon to wife:
1Ki 4:12  Baana the son of Ahilud; to him pertained Taanach and Megiddo, and all Bethshean, which is by Zartanah beneath Jezreel, from Bethshean to Abelmeholah, even unto the place that is beyond Jokneam:
1Ki 4:13  The son of Geber, in Ramothgilead; to him pertained the towns of Jair the son of Manasseh, which are in Gilead; to him also pertained the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, threescore great cities with walls and brasen bars:
1Ki 4:14  Ahinadab the son of Iddo had Mahanaim:
1Ki 4:15  Ahimaaz was in Naphtali; he also took Basmath the daughter of Solomon to wife:
1Ki 4:16  Baanah the son of Hushai was in Asher and in Aloth:
1Ki 4:17  Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah, in Issachar:
1Ki 4:18  Shimei the son of Elah, in Benjamin:
1Ki 4:19  Geber the son of Uri was in the country of Gilead, in the country of Sihon king of the Amorites, and of Og king of Bashan; and he was the only officer which was in the land.
1Ki 4:20  Judah and Israel were many, as the sand which is by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking, and making merry.
1Ki 4:21  And Solomon reigned over all kingdoms from the river unto the land of the Philistines, and unto the border of Egypt: they brought presents, and served Solomon all the days of his life.
1Ki 4:22  And Solomon’s provision for one day was thirty measures of fine flour, and threescore measures of meal,
1Ki 4:23  Ten fat oxen, and twenty oxen out of the pastures, and an hundred sheep, beside harts, and roebucks, and fallowdeer, and fatted fowl.
1Ki 4:24  For he had dominion over all the region on this side the river, from Tiphsah even to Azzah, over all the kings on this side the river: and he had peace on all sides round about him.
1Ki 4:25  And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon.
1Ki 4:26  And Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen.
1Ki 4:27  And those officers provided victual for king Solomon, and for all that came unto king Solomon’s table, every man in his month: they lacked nothing. 
1Ki 4:28  Barley also and straw for the horses and dromedaries brought they unto the place where the officers were, every man according to his charge.
1Ki 4:29  And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea shore.
1Ki 4:30  And Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt.
1Ki 4:31  For he was wiser than all men; than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol: and his fame was in all nations round about.
1Ki 4:32  And he spake three thousand proverbs: and his songs were a thousand and five.
1Ki 4:33  And he spake of trees, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall: he spake also of beasts, and of fowl, and of creeping things, and of fishes.
1Ki 4:34  And there came of all people to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth, which had heard of his wisdom.

The title of our study comes from the book of James and notice the surrounding admonition, “Do not err, my beloved brethren.  Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”

We err knowingly or unknowingly when we don’t acknowledge God’s sovereignty and the order of the gift of salvation that will be given to all men, each man in his own order (Eph 2:8). With God there is no “variableness, neither shadow of turning” meaning there are no ‘do overs’ in God’s plan. The books have been written and are unfolding as they were predestined to unfold (Psa 139:16 [ASV], Rev 20:4, Rev 20:12).

God’s elect will drive the beasts out of the temple of mankind (Joh 2:15) during this ‘thousand year’ period (Rev 20:6), and that temple represents where we worship our idols or God (Rev 20:6, 1Co 3:16). The true worshippers know that driving beasts out of a temple and overturning tables does not fill the house with true worship but actually only sets the stage for seven spirits worse to enter in once Satan is loosed for a season (Mat 12:29, Mat 12:43-45, Rev 20:8). So, the ruling and reigning under Christ is what typifies the part of that process which tells us all of humanity must have their false doctrines spoiled, represented by the unclean spirit that is driven out in Matthew 12:43-45. However, it is only in the lake of fire that Satan’s influence upon humanity, along with all false worship, will finally come to an end because of the new creation formed through those fiery judgments that will justify people in the name of the Lord and by the Spirit of God (Joh 4:23, 1Co 6:11, Mat 23:39).

1Co 6:11  And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.

Mat 23:39  For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.

This section of Kings is all about how the fatness of the land will increase during the period of time when God’s elect will rule for a symbolic thousand years. The number 1000 in the one thousand-year reign is significant in that it points to the flesh and the initial process of judging the world with a water baptism that will be followed by fiery a baptism which will occur in the lake of fire or great white throne judgment (10x10x10=1000).

The seed that is planted during the thousand-year period will bring about many wonderful works in the flesh, but the true spiritual fruit of those seeds will come to maturation in the great white throne judgment when true Godly repentance will be granted when all yet carnal-thinking beings will come to acknowledge the sovereignty of God and how without God’s spirit within us we naturally take credit for the works that God accomplishes through us, both good and evil. Prior to that repentance, “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?” This moment is typified in scripture at that point when Joseph’s brothers said we would never do this evil. “And they said unto him, Wherefore saith my lord these words? God forbid that thy servants should do according to this thing: Behold, the money, which we found in our sacks’ mouths, we brought again unto thee out of the land of Canaan: how then should we steal out of thy lord’s house silver or gold? (Jer 25:28) With whomsoever of thy servants it be found, both let him die, and we also will be my lord’s bondmen. And he said, Now also let it be according unto your words: he with whom it is found shall be my servant; and ye shall be blameless.” (Mat 7:22, Isa 45:7, Pro 16:1, Isa 63:17, Gen 44:7-10, Joh 12:48).

Mat 7:22  Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

Joh 12:48  He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.

All flesh, all carnality must be judged, the self righteousness of mankind, the iniquity that will abound at the end of our age, as it will at the end of mankind’s age during that symbolic period of a thousand years. This is how mankind learns of God’s righteousness, by contrasting it with our own self-righteousness (Mat 24:12, Rev 20:9). That fullness of iniquity, also called the sins of the Amorites (Gen 15:16), must manifest creating the contrast that God uses to show mankind that no matter how well-intentioned we are in our flesh, we just naturally lose our desire to serve God and to be obedient unless the Lord is truly building the house giving us the power through Christ to endure unto the end overcoming self righteousness that will cause the love of many to wax cold (Mat 26:34-35, Mat 26:56, Psa 127:1).

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.

Rev 20:9  And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.

Mat 26:35  Peter said unto him, Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee. Likewise also said all the disciples.

Mat 26:56  But all this was done, that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples forsook him, and fled.

Psa 127:1  A Song of degrees for Solomon. Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.

Learning of God’s righteousness happens through the contrast that God creates on the earth. There will be well-intentioned believers when God’s government is established on this earth, as we will see being typified during Solomon’s reign, but even the best of intentions are not the righteousness of God, that good and perfect gift which comes from above, but rather is the good that we think that God accepts when in fact it is those very acts that will witness against us and will be our own words which judge us if we are not judged in this life now. This experience of evil shows us that no one can continue in the truth, or abide in the truth, unless they are dragged to Christ (Mat 7:22, Joh 12:48, 1Co 11:31-32, Joh 8:31-32, Joh 6:44).

Joh 12:48  He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.

1Co 11:31  For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.
1Co 11:32  But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.

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

1Ki 4:1  So king Solomon was king over all Israel.

The corresponding verses in the new covenant are found in Revelation 5:10, 11:15 and 19:16. Solomon will learn one day that Christ is his head, and we have the privilege and honour to know that right now in this earnest relationship (Eph 1:14) which is preparing us to be kings and priests who will rule “over all Israel“, which in this instance in 1 Kings 4:1 represents all the world.

Rev 5:10  And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

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

Rev 19:16  And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

Eph 1:14  Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

1Ki 4:2-19 And these were the princes which he had [‘which Solomon had’]… 

Keep in mind as we read through the names of these princes^H8269 which Solomon had [1Ki 4:2 princes^H8269: “prince, ruler, leader, chief, chieftain, official, captain”] in verses 1 Kings 4:2-19 show the principle and first name that is named is “Solomon” whose name means ‘peace’, and for the most part during the time the saints reign on earth there will be peace, but it will be revealed to be the same peace spoken of in Jeremiah 6:14 which is not a lasting peace because it is not founded upon true conversion, which is founded upon Christ (Mat 16:18).

What we’re being shown with this example of Solomon’s reign is that during the reign of God’s saints, the “prince, ruler, leader, chief, chieftain, official, captain” of the earth will be under us as these princes were under Solomon, who typifies the elect (Rev 11:15, 1Co 6:3).

The end result though, is always the same regardless of how many miracles people see, how many loaves and fishes are distributed. None of this will bring about the conversion that will only occur at the great white throne judgment. For those of this age, and every other age except for that blessed generation who are judged today, there will be no conversion on the earth (Rev 20:11-15, Mat 23:35-36).

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

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

Mat 23:35  That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.
Mat 23:36  Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.

There are many positive names in the earth in the empire of Solomon as we can see via this large list who are “the princes which he had” (1Ki 4:2-19), and of all these names of which Solomon’s empire consisted, the least in the kingdom of God is greater than those particular names including Solomon and John the baptist themselves (Mat 11:11).

The lesson being shown is that when we are blessed to know God and Jesus Christ, this is eternal life (Joh 17:3) and the only way we can have a peace [Solomon] that passes all understanding is to have Christ rule and reign in our heavens, typified by Solomon who was king over all these princes of men. We are admonished by Christ to know this (Mat 11:11) and at the same time admonished to know that we are unprofitable servants who have only done that which was expected of us through Christ, and that it is the weak of the world that God uses to make His strength perfect through “both to will and to do of his good pleasure” (Luk 17:10, 1Co 1:26, Php 2:12-13).

Mat 11:11  Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

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

Luk 17:10  So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.

1Co 1:26  For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: [not the list we see here in other words which is comprised of many names that are positive and point to that nobility being spoken of in 1 Corinthians 1:26 (1Ki 4:2-19).]

[definitions are from BDB/Strong’s]

1Ki 4:2
Solomon^H8010 = “peace”
Azariah^H5838 = “Jehovah has helped”
Zadok^H6659 = “righteous” From  H6663; just;

1Ki 4:3
Elihoreph^H456 = “God of winter (harvest-time)” – From H410 and H2779;  God of autumn;
Ahiah^H281 = “brother of Jehovah (Yahu)”
Shisha^H7894 = “Jehovah contends” – From the same as H7893; whiteness
Jehoshaphat^H3092 = “Jehovah has judged”
Ahilud^H286 = “child’s brother” – From H251  and H3205;  brother of one born;

1Ki 4:4
Benaiah^H1141 = “Jehovah has built” or “Yahweh has built up”
Jehoiada^H3077 = “Jehovah knows”
Abiathar^H54 = “my father is great” – Contracted from H1  and H3498; father of abundance (that is, liberal)

1Ki 4:5
Azariah^H5838 = “Jehovah has helped”
Nathan^H5416 = “giver”
Zabud^H2071 = “given”

1Ki 4:6
Ahishar^H301 = “my brother sang” – From H251  and H7891; brother of (the) singer;
Adoniram^H141 = “my lord is exalted” – From H113 and H7311; lord of height;
Abda^H5653 = “servant of Jehovah” –
From H5647; work;

1Ki 4:7-8  And Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel, which provided victuals for the king and his household: each man his month in a year made provision. And these are their names:

1Ki 4:8
The son of Hur^H1133 (“son of whiteness”) in mount Ephraim: H669 (“double ash-heap: I shall be doubly fruitful”)

1Ki 4:9
The son of Dekar^H1128 (“son of stabbing”) in Makaz, H4739 (“end”) and in Shaalbim^H8169 (“place of foxes” – Plural from H7776;  fox holes) and Bethshemesh^H1053 (“house of the sun” or “sun-temple”) and Elonbethhanan^H358 (“oak of the house of grace” – From H356, H1004, and H2603; oakgrove of (the) house of favor)

1Ki 4:10
The son of Hesed^H1136 (“son of mercy” – From H1121  and H2617;  son of kindness in Aruboth^H700 (“windows”) to him pertained  Sochoh^H7755 (“bushy” – From H7753 to entwine, that is, shut in (for formation, protection or restraint): – fence. ([make an] hedge [up].) and all the land of Hepher^H2660 (“a well” – From H2658 or H2659; a pit  or shame)

1Ki 4:11
The son of Abinadab^H1125 (“son of mercy”) in all the region of Dor^H1756 (“generation” – From H1755; dwelling which had Taphath^H2955 (“ornament” – Probably from H5197; a dropping (of ointment) the daughter of Solomon^H8010 (“peace”) to wife.

1Ki 4:12
Baana^H1195 (“in the affliction”) the son of Ahilud^H286 (“child’s brother” – From H251  and H3205; brother of one born) to him pertained
Taanach^H8590 (“sandy”) and Megiddo^H4023 (“place of crowds” – From H1413; rendezvous) and all Bethshean^H1052 (“house of ease”) which is by Zartanah^H6891 (“their distress” – Perhaps for H6868 –  Apparently from an unused root meaning to pierce; puncture) beneath
Jezreel^H315 (“God sows”) from Bethshean^H1052 (“house of ease”) to Abelmeholah^H65 (“meadow of dancing”) even  unto the place that is beyond
Jokneam^H3361 (“gathered by the people” – From H6965  and H5971; (the) people will be raised)

1Ki 4:13
The son of Geber^H1127 (“the son of a man” – From H1121  and H1397; son of (the) hero) in Ramothgilead^H7433 (“heights” – from the plural of H7413  and H1568; heights (as a seat of idolatry) of “rocky region”) to him pertained the towns of Jair^H2971 (“he enlightens”) the son of Manasseh^H4519 (“causing to forget”) which are in Gilead^H1568 (“rocky region”) to him also pertained  the region of
Argob^H709 (“heap of clods” – From the same as H7263; stony which is in Bashan^H1316 (“fruitful”) threescore (60) great cities with walls and brasen bars

1Ki 4:14
Ahinadab^H292 (“my brother is liberal or noble” – From H251 (brother in the widest sense/kin) and H5068 (A primitive root; to impel; hence to volunteer (as a soldier), to present  spontaneously: – offer freely, be (give, make, offer self) willing (-ly)) the son of
Iddo^H5714 (“His witness” – From H5710; timely had
Mahanaim^H4266 (“two camps”, a place east of the Jordan, named from Jacob’s encounter with angels)

1Ki 4:15
Ahimaaz^H290 (“my brother is anger [wrath]”) was in Naphtali^H5321 (“wrestling”) he also took Basmath^H1315 (“spice” – Feminine of the second form of H1314; fragrance) the daughter of Solomon to wife

1Ki 4:16
Baanah^H1195 (“in the affliction”) the son of Hushai^H2365 (“hasting” – From  -H2363; hasty) was in
Asher^H836 (“happy”) and in Aloth^H1175 (“mistresses”)

1Ki 4:17
Jehoshaphat^H3092 (“Jehovah has judged”) the son of Paruah^H6515 (“sprout” – Passive participle of H6524; blossomed in
Issachar^H3485 (“there is recompense” – From H5375  and H7939; he will bring a reward)

1Ki 4:18
Shimei^H8096 (“renowned” – From H8088;  famous) the son of
Elah^H414 (“oak” – A variation of H424: Feminine of H352; an oak or other strong tree and the valley where David killed Goliath) in
Benjamin^H1144 (“son of the right hand”)

1Ki 4:19
Geber^H1398 (“warrior”) the son of Uri^H221 (“fiery”) was in the country of Gilead^H1568 (“rocky region”) in the country of Sihon^H5511 (“warrior” – From the same as H5477; tempestuous) king of the
Amorites^H567 (“a sayer” – Probably a patronymic from an unused name derived from H559 [A primitive root; to say (used with great latitude)] in the sense of publicity, that is, prominence; thus a mountaineer) and of Og^H5747 (“long-necked” – Probably from H5746 [A primitive root; properly to gyrate; but used only as denominative from H5692, to bake (round cakes on the hearth): – bake] round) king of
Bashan^H1316 (“fruitful”) and he was the only officer which was in the land.

1Ki 4:20  Judah and Israel were many, as the sand which is by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking, and making merry.

“Judah and Israel were many” is the symbolic language that reminds us that many are called and few are chosen (Mat 22:14), and it is those who are “as the sand which is by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking, and making merry” who represent the unconverted masses who are not converted during this age and are the elect’s inheritance through Christ “as the sand which is by the sea in multitude“, also reminding us of Abraham who typifies Christ who is the head of God’s elect who find their inheritance in him: “his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself” (Eph 1:9-12, Gen 22:17). God alone can grant us the repentance that leads us to see that we are “Judah and Israel were many“, and in so doing repent of these two lands that symbolize the ‘sick head’ (“Judah” Oholabah) and ‘body’ (“Israel” Oholah) which we all have initially been until we were granted to repent of those harlotries.

1Ki 4:21  And Solomon reigned over all kingdoms from the river unto the land of the Philistines, and unto the border of Egypt: they brought presents, and served Solomon all the days of his life.

Solomon represents Christ’s elect who rule over a yet carnal world during the thousan- year reign (Rev-20:6) which we know is a symbolic number connected to flesh, and therefore Solomon “reigned over all kingdoms from the river unto the land of the Philistines, and unto the border of Egypt“. It will always seem incredulous and impossible to the natural man to believe that God is the one who is ruling “over all kingdoms from the river unto the land of the Philistines, and unto the border of Egypt“. Proverbs 21:1 reminds us that this is exactly the point being made; that God is sovereign over all flesh whether that person is in an obedient or disobedient state. He sets “the border of Egypt” and works all things according to the counsel of His own will, and in this instance through king Solomon, to accomplish His purpose for all those nations just as He will through the elect who will be prepared as the bride of Christ to accomplish this feat of being the first who trusted in Christ, doing so to the praise of his glory, ruling and reigning over the kingdoms of this world (Eph 1:11-12, Luk 18:28-30, Mat 19:28).

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

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

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

1Ki 4:22-23  And Solomon’s provision for one day was thirty measures of fine flour, and threescore measures of meal, Ten fat oxen, and twenty oxen out of the pastures, and an hundred sheep, beside harts, and roebucks, and fallowdeer, and fatted fowl.

Like God’s elect during their reign under Christ (Rev 20:6), the world of Solomon’s time went through a process of being symbolically fattened up with the word of God: “thirty measures of fine flour, and threescore measures of meal, Ten fat oxen, and twenty oxen out of the pastures, and an hundred sheep, beside harts, and roebucks, and fallowdeer, and fatted fowl“. This “provision for one day” reminds us that it is not just any day that is going to bring about a changed and converted heart, but rather the day of the Lord which is when all mankind will be judged in the great white throne judgment. God has been laying up in store in the heavens of His elect so that one day we will be able to provide the spiritual provision that the world will need in the lake of fire, symbolized by these numbers and various food that also have spiritual significance for us: “thirty measures of fine flour, and threescore  measures of meal, Ten fat oxen, and twenty oxen out of the pastures, and an hundred sheep, beside harts, and roebucks, and fallowdeer, and fatted fowl“.

1Ki 4:24 For he had dominion over all the region on this side the river, from Tiphsah^H8607 even to Azzah^H5804, over all the kings on this side the river: and he had peace on all sides round about him.

Solomon having “had dominion over all the region on this side the river, from Tiphsah^H8607 even to Azzah^H5804, over all the kings on this side the river: and he had peace on all sides round about him” is a shadow of the truth that under Christ we will rule with a rod of iron for a season and “on this side the river” because there is a lot more judging yet to unfold on the other side of the river (1Co 6:3). Rivers are connected to life and death in scripture, and as we mentioned, it is the Lord Who is sovereign over the flow and direction of the river of man’s heart (Pro 21:1). So it is with those who are raised in the second resurrection who will be judged with a natural judgment that will precede the spiritual judgment, just as Christ told us all humanity must be baptized with water (natural) and then with the spirit (fire Joh 3:5).

King Solomon’s reign was accompanied with peace, representing a time of natural water baptism (1Ch 22:9) which always precedes the spiritual baptism of fire that must occur to all men who are not in that blessed and holy first resurrection (Rev 2:27, Rev 12:5, Rev 20:6). God’s elect will expose and destroy the false doctrines of this world during that time of rulership. However, anyone convinced of their own carnal will, ‘will be of the same opinion still’ (Jer 13:23, Eze 14:9). To bring about that truth, Satan will be released for a season to move mankind in the direction of that caused rebellion just like Judas who was an early type of that rebellion and betrayal of Christ (Rev 20:7-9, Joh 13:27).

1Ch 22:9  Behold, a son shall be born to thee, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies round about; for his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quietness unto Israel in his days:

These activities were happening in Solomon’s empire, and the word “Tiphsah^H8607” graphically explains to us what God’s elect will be doing with the false doctrines of this world during that time, knowing that doctrines are represented by children.

Original: u1468  u1505  par – Transliteration: Tiphcach
Phonetic: tif-sakh’
Definition: Tiphsah = cross over

1. a place at the northeast limit of Solomon’s empire; located on the Euphrates river
2. a place in the northern kingdom of Israel which king menahem attacked and where he ripped open all the pregnant women
a. might be the same as 1

Origin: from H6452
TWOT entry: None
Part(s) of speech: Proper Name Location

Strong’s: From H6452; ford;Tiphsach a place in mesopotamia: – Tipsah.

Total KJV Occurrences: 2
•Tiphsah, 2
1Ki_4:24; 2Ki_15:16

The word “Azzah^H5804” reminds us that we will rule with a strong rod of iron that will break to pieces the vessels that represent mankind who need to be broken so that they can be made anew in the lake of fire (Rev 2:27, Jer 18:4)

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

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.

Definition: Azzah = the strong
1. another name for ‘Gaza’, a city of the Philistines located in the extreme southwest of Palestine close to the mediterranean

1Ki 4:25-26  And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon. And Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen.

Judah and Israel were dwelling safely because of the provision of the king and the safety this empire of Solomon was providing. However having “every man under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon” creates the perfect breeding ground for self-righteousness without Christ truly ruling and reigning in our hearts. Therefore “every man” was  “under his vine and under his fig tree” symbolizes our own righteousness that manifests greatly when the hedge is not taken down, which is what is meant by “Judah and Israel dwelt safely“. The verses in Micah 4:2-5 allude to this time of judgment as well that was never meant to bring about conversion, all symbolically showing us the spiritual conditions that will be on the earth during that reign (Rev 20:6).

Mic 4:2  And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
Mic 4:3  And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
Mic 4:4  But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the LORD of hosts hath spoken it.
Mic 4:5  For all people will walk every one in the name of his god, and we will walk in the name of the LORD our God for ever and ever [speaking of God’s elect walking in the name of the LORD our God from olam to olam].

Solomon’s empire represents a time of judgment as the name “Dan^H1835” [“judge“] tells us, but it is a type of water baptism and not the real salvation that is being waited upon which happens in the second resurrection in the lake of fire. “From “DanH1835” even to “Beersheba^H884” [“well of an oath“]”, reminds us of the extent of the peace that Solomon’s empire had; a peace which typifies the thousand-year reign where there will be great peace (Isa 54:13) during the rule and reign of the saints, until sudden destruction occurs (1Th 5:3). This is all being accomplished to teach humanity that the only true peace which will ever be found is in the great white throne judgment where true conversion will occur. The expression “Dan even to Beersheba” is a time of judgment that does not have the world seeing they are guilty as God’s elect see themselves guilty of the blood of all the prophets “from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias” (Mat 23:35).

H1835 dân dawn
From H1777; judge; Dan, one of the sons of Jacob; also the tribe descended from him, and its territory; likewise a place in Palestine colonized by them: – Dan.

H884 be’êr sheba be-ayr’ sheh’-bah
From H875 and H7651 (in the sense of H7650); well of an oath; Beer Sheba, a place in Palestine: – Beer-shebah.

We are reminded that the rulership of Solomon, which was a type of the elect’s reign under Christ (Rev 20:6), was accompanied with “forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen“. It’s true Solomon should not have had those 40,000 stalls of horses, or the 12,000 horsemen as written in Deuteronomy 17:16, but we must remember that God’s elect, which are being typified at this juncture in Solomon’s life, has these horses for our sakes as God seeks an occasion against the flesh of all those who are trusting in the strength of Solomon, knowing him only after his flesh (2Co 5:16) which is all we can do until the holy spirit is given. So even though, Lord willing, we are going to rule one day as spirit beings, the world’s perception of us will be yet carnal, knowing Christ after the flesh symbolized by “forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen“.  This is also akin to Samson taking a wife of the Philistines but his parents did not know that God was seeking an occasion against them through these events, just as God’s elect will be used by God to seek an occasion against the flesh of all mankind (Jdg 14:4).

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.

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.

1Ki 4:27  And those officers provided victual for king Solomon, and for all that came unto king Solomon’s table, every man in his month: they lacked nothing.

People will be coming down to make sacrifices and offering in Jerusalem to God and Christ and to His elect (Rev 3:9), giving back that which was given to them (1Ch 29:14) at “king Solomon’s table” which represents the table we have, and they have no right to eat at which serve the tabernacle (Heb 13:10). The reason being is that the altar or table that we’ve served is the cross, and the world cannot, as we could not without God’s holy spirit within (Rom 8:9), mortify the deeds of our flesh which is what must occur in order to eat at that table worthily (1Co 11:29).

What we do in our own efforts to please God, he has no pleasure in (Heb 10:6) even though we are outwardly going through the motions. God loves us while we are yet sinners and the provision that he makes for us through this life is shadowed in this statement: “every man in his month: they lacked nothing”. We are reminded through these exercises of sacrifice that God loves us and is already setting the stage in our lives through these physical events that will one day yield great spiritual lessons that will last for all eternity (Mat 5:45).

1Ki 4:28-30 Barley also and straw for the horses and dromedaries brought they unto the place where the officers were, every man according to his charge. And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea shore. And Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt.

These verses point again to the nourishing of mankind’s beastly nature that brings “Barley also and straw for the horses and dromedaries”, both unclean animals, being sustained during this time of king Solomon’s reign just as the yet carnal world will be sustained under God’s elect who will create order in the earth, which is what we are being shown when it says people “brought they unto the place where the officers were, every man according to his charge”.

It will take the mind of Christ within each of us and the direction of our head, Jesus Christ, to accomplish this order throughout the earth which is what these two verses are a shadow of: “And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea shore. And Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt.”

In order to rule all nations under Christ (Rev 11:15) as many “as the sand that is on the sea shore” we will need “understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart” which God has promised to supply for us through Christ (Php 4:19). All of this wisdom won’t puff us up as spirit beings, and we must not let it do that today, remembering that all of these good and perfect gifts given from above are to witness to the nations around us that we are Jesus Christ’s body, and the mind of Christ is only being typified by this statement: “And Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt.” The “east country” is just the beginning of wisdom, the sun of righteousness (Mal 4:2) that has to rise and course through our heavens and bring us to see that God’s word which is spirit and truth, is the excellency of the knowledge of Christ which is greater than “all the wisdom of Egypt” (1Jn 2:16) dwelling within us as our hope of glory within (Php 3:8, Col 1:27).

Php 4:19 And my God shall supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

Php 3:8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,

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

1Ki 4:31 For he was wiser than all men; than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol: and his fame was in all nations round about.

A comparison is now made between Solomon’s wisdom and how “his fame was in all nations round about” versus the wisdom of these people whose names tell us something about all fleshly wisdom (1Jn 2:16) and how it stacks up against the mind of Christ: “Ethan^H387 the Ezrahite^H250, and Heman^H1968, and Chalcol^H3633, and Darda^H1862, the sons of Mahol^H4235: and his fame was in all nations round about”. Solomon’s wisdom supercedes the knowledge of all these wise people as it typifies the mind of Christ which is far above all powers and principalities (Eph 1:21).

Ethan^H387 = the “enduring” spirit of mankind that cannot endure until the end without Christ.

Ethan’s enduring spirit was born out of Ezrhite^H250 = a native (as rising out of the soil) meaning worldly knowledge. This is the negative example of ‘O earth, earth, earth hear the word of the Lord’ that rises out of the vanity of man’s flesh as opposed to being that one seed that is formed through Christ (Jer 22:29, Gal 3:16).

Heman^H1968 – again a shadow of the wisdom of man and not the wisdom of Solomon that typifies the wisdom of Christ which excels human thinking which is “faithful” in what it pursues but comparatively the wisest things of man are foolishness unto God (1Co 3:19).

Chalcol^H3633 – the name reminds us how we try to save or sustain “sustaining” our flesh that is appointed to die.

Darda^H1862 – a negative version of the pearl of great price. Valuable but in the earth none the less and surpassed by Solomon.

Chalcol and Darda are the sons of Mahol^H4235 whose name means “dancing” which is a symbol of the movement of knowledge, that we can be ever searching in pleasurable pursuit (Gen 3:6, 2Ti 3:7) but never able to come to the knowledge of the truth if the Lord does not permit (Heb 6:3).

Gen 3:6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

2Ti 3:7 Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Heb 6:3 And this will we do, if God permit.

This list reminds us that “The wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness. And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain. Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours; Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; And ye are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s” (1Co 3:19-23). When we know this (1Co 3:19-23) by knowing our Father and Christ (Joh 17:3) it is because we have been given this gift, and again not so that we could be “wiser than all men” and get all puffed up but rather to show us, and eventually all the world, the great contrast between the loving sacrificial mind of Christ versus the mind of the first man Adam (Isa 55:8, 1Jn 4:8, Joh 3:16).

Isa 55:8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith Jehovah.

1Jn 4:8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.

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

hese last three verses of our study speak about the fruit of Solomon’s life which is a type of the fruit of God’s mind of love, a love that is shed abroad in our hearts (Rom 5:5). When our lives are tried in the fiery trials God has promised us as His elect, we gain something more valuable than all the knowledge of the world; and even just having knowledge of God’s word is not enough if we are not doers of the word who are being received of God through trials which chasten and scourge us (1Co 13:2, Heb 12:6).

It is a lifelong process to become stablished, settled and strengthened in the Lord so we can speak the truth in love (1Pe 5:10, 1Pe 1:7, Eph 4:15-16). God knows that the mind that has suffered for His name’s sake is the mind that can rule under Christ (2Ti 2:12) and that those who lose their life in this age and endure through that suffering will be blessed to save the rest of the world through the gospel of Christ, “for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth” (Rom 1:16-17).

To do the work of God we must believe that we are those living sacrifices who now “lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us” as we look “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” and if God will grant us the faith by which we are saved then that is exactly what we are going to do (Act 20:35, Rom 12:1, Heb 12:1, 1Jn 5:4, Joh 18:9).

1Ki 4:32 And he spake three thousand proverbs: and his songs were a thousand and five.

Speaking “three thousand proverbs” is a parable that tells us that the salvational knowledge of Christ, typified by Solomon’s “three thousand proverbs”, requires that mankind goes through a process of spiritual completion which is what three signifies.

His songs were 1000 and 5, and this is a parable in itself telling us that “Yet in the church I had rather speak five words with my understanding, that by my voice I might teach others also, than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue” (1Co 14:19). The multiple of 10 that is in 1000 and 10,000 is the way God expresses the magnitude of the point being made as a number that has been multiplied. Five words represents the words of grace and faith that Paul wanted to speak knowing these were the words of eternal life that we need to hear in order to believe and be saved (Eph 2:8).

1Ki 4:33-34 And he spake of trees, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall: he spake also of beasts, and of fowl, and of creeping things, and of fishes. And there came of all people to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth, which had heard of his wisdom.

Right after speaking about the knowledge God gave Solomon that typifies the manifold wisdom of God made known by the church (Eph 3:10), Solomon goes on to explain in type and shadow how that knowledge will be used to discern the heart of man which is likened unto trees, and beasts, fish, fowl, and creeping things like beasts of the forest: “And he spake of trees, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall: he spake also of beasts, and of fowl, and of creeping things, and of fishes”. The “hyssop” reminds us that these words are being spoken through the church as a ministry of reconciliation (2Co 5:18) and healed by his stripes (Psa 51:7). God sends His word to heal us and then He sends us to heal the world with those words (Psa 107:20, Joh 20:21).

2Co 5:18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;

Psa 51:7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Psa 107:20 He sendeth his word, and healeth them, And delivereth them from their destructions.

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

God is the one Who gives every good and perfect gift that comes from above and does so for His elect that we might become fishers of men with this “ministry of reconciliation” (Mat 4:19, Mar 1:17) who will have the world drawn to Christ in us, in time (Joh 6:44), typified by this last verse of our study: “And there came of all people to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth, which had heard of his wisdom”.

Mat 4:19 And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.

Mar 1:17 And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.