A study with Matthew 24 – Part 6 (Verses 44-51)

Mat 24:44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
Mat 24:45 Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?
Mat 24:46 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
Mat 24:47 Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods.
Mat 24:48 But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;
Mat 24:49 And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;
Mat 24:50 The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of,
Mat 24:51 And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

The blessing that God’s elect are called unto as His first fruits and little flock is manifested through eyes and ears that have been given to hear the simplicity [“singleness“] that is found in Christ (2Co 11:3), that makes it possible for us to be more than conquerors through Him. (Joh 6:68)

2Co 11:3  But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty^G572, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity [singleness] that is in Christ.

Joh 6:68  Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. [singleness that is found in the words of eternal life, the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth of 1Co 5:8]

subtiltyG572  hap-lot’-ace  From G573; singleness, that is, (subjectively) sincerity (without dissimulation or self seeking), or (objectively) generosity (copious bestowal): – bountifulness, liberal (-ity), simplicity, singleness.

Christ, who is our hope of glory (Col 1:27), tells us that this singleness of mind is going to occur and be maintained as we grow in grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour. Jesus Christ (2Pe 3:18). We are caused to stop trusting in our own righteousness by way of that grace and faith we receive from God (Eph 1:12, Eph 2:8-9). It is God’s grace that causes us to stop trusting in our own works so that we can rest in the Lord while we believe and experience his powerful and mighty hand (Mic 6:8, Zec 4:6) doing the exact works that God has ordained for us from the foundation of the world (Php 3:9, Eph 1:4).

Php 3:9  And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

Eph 2:9  Not of works, lest any man should boast.

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

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

Eph 1:4  According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

That trust spoken of in Ephesians 1:12 can only be developed through the fiery trials which cause the precious tried faith of Christ (1Pe 1:7) to be formed within us; tried faith that acknowledges the righteousness of Christ within, and that without Him we could do nothing (Joh 15:5, Joh 5:30).

1Pe 1:7  That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:

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

Joh 5:30  I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.

We all start off trusting in ourselves, and that is what God has ordained; that the beast on the throne reigns supreme for the longest time as we are filled with our own (caused) thoughts of how we can overcome. We build up our own religious lives separate and independent of Christ (Mat 19:22), wearing our own apparel and eating our own food, while maintaining the name ‘Christian’ as our spiritual calling card. As we know, God is the one deceiving the prophet within us at that time in our walk (Jdg 21:25, Psa 127:1, Isa 4:1, Eze 14:9).

Mat 19:22  But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.

Jdg 21:25  In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.

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.

Even after we come to see that we’ve been deceived of the devil, and that the Lord has ordained that ongoing deception, it is only the beginning of the great battle of overcoming. The Lord orchestrates what seems like endless tribulation and wars in our heavens (Heb 10:32, Mat 24:21), and we learn through those tribulations to no longer lean to our own understanding, and we overcome the world within us through Christ, our hope of glory (Joh 16:33). It is through the suffering that God provides a way for us to bear, that we will cease from sinning, and we are told to arm ourselves with the same mind of Christ who anticipated that suffering and yet knew that our Father would be faithful to deliver Him through it all (1Co 10:13, 1Pe 4:1, Luk 9:22).

Joh 16:33  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.

1Co 10:13  There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

1Pe 4:1  Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin;

Luk 9:22  Saying, The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day.

God has to show us that we naturally lean to our own fleshly devices which we must overcome through Christ, and unless there is a struggle, and unless He shows us the wretchedness within us and the need to be delivered from it, there will be no overcoming (Eph 6:12, Rom 7:24-25, Gen 32:26).

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

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

Gen 32:26  And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me [1Pe 3:9].

This is the last part of our Matthew 24 series, and this last section focuses on the readiness that is required of God’s servants,  the sacrifice of our life and time that is required in order to be that blessed servant who is providing spiritual meat in due season when our Lord returns (Mat 24:45-47).

The subject in these verses is about overcoming and how it has been ordained from the foundation of the world that God’s elect will overcome, and that nothing would ever prevail against us (Mat 24:24). We are of that generation within whom all these judgments are being fulfilled, and it is through those judgments that Christ’s righteousness will be formed within us, and the gates of hell won’t prevail against us (Mat 16:18).

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

Mat 24:44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.

God’s word is written for the elect, and it admonishes us at every turn with a primary message of overcoming through Christ (Rev 2:7). Our flesh is never ready, and that is why it says “in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh“.  We “sleep on“(Mat 26:45) as the disciples did the night Christ was betrayed, and it takes conversion, the receiving of God’s holy spirit, to keep us ready with extra oil which God simply gives (Mat 25:4-5) to those whom He has ordained to be made ready by His grace through faith which will save us (Eph 2:8-9).

Rev 2:7  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.

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.

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

We would be sorely missing the point of the gospel if we thought we were somehow profitable to God and able to watch and be made ready of our own accord. That is the self-righteous spirit we have been called to overcome and conquer through Christ, and as we do, we come to acknowledge more perfectly each and every day, as we die daily, of how the Lord has to build the house and deliver us from ourselves through the seven last plagues, or else we would simply slumber and sleep (Rev 15:8).

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.

Mat 24:45 Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?

We just read the answer to this question “Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?”, and again there is a simplicity here we will miss if we don’t just take God at his word. The faithful and wise servant is the one who took oil in his lamp (Mat 25:4), but now we see who it is in this section of scripture that provided the oil to light the lamp which symbolizes the word of God or the spiritual meat we are blessed to give one another in due season.

The answer is “whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season“. This person who has been blessed to do this is the Christian who is partaking of God’s goodness in this age. He is not experiencing the severity of God as others will for our sakes not being ordained to recover from that moment when “they all slumbered and slept”. This is something we must never boast in but see with very somber hearts as the work of God, His severity and goodness being revealed, which applies to each of us in our own order (Rom 11:18-21). We are not excused from feeling that severity of God; not by any means.

Luk 13:4  Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem?

Mat 24:46 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.

I should say they are blessed if they’re doing this when the Lord comes, because it simply means the Lord had ordained this from the foundation of the world that they would be doing this work and in a moment and in a twinkling of an eye be blessed to be in the blessed and holy first resurrection (1Co 15:52, Rev 20:6, Rev 4:8).

1Co 15:52  In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

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.

Rev 4:8  And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.

That’s wonderful news to hear that you have been called to a blessing (1Pe 3:9), and it is important to see the word “holy” included in “blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection”. If not for that holiness, that process of overcoming through the judgment which is upon this generation with whom God is working, we would not be there in that first resurrection (Rev 15:8, Rev 4:5 Act 20:35).

1Pe 3:9  Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.

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.

Without Revelation 15:8 being fulfilled in our lives we would not be able to administer Revelation 4:5 in the lake of fire at the great white throne judgement.

Rev 4:5  And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.

Act 20:35  I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.

Mat 24:47 Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods^G5224.

What “all his goods” symbolize for God’s elect is to have the mind of Christ, to have peace that passes all understanding, to be in harmony with our Creator and our Lord Jesus Christ. Ultimately that “possession” or “substance” is what all men will have when God is all in all, and those who are blessed to experience this gift first in this age are first fruits who have lost their life today so that they can be used to help bring in the rest of God’s creation in time (Mat 16:25-26, Mat 19:29-30).

goodsG5224 huparchonta: neuter plural of present participle active of G5225 (to make a beginning, to exist) as noun
Thayer: possessions, goods, wealth, property
Strong: things extant or in hand, that is, property or possessions: – goods, that which one has, things which (one) possesseth, substance, that hast.
Total KJV Occurrences: 14

goods, 7  Mat_24:47, Mat_25:14, Luk_11:21, Luk_16:1, Luk_19:8, 1Co_13:3, Heb_10:34
hath, 2  Luk_12:44, Luk_14:33
hast, 1  Mat_19:21
have, 1  Luk_12:33
possessed, 1  Act_4:32
possesseth, 1  Luk_12:15
substance, 1  Luk_8:3

1Co 3:21  Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours;
1Co 3:22  Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours;
1Co 3:23  And ye are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s.

Joh 16:15  All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

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.

Psa 37:29  The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein for ever.

Mat 5:5  Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

Mat 4:9  And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.

Mat 16:25  For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.
Mat 16:26  For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

[The point being it is not the inheritance of physical things that God’s elect are interested in but rather inheriting the mind of Christ, the family of God, and being as Christ recognizing that all things are ours, and those all things are the loving and eternal relationships that he has given us through Christ.]

Mat 19:29  And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.
Mat 19:30  But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.

Mat 24:48 But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;
Mat 24:49. And shall begin to smite hisfellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;
Mat 24:50 The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of,
Mat 24:51. And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

These last few verses of Matthew 24 describe the other side of the pillar in the dark wilderness of our minds out of which we have to be dragged to have any hope of seeing the light of life in Christ (Joh 6:44). Light has to come out of darkness, and God has ordained that we all start off in darkness and cannot escape that darkness unless the son of man sets us free (Joh 8:36). If we are of the generation which shall not pass until all these things are fulfilled, we will also have to recognize ourselves at our appointed time as “that evil servant [who] shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming” in need of growing in patience and overcoming without the ability to possess our souls in patience except through Christ.

We have all smitten our fellow servants in our own way and eaten and drunk with the drunken. That saying simply typifies the time in our walk in Christ when we were immature babes who were yet carnal and struggling with lust and envy and pride, not yet able to partake of the strong meat of God’s word (Heb 5:14). We were deceived by our many wonderful works, and not having come behind in any good work, how could we possibly be “The lord of that servant [that] shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of” (1Co 3:3).

Heb 5:14  But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

1Co 3:3  For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?

The point being made is that if we are cut “asunder” today by not having the sword (2Sa 12:10) which exposes all these weaknesses in our lives depart from our house, and if we are shown the hypocrisy in our flesh today: “appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth”, then that will be a good thing as well. It tells us the Lord is judging us and maturing us so through that crushing experience He will create within us the mercy and love and compassion and understanding that can’t be formed any other way within God’s elect (Mat 21:44). It will bring us to cry out to God, as Christ did with strong tears, and “there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Mat 26:75), but in the morning there will be healing and a conversion that will make it possible for us to drink the cup and endure until the end through Christ (Luk 22:32).

Mat 21:44  And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.

Mat 26:75  And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly.

Luk 22:32  But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.

The end result is that if God will grant us to see our indebtedness to Him and to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that we are “the man”, it will be through God’s righteous judgment (Rom 2:5) and plagues that have to be poured out upon us (Rev 15:8) to make us ready to be kings and priests who will be able to administer God’s judgments in all the earth of humanity at an appointed time (Oba 1:21).

The “till all these things” be fulfilled of “This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled” is what God’s elect have been called unto. We suffer so that we can rule under Christ. We experience his judgements today in our life so that we can fill up what is behind of his afflictions for his body sake the church (Col 1:24). That is what must be fulfilled in our lives before Christ returns, and He promises us that we can drink this cup of suffering and that all that he has written in our books to endure has been accompanied with the promise that we will indeed be able to drink this cup (Mat 20:23).

[Study Aired November 9, 2019 at Mobile, Alabama Conference]

2Jn 1:6-12 will set the tone as to why we all must “look to yourselves” being “his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works”. We will also look at old covenant and new covenant examples that explain what this work God is doing in His kind of first fruits (Jas 1:18) is all about, and why it must first be wrought within the Israel of God, who we are, first (Gal 6:16).

2Jn 1:6  And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it.
2Jn 1:7  For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.
2Jn 1:8  Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought [Php 2:13], but that we receive a full reward.
2Jn 1:9  Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.
2Jn 1:10  If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed:
2Jn 1:11  For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.
2Jn 1:12  Having many things to write unto you, I would not write with paper and ink: but I trust to come unto you, and speak face to face, that our joy may be full.

[Our joy will be full in the earnest relationship that we have today in Christ (Eph 1:14) if we continue to abide in the doctrine of Christ being blessed to not neglect so great a salvation through that continuance. If we do those things, we will see Him face to face and be known “even as also I am known” of  (1Co 13:12)]

What is it that our Father is working in us and why, is explained in these verses (Heb 2:1-3, Eph 6:18, Luk 21:36, Mat 26:41, Heb 2:7-1, Heb 2:17-18) through the example of Jesus Christ who gives us the power to not “neglect so great a salvation” which can be accomplished by “praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints” (Jas 5:16).

Heb 2:1  Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip^G3901.
Heb 2:2  For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast^{G949 G939} [if we are stedfast we won’t slip], and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward; [1Co 4:6, 2Jn 1:9, Rev 22:7-9]
Heb 2:3  How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;

1Co 4:6  And these things, brethren, I have in a figure transferred to myself and to Apollos for your sakes; that ye might learn in us not to think of men above that which is written, that no one of you be puffed up for one against another.

2Jn 1:9  Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.

Rev 22:7  Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book [Rev 1:3].
Rev 22:8  And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things.
Rev 22:9  Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.

Eph 6:18  Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

Luk 21:36  Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.

Mat 26:41  Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

Heb 2:7  Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands:

[No one will take us out of his hands, the work of God’s hands Joh 6:37-40, Joh 10:28, “For we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works”]

Heb 2:8  Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him.
Heb 2:9  But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man (Col 1:24, like Christ we taste death for every man 1Co 15:31, 1Jn 4:17).

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

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

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

Heb 2:10  For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
Heb 2:11  For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: [1Co 12:12] for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren, [or to call us saviours who are his workmanship (Oba 1:21, Eph 2:10)]

1Co 12:12 For even as the body is one and has many members, yet all the members of the one body, being many, are one body, thus also is the Christ.” (CLV)

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

Eph 2:10  For we are his workmanship [And saviours], created in Christ Jesus unto good works [to judge the mount of Esau], which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Heb 2:17  Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.
Heb 2:18  For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.

[This is what God is working, has wrought and will wrought, in the body of Christ  yesterday, today and tomorrow; and our sufferings and temptations are for the express purpose of preparing us so that we can rule and reign under Christ which answers the why portion of our question. He will not deny himself of this purpose that God has for us and will finish this work within us by giving us the strength to drink the cup and thereby not losing any that the Father has given him (2Ti 2:12-13, Mat 20:23, Joh 6:39)]

All doctrine is profitable for us when we are blessed to labor in it (2Ti 3:16, Joh 6:27), and so we are called to do just that as we lay our hands on the plow, not looking back and knowing that God is a faithful rewarder of those who diligently seek him (Luk 9:62, Heb 11:6). We are seeking him and finding him together, like Noah in his day, who was convinced that the world around him of his time was going to come to an abrupt end (Heb 11:7, Mat 24:37, 1Pe 1:12, 2Pe 3:11-12).

Luk 9:62  And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.

Heb 11:6  But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Heb 11:7  By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.

Mat 24:37  But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

1Pe 1:12  Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into

2Pe 3:11  Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,
2Pe 3:12  Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?

The abrupt end of this world that was typified by Noah is also spoken of in the last part of these verses of the book of Revelation which we read earlier, right after the thought of keeping the sayings of the prophesies had been discussed (Rev 22:10-14).

Rev 22:10  And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.
Rev 22:11  He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.
Rev 22:12  And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. [the work that God is causing Rom 9:21-23, Rev 22:11]
Rev 22:13  I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.
Rev 22:14  Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.

With all these scriptures in mind, let’s look at what it is God is working within the body of Christ as His workmanship both to will and to do of his good pleasure (Php 2:13) and see how this message has been very consistent throughout the word of God from age to age (Isa 46:10).

Isa 46:10  Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure: [Luk 12:32]

To understand what it is God is working within the body of Christ, we must first look to Christ, the true witness (Rev 3:14). It is through Christ that this true witness within each of us (Col 1:27) can be wrought or expressed as we are dragged to the light (1Jn 3:2-3), as we decrease and our Lord increases within us (Joh 6:44, Joh 3:30).

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

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

1Jn 3:2  Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
1Jn 3:3  And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

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

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

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

On the other hand, Babylon is full of false witnesses and yet claims to come in His name but does not show the fruit of obedience having been wrought in their heavens (Mat 24:5, Isa 4:1, Luk 6:46).

Mat 24:5  For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

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

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

The stark contrast the scriptures draw for us regarding Babylon is for our sakes (2Co 4:15) to remind us that we must come “out of her” if we are going to “know that I am the LORD”. The Lord knows those who are His (2Ti 2:19), and He will work this work in us which exposes Babylon and causes it to fall within us so we can know Him: “and ye shall know that I am the LORD” (Jer 6:13-15, Eze 13:9-14):

Where we all start (Eph 2:3):

Jer 6:13  For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them every one is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely.
Jer 6:14  They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.
Jer 6:15  Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: (Rom 2:4) therefore they shall fall among them that fall: at the time that I visit them they shall be cast down, saith the LORD. [Luk 19:44, Rev 19:20]

Luk 19:44  And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; [false doctrines] and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation. [Mat 24:2]

Rev 19:20  And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. [“because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation” We don’t know the day of visitation until judgement comes upon us and these verses apply to us when they apply to us in our day of judgment or visitation 1Pe 4:17]

Eze 13:9  And mine hand shall be upon the prophets (Eze 14:9) that see vanity, and that divine lies: they shall not be in the assembly of my people (Heb 10:25), neither shall they be written in the writing of the house of Israel [Mal 3:16], neither shall they enter into the land of Israel; and ye shall know that I am the Lord GOD.
Eze 13:10  Because, even because they have seduced my people, saying [this is what the false prophets do that God caused them to do], Peace; and there was no peace; and one built up a wall, and, lo, others daubed it with untempered morter:
Eze 13:11  Say unto them which daub it with untempered morter, that it shall fall: [Eze 3:17-19, Eze 33:2-6] there shall be an overflowing shower; and ye, O great hailstones, shall fall; and a stormy wind shall rend it.
Eze 13:12  Lo, when the wall is fallen, shall it not be said unto you, Where is the daubing wherewith ye have daubed it?  [1Ki 18:27, Joh 12:48, Mat 12:37]
Eze 13:13  Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even rend it with a stormy wind in my fury; and there shall be an overflowing shower in mine anger, and great hailstones in my fury to consume it.
Eze 13:14  So will I break down the wall that ye have daubed with untempered morter, and bring it down to the ground, so that the foundation thereof shall be discovered, and it shall fall, and ye shall be consumed in the midst thereof: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.

It is through the deceitfulness of sin not being repented of, or by growing weary in well doing as we see the day approaching, that iniquity can abound within us causing the love of many to wax cold, but God has blessed us to know in this age, through the work He has wrought and is working within His workmanship, that we are more than conquerors through Him who loves us, as He gives us the strong desire to overcome and heed the admonitions which are able to make us wise unto salvation (Joh 3:20-21, Isa 26:9, Heb 3:13-15, 2Ti 3:15).

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 [the good and the evil works that are shown us when we continue or abide in the light 1Jn 1:7].

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

Heb 3:13  But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. [Heb 10:25, Mal 3:16]
Heb 3:14  For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end; [get comfortable in the fire (Isa 33:14-17, Heb 11:14, 1Co 13:12)]
Heb 3:15  While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.

2Ti 3:15  And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

Hearts are hardened when we despise the needful and necessary chastening and scourging which reveals our Father’s love for us (Heb 12:6). He purges the iniquity within us that is also in the world but not being dealt with today as it is in the body of Christ (Rom 2:4-6, Rom 11:8, 2Co 3:13-14, Rom 11:25-26, Isa 8:17, Isa 54:8, Joh 12:40). This veil of blindness upon the world is going to be done away with in Christ and His body by having the same veil ripped which is his flesh, which is the church (Eph 5:30, Heb 10:20, 2Ti 2:12). The world will be reconciled through the church which will have been already judged and been made ready to reconcile the world as kings and priests (Joh 12:40-48, 1Pe 4:17).

The verses in John 3:1-19, with Nicodemus coming to Christ “by night”, lead up and point to the process that is being wrought in the lives of those with whom Christ is working in this life (1Pe 1:12, Joh 3:20-21) and demonstrate how it is after we have been cleansed and made ready that we “Jesus and his disciples [go] into the land of Judaea; and there he tarried with them, and baptized”.

Joh 3:3  Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

Joh 3:21  But he that doeth truth cometh to the light [coming to Christ first by night as Nicodemus did as a type of the elect (Isa 26:9)], that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

The gospel we preach is connected with our walk and is something that must be prepared or “wrought out” in our heavens before we can be a true witness of Jesus Christ (Eph 6:15). That dying daily process of lying dead in the street or mortifying the deeds of our flesh on a day-to-day basis is how we witness of His power that He gives the two witnesses who represent Christ in us (Rev 11:3). It is in that power we find our peace that comes about by the Lord cleansing the temple and giving us the power to live by faith as we endure to the end through Christ (Php 4:13).

The grace that chastens and scourges us teaches us to forsake ungodliness in this age (Tit 2:12). That is how peace comes about, and that work is being wrought in very few,  and is despised by the world because it requires that we be crucified on the cross with Christ (Gal 2:20), transparent, coming to the light so “that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God” (Joh 6:44). If we despise his goodness (Rom 2:4) which we do until we don’t, and “hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved”, then we will remain in darkness, but if we walk in the light as he is in the light we will be purified (1Jn 1:7-10, 1Jn 2:1-2).

“Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:” who comes to Jesus by night, has Christ explain to him the only way that light can come out of darkness, by being born again so we can be led by the spirit of God (Rom 8:14) as a spiritual Jew who rules the nations inwardly (Rom 2:28-29), which means we will be dragged to our Father to have our deeds reproved so that ultimately we can be sent to witness, which is how the chapter concludes (Joh 3:22-30).

The Gospel Preached After we are Cleansed:

Joh 3:22  After these things [Joh 3:3-21] came Jesus and his disciples into the land of Judaea; and there he tarried with them, and baptized.

Joh 3:28  Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him. [similar to Nicodemus]
Joh 3:29  He that hath the bride [God’s elect the bride] is the bridegroom: [Christ] but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled. [the friend of the bridegroom is John who anon with joy hears the word of the bridegroom but is not granted to be the bride. John therefore represents the many called, and the bride, the few chosen  (Mat 11:4, Mat 22:14). John clearly stated that he “is not the Christ” (the head or the bride Joh 3:28) and Christ confirmed this witness by witnessing back to John that He, Christ, was indeed who John said he was (Mat 11:4-6)].

God gives power to His two witnesses to fulfill this witness in the earth outwardly (Rev 11:3), starting with a witness that puts to death our inward man of sin who will be destroyed by the brightness of His coming causing us to decrease and allowing the witness of Christ within us to increase outwardly to all the world (Joh 3:30, Col 1:24, Col 1:27).

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

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

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

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

Our prayer is that the Lord will continue to work these words in each of our lives as fellow laborers of the true gospel, not eating our own bread or wearing our own apparel (Isa 4:1) but laboring for the words of eternal life together (Joh 6:68), those living waters that come from Christ alone (Joh 6:55-57).

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

Joh 6:55  For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.
Joh 6:56  He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.
Joh 6:57  As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.

Psa 103:6 The LORD executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed.
Psa 103:7 He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel.
Psa 103:8 The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.
Psa 103:9 He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever.
Psa 103:10 He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
Psa 103:11 For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.

One of the main reasons we “Bless The Lord” or give thanks to the Lord is because of His mercy and love that endure for ever, and we’ve come to see that whenever God does talk about mercy upon his people, it is very much connected with redemption that comes about through the grace and faith which He extends to us in this age. Ephesians 2:4-5 precede the scripture that talks about our being raised in heavenly places in where we read of His “rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us”, mind of our Father. That concept of God’s mercy and love is brought out very brightly in this section of our Psalm study this evening.

Psa 136:2 O give thanks unto the God of gods: for his mercy endureth for ever.
Psa 136:3 O give thanks to the Lord of lords: for his mercy endureth for ever.

Psa 107:1 O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.
Psa 107:2 Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy;

Eph 2:4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
Eph 2:5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved)

Eph 2:6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
Eph 2:7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

In this part of our Psalm 103 study, we will look at how God’s goodness, God’s mercy, is shown unto His elect as we examine the reason why God is showing such great mercy to us, and come to see the same conclusion that is written throughout God’s word, that being he will have mercy upon all and start by showing that great favor toward his people first, as his kind of first fruits (Jas 1:18) who will in the ages to come “shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus” to the rest of world.

Rom 11:1 I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.
Rom 11:2 God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. Wot ye not what the scripture saith of Elias? how he maketh intercession to God against Israel, saying,
Rom 11:3 Lord, they have killed thy prophets, and digged down thine altars; and I am left alone, and they seek my life.
Rom 11:4 But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal.
Rom 11:5 Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.

The Lord is showing us clearly that we ought to “Bless The Lord” because we have been blessed to see clearly that His mercy, His love, is demonstrated by His grace and faith working in our lives (Rom 8:28 all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose [a purpose of grace and faith]) so that we may be received together as a healthy body that can come up on mount Zion in the first resurrection (in earnest today in this regard), and extend that grace and faith in the same way in which we have received it as described in the earlier verse mentioned “shew[ing] the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus”.

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

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

So what does it mean to show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus? The answer to that is found in this Psalm and throughout God’s word, and found also in the word “grace“, a word that is not understood by the religious world which is not being judged in this age, and so easily turns “the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ” of (Jud 1:4).

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

Jud 1:4 For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.

To better explain how we ought to “Bless The Lord” for the grace and faith that work together in the lives of those with whom he is working with in this age, please read this article from Mike Vinson that demonstrates what the difference is between ‘what grace is’ verses ‘what grace does’; and demonstrates how critical it is that we understand that point as sons being received today of our Lord through that grace which chastens us (Heb 12:6).

Here are two excerpts from this article:

The Difference Between What Grace Is and What Grace Does

Excerpt 1:

Yes, the word ‘grace’ is the same in all of the scriptures you reference. ‘Grace’ is God’s loving favor toward’s those He loves. That is what grace does; it teaches and disciplines through chastening. “Grace…chastens us to forsake ungodliness and to live godly lives in this present age”:

Here are the scriptures which say this:…


Excerpt 2:

Heb 12:6  For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth [Greek: paideuo – chastens, teaches], and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

Heb 12:7  If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? 

Heb 12:8  But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.

Tit 2:11  For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, 

Tit 2:12  Teaching [Greek: paideuo – chastens, teaches] us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

Does the word ‘grace’ mean chasten? No, it does not. The Greek word for ‘grace’ is ‘charis‘. Here is Strong’s definition of this Greek word:

charis – khar’-ece

From G5463; graciousness (as gratifying), of manner or act (abstract or concrete; literal, figurative or spiritual; especially the divine influence upon the heart, and its reflection in the life; including gratitude): – acceptable, benefit, favour, gift, grace (-ious), joy liberality, pleasure, thank (-s, -worthy)….

I pray we can see in this Psalm tonight that God intends to bring much judgment upon His people, “like a mighty stream”, as it says in Amos 5:24, and that this much judgment and tribulation is tempered with His mercy and love and favor from start to finish (Eph 5:25). That favor^G5463 is not to be turned into a liberty to serve our flesh, turning God’s favor into an occasion to have a lascivious spirit that God will allow to come into our midst from time to time, to try and test the body of Christ. If He is working with us in this age, His favor will be shown through the chastening grace that will abound in our lives until we learn the lessons that we need to learn, which is to wash the inside of the cup, day by day and to avoid the little leaven that can leaven the whole lump. We examine ourselves first and foremost, and then we can stand guard together as watchmen against any and all leaven that is always at the door and needs to be ruled over.

Amo 5:24 But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.

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

Gal 5:13 For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.

1Co 11:19 For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.

1Co 5:6 Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?
1Co 5:7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:
1Co 5:8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

Jud 1:4 For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.

Mat 23:26 Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.
Mat 23:27 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness.
Mat 23:28 Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.

Gen 4:7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.

That judgment which causes us to cease from sinning is the judgment which we must not despise and must expect to receive as sons and daughters. We are blessed to learn of His mercy through that judgment that rules over those chastening moments in each of our lives, through which we must endure, by his power and might working within us, that is how we keep sin at the door so to speak, and we are not ignorant of Satan’s devices because God has devised a means for us, through the blood of Christ, to overcome the devil at the door of our hearts.

1Pe 4:1 Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin;
1Pe 4:2 That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.
1Pe 4:3 For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries:

Pro 3:11 My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction:
Pro 3:12 For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.

Heb 12:6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
Heb 12:7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?

Jas 2:13 For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.

Zec 4:10 For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven; they are the eyes of the LORD, which run to and fro through the whole earth.

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

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

2Sa 14:14 For we must needs die, and are as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; neither doth God respect any person: yet doth he devise means, that his banished be not expelled from him.

Psa 103:6 The LORD executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed.

It is the LORD who executes righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed, and all have sinned and come short of the glory of God (Rom 3:23), so the oppressed represents all the sins of the world that are within me that oppress me. If Christ is not ruling over those nations within me, then the sin which is at the door can take root in the lives of His children except “The LORD executeth righteousness and judgment“.

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

Man can be very precise in the execution of things in the law, and all of that precision is a shadow of the greater and more exact precision of God’s dealings with His children as we are dragged unto Christ, who is the end of the law. He brings us to see our need to repent and change our ways which are exposed and made bright by the law for the lawless, and when we are dragged to Christ by our Father, we begin to see the true bread of life in Christ who brings us to the point where we “Murmur not among yourselves” (Rom 5:20).

Rom 10:4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.

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

Joh 6:41 The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven.
Joh 6:42 And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? how is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven?
Joh 6:43 Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves.
Joh 6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.

Psa 103:7 He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel.

God made known in type and shadow through Moses and the children of Israel how intent He was on exacting righteousness and judgment for the nation of Israel who were oppressed by the Egyptians. That deliverance typifies our own deliverance today as sons and daughters of God who are being saved by His mighty hand.

Psa 136:12 With a strong hand, and with a stretched out arm: for his mercy endureth for ever.
Psa 136:13 To him which divided the Red sea into parts: for his mercy endureth for ever:

These many verses in the old covenant (listed below) speak of the mighty hand of God that typify our own coming out of Egypt by His spirit. Those many types and shadows were written down for our sakes to keep us somber and taking heed the rest of our lives, so that when we get to that point by the grace and faith of God that we are standing in the Lord, we don’t take that standing for granted and end up finishing what began in the spirit with the flesh (Eph 6:13, Gal 3:3). That is the state in which we are blessed to endure as God’s children in this age (Mat 24:13), the blue working against the scarlet flesh bruising us with purple heels that are being burnished to the glory and honour of our great God (Gal 5:17, Rev 1:15).

1Pe 1:12 Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.

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

Zec 4:6 Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.

Gen 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

(And here are the verses mentioned above that speak of the mighty hand of God that typify our own coming out of Egypt by his spirit:)
Exo_3:8 Exo_3:10 Exo_7:4 Exo_7:5 Exo_12:17 Exo_12:51 Exo_13:9 Exo_13:14 Exo_13:16 Exo_16:32 Exo_18:1 Exo_20:2 Exo_29:46 Exo_32:7 Exo_32:11 Lev_11:45 Lev_19:36 Lev_22:33 Lev_23:43 Lev_25:38 Lev_25:42
Lev_25:55 Lev_26:13 Lev_26:45 Num_14:13 Num_15:41 Num_20:16 Num_23:22 Num_24:8 Deu_4:20 Deu_4:37 Deu_5:6 Deu_5:15 Deu_6:12 Deu_6:21 Deu_7:8 Deu_7:19 Deu_8:14 Deu_9:26 Deu_13:5 Deu_13:10 Deu_16:1 Deu_20:1 Deu_26:8 Deu_29:25 Jos_24:5 Jos_24:17 Jdg_2:1 Jdg_2:12 Jdg_6:8 1Sa_8:8 1Sa_10:18
1Sa_12:6 1Sa_12:8 2Sa_7:6 1Ki_8:16 1Ki_8:21 1Ki_8:51 1Ki_8:53 1Ki_9:9 2Ki_17:7 2Ki_17:36 Psa_81:10 Psa_105:37 Psa_136:11 Jer_2:6 Jer_7:22 Jer_11:4 Jer_11:7 Jer_31:32 Jer_32:21 Jer_34:13 Dan_9:15
Amo_2:10 Amo_3:1 Amo_9:7 Mic_6:4 Gen_46:4 Exo_6:6 Exo_6:7 Exo_32:12 Hos_11:1 Mat_2:15 Deu_1:27
Jer_16:14 Jer_16:15 Jer_23:7-8

Psa 103:8 The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.

I am so grateful that we serve a LORD who is “merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy“, but we know that does not mean that He won’t execute righteousness and judgment speedily in the life of His people as stated in verse six of our study.

Ecc 8:11 Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.

God will be merciful and gracious in the midst of the fiery trials and judgment which He executes, is what we are being told, and that mercy will rule over the much needed judgment upon our first man Adam who is being delivered and saved through that process of judgment.

Rom 12:19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.

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?

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

Psa 103:9 He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever.

Verse nine is saying the same thing as verse eight, “He will not always chide^H7378” reminds us that there is a culmination in all that God does with the sons of men, and He will exact what He wants from the clay which He is fashioning into the likeness of His son (Jer 18:4). He will not always chide with us^H7378 “properly to toss, that is, grapple; mostly figuratively to wrangle, that is, hold a controversy” and that brings us to this symbolic verse in the old covenant which is also saying the same thing. While it is today, we are to fight a good fight of faith (1Ti 6:12) and know that God loves us, but He does not love our old man, and He is constantly against that part of us that must be brought into subjection to our hope of glory within Jesus Christ (Col 1:27) if we are going to go unto perfection on the third day.

Gen 6:3 And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.

Psa 7:11 God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day.

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

H7378
רוּב ריבo
rı̂yb rûb
reeb, roob
A primitive root; properly to toss, that is, grapple; mostly figuratively to wrangle, that is, hold a controversy; (by implication) to defend: – adversary, chide, complain, contend, debate, X ever, X lay wait, plead, rebuke, strive, X thoroughly.

Psa 103:10 He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
Psa 103:11 For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.

“He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities” does not mean that God is not dealing with the marred vessel in His hand and making it anew as we’re told in Jeremiah that he is doing (Jer 18:4). What we are being told once again is that in the process of that judgment and dealing with our sins and iniquities, God is gracious and righteous and merciful to apply equal measures and weights to every circumstance in our lives, as He drags us unto the Lord leading us unto repentance.

Psa 116:5 Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; yea, our God is merciful.
Psa 116:6 The LORD preserveth the simple: I was brought low, and he helped me.

Eph 4:30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
Eph 4:31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:
Eph 4:32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.

Heb 4:15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
Heb 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

Lev 19:36 Just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin, shall ye have: I am the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt.

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?

1Jn 2:1 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:
1Jn 2:2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

Verse 11 reveals the heart of those who are being worked with as they are dragged to Christ. Our liberty is found through the cleansing experience that would never begin to happen if we were not given contrite and broken hearts which are not hardened against the Lord but “that fear him”. That fear is a holy fear which moves us in the right direction of liberty, not a negative cowardly fear which drives us back into the world as typified by Adam and Eve in Genesis 3:9-10. At this stage in Adam’s life, not having God’s holy spirit within him, he does not know how to deal with the nakedness of his flesh which was purposed for all in Adam to have to wrestle with, each man in his appointed time.

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

Eze 36:26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.

Rom 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

2Co 3:17 Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

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

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

Rom 8:9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

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

Heb 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
Heb 9:28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

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?

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

Ecc 7:2 It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart.
Ecc 7:3 Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.
Ecc 7:4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.

It is that high-above-the-earth relationship with God the Father and Jesus Christ which is leading us to eternal life through His words of eternal life which are sanctifying us, and this is why we “Bless The Lord” because of this incredible honour to have our names written in heaven far above the earth where we are raised in heavenly places where God is working out all the details in our life which will lead us unto perfection on the third day. In that we should rejoice, and again I say rejoice.

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

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

Luk 10:20 Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.

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

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

Next week, God willing, we will look at Part 3 of our study entitled “Bless The Lord” covering verses 12 to 18 where we will look again at the incredible mercy of God upon His people whom He is sanctifying in this age with His word, removing our transgressions from us, and showing great pity toward His people whom He has given hearts that are being prepared to drink the cup of His judgment in this age as His kind of first fruits (Mat 20:22).

Psa 103:12 As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
Psa 103:13 Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him.
Psa 103:14 For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.
Psa 103:15 As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth.
Psa 103:16 For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more.
Psa 103:17 But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children’s children;
Psa 103:18 To such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them.

Dear Brother,

Thank you again for your tireless service to the Body of Christ.  You and Sandi bless us so very much, and I praise God for the gift you both are to this flock of Christ.

Mike, in your most recent study you wrote:

“We have seen that the key to the house of David is the same as the keys to the kingdom of heaven because both give us the power to bind on earth that which has been bound in heaven and to loose on earth that which has been loosed in heaven.”

We also read in Revelation…

Rev 1:18  and the Living One, and I became dead, and behold, I am alive for ever and ever, Amen. And I have the keys of hell and of death.

…and…

Rev 20:1  And I saw an angel come down from Heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand.

So I am thinking that by “The Dream Is One” principle, the key would be the same key, that key being Christ, who is able to open our understanding of spiritual knowledge.

Luk 24:45  And He opened their mind to understand the Scriptures.

The place of “hell and death” or the “abyss” is just the  “kingdom” while the beast still sits on the throne and before Christ comes into His kingdom within us, and opening up “death and hell” or “the abyss” is the same as saying Christ  “has the keys of the kingdom” and that Christ comes to this kingdom to take up His rightful seat.

That is why Christ says:

Mat 16:18  And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Mat 16:19  And I will give the keys of the kingdom of Heaven to you. And whatever you may bind on earth shall occur, having been bound in Heaven, and whatever you may loose on earth shall occur, having been loosed in Heaven.

“Hell” IS the “kingdom of God” because it WILL BE.

Rev 11:15  And the seventh angel sounded. And there were great voices in Heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ. And He will reign forever and ever.

The dream is ONE!

I am fairly sure I am seeing this right, but just want to run by you.

In Christ,
U____

Hi U____,

You have just expanded my understanding of this subject of the keys to the kingdom of heaven.

You are exactly right: “the dream is one”, and the keys of death and hell and the key to the bottomless pit, are also all one.

I have been saying the same thing, but I had not yet made this connection when I said ‘The key of David, the keys to the kingdom both give us the power to bind and to loose what has already been bound or loosed in heaven. Therefore it is essential that we know what has been bound and loosed in heaven before we can use those keys.’

I have also pointed out that the things that are bound and loosed in heaven is just a way of expressing what is the mind of God and His Son. If we have their mind, we have “life eternal”:

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

Knowing what is the key to death and hell, and knowing what is the key to the bottomless pit, is part of knowing what are the keys of David and the keys to the kingdom of heaven, because as was pointed out yesterday, Christ’s throne in His kingdom, the kingdom of heaven, is typified by “the throne of His father David”:

Luk 1:32  He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:

This is such a blessing. All those apparently different keys are all simply a matter of knowing God and Jesus.

This is a wonderful revelation. God bless you for sharing your gold with all of us. You give it away, and He will give you more!

Your grateful brother and fellow servant of Christ, and His Christ.

Mike

(Key verses: Gen 3:16-18)

The visible things which God created in the natural world, including “our days on the earth”, are temporary “shadows” as we walk as strangers (flesh) before God (spirit) in “the valley of the shadow of death” being “bound in affliction and iron” – all ordained by God (Rom 1:20, Psa 107:10, Isa 9:2, Amo 5:8).

Psa 23:4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

1Ch 29:15 For we are strangers before thee, and sojourners, as were all our fathers: our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is none abiding.

As the “Sun of righteousness” arises through the light of His Word at the appointed time, we are being healed from this death condition as these shadows also become smaller and less significant:

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

This healing is done through His process of judgment when our sinful condition is progressively revealed and eventually totally destroyed. If we can see that all God’s ways in this creation are connected to His righteous judgment, then we will also see that our loving and merciful God has a perfect and just plan for all in the first Adam. He has a very good reason why He made us physical and in “corruption” first (Jer 18:4, 1Co 15:50).

Ecc 3:16 And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgment, that wickedness was there; and the place of righteousness, that iniquity was there.

Deu 32:4 He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.

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

This whole earthy life sets us up for God’s final spiritual judgment through Jesus, the Word of God which is His comforting rod and staff. God brought judgment on Adam and Eve when they transgressed His commandment, which typifies God’s spiritual judgment in all of us at the appointed time:

Gen 3:16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to [Hebrew: êl or el] thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.
Gen 3:17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
Gen 3:18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
Gen 3:19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

To the natural mind it appears that the actions of Adam and Eve actually changed or altered God’s plan to now bring new things, like judgment, to the fore. To believe that the thoughts and actions of creatures can alter God’s plan and purpose is an idol of the natural mind which God has placed there “so that no man can find out the work that God makes from the beginning to the end” (Ecc 3:11). God knows “the end from the beginning”, and He made Adam and Eve naked, which they only discovered afterwards. When we “discover” things we naturally tend to think nobody knew about it beforehand! In our natural childlike ignorance we go out to proclaim something which is already known, as in the case with Adam and Eve when they informed God what had happened. God also approaches the natural or carnal mind on the level He deceives it (Eze 14:1-10, Jer 4:10, 1Ki 22:22, 2Th 2:11).

Psa 18:26b ….with the froward thou wilt shew thyself froward.

That is why the froward spirit which God sends within the best human argument is such a powerful delusion and it causes natural man to be puffed up in thinking of themselves as “wise” for having “vain knowledge” or “science falsely so called” (Job 15:2, 1Sa 18:10).

1Ti 6:20 O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called.

God is not reacting to the thoughts and actions of His creature, because He is the only cause of everything in His creation. He is also not “allowing” anything to happen because the Scriptures clearly say He is “working all things after the counsel of His [one] will” and no one can resist that will, whether for good or for evil (Eph 1:11, Rom 9:16-19). His preordained judgments on all natural thoughts and actions are only revealed to us at the appointed time (Pro 16:1, Psa 139:1-3, Eze 11:5, Eph 1:11). God caused the serpent and Adam and Eve to do what was recorded in the Scriptures, and the importance of judgment is now also revealed and what that entails. First of all, it is clear that the serpent and Adam and Eve were not judged “eternally”, but the judgment was of a limited nature – until they returned to the dust (Gen 3:19). Judgment related to their thoughts and actions within the body of dust which God created in naked, weak flesh and for which He ordained a basic diet of plant life, as no meat was eaten before the flood of Noah:

Gen 1:29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.

Eating “every herb bearing seed” and green plants is spiritually seen as the “diet” of a weak and immature spiritual person in the Scriptures:

Rom 14:2 For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs.

As with the natural shadow, an immature spiritual person is called a babe or a child in the Scriptures, and this is also linked to the drinking of milk in a spiritual sense. In this spiritual state we are not skilled as yet in God’s “word of righteousness”:

Heb 5:13 For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.

Like Adam and Eve, we all start off as babies in spiritual blindness. When we are introduced to Jesus Christ, judgment is one of the principles of the doctrine of Christ which are taught to us, especially as it specifically relates to the laying of the foundation on which the deeper spiritual revelations of Jesus are built:

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

The word “eternal” next to judgment in verse 2 is wrongly translated as such. It is translated from the Greek word “aionios” which relates rather to an age or limited period. Every person “in Adam” is first given an age or period in this carnal blinded condition “under the law…in [our natural] members”, which is a state of spiritual death. Nothing relating to this period is “eternal” – neither “the body of this death” nor the mind of death. Death is in essence a temporary creation of God (Gen 2:7, Isa 25:8).

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

Rom 8:6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

All in the first Adam are appointed by God to first experience this state of spiritual death, before the final judgment is brought on us when this eon of death is completely destroyed. ALL death (all carnal minds) will be destroyed and consumed by the life and mind of Christ:

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

1Co 15:26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

1Co 15:54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
1Co 15:55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave [Greek: ‘hades‘], where is thy victory?

This limitation God placed on death also reveals God’s mercy, especially in judgment, and not as the false teaching of “eternal” judgment wants to portray our loving God. God’s mercy does not replace His judgment as some twist the scriptures to say. It is through this process of judgment that His mercy is revealed to all as He will utterly destroy the old sinful first man Adam (who has no mercy himself) to bring forth His new creation in the last Adam, Christ (1Co 15:45, 2Co 5:17).

Jas 2:13 For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.

God’s judgment is purposeful and is befitting His holy discretion (Luk 12:47-48, Heb 10:30). He is indeed “wonderful in counsel and excellent in working”:

Isa 28:24 Doth the plowman plow all day to sow? doth he open and break the clods of his ground?
Isa 28:25 When he hath made plain the face thereof, doth he not cast abroad the fitches, and scatter the cummin, and cast in the principal wheat and the appointed barley and the rie in their place?
Isa 28:26 For his God doth instruct him to discretion, and doth teach him.
Isa 28:27 For the fitches are not threshed with a threshing instrument, neither is a cart wheel turned about upon the cummin; but the fitches are beaten out with a staff, and the cummin with a rod.
Isa 28:28 Bread corn is bruised; because he will not ever [continually] be threshing it, nor break it with the wheel of his cart, nor bruise it with his horsemen.
Isa 28:29 This also cometh forth from the LORD of hosts, which is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in working.

This is not merely an instruction in agriculture, but it is showing us that God’s mercy in judgment is far above human ways of judgment and their understanding of it (Rom 11:30-32).

2Sa 24:14 And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let us fall now into the hand of the LORD; for his mercies are great: and let me not fall into the hand of man.

God is a loving and merciful God, and He wants us to know Him and receive His righteousness (in spirit and truth) eventually. That is why God ordained the “strange work” of judgment as the spiritual “tool” to teach and give us His righteousness (Isa 26:9, Isa 28:21-22). This is, of course, foolishness to the natural mind (1Co 2:14).

Gen 3:16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to [Hebrew: êl or el] thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.

When God told Eve that He will “greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception” it was all “settled in heaven” long before Eve was created (Psa 119:89). We know that Eve did not give birth before her “eyes were opened”. Only after this opening of her eyes, God then revealed to her a little more of what conception was all about. God already ordained this sorrowful conception before the world began and long before Adam and Eve transgressed. This physical “sorrow and …conception” is therefore a type (a shadow) of the real spiritual conception process in and through Christ, the last Adam, the spiritual “mother of all living” in spirit. That is why Eve was named as such after this judgment was pronounced:

2Ti 1:8 Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God;
2Ti 1:9 Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,

Gen 3:20 And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.

Patience and pain are naturally true for every child being born, but more so in the spiritual application and antitype which is the focus for those whose spiritual wombs are being prepared to be that spiritual mother (Rom 8:20-23, Rev 20:4-6, 11-15). New birth does not come instantly through a “Lord, Lord” prayer, but by doing what he said (Mat 7:21). That is to “bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things” written (Mat 4:4). This includes the enduring of the wrath of God on our old man as symbolized by the outpouring of the seven vials in the revelation of Jesus (Act 22:14, Rev 15:8, Col 1:24). God’s “face” (His spiritual image) is revealed “from glory to glory” in the progressive destruction of our old man by His spirit (1Co 15:31, Joh 6:63).

Exo 33:18 And he [Moses] said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory.
Exo 33:19 And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.
Exo 33:20 And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.

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

The Hebrew word ‘êl‘ or ‘el‘ in Genesis 3 verse 16 is also translated 151 times as “against” in the King James translation, which helps us to see Eve as a type of the church of God who is being “married” to the Head, Jesus Christ. Marriage is a process of becoming one – making two one (Mar 10:8-9). We naturally have desires which are against the spiritual rulership of Jesus in our lives. We also complain and murmur against our Maker for doing His works (which are His words) in our lives (Exo 16:8, Psa 106:24-25, Joh 14:10, Mat 4:4). But He will eventually rule over all in the first Adam:

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

Eph 5:23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.
Eph 5:24 Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.

Next week, God willing, we will continue discussing this theme of judgment as revealed in Genesis for the first time in the Scriptures.

[The writer may be reached at glgroenewald@gmail .com for questions or comments.]
[Detailed studies and emails written relating to these foundational themes in Scripture are available on the www.iswasandwillbe.com website, including:]

How do we Apply the Sum of God’s Word to Scripture?
What is Aionios Life?
After the Counsel of His Own Will
Aionian Life is not Eternal

A___ wrote:
Thank you so much Mike … I have been lazy about reading God’s Word and have been listening to too many false prophets! But my heart said I could reach out to you for help, and I was right.
I have read Rightly Dividing the Word, Wow!  I really believe He sets stumbling blocks to see if you will strain a gnat but swallow a camel!  It never bothered me how the apostles inserted O. T. verses out of context, I thought it brilliant. I can imagine how some who still wait for Messiah will want to pitch the N. T. against the wall however.  They will ignore the many prophecies of Jesus Christ in Isaiah for example, which are crystal clear.
Will definitely read Intro to the Book of Revelation as well as After the Counsel of His Own Will and the Law of Moses versus the Law of the Spirit. Will God’s Strong Delusion Deceive You certainly screams at me to be read! I enjoy your site and your audios very much.
 
You helped me when I felt confused and saw no where to turn. So many websites, so much insanity regarding God’s word out there. I need to spend more time in the Bible while He is still patient with me.
And truth be told it is embarrasing now, but I was fearful and not confident of my knowledge of God’s word. As you can tell, Mike, I am just starting to get a glimpse of how God thinks and see things and how He works.
So hard to understand it is a spiritual Book but I am coming around, and whenever I go to your site, I get that drilled into my head so I understand to pray before reading the Bible, and now know I need to develop a relationship with the Holy Spirit myself, and your documents on the site are also a great Teacher and source of spiritual food. On your tapes I never hear you go on and on about conjectures and dreams and visions; just God’s Word. And that is how we all should be and how we all could get closer to Him. If He sends me a spiritual gift I accept, dreams and visions, too, but that is not what the walk is about. That is not the primary purpose and the last time I asked Him for a prophetic dream, I got sent insomnia.  Funny but true, so all I ask now is the desire to read His Word. And I wait in hope for him to deliver me from my sinful nature and my addiction to cigarettes.
There is a verse about seven women grabbing hold of one man saying we will eat our own bread and wear our own clothes.  I still smile today when I remember thinking “wow, talk about being desperate to get married!”  It is now so clear what the verse means and speaks of the Church with false doctrines pretending to be clothed in righteousness using the name of Jesus Christ thinking it will take away their reproach.  I remember how excited, thrilled and joyful I was to understand and still feel that way… like I discovered a great treasure, which of course I did. Praise Jesus.
God Bless You.  Thank you from my heart.
A____

To: A____
Thank you for your kind words and God bless you as you seek to know Him and His Christ.

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

Your brother in Christ.
Mike