Proverbs Chapter 6 – Part 3

Pro 6:20-35″ Take Heed to Thyself“

[Study Aired Dec 26, 2024]

This last section of Proverbs chapter six is primarily about the benefit that is given to those who are blessed to read, hear, and keep the sayings of the prophecy of God’s word in this age (Rev 1:3).

We may not always think of the book of Proverbs as a form of prophecy, but all of God’s words are prophetic words, and when we understand what they are saying to us with the gift of eyes that see, and ears that hear (Luk 8:10 , Eph 2:8), they become profitable in how they can edify, exhort, and comfort those who are drawn to its spiritual message, which is an eternal message that does not change (2Ti 3:16-17 , 2Ti 2:20-22 , 1Co 14:3 , Joh 6:63 , Joh 17:3 , Joh 6:68).

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 20:21 , Joh 3:17].

Joh 6:68  Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.[Isa 55:11]

Taking heed to ourselves, is a lifelong endeavor that requires an ongoing miracle that is being accomplished in the body of Christ, who are given to die daily and keep under ourselves, so that God’s word does not return void in this age, but rather brings forth much fruit by the grace of God, that requires that we water and plant, labour in the word, and wait on the Lord to give the increase that comes from him alone (Mat 13:8-9 , Joh 3:30 , 1Co 3:6-7).

Mat 13:8  But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. 
Mat 13:9  Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

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

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.

Pro 6:20  My son, keep thy father’s commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother:
Pro 6:21  Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck.
Pro 6:22  When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.

These first three opening verses of our study remind us that our labour in the Lord is not in vain (1Co 15:57-58). Our father’s commandment that we are to keep and the law of thy mother, is referring to the commandments of God and the order that He establishes in the church, for our good (Jerusalem above the mother of us all), through the manifest knowledge that is foundational in what it is first doing in our lives (Mat 16:18), and ultimately what it will do for the rest of humanity who will come to know God and Christ through the church (Eph 3:10).

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.

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.

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

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.

The first commandment with promise, spoken of in (Eph 6:1-3), is speaking to God’s elect who come out of Babylon in this age, that is likened unto a mother of harlots (Rev 17:5) and Satan who is the god of this world and our first father (Joh 8:44) whose lies we reject, as sons of God (1Jn 3:1) in this age who have been promised that blessing of being in the first resurrection, being given that extended period of time or life with our Father and Christ and Jerusalem above the mother of us all (Gal 4:26) before the rest of the world (Rev 20:6).

Eph 6:1  Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.
Eph 6:2  Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;)
Eph 6:3  That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.

1Jn 3:1  Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.

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.

Knowing these promises are true and that God is going to destroy the physical realm, we really have nothing to hold onto in this life, and nothing should compare to that which God has set before his people who are blessed to be bound to the altar, meaning we are living by the faith of Christ (Psa 118:27 , Gal 2:20), therefore we are given great incentive to “Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck“. The “them” is the merciful and truthful words of God (Pro 3:3) that, if we continue in them, they will set us free in this life (Joh 8:35-36). The heart represents where our desire comes from (Mat 6:21 , 1Th 2:19-20), and the neck is what we are burdened with, and Christ’s ways are a joyful burden that we bear for each other (Gal 6:2). The apostle Paul was beloved and at the end of his ministry he was kissed on his neck, as a symbol of the body’s appreciation for all that God gave him to suffer and bear for the body’s sake (Act 20:37).

Mat 6:21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

1Th 2:19 For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming?
1Th 2:20 For ye are our glory and joy.[“where your treasure is, there will your heart be also“]

Act 20:37 And they all wept sore, and fell on Paul’s neck, and kissed him,

“When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee“, is telling us that the comforter will lead us into all truth (Joh 16:13). The spirit of God will bear witness that we are His in this life (Rom 8:14-17) and when we lie down and rise up, and walk through this life we don’t lose heart (Luk 18:1), as we pray without ceasing and learn that our Creator who we serve is faithful and merciful and will never leave or forsake His own in this life (Heb 13:5 , Php 1:6). It is through the fervent continual prayers of the saints that availeth much that the importunate widow learns that “the LORD’S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear”(Isa 59:1 , Mat 7:11).

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

Heb 13:5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

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:

Mat 7:11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?

Pro 6:23 For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:
Pro 6:24 To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman.
Pro 6:25 Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids.
Pro 6:26 For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread: and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life.
Pro 6:27 Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?
Pro 6:28 Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned?
Pro 6:29 So he that goeth in to his neighbour’s wife; whosoever toucheth her shall not be innocent.

Where there is no vision, the people perish (Pro 29:18) and that vision comes from the word of God, from his commandments which are “a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life“. What the light of God’s word does specifically for us is “To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman“. This strange woman is Babylon, which we are called out of by the grace and faith of God (Eph 2:8). The admonition for God’s elect is to remember Lot’s wife (Luk 17:32) and don’t look back, “Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids“. Rather we need to keep our eyes fixed on Christ (Rom 12:1-2) and the promises that tell us we will be more than conquerors through Him (Rom 8:37).

If it were possible, Satan would deceive the very elect (Mat 24:24), and how would he, or how does he go about trying to do that, is explained in this verse, “by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread: (Heb 12:16-17) and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life“.

Heb 12:16 Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.
Heb 12:17 For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.

Contrast this careless spirit of Esau, with that of Moses, one chapter earlier, who typifies the elect of God who are blessed to have a hunger and thirst for righteousness in this life (Heb 11:26 , Mat 5:6).

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.

Mat 5:6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

Can we taste of the heavenly things of God (Heb 6:4-8) and then go back into the harlotries of this world and expect to not be burnt by such actions? This is what God’s word reveals on that matter, “Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned? Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned? So he that goeth in to his neighbour’s wife; whosoever toucheth her shall not be innocent.” This fire that burns a man who goes into it, is speaking of the strange fire, that is the unholy things that defile a man (Lev 10:1-2), as opposed to the coals from the altar that represent God’s words that sanctify and purify us in this life (Isa 6:7).

Heb 6:4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,
Heb 6:5 And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come
Heb 6:6 If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.

Lev 10:1 And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not.
Lev 10:2 And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD.

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.

Pro 6:30 Men do not despise a thief, if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry;
Pro 6:31 But if he be found, he shall restore sevenfold; he shall give all the substance of his house.
Pro 6:32 But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul.
Pro 6:33 A wound and dishonour shall he get; and his reproach shall not be wiped away.
Pro 6:34 For jealousy is the rage of a man: therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance.
Pro 6:35 He will not regard any ransom; neither will he rest content, though thou givest many gifts.

The thief being talked about here is the one that goes “in to his neighbour’s wife” in the previous verse (v 29), which represents a church that they go into, after they have been in a relationship of fidelity with the body of Christ (2Ti 4:10).

2Ti 4:10 For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia.

Loving this present world has the unfaithful going toward “Thessalonica, Galatia, Dalmatia“, places of Asia which represent the world! Another way of telling us that these were men who started in the spirit, but would conclude their life in the letter is (Gal 3:3-4), trying to be perfected in the law, in the world, being part of the whole Babylonian system once again that have forsaken God’s word (Rev 1:11 , 2Ti 1:15).

Gal 3:3 Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?
Gal 3:4 Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain.

Rev 1:11 Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.

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

We are told to not despise this thieving spirit whose actions parallel with that of Esau whose pleasures of sin for a season (Heb 11:25) was more important than his birthright, which would require that he suffer in this life (Heb 12:16-17 , Heb 11:25).

Heb 12:16 Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.

Heb 12:17 For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.

Heb 11:25 Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;

We’re not to think that this thief is not in us, because he is being destroyed day by day as we die daily, and but for the grace of God go we, as we’re permitted by God’s mercy to continue to be apprehended by Christ who gives us the power to forget what is behind us, and press toward the mark of the prize of the high calling in Him (Php 3:13-14). We are apprehending because we have been apprehended of God through Christ the fit man (Lev 16:21), giving us no reason to despise others who have left us for one reason or another, “do not despise a thief, if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry“.

That man who satisfies his soul, lacks understanding, and his soul is destroyed in this life as a result of his ignorance, and in this life that dishonour that he gets, and that reproach, shall not be wiped away as mentioned earlier; and this is all being accomplished for the elect’s sake, to remind us of the severity of God, and the goodness of God that He has extended to the body of Christ, if we continue in His goodness (Heb 6:3-8 , Num 16:2-3 , Rom 11:22 , Rom 2:4-6).

Num 16:2 And they rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown:
Num 16:3 And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the LORD?

Rom 11:22 Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity [the 250 men of renown]; but toward thee, goodness [God’s judgements that destroys those 250 men of renown within us (25×10) or (5x5x10)], if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.

Rom 2:3 And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?
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?
Rom 2:5 But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;
Rom 2:6 Who will render to every man according to his deeds:

God is a jealous God (Exo 20:5) and he is the man being spoken of in verse 34, “For jealousy is the rage of a man: therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance“. He will have his vengeance on all such who are found in the lake of fire. And when those who are resurrected in the second resurrection say, ‘haven’t we done many wonderful works?’ (Mat 7:22), in other words, ‘why are you judging me, I’m an outstanding citizen’, God will not regard any ransom; neither will he rest content, though thou givest many gifts“, to the point that even what they thought they had, will be taken away (Mat 25:29 , Rom 11:22 , Heb 12:25).

Mat 25:29 For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.

Heb 12:25 See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven:

Our prayer for each other is that our Father will give us the strength to endure His chastening grace today, so that we are received in this age through His judgements upon us, which will burn out the spirit that thinks we’ve somehow contributed to our salvation, or the salvation of others, when it fact it was all a work of God within us that made it possible for each joint to supply in love, to the building up and edifying of the church (Heb 12:6-7 , Php 2:12-13 , Eph 4:16 , Psa 127:1).

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.

Numbers 8:1-26  The Lighting of the Seven Lamps

[Study Aired June 19, 2023]

Num 8:1  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 
Num 8:2  Speak unto Aaron, and say unto him, When thou lightest the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light over against the candlestick. 
Num 8:3  And Aaron did so; he lighted the lamps thereof over against the candlestick, as the LORD commanded Moses. 
Num 8:4  And this work of the candlestick was of beaten gold, unto the shaft thereof, unto the flowers thereof, was beaten work: according unto the pattern which the LORD had shewed Moses, so he made the candlestick. 
Num 8:5  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 
Num 8:6  Take the Levites from among the children of Israel, and cleanse them. 
Num 8:7  And thus shalt thou do unto them, to cleanse them: Sprinkle water of purifying upon them, and let them shave all their flesh, and let them wash their clothes, and so make themselves clean. 
Num 8:8  Then let them take a young bullock with his meat offering, even fine flour mingled with oil, and another young bullock shalt thou take for a sin offering.
Num 8:9  And thou shalt bring the Levites before the tabernacle of the congregation: and thou shalt gather the whole assembly of the children of Israel together: 
Num 8:10  And thou shalt bring the Levites before the LORD: and the children of Israel shall put their hands upon the Levites: 
Num 8:11  And Aaron shall offer the Levites before the LORD for an offering of the children of Israel, that they may execute the service of the LORD. 
Num 8:12  And the Levites shall lay their hands upon the heads of the bullocks: and thou shalt offer the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering, unto the LORD, to make an atonement for the Levites. 
Num 8:13  And thou shalt set the Levites before Aaron, and before his sons, and offer them for an offering unto the LORD. 
Num 8:14  Thus shalt thou separate the Levites from among the children of Israel: and the Levites shall be mine. 
Num 8:15  And after that shall the Levites go in to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation: and thou shalt cleanse them, and offer them for an offering. 
Num 8:16  For they are wholly given unto me from among the children of Israel; instead of such as open every womb, even instead of the firstborn of all the children of Israel, have I taken them unto me. 
Num 8:17  For all the firstborn of the children of Israel are mine, both man and beast: on the day that I smote every firstborn in the land of Egypt I sanctified them for myself. 
Num 8:18  And I have taken the Levites for all the firstborn of the children of Israel.
Num 8:19  And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and to his sons from among the children of Israel, to do the service of the children of Israel in the tabernacle of the congregation, and to make an atonement for the children of Israel: that there be no plague among the children of Israel, when the children of Israel come nigh unto the sanctuary. 
Num 8:20  And Moses, and Aaron, and all the congregation of the children of Israel, did to the Levites according unto all that the LORD commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so did the children of Israel unto them. 
Num 8:21  And the Levites were purified, and they washed their clothes; and Aaron offered them as an offering before the LORD; and Aaron made an atonement for them to cleanse them. 
Num 8:22  And after that went the Levites in to do their service in the tabernacle of the congregation before Aaron, and before his sons: as the LORD had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so did they unto them. 
Num 8:23  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 
Num 8:24  This is it that belongeth unto the Levites: from twenty and five years old and upward they shall go in to wait upon the service of the tabernacle of the congregation: 
Num 8:25  And from the age of fifty years they shall cease waiting upon the service thereof, and shall serve no more: 
Num 8:26  But shall minister with their brethren in the tabernacle of the congregation, to keep the charge, and shall do no service. Thus shalt thou do unto the Levites touching their charge. 

Chapter 8 concerns the lighting of the seven lamps to give light in front of the candlestick, the cleansing of the Levites, the age requirement for service in the tabernacle of the congregation and retirement age of the Levites. 

Num 8:1  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 
Num 8:2  Speak unto Aaron, and say unto him, When thou lightest the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light over against the candlestick. 
Num 8:3  And Aaron did so; he lighted the lamps thereof over against the candlestick, as the LORD commanded Moses. 

The seven lamps represent the complete words of the Lord which give light in front of the lampstand or candlestick. According to the word of the Lord, the candlestick or lampstand represents the church.  This means that it is the complete words of the Lord which guide the path of the elect in this world.

Psa 119:105  Nun Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. 

Rev 1:20  As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

As indicated, the candlestick is to give light to the space in front of it in the Holy place in the tabernacle. What is insightful to note is the fact that the light given by the candlestick is not seen outside the Holy place. It is to give light for the priest to perform his duty. In this dispensation, although we are the light of the world, we are not seen that way by many (the world). It is only the elect who see our light and use it to perform their duty – that is, live a life worthy of the Lord. 

In verse 2, it was Aaron the High Priest who lit the seven lamps. Here Aaron signifies the Lord Jesus Christ, our High Priest. Before a lamp is lit, it must be filled with oil. As we know, the oil is a symbol of the Holy Spirit, sent to us by the Lord Jesus Christ to guide us into the truth of His word.  

Exo 27:20  And thou shalt command the children of Israel, that they bring thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamp to burn always. 

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.

Num 8:4  And this work of the candlestick was of beaten gold, unto the shaft thereof, unto the flowers thereof, was beaten work: according unto the pattern which the LORD had shewed Moses, so he made the candlestick. 

It is very insightful to note that the candlestick was made of beaten gold. This is to let us know that the church is formed by those who are being tried or going through the judgment of their old man. 

Job 23:10  But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.

Paul sums up our being beaten like the work of gold in order to give light as follows:

2Co 4:7  But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.
2Co 4:8  We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 
2Co 4:9  persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 
2Co 4:10  always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies [providing light for the priest to function]. 
2Co 4:11  For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.

As indicated in verse 4, the candlestick is to be built according to the pattern which the Lord showed Moses.  The pattern shown to Moses is Christ. This implies that the church must reflect Christ in everything. 

Num 8:5  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 
Num 8:6  Take the Levites from among the children of Israel, and cleanse them. 
Num 8:7  And thus shalt thou do unto them, to cleanse them: Sprinkle water of purifying upon them, and let them shave all their flesh, and let them wash their clothes, and so make themselves clean. 

If we are to serve in the house of the Lord, then we must be cleansed from all kinds of contamination such as false doctrines, worldly ways and traditions and deeds of the flesh. Verse 7 prescribes three ways of cleansing – sprinkling of the water of purification, the shaving of all their flesh, and the washing of clothes with water.  The water of purification is a symbol of the word of the Lord. It is the truth of the word of the Lord that washes our mind of all the false doctrines that have become idols of our hearts, worldly wisdom and the traditions of men.

Eph 5:25  Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 
Eph 5:26  that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 
Eph 5:27  so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.

In the Bible, the hair on the body is a symbol of our natural strength. Thus, the shaving of all the flesh signifies the cutting off of all our natural strength. This implies that in our service to the Lord, we must not depend on our natural strengths and abilities. 

Jdg 16:17  And he told her all his heart, and said to her, “A razor has never come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If my head is shaved, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak and be like any other man.” 

Clothes are a symbol of righteousness. Dirty or torn clothes therefore refer to unrighteousness, which could be the result of contamination or self-righteousness, which is iniquity.

Lev 15:6  And whoever sits on anything on which the one with the discharge has sat shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water and be unclean until the evening.

Isa 4:1  And seven women shall take hold of one man in that day, saying, “We will eat our own bread and wear our own clothes, only let us be called by your name; take away our reproach.

Clean clothes (white linen) are the righteousness of the saints which is imputed by 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.

The washing of our dirty clothes therefore signifies the truth of the word of the Lord which cleanses us of all unrighteousness.

Num 8:8  Then let them take a young bullock with his meat offering, even fine flour mingled with oil, and another young bullock shalt thou take for a sin offering.
Num 8:9  And thou shalt bring the Levites before the tabernacle of the congregation: and thou shalt gather the whole assembly of the children of Israel together: 
Num 8:10  And thou shalt bring the Levites before the LORD: and the children of Israel shall put their hands upon the Levites: 
Num 8:11  And Aaron shall offer the Levites before the LORD for an offering of the children of Israel, that they may execute the service of the LORD. 
Num 8:12  And the Levites shall lay their hands upon the heads of the bullocks: and thou shalt offer the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering, unto the LORD, to make an atonement for the Levites. 

The foundation for our cleansing is the sacrificial offering of our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself as a meat offering and a sin offering for us. Christ therefore represents the young bullocks and the fine flour mingled with oil. Remember that the fine flour mingled with oil represents His word, and His word is the same as Christ.

Joh 1:1  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 

The putting of the hands of the children of Israel upon the Levites in verse 10 is to show that they are the same as the Levites and therefore are represented by the Levites in the presence of the Lord. In this regard, we, His elect, are representing the whole world in the presence of the Lord. Our victory will ultimately result in the victory of humanity in the fullness of time.

2Co 2:14  Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.

Num 8:13  And thou shalt set the Levites before Aaron, and before his sons, and offer them for an offering unto the LORD. 
Num 8:14  Thus shalt thou separate the Levites from among the children of Israel: and the Levites shall be mine. 
Num 8:15  And after that shall the Levites go in to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation: and thou shalt cleanse them, and offer them for an offering. 

In verse 13, the Levites were to be offered as an offering to the Lord. As the elect, we are to be offered wholly to Christ for humanity’s sake. Being offered to Christ is offering our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to the Lord.

2Co 2:15  For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish: 

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. 

The Levites being separated from among the children of Israel is another way of saying that we should not be conformed to the standards of this world but be renewed in our minds.

Rom 12:2  Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. 

In another perspective, the Levites represent the elect, and the children of Israel stand for our brothers and sisters in Babylon. In that sense, the Levites being separated from the children of Israel is a type of the command by the Lord to leave Babylon. 

Rev 18:4  And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.

2Co 6:16  And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 
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, 
2Co 6:18  And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. 

As we are offered to Christ and are separated wholly from the world, we can do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation as shown in verse 15 concerning the Levites.

Num 8:16  For they are wholly given unto me from among the children of Israel; instead of such as open every womb, even instead of the firstborn of all the children of Israel, have I taken them unto me. 
Num 8:17  For all the firstborn of the children of Israel are mine, both man and beast: on the day that I smote every firstborn in the land of Egypt I sanctified them for myself. 
Num 8:18  And I have taken the Levites for all the firstborn of the children of Israel.

As we saw earlier in the Book of Numbers, the Levites were to replace the firstborn of Israel. The reason why they were to replace the firstborn of Israel was that at the time of Passover in Egypt, all the firstborn were condemned. However, it was only the firstborn of Egypt who were slain. As a result of the Passover, all the firstborn of Israel were redeemed or saved or replaced by the Passover lamb, who is Christ our Lord who came to serve. The firstborn therefore lost their position and were to be replaced by the Levites who were called to serve. This means that we, who have been redeemed by the Lord, are called to serve.

Mar 10:42  And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 
Mar 10:43  But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 
Mar 10:44  and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. 
Mar 10:45  For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” 

The Levites replacing the firstborn of the children of Israel is a foretaste of the fact that the Lord’s election is no longer dependent on a person’s pedigree or his or her birth. Paul made this clear when, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he made the statement that it is not one who is born a Jew that counts, but a Jew is a person who worships the Lord in truth and in spirit. 

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

Num 8:19  And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and to his sons from among the children of Israel, to do the service of the children of Israel in the tabernacle of the congregation, and to make an atonement for the children of Israel: that there be no plague among the children of Israel, when the children of Israel come nigh unto the sanctuary. 
Num 8:20  And Moses, and Aaron, and all the congregation of the children of Israel, did to the Levites according unto all that the LORD commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so did the children of Israel unto them. 

On a negative note, the Levites represent our brothers and sisters in Babylon who are also of Abraham’s seed. However, they are not counted as the seed of promise and therefore are not to be given any inheritance. This is not because we, the elect, deserve any inheritance. It is through the hardening of their hearts to believe that we are privileged to receive mercy to believe. In the final analysis, this mercy we have received will be extended to the whole of the human race. 

Rom 11:30  For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief: 
Rom 11:31  Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy. 
Rom 11:32  For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.

The Levites are given to the elect as a gift to help them minister to the Lord. They do the initial leg work of using the law of Moses as our schoolmaster to lead us to Christ. After we get to know Christ through faith, we are no longer under their influence or the law of Moses. Today’s Levites represent the Christian religion. They are focused on building and taking care of physical churches (tabernacle of testimony). In other words, they are protecting the legacy of the Christian religion.

Gal 3:24  Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 
Gal 3:25  But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. 

In verse 19, the Levites being given as a gift to Aaron and his sons positively signifies the elect being given wholly to Jesus, our High Priest, to assist Him to subdue all things so that God may be all in all. 

1Co 15:25  For he [Jesus] must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. 
1Co 15:26  The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. 
1Co 15:27  For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him. 
1Co 15:28  And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.

On a positive note, the Levites symbolized the elect who are given the charge of serving in the tabernacle of the congregation as well as making atonement for the children of Israel so there will be no plagues among the children of Israel, as indicated in verse 19. Atonement is the process by which a person removes obstacles to his reconciliation with God. In the lake of fire age, the elect will help the whole of humanity, represented here as the children of Israel, by making atonement for them. This means that the elect will help the whole of humanity to see what the Lord has done for them and in so doing, remove every obstacle to their reconciliation with God. This is what will make every knee to bow and every tongue to confess that Jesus is Lord!!

Php 2:9  Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 
Php 2:10  That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 
Php 2:11  And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

It is insightful to note that in verse 20, Moses, Aaron and the whole of the congregation of the children of Israel did to the Levites according to all that the Lord commanded Moses. Moses, Aaron and the whole of the congregation of Israel represent all humanity. It is at the end of the lake of fire age that all humanity will obey our Lord Jesus Christ, who is represented here by Moses. 

Num 8:21  And the Levites were purified, and they washed their clothes; and Aaron offered them as an offering before the LORD; and Aaron made an atonement for them to cleanse them. 
Num 8:22  And after that went the Levites in to do their service in the tabernacle of the congregation before Aaron, and before his sons: as the LORD had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so did they unto them. 

It is when we are purified that we can offer a service pleasing to the Lord in the temple of the Lord. We know that the process of purification involves being judged. Verses 21 and 22 therefore means that we cannot offer pleasing service to the Lord with our bodies as a temple of the Lord unless we have been purified through the seven plagues. The verse below is therefore a rendition of verses 21 and 22.

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

Num 8:23  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 
Num 8:24  This is it that belongeth unto the Levites: from twenty and five years old and upward they shall go in to wait upon the service of the tabernacle of the congregation: 

To be enrolled in the army of the Lord, it is required that one is twenty years old or above. Being part of the army of the Lord does not mean that one has obtained maturity. In the physical, those who have gone through the ranks of the military are well-versed in the strategies of enemies. In a similar vein, it takes some time after being part of the Lord’s army to know the strategies of the enemy. It took a lot of experience for Paul to say the following:

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

In verse 24, the required age to wait upon the tabernacle of the congregation is twenty-five. Although we are enrolled into the Lord’s army at the symbolic age of twenty years, it takes a while for us to be effective in performing the services pertaining to the house of God. The symbolic age of twenty-five, which is required for us to work in the house of the Lord, signifies the period when we have come out from tutors and governors at the appointed time of the Lord.

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. 

In the Bible, the number twenty-five signifies the time that we start to reign as kings over our flesh.

2Ch 25:1  Amaziah was twenty and five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem.

2Ch 27:6  So Jotham became mighty, because he prepared his ways before the LORD his God. 
2Ch 27:7  Now the rest of the acts of Jotham, and all his wars, and his ways, lo, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.
2Ch 27:8  He was five and twenty years old when he began to reign, and reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem.

2Ch 29:1  Hezekiah began to reign when he was five and twenty years old, and he reigned nine and twenty years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah. 
2Ch 29:2  And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that David his father had done. 

Num 8:25  And from the age of fifty years they shall cease waiting upon the service thereof, and shall serve no more: 
Num 8:26  But shall minister with their brethren in the tabernacle of the congregation, to keep the charge, and shall do no service. Thus shalt thou do unto the Levites touching their charge. 

According to verse 25, at the age of fifty years, the Levites are required to retire from active service in the tabernacle of the Lord. The number fifty symbolizes the liberty we have in Christ when we are set free from sin. Retiring at the age of fifty spiritually implies the period of our lives where we do not depend on our own strength to do the work of the Lord, but rather depend on Christ to do the work for us. In other words, we come to rest completely in Him. 

Joh 8:36  If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.  

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. 

May the Lord continue to help us retire from our own works so we can come to rest wholly in Him. Amen!! 

Matthew 25:14-30

[Study Aired September 7, 2021]

Mat 25:14 For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods.
Mat 25:15 And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.
Mat 25:16 Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents.
Mat 25:17 And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two.
Mat 25:18 But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord’s money.
Mat 25:19 After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them.
Mat 25:20 And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more.
Mat 25:21 His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
Mat 25:22 He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them.
Mat 25:23 His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
Mat 25:24 Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed:
Mat 25:25 And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.
Mat 25:26 His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed:
Mat 25:27 Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury.
Mat 25:28 Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents.
Mat 25:29 For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.
Mat 25:30 And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Our last study covered the parable of the “Ten Virgins”, its key elements being the difference between those in the first resurrection and the second. Those in the first resurrection have their lamps full of oil which will burn throughout the night. This signifies the elect having the holy spirit, and while they abide in the world, Christ is in them. Today’s study is another parable about the kingdom of heaven. The key words and phrases we will review are “a man traveling”, “a far country”, “his own servants”, and “his goods” which are used in out first two verses of the parable.

Mat 25:14 For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods.

“A man traveling” is Christ. Christ is traveling into “a far country” and that is heaven, (the kingdom of God), which is within you. “His own servants” are the many called and few chosen.

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

Eph 4:8-10 Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also de-scended, first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)

1Pe 2:9-10 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: Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.

Rev 17:14 These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.

There is a difference between the called, chosen and faithful and what they do with “the goods” received from the “traveling man” Christ. Here are “the goods”.

Mat 25:15 And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.

The one to whom he gave five talents represents the “grace through faith” we receive from Christ. Number Five

The one who received two talents represents the “witness” we receive from Christ. Witness

And the one he gave one talent represents “unity” we receive from Christ. Number One

This “unity” is in the negative sense representing our self righteousness.

Now all these received these gifts based “according to his several ability”. This represents our measure of faith given to us.

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.

Because of the measure of faith given these servants, here is what they do with their lord’s money.

Mat 25:16 Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents.
Mat 25:17 And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two.

The first two “traded” the money they received and doubled what they had. This represents “doing the things that I say” and “keeping the sayings of the prophecy of this book”.

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

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

Here is what the third one did.

Mat 25:18 But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord’s money.

He took the “one” (unity) and buried in the earth. Being buried in the earth, it is in darkness and cannot receive any light. This is telling us that we cannot grow because of our forsaking the assembly.

Heb 10:23-25 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

Now the lord of those servants returns seeking to find profits produced by his servants.

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

Both of these servants gained profits by doing what their Lord had commissioned them to do. For their efforts they will be rulers over “many” things. This represents ruling over the “many called” in the first resurrection.

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

Rev 20:4-6 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. 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.

Now let’s see what happens to the last servant that received one talent.

Mat 25:24 Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed:
Mat 25:25 And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.
Mat 25:26 His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed:
Mat 25:27 Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury.

This servant knew his Lord “reaped where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed” representing our Lord Jesus receiving of his Father and doing what he says.

Joh 5:19 Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.

Joh 8:28-29 Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things. And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.

Here is the punishment the “wicked and slothful servant” receives.

Mat 25:28 Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents.
Mat 25:29 For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.
Mat 25:30 And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

The chosen and faithful receive the truth in this age, and the many called cannot receive the truth because Christ’s word has no place in them.

Joh 8:31-38 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;  And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. I know that ye are Abraham’s seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you. I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father.

Joh 8:42-45 Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me. Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.

Each of these servants are us at certain points of our walk. We are first given “one talent” being the “many called” and are of our father the devil worshiping ourselves and hiding our talent in the earth. Next, we become the “chosen” by being given “two talents” receiving the true witness of Christ. Finally, we become the “faithful” enduring until the end by receiving “five talents” grace through faith. We are then promised to rule in the kingdom of God.

Rev 17:14 These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.

Joh 16:32-33 Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me. These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

We must be careful to keep the commandment of our Lord and pray without ceasing. We all know and understand that it is God Who is working all this in us, yet he tells us to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. Lord willing, we are given to endure until the end.

Mat 24:4-14 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.

Eph 1:3-12 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: 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: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.

Php 2:12-13 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. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

1Th 5:12-18 And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you; And to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. And be at peace among yourselves. Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men. See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men. Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

1Jn 2:1-6 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.

Gospels In Harmony – The Ten Virgins

Mat 25:1-13

[Study Aired August 31, 2021]

Mat 25:1 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.
Mat 25:2 And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.
Mat 25:3 They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:
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 25:6 And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.
Mat 25:7 Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.
Mat 25:8 And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.
Mat 25:9 But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.
Mat 25:10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.
Mat 25:11 Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.
Mat 25:12 But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.
Mat 25:13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.

In this study Christ is continuing to speak in parables about the kingdom of God and His return. The parable is about what is within each of us. We are the ten virgins being prepared as the bride of Christ. Here is the first verses.

Mat 25:1 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.
Mat 25:2 And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.

The ten virgins are us when Christ first enters our hearts and minds, ten having the spiritual significance of the completeness of the flesh. In our last study, Christ said the coming of the Son of man is like the days of Noah. Noah was the tenth generation, and at that time all mankind were killed, and only eight remained. Here is the link to the study of Numbers in Scripture – “Ten = Completeness of The Flesh” which also shows us the meaning of the two fives mentioned in this parable. Here is the link to the study which shows us the number ten is 5 (grace through faith) twice (first and second resurrections). This also represents the many called and few chosen and the old man and new man within.

Their lamps hold the oil that is fuel for the light. The lamp represents our mind and heart. The oil represents the holy spirit by which we are annointed. When the oil is touched by fire, which represents judgment, light is produced. The light represents the truth, and the bridegroom represents Christ. The lamp is made of copper and represents us as being carnal babes in Christ, the best flesh has to offer and the necessity of copper in bringing us to Christ. Here are study links for Base metals in scriptures: Copper, Part 1;
Copper, Part 2; and Copper, Part 3. Also, here is a link to showing us what oil represents in scripture What is Oil in Scripture.

Now here is the difference between the foolish and the wise.

Mat 25:3 They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:
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 25:6 And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.

The foolish took no oil, therefore being called to meet the bridegroom, they came unprepared, which means they were called but not given the spirit. This is how we are in Babylon. The wise, on the other hand, came prepared having been given the spirit but are yet carnal babes in Christ until the cry is made and they are awakened. We do not know the hour the cry will come so we must always be prepared. Of course, it is the Lord Who prepares the heart.

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

We are called to go into Babylon, next we are chosen to come out of Babylon, and finally we are given to endure until the end.

Mat 25:7 Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.

The ten virgins who arose and trimmed their lamps represent receiving knowledge of the work which must be done to enter into the kingdom of Heaven. Being called as one of the ten virgins and trimming their lamps is where most “Christians” are today. Here is where they are.

Mat 25:8 And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.

The foolish virgins are able to trim their lamps but cannot produce any light because their lamps are gone out. This tells us that they do not believe what they have been told and that is judgment begins at the house of God. Not only this but they do not except that there is any judgment to begin with. The reason they do not believe this is because they are not given any oil. Their wick is lit, but it extinguishes immediately. The foolish take the word of God and twist it to mean something totally different. Here is an example.

Luk 6:37 Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:
Luk 6:38 Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.

The Christians of the world are given to believe they will not face judgment. The reason they believe this is because they have no oil. The spirit is not in them.

Next the wise tell them what they must do.

Mat 25:9 But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.

The wise know that they are not to share their oil and tell them to go on their way. The wise also know that if they were to give up any oil, their own lamps would go out. Their lamps are lit in the middle of the night, and they must stay lit until the fullness of the daylight comes. This represents our time being in these bodies of flesh until the redemption of the purchased possession.

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

The foolish go away to buy the oil they lack and miss out on the bridegroom coming.

Mat 25:10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.

The door being shut symbolizes the division between the many called and few chosen, the old man and the new man, and those in the first resurrection and the second. These two groups are separated by Christ either knowing them or not knowing them.

Mat 25:11 Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.
Mat 25:12 But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.

What does this mean? Christ says, “I know you not” because they were not prepared and then gives us the following warning.

Mat 25:13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.

Being called, chosen and faithful is the only way we can enter into the kingdom of Heaven. We must be given to be diligent in all we do until the end of our walking in these bodies of flesh. In the beginning we are the five virgins who have empty lamps that are turned away and eventually destroyed. If we endure until the end, we are the five virgins that have lamps full of oil and are able to have light throughout the night. Christ is our light, and as he is, so are we in this world.

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

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

Pro 13:9 The light of the righteous rejoiceth: but the lamp of the wicked shall be put out.

We hold the lamp (word/doctrines of Christ) in our hearts and minds.

Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Joh 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
Joh 3:18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
Joh 3:19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
Joh 3:20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
Joh 3:21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

1Jn 4:15 Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.
1Jn 4:16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.
1Jn 4:17 Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.

Rev 17:14 These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.

I have used the following scriptures in several studies, but it is a warning we must have continually.

2Pe 3:14 Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.
2Pe 3:15 And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;
2Pe 3:16 As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.
2Pe 3:17 Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness.
2Pe 3:18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.

Video Links

Rev 8:10  And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters;
Rev 8:11  And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.

Introduction

Once again we are confronted with six more symbols in this third trumpet. They are 1) “A great star fell from heaven.” 2) It is “burning as it were a lamp.” 3) It falls upon a third part of the rivers and fountains of water. 4) “The name of the star is called wormwood.” 5) “The third part of the waters become wormwood.” 6) “Many men died of the waters, because the were made bitter.”
Once again we need to ask, What do these six symbols mean, and where are all these six symbols to be found? As always we must remember that these are words out of our Lord’s own mouth that we are to live and keep this very day.

Mat 4:4  But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
Rev 1:3  Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

So “the time is at hand” for “a great star to fall from heaven, burning as it were a lamp.” The time is at hand for that star to fall upon the third part of the rivers and upon the fountains of waters. The time is at hand for us to know why this star is called wormwood and why it makes a third of the waters wormwood, and the time is at hand for us to know why many men die of those bitter waters. So let’s ask…

… What is this great star that falls from heaven?

We were told what the spiritual significance of the word star is in the very first chapter of this book. Stars are angels, and angels are messengers who bring us a message. This messenger is bringing us words which are for the seven churches of God.

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.

So there is no way we can ever go wrong if we simply agree with our Lord’s words that “stars are the angels”, angels are messengers who bring messages to us. Those messages can be the Truth, which, if we are given to receive it, will be guaranteed to “send a sword” into our lives and separate us from our own physical families and make us “hated of all men”, or those messages can be lies from the Devil which, we are told, will always be smooth words which will make this life easier for us as we love those who love us and hate those who hate us. The messages brought by any angel, or any spirit are doctrines, and it is the affect of those doctrines that tells us which spirit we are dealing with.

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

So let’s try the spirits with the Word of God and ask…

… Why is this star “burning as it were a lamp?”

It is statements like this which reveal to us what this star in this third trumpet is.

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

We have seen that the Word of God reveals that the hail and fire mixed with blood in the first trumpet is the word of God which shall wipe away the refuge of lies, even as the waters of God’s word will overflow that hiding place. We also saw that this is all God’s judgments upon us, His house, in these seven trumpet judgments. We saw that this judgment is done progressively in thirds. Three being the process of judgment, all of these ‘thirds’ again witness to us of the process of judgment, and the revealing of Christ in us, which judgment is all of these seven trumpets.

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.
1Pe 4:17  For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?
Rev 8:7  The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.

We have seen that the great mountain burning with fire of the second seal is also that same flaming, burning word of God.

Rev 8:8  And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood;
Rev 8:9  And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.
Psa 148:8  Fire, and hail; snow, and vapour; stormy wind fulfilling his word:
Isa 5:24  Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the law of the LORD of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
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 20:9  Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.
Jer 23:29  Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?

There it is. God’s Words are “as a fire shut up in my bones.” Christ is God’s Word, therefore He is that fire, working progressively in thirds upon us.. It is Christ who is working in all that is in our ‘earth.’ That is the revelation of Jesus Christ and that is the message of the first two trumpets. Why would that not be the message of the “fire” in this third trumpet, and why would that not be the meaning of  our next symbol of…

… The rivers and fountains of water?

Christ Himself made this statement about the meaning of this particular symbol:

Joh 7:38  He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

A verse that shows what are trees in scripture, also reveals what rivers of water are.

Jer 17:7  Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is.
Jer 17:8  For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.

But just like the pillar of fire that led Israel out of Egypt, which was light to Israel, and the same pillar was darkness to the Egyptians, so also, the rivers of waters are life to those in Christ and the same rivers of waters are wormwood, bitterness, and death to those who are not in Christ.
Ezekiel 31 demonstrates how these fountains and rivers of waters are both positive to those in Christ, and negative to those who are not in Christ.

Eze 31:1  And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the third month, in the first day of the month, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Eze 31:2  Son of man, speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, and to his multitude; Whom art thou like in thy greatness?
Eze 31:6  All the fowls of heaven made their nests in his boughs, and under his branches did all the beasts of the field bring forth their young, and under his shadow dwelt all great nations.
Eze 31:7  Thus was he fair in his greatness, in the length of his branches: for his root was by great waters.

In scripture Egypt symbolizes the world and all that is in the world. We are all Adam, and Adam is first in the world. It is this revelation of Jesus Christ which teaches us that He is both the first and the last, and that the first is merely a shadow of the last.

Rom 5:14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression, who [“the first Adam”], is the figure of him that was to come.
Rev 22:13  I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.

The natural man will argue that Christ cannot be both the first and the last Adam. The natural man cannot discern spiritual matters, and he cannot understand how the first Adam can in any way be a figure or a type of the last Adam. But the Truth of God’s Word is that there must be a shadow before that shadow can disappear in the light of the full Sun at midday. The natural man cannot accept that we are in the process of the revelation of Jesus Christ, and that with Christ we are both the first and the last. The natural man reasons, ‘Well, did you win the race or did you come in last?’ And the spirit answers “I am the first and the last.” I was destroyed, and I died, and I lost the race, so that I could be saved, so I could be given life and so I could be first and win the race.

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

So in Christ, we are first losers, and through losing, we become winners. How many can win? only one can win the race, and that one is Abraham’s “one seed.”

Gal 3:16  Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.

So as contradictory as it seems to the natural man, 144,000 somehow, without contradiction to the mind of the spirit, becomes one seed. It is all right here in this same 3rd chapter of Galatians.

Gal 3:29  And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s [ one] seed, and heirs according to the promise [ and the “one winner” of the race].

This is the “two edged” nature of the word of God, and this same two- edged characteristic is true also of these “rivers and fountains of water” here in Rev 8. They become bitter to our old man whose “fair branches and high stature… because of the multitude of waters…” will be destroyed as He loses his life in increments of thirds as he becomes aware of the fact that he is actually guilty of hating his brother and therefore of murdering His own Savior.

Why is this angel, this star, called wormwood?

Here in this eleventh verse of this eighth chapter of Revelation is the only place in the New Testament that we find this word ‘wormwood.’ But this word and this symbol, as all the symbols of this prophecy, glean their weight and meaning from the prophecies of the Old Testament. So let’s once again allow God’s own Word to define this word for us. Here is how this word ‘wormwood’ is used in the Old Testament.

Deu 29:18  Lest there should be among you man, or woman, or family, or tribe, whose heart turneth away this day from the LORD our God, to go and serve the gods of these nations; lest there should be among you a root that beareth gall and wormwood;

There it is. That is the reason we read “many men died because the waters were made bitter.” Here are the other seven verses in which the holy spirit uses this word wormwood.

1) Pro 5:4 and its context.

Pro 5:1  My son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow thine ear to my understanding:
Pro 5:2  That thou mayest regard discretion, and that thy lips may keep knowledge.
Pro 5:3  For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil:
Pro 5:4  But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a twoedged sword.
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.

Wormwood is our time in Babylon listening to the “movable” lips and doctrines of “a strange woman.” Is it not truly revealing that Babylonian ministers can pronounce on false prophecy which misses the date and the truth, and those who follow them, just ignore the fact that them have proven themselves to be false prophets.

Deu 18:20  But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die.
Deu 18:21  And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken?
Deu 18:22  When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that [ is] the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, [ but] the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.

“Her end is bitter as wormwood” because the great star burning as a lamp is what makes our faith in the twisting of God’s words, His rivers and fountains of waters, into lies, to become a burning bitterness to us. This fifth chapter of Proverbs explains the bitterness that is this star called wormwood which turns God’s rivers and fountains of waters into wormwood when we listen to “the lips of a strange woman.”

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:
Pro 5:9  Lest thou give thine honour unto others, and thy years unto the cruel:
Pro 5:10  Lest strangers be filled with thy wealth; and thy labours be in the house of a stranger;
Pro 5:11  And thou mourn at the last, when thy flesh and thy body are consumed,
Pro 5:12  And say, How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof;
Pro 5:13  And have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me!
Pro 5:14  I was almost in all evil in the midst of the congregation and assembly.
Pro 5:15  Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well.
Pro 5:16  Let thy fountains be dispersed abroad, and rivers of waters in the streets.
Pro 5:17  Let them be only thine own, and not strangers’ with thee.
Pro 5:18  Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth.
Pro 5:19  Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe; let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; and be thou ravished always with her love.
Pro 5:20  And why wilt thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, and embrace the bosom of a stranger?
Pro 5:21  For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, and he pondereth all his goings.
Pro 5:22  His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins.
Pro 5:23  He shall die without instruction; and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.

“The lips of a strange woman” is the doctrine of Babylon the great, the mother of harlots and of abominations of the earth. Verse 22 and 23 are the gall and bitterness that is wormwood. It is very few Christians who realize that their ‘waters’ have become bitter, and it is few Christians who realize that it is that very bitterness which is designed to destroy the old man within. We must live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God, and what that means is that “Thou shalt not…” is a prophecy of what mankind will do. In this case we do not attend to the wisdom and understanding of our Father. Instead we have all listened to the lips of a strange woman which “lips drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil.” Consequently we have learned that “ her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two- edged sword.” just like the Word of God.

2) Jer 9:15. Here is the effect that wormwood has upon us:

Jer 9:13  And the LORD saith, Because they have forsaken my law which I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice, neither walked therein;
Jer 9:14  But have walked after the imagination of their own heart, and after Baalim, which their fathers taught them:
Jer 9:15  Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will feed them, [ even] this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink.
Jer 9:16  I will scatter them also among the heathen, whom neither they nor their fathers have known: and I will send a sword after them, till I have consumed them.

“Scatter them among the heathen” includes taking them captive to Babylon, where they (we) all drink the waters of wormwood.

3) Jer 23:15. Wormwood is the effect upon us of false doctrines from false prophets.

Jer 23:15  Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts concerning the prophets; Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, and make them drink the water of gall: for from the prophets of Jerusalem is profaneness gone forth into all the land.

4) Lam 3:15 with context.

Lam 3:15  He hath filled me with bitterness, he hath made me drunken with wormwood.
Lam 3:16  He hath also broken my teeth with gravel stones, he hath covered me with ashes.
Lam 3:17  And thou hast removed my soul far off from peace: I forgat prosperity.
Lam 3:18  And I said, My strength and my hope is perished from the LORD:

5) Lam 3:19 with the following two verses which give us hope.

Lam 3:19  Remembering mine affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall.
Lam 3:20  My soul hath them still in remembrance, and is humbled in me.
Lam 3:21  This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope.

6) Amo 5:7. Fiery judgment begins at the house of God when we “turn judgment to wormwood.”

Amo 5:6  Seek the LORD, and ye shall live; lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and devour it, and there be none to quench it in Bethel.
Amo 5:7  Ye who turn judgment to wormwood, and leave off righteousness in the earth,

7)  Amo 6:12. Here the translators chose to use the English word ‘hemlock,’ to show how deadly is this thing called wormwood.

Amo 6:12  Shall horses run upon the rock? will one] plow there with oxen? for ye have turned judgment into gall, and the fruit of righteousness into hemlock:
Amo 6:13  Ye which rejoice in a thing of nought, which say, Have we not taken to us horns by our own strength?
Amo 6:14  But, behold, I will raise up against you a nation, O house of Israel, saith the LORD the God of hosts; and they shall afflict you from the entering in of Hemath unto the river of the wilderness.

So it is with all of these seven trumpets. They are all about fiery judgment upon the people of God, “the house of God first;” upon all, even His elect.
Let’s go back to Eze 31 and see how these same waters of life can be made bitter and bring death.

Eze 31:1  And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the third month, in the first day of the month, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Eze 31:2  Son of man, speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, and to his multitude; Whom art thou like in thy greatness?
Eze 31:3  Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon with fair branches, and with a shadowing shroud, and of an high stature; and his top was among the thick boughs.
Eze 31:4  The waters made him great, the deep set him up on high with her rivers running round about his plants, and sent out her little rivers unto all the trees of the field.
Eze 31:5  Therefore his height was exalted above all the trees of the field, and his boughs were multiplied, and his branches became long because of the multitude of waters, when he shot forth.

Consider that the “multitude of waters” on which the great harlot sits are peoples and nations, but it is peoples and nations who subscribe to the words of God as they have been presented to our old man by that great harlot. That is what is meant when we are told that there is gold, silver and precious stones in great abundance in great Babylon. There are also rivers and fountains of waters in Babylon, but the ship masters and ministers of Babylon the great within us have deceived us, and have used God’s gold and silver to cover the idols of our Babylonian hearts. We did not use God’s gold, His Word, to cover the various implements of the true house of God. We used God’s gold to cover and to justify our own doctrines and idols of our hearts, and in using God’s gold to cover our idols, we have also made  the rivers and fountains of waters bitter as wormwood.

Eze 16:1  Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Eze 16:2  Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations,
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,

We do exactly the same thing with the rivers and fountains of waters of God’s Word. We have all been guilty of turning them into lies that fit our doctrines and not the doctrines of Christ. It is a day of bitterness and dying within when we begin to see that all of our heart’s idols are being destroyed by the Truth that we have so long rejected in favor of the idols of our Babylonian hearts.
So what exactly does…

…”The third part of the waters became wormwood” mean?

Rev 8:11  And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.

We do not see why our fountains of waters are become bitter all at once. It actually takes many years, and we continue to be confronted by the lies of Babylon all of our lives. So it is only “the third part of the waters” that become bitter at first. Our salvation is a little by little process.

Exo 23:30  By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land.
Deu 7:22  And the LORD thy God will put out those nations before thee by little and little: thou mayest not consume them at once, lest the beasts of the field increase upon thee.

These Old Testament statements are mere shadows of these New Testament Truths.

Luk 21:17  And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake.
Luk 21:18  But there shall not an hair of your head perish.
Luk 21:19  In your patience possess ye your souls.
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.

That again is the meaning of ” the third part of the waters became wormwood.” Our final symbol is…

… Many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.

Who are these “many men who die because of the waters being made bitter?”
We will never understand how we are to “keep the things written therein” until we can accept the fact that the “stone cut out of the mountain without hands” is Christ. If ever our Lord opens our eyes to see that, then we will understand what Christ meant when He said that “the kingdom of God is within you.”
Here is God’s spirit showing us through the pen of Daniel what Christ is doing within us:

Dan 2:31  Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible.
Dan 2:32  This image’s head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass,
Dan 2:33  His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay.
Dan 2:34  Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces.
Dan 2:35  Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.
Dan 2:36  This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king.
Dan 2:37  Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory.
Dan 2:38  And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art] this head of gold.
Dan 2:39  And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.
Dan 2:40  And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise.
Dan 2:41  And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters’ clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay.
Dan 2:42  And [ as] the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken.
Dan 2:43  And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.
Dan 2:44  And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.
Dan 2:45  Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream [ is] certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.

We are all King Nebuchadnezzar, and we are all of the four kingdoms of this chapter. They are all within us. The four elements that make up the great image of this chapter are the same kingdoms represented by the four beasts of the four kingdoms of Dan 7. According to Rev 13, those four beasts are now all become one composite beast within us. We will not bother to demonstrate this fact at this point. We will do so when we come to Rev 13. For now let us just observe that all the kingdoms which “fill the whole earth” are destroyed by “the stone that is cut out of the mountain without hands”. Both the stone and the rock, we are told, is Christ, and it is He who is “the kingdom of God within you.”

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

1Co 10:4  And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.

Now if we can accept the fact that it is Christ who destroys all the nations of the earth, and if we can accept the truth that the earth is us as God’s own people (Jer 22:29), then it should be very clear that it is Christ in us who destroys all of “the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man” within us, as we “keep the things written therein” (Rev 1:3).

Rev 6:15  And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
Rev 6:16  And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
Rev 6:17  For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

This seventh seal, which is these seven trumpets, is nothing less than the carrying out of that prophecy of the sixth seal. “Hide us from the face of Him that sits on the throne and from the wrath of the lamb. That is what are these seven trumpets. They are “the wrath of the Lamb… [ and] the great day of His wrath [ which] is come,” and none will be able to stand on his own. It will be only a few who even remember that we are commanded to keep the things which are written in the words of this prophecy.

Summary

1) “A great star fell from heaven.”  We have seen that this “great star” is an angel of the Lord with the Words of our Lord for the seven churches of God.
2) It is “burning as it were a lamp.” We have seen that this great star, which is an angel with God’s message to us, “burns as a lamp”.  We have taken note that this burning lamp again is the very same Words of God which are the burning words of the “fire mingled with blood” in the first trumpet and “a great mountain burning with fire” in the second trumpet.
3) It falls upon a third part of the rivers and fountains of water. We saw that this star “burning as a lamp… falls upon the rivers and fountains of water,” and we saw many verses of God’s word which make clear that these rivers and fountains of waters are themselves merely symbols of the Words of God within us.
4) “The name of the star is called wormwood.” When we have perverted those words into lies and false doctrines, then they are in our rivers and fountains as bitter and deadly wormwood. We saw all the verses in the Old Testament which show that wormwood is judgment upon us if we are God’s people.
5) “The third part of the waters become wormwood.” We saw once again that all these things are done in thirds simply to tell us that this judgment is little by little, a life long process which “begins first at the house of God.”
6) “Many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter. We saw that we must all be “crucified with Christ,” and that as is always the case, the things that sound so dire to the natural man, are, in reality, our salvation, and that it is only those who lose their lives for Christ who will find their lives in Christ.

Next week, Lord willing, we will continue looking behind us at our continuing daily dying and incremental burning judgment in the Words of our Lord in the fourth trumpet.

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