(Aired on June 24, 2025)

The question of whether God creates evil has troubled believers throughout the ages, yet Scripture provides clear answers when we allow the word of God to interpret itself. Understanding this truth requires us to embrace God’s higher thoughts and ways, for as Isaiah declares, “my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9). When we approach this subject with human wisdom rather than spiritual understanding, we inevitably stumble into confusion and contradiction.

The foundation for understanding God’s relationship to what we call “evil” rests firmly upon the bedrock of His absolute sovereignty. Scripture declares unequivocally that God “worketh all things after the counsel of his own will” (Ephesians 1:11), and this “all things” encompasses every aspect of creation without exception. The prophet Isaiah provides the most direct answer to our question when he records God’s own words: “I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things” (Isaiah 45:7). Here, the Almighty Himself declares His authorship of both light and darkness, peace and evil, establishing beyond doubt that nothing exists outside His sovereign will and creative power.

To properly understand this truth, we must recognize that God’s definition of “evil” differs vastly from man’s earthly comprehension as dust of the ground. The Hebrew word “ra” translated as “evil” in Isaiah 45:7 encompasses not merely moral wickedness but calamity, judgment, and adversity—the very instruments God employs to accomplish His perfect purposes through both vessels of wrath and vessels of mercy. When Daniel proclaimed that God “doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?” (Daniel 4:35), he testified to this same truth that God’s sovereignty extends over all circumstances, including those we perceive as negative or harmful.

The spiritual significance becomes clearer when we understand that God’s creation of what appears as “evil” serves His ultimate purpose of conforming His people to the image of Christ. Paul reveals this divine strategy when he writes, “we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). The “all things” includes what is evil, calamity, and suffering, yet these serve as instruments in God’s hands to produce spiritual transformation and growth in His elect. “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.” (Acts 14:22)

Scripture consistently reveals that God uses evil to accomplish His righteous purposes. When Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery—an act that was thoroughly evil—Joseph later testified, “ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive” (Genesis 50:20). This passage illuminates the divine principle: what is evil in human eyes serves God’s greater purpose of salvation and blessing. The brothers’ intentions were wicked, yet God orchestrated even their evil actions to fulfill His predetermined plan.

The book of Job provides another profound example of this truth. When Satan afflicted Job with devastating losses and physical suffering, Scripture reveals that these trials came only with God’s command and were bound by His sovereignty. God said to Satan, “he is in thine hand; but save his life” (Job 2:6), demonstrating that Satan’s destructive work operates under divine constraint and serves God’s purposes. Through Job’s suffering, God revealed His character, tested Job’s faith, and ultimately blessed him with greater understanding and material restoration. “That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.”  (1 Peter 1:7-9)

Understanding God’s creation of evil requires us to believe that He does create evil. While God creates light and establishes peace, His creation of “evil” often manifests through His using natural consequences to unfold according to His purpose. When Paul describes how God “gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts” (Romans 1:24), we see this principle in operation. God directly implants wicked desires. “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:13)

The cross of Christ stands as the ultimate demonstration of how God employs evil to accomplish perfect good. The crucifixion represented the culmination of human wickedness—religious leaders plotting murder, disciples betraying and abandoning their Master, civil authorities perverting justice, and soldiers carrying out brutal execution. Yet Peter declared that Christ was “delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God” (Acts 2:23), revealing that even this greatest evil served God’s predetermined plan of redemption. What appeared as Satan’s victory became his ultimate defeat, and through God’s momentary abandonment of His Son came the means of salvation for all. “For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee.” (Isaiah 54:7)

This divine principle extends to the spiritual realm where God uses darkness to call light into human hearts. Paul explains that “God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6). Just as God created physical light by separating it from darkness, He creates spiritual illumination by causing believers in this age to experience the contrast between their former darkness and present light in Christ. “Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.” (Psalms 139:12)

The parabolic nature of Scripture reveals deeper truths about God’s creation of evil. When Jesus spoke “in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them” (Matthew 13:34), He demonstrated that spiritual realities require spiritual understanding. The natural man perceives only the surface appearance of events, seeing tragedy, injustice, and what appears to be meaningless suffering. However, those taught by Christ discern God’s hidden purposes working through evil to accomplish His Father’s eternal plan. “O LORD, why hast thou made us to err from thy ways, and hardened our heart from thy fear? Return for thy servants’ sake, the tribes of thine inheritance.” (Isaiah 63:17)

God’s creation of evil also serves to manifest His attributes that could not otherwise be displayed. Without creating the possibility of rebellion, how could God demonstrate His mercy and forgiveness? Without causing suffering, how could He reveal His compassion and comfort? Without causing injustice, how could He show His ultimate justice? Romans 9:22-23 explains that God endures “with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction” in order “that he make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory.” Both categories of vessels serve God’s purpose of manifesting His character.

The doctrine of God’s sovereignty over evil provides tremendous comfort to believers who understand that nothing touches their lives outside their heavenly Father’s permission and purpose. When David faced Shimei’s cursing, he recognized God’s hand in this evil, saying, “let him curse; for the LORD hath bidden him” (2 Samuel 16:11). This spiritual perception enables believers to rest confidently in God’s goodness even when circumstances are hostile or appear meaningless. “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:” (1 Peter 4:12)

Furthermore, understanding God’s creation of evil prevents us from the dangerous error of dualism—the false teaching that suggests an eternal conflict between equally powerful forces of good and evil. Scripture knows no such division. Isaiah’s declaration that God creates both light and darkness, peace and evil, establishes that no power exists independent of or in opposition to God’s sovereignty. Satan himself operates only within divinely imposed boundaries and ultimately serves God’s purposes, though unwillingly.

The eternal perspective reveals the perfect justice and wisdom of God’s creation of evil. The injustices and cruelty from our limited temporal viewpoint will be vindicated when God’s eternal purposes are fully revealed. As Paul acknowledges, “we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face” (1 Corinthians 13:12). The believer’s faith rests not upon understanding every detail of God’s plan but upon trusting His character as revealed in Scripture.

In conclusion, Scripture clearly teaches that God creates evil as an instrument of His sovereign will, not as an end in itself but as a means to accomplish His perfect purposes. This truth challenges human understanding but aligns perfectly with biblical revelation of God’s absolute sovereignty, perfect wisdom, and His righteousness. Rather than diminishing God’s character, this doctrine magnifies His power and wisdom in using evil to accomplish His eternal plan of redemption and glory. As the apostle Paul concludes, “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!” (Romans 11:33). And “Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.” (Romans 11:22)

Rev 9:1-2 Part 1-The Fifth Trumpet

[Study Aired Aug 2, 2024]

Rev 9:1  And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.
Rev 9:2  And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.

Introduction

Before we begin to study the words of this fifth trumpet, let’s recall what is said of these last three trumpets in the last verse of the preceding chapter.

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!

As the life of any man of God, whether in the Old or the New Testament demonstrates, the trials we endure toward the end of our walk, in the lion’s den, in the fiery furnace or in the Garden of Gethsemane, could never have been endured without first having our hearts prepared for those trials, by enduring easier trials earlier in our walk. So it is with each of these last three woes. Each of the first six seals and each of the first four trumpets were preparation for these last three “woes” culminating in the seven last plagues upon all who are to become the temple of God’s holy spirit.

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

Job 11:12  For vain man would be wise, though man be born [like] a wild ass’s colt.
Job 11:13  If thou prepare thine heart, and stretch out thine hands toward him;

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

Jer 12:3  But thou, O LORD, knowest me: thou hast seen me, and tried mine heart toward thee: pull them out like sheep for the slaughter, and prepare them for the day of slaughter.

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.

“Pull out” who? Who is “pulled out” like sheep for the slaughter? Who is the temple, and who enters that temple? It is those who are “keeping the things written therein.” It is all who are now being judged by these seven trumpets. Being ‘pulled out like sheep for the slaughter’ is the greatest honor that can be bestowed upon mankind simply because ‘the slaughter’ refers to the death of our carnal minded old men and the destruction of what “is  in my flesh”:

Rom 7:18  For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.

Psa 44:22  Yea, for thy sake are we killed all the day long; we are counted as sheep for the slaughter.

Isa 53:7  He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.

Act 8:32  The place of the scripture which he read was this, He [ Christ] was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth:

Rom 8:36  As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.

“As He is so are we”, and just as Christ’s flesh was first judged for us, so must we “first be judged” for the sake of “the church which is His body”.

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.

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 1:25  Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God;
Col 1:26  Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:
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:

To remind us that the vials are but a later iteration of these trumpets, let’s take note of how both target the same subject:

Rev 9:1  And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.
Rev 9:2  And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.

Rev 16:10  And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat [G2362: ‘thronos’, throne] of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain,
Rev 16:11  And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.

With this reminder that “The sum of thy Word is Truth” is the proper approach to this prophecy (Psa 119:160 ASV), let’s number the symbols of the first two verses of this fifth trumpet. 1) The first symbol is the angel that sounds the trumpet. 2) the second symbol is a star that falls from heaven to the earth. 3) The third symbol is the heaven from which the star falls. 4) The fourth is the earth to which which the star from heaven falls. 5) The fifth is the key to the bottomless pit. 6) The sixth is the bottomless pit itself. 7) the seventh is the smoke of a great furnace. 8) The eighth is the darkened sun, which is darkened by the smoke of the pit, 9) and finally, the ninth is the air that is also darkened by the smoke of the pit.

Rev 9:1  And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.
Rev 9:2  And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.

Since we have already given the Biblical revelation of what the first four symbols are and since we have already given the Biblical, spiritual meaning of what the eighth symbol of the darkened sun is, we will simply list and briefly review what these symbols and their meanings are before getting into what the scriptures reveal about the remaining four symbols.

1) What is the angel?

The angels that sound the trumpets, as we have demonstrated, signify the priests who alone are commissioned to “blow with the seven trumpets”:

Jos 6:4 And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams’ horns: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets.

Go back to our earlier study on Rev 8:1-6 – Part 2, What Is Fire of The Altar Cast Into The Earth? to review all the scriptures which reveal who these seven angels signify. They themselves tell us that they signify “your fellowservants who keep the sayings of this book and have the testimony of Jesus Christ” (Rev 19:10, Rev 22:8-9), and Peter and John tell us that if we are in Christ then we are these  seven angels…‘seven priests’:

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

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

Rev 1:6  And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

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

2) What is the star?

This star that “falls from heaven to the earth” is a messenger from the God who “dwells in the heavens.”

Rev 9:1  And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall [G4098: pipto] from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.

The use of the pronoun ‘he’ demonstrates that this ‘star’ is indeed a messenger from God, who is sent with a key to open up this thing called “the bottomless pit.” When the angel uses the key to open the pit, the sun and the air are darkened by the smoke from the pit.

This “key to the bottomless pit” appears again in the hand of an angel who does not “fall” (G4098: pipto) from heaven, but rather “comes down (G2597: katabaino) from heaven” and binds Satan for a thousand years and “casts him into the bottomless pit.”  Look at what this angel with this key is doing the next time we see him:

Rev 20:1  And I saw an angel come down [G2597: katabaino] from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
Rev 20:2  And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
Rev 20:3  And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.

We are told that this star here in Revelation 9:1 “fell from heaven”, a phrase used elsewhere only of Satan and his angels.

Isa 34:4  And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll: and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig tree.

Mat 24:29  Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall [ G4098, pipto] from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:

Luk 10:18  And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall [G4098: pipto] from heaven.

Rev 12:3  And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.
Rev 12:4  And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast [G906: ‘ballo’] them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.

In Revelation 20:1 We are told “I saw an angel come down [G2597: ‘katabaino’] from heaven having the key to the bottomless pit.” Christ is certainly the preeminent ‘Star’ and as such it is He who sends both a good angel to cast “the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan… into the bottomless pit… for a thousand years, and it is Christ who also sends an evil star, or angel, to open the bottomless pit and let the smoke of that pit darken the light of the sun and darken the air.” It is Christ who sends an angel “to testify unto [us] these things…”

Rev 22:16  I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.

It is by the agency of this “star,” Christ, that this angel is sent to open the bottomless pit so “the sun and air are darkened by the smoke from the pit.” It is God who sends evil spirits to darken the sun and the air.

1Sa 16:14  But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him.
1Sa 16:15  And Saul’s servants said unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee.

1Ki 22:19  And he said, Hear thou therefore the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left.
1Ki 22:20  And the LORD said, Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramothgilead? And one said on this manner, and another said on that manner.
1Ki 22:21  And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the LORD, and said, I will persuade him.
1Ki 22:22  And the LORD said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also: go forth, and do so.
1Ki 22:23  Now therefore, behold, the LORD hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the LORD hath spoken evil concerning thee.

This “star” in this ninth chapter “falls [G4098: pipto] unto the earth.” and has the key to open the bottomless pit and releases evil and lying spirits signified by the smoke of the pit which darkens the sun and the air. The angel of the 20^th chapter cast the dragon, that old serpent the devil and satan, into the pit and locks him up for a thousand years.

3) Where and what is heaven?

The heaven from which this star falls and “the heavens” through which this angel is “flying”, we have established beyond question, are the hearts and minds of God’s elect.

Heb 9:23 It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these [the blood of animals – verse 22]; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.
Heb 9:24 For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:

Exactly where is Christ? We just quoted the verse that tells us where Christ now is.

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:

Upon what throne is Christ seated? Where is the kingdom over which Christ is ruling? Into which “holy place” has He entered? Exactly where is the dwelling place of “the presence of God?” Wherever all this is taking place – wherever all of these things are to be found – that is where Christ will be found “Making known to us the things that must shortly be done, [and] keeping the sayings of the prophecy of this book.” Here is exactly where the kingdom of God is located.

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.

Rev 1:1  The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:

So where is the temple where God dwells in His heavenly kingdom at this very moment?

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

4) What is the earth?

The fourth is the earth to which the star from heaven falls. Since we have seen in our previous studies that scripturally speaking, the “earth” is our physical bodies in which the spirit of God dwells in the heavens of our hearts and minds, we will gain much from the things which are written in the words of this prophecy, only if we keep all of these Biblical truths in mind, as we continue this study into the seven trumpets of the book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ.

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

2Co 4:7  But we have this treasure [“Christ in us” (Col 1:27)] in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.

We must not fail to remember that both the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, as well as the tree of life, (Christ), both come out of the ground, out of the earth. That is why Christ was “made of a woman”…the ground… the earth:

Gen 2:9  And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

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,

8) What is the darkened sun?

The eighth symbol is the darkened sun, which is darkened by the smoke of the pit. We we have already covered this symbol in our study of a darkened sun in the previous trumpet where we saw that darkness is a word associated with lack of knowledge, and faith in the lies and false doctrines of Babylon. A darkened Sun is a deceived condition, with faith in the doctrines of “another Jesus… another spirit… and another gospel.” That ‘darkness’ is the lying doctrines of a triune God, an immortal soul, an ever-burning hell, a rapture, etc; etc; etc… “two hundred thousand, thousand” false doctrines of the messengers of Satan who appear as messengers of light.

Joh 12:35 Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.
Joh 12:36 While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light. These things spake Jesus, and departed, and did hide himself from them.

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

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

Rev 9:16  And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them.
Rev 9:17  And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.
Rev 9:18  By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.
Rev 9:19  For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt.

Isa 9:18  For wickedness burneth as the fire: it shall devour the briers and thorns, and shall kindle in the thickets of the forest, and they shall mount up like the lifting up of smoke.
Isa 9:19  Through the wrath of the LORD of hosts is the land darkened, and the people shall be as the fuel of the fire: no man shall spare his brother.

That is the “darkness of the sun,” with which we will be dealing throughout this revelation of Jesus Christ. This ‘darkness’ signifies all the lies and false doctrines of all the harlot daughters of Baylon the mother of harlots. Being caught up in that deception is all a necessary part of the revelation of Jesus Christ.

5) What is the key to the bottomless pit?

The fifth symbol of this fifth trumpet is the key to the bottomless pit. What is this key? The answer is that this key unlocks and unleashes upon us those doctrines which cause us to be blinded by the lies of the Adversary and His messengers.

Rev 9:1 And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.
Rev 9:2  And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.

It is needful at this point to remind ourselves that his prophecy is “the revelation of Jesus Christ,” which we are commanded to “read, hear and keep, for the time is at hand.”  It is also needful at this point to remember, and to once again recognize “the preeminence of Christ in all things.”

Col 1:18  And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.

“All things” includes Christ’s preeminence among the stars, good and evil. Christ is the preeminent “Morning Star,” or angel of God, as we pointed out above when discussing the meaning of a star.

Rev 22:16  I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.

So while Christ certainly does not Himself “darken the Sun and the air with the smoke of the pit,” He nevertheless tells us that it is “He who has the keys of death and hell.”

Rev 1:18  I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.

Just as Christ gave the keys to the kingdom of God to Peter, and to all the apostles, likewise He gives the key to the “bottomless pit” to this “star”, and this angel opens the bottomless pit with this key.

Mat 16:19  And I will give unto thee [Peter and you and me, Mat 18:18] the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be [have been] bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Mat 18:18  Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye [all the apostles and each of us if we are in Christ] shall bind on earth shall be [have been] bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be [have been] loosed in heaven.

If the kingdom of God is within you (Luk 17:20-21) then we are all given those “keys to the kingdom of heaven”:

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.

What does that have to do with the key to the pit? That key to the bottomless pit is also given to an angel who is within each of us, just as the kingdom of heaven is within us. The key of the bottomless pit is all the false doctrines which empowers us to deceive and be deceived and to confuse and lie to those who would enter the kingdom of God. That is the key to the bottomless pit out of which comes the smoke which darkens “the sun and the air”:

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

Here is how this angel uses this key to the bottomless pit.

Luk 11:52  Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered [with the wicked lies that burn like a furnace’ (Isa 9:18) lies and false doctrines.

2Ti 3:13  But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.

Having the key to the bottomless pit and opening that pit and darkening the sun and air, by reason of the smoke of that pit signifies “taking away the key of knowledge.” We have all been guilty of opening the bottomless pit, and darkening the sun and air, by reason of the smoke from that pit. We have all been guilty of “deceiving and being deceived” as we use the key to the bottomless pit in our own lives

Where is the bottomless pit?

6) The sixth symbol of this fifth trumpet is the bottomless pit itself. Where and what is this thing called “the bottomless pit?” All of the commentaries think this pit and its smoke is speaking of some great false spiritual leader, and indeed it is. However, this great deceiver is sitting on Christ’s throne within each of us, and it is there that this entire revelation is taking place. Here is Gill’s very typical ‘somewhere out there’ take on what this bottomless pit is.

“Rev 9:2  And he opened the bottomless pit,… With the key that was given him; he made use of his universal power over all bishops and churches, enacted laws, issued out decrees, made articles of faith, and imposed them on men’s consciences, and obliged all to submit to his hellish principles and practices; and this, as it may be applied to Mahomet, the eastern antichrist, may regard the publishing of his Alcoran, and obliging all his followers to receive it as the infallible word of God:.”

If ever we need to remember that we are to “read, hear and keep the things written therein,” it is as we consider what the scriptures mean by “the bottomless pit.” All the comments and commentaries, such as this comment by Gill, serve only to further the function of the smoke that comes from this thing called “the bottomless pit.”  The last thing in the world the Adversary wants us to know is the correct location and the Biblical understanding of where this “bottomless pit” is.

Many of us have been taught that this bottomless pit doesn’t even really exist until the beginning of the millennium, when Satan is cast into the bottomless pit and restrained for one thousand years. Here are the verses which are most familiar to the majority of Christians.

Rev 20:1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
Rev 20:2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
Rev 20:3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.

We are not yet in Revelation 20. We are in Revelation 9, after which an angel is “given” the key to this bottomless pit and is permitted to “darken the sun and the air by means of the smoke that arises out of the pit.”

Rev 9:1  And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.
Rev 9:2  And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.

If you search for the phrase ‘bottomless pit’, you will find it seven times in the King James Version, and all seven instances are found only in the book of Revelation. The first is right here in this ninth chapter of Revelation.

We will pause our study here and we will examine the verses which contain the words “bottomless pit” in our next study. It is very revealing to discover that the Greek (G5421: ‘phrear’) translated ‘pit’ appears in only two of these seven entries containing the phrase ‘bottoneless pit’.

Exo 7:1-25 For the Magicians of Egypt Cast Down Their Every Man his Rod, and They Became Serpents

[Study Aired April 25, 2022]

Exo 7:1  And the LORD said unto Moses, See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh: and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet. 
Exo 7:2  Thou shalt speak all that I command thee: and Aaron thy brother shall speak unto Pharaoh, that he send the children of Israel out of his land. 
Exo 7:3  And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt. 
Exo 7:4  But Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you, that I may lay my hand upon Egypt, and bring forth mine armies, and my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgments. 
Exo 7:5  And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I stretch forth mine hand upon Egypt, and bring out the children of Israel from among them. 
Exo 7:6  And Moses and Aaron did as the LORD commanded them, so did they. 
Exo 7:7  And Moses was fourscore years old, and Aaron fourscore and three years old, when they spake unto Pharaoh. 
Exo 7:8  And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, 
Exo 7:9  When Pharaoh shall speak unto you, saying, Shew a miracle for you: then thou shalt say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and cast it before Pharaoh, and it shall become a serpent. 
Exo 7:10  And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and they did so as the LORD had commanded: and Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh, and before his servants, and it became a serpent. 
Exo 7:11  Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers: now the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments. 
Exo 7:12  For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents: but Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods. 
Exo 7:13  And he hardened Pharaoh’s heart, that he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said. 
Exo 7:14  And the LORD said unto Moses, Pharaoh’s heart is hardened, he refuseth to let the people go. 
Exo 7:15  Get thee unto Pharaoh in the morning; lo, he goeth out unto the water; and thou shalt stand by the river’s brink against he come; and the rod which was turned to a serpent shalt thou take in thine hand. 
Exo 7:16  And thou shalt say unto him, The LORD God of the Hebrews hath sent me unto thee, saying, Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness: and, behold, hitherto thou wouldest not hear. 
Exo 7:17  Thus saith the LORD, In this thou shalt know that I am the LORD: behold, I will smite with the rod that is in mine hand upon the waters which are in the river, and they shall be turned to blood. 
Exo 7:18  And the fish that is in the river shall die, and the river shall stink; and the Egyptians shall lothe to drink of the water of the river. 
Exo 7:19  And the LORD spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and stretch out thine hand upon the waters of Egypt, upon their streams, upon their rivers, and upon their ponds, and upon all their pools of water, that they may become blood; and that there may be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood, and in vessels of stone. 
Exo 7:20  And Moses and Aaron did so, as the LORD commanded; and he lifted up the rod, and smote the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh, and in the sight of his servants; and all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood. 
Exo 7:21  And the fish that was in the river died; and the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink of the water of the river; and there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt. 
Exo 7:22  And the magicians of Egypt did so with their enchantments: and Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, neither did he hearken unto them; as the LORD had said. 
Exo 7:23  And Pharaoh turned and went into his house, neither did he set his heart to this also. 
Exo 7:24  And all the Egyptians digged round about the river for water to drink; for they could not drink of the water of the river. 
Exo 7:25  And seven days were fulfilled, after that the LORD had smitten the river.

A key lesson that the Lord takes us through as we walk with Him is for us to learn to depend wholly on Him and not on ourselves. The Lord, therefore, brings us to this point of realizing that all our abilities count nothing in His presence and what counts is to have the faith of Jesus to depend on Him. When we come to this point, then we have found rest in Him.

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.

Joh 14:10  Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.

The Lord’s encounter with Moses in the preceding chapters is to make Moses realize that he can do nothing concerning the Lord’s plan of salvation. Moses learned through his failures that indeed he did not have what it takes to bring the Lord’s people out of bondage. It was all the work of the Lord. Once Moses had learned this lesson, he was ready to confront Pharaoh for the release of the people of God. That is when we see the strong or mighty hand of the Lord in dealing with the beast or the old man signified by Pharoah.

Exo 3:19 And I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not by a mighty hand.
Exo 3:20  And I will stretch out my hand, and smite Egypt with all my wonders which I will do in the midst thereof: and after that he will let you go.

This chapter deals with the strong hand of the Lord in dealing with Pharaoh who signifies the old man or the beast within.

Exo 7:1  And the LORD said unto Moses, See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh: and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet. 

We are told here that Moses shall be a God to Aaron. What this means is that through us (Moses), salvation shall come to all our brothers and sisters in Babylon and all of humanity, including the Old Testament prophets signified by Aaron.

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.

Heb 11:39  And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:
Heb 11:40  God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.

In another perspective, Moses represents our Lord Jesus Christ, who is God to us, and Aaron stands for the elect. We are the mouthpiece or prophet of our Lord.

2Co 5:20  Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.

Exo 7:2  Thou shalt speak all that I command thee: and Aaron thy brother shall speak unto Pharaoh, that he send the children of Israel out of his land.
Exo 7:3  And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt.

We are reminded here to observe all that the Lord is telling us through His words. We may not see any significant progress regarding the death of the beast within, but we are assured that the Lord’s strong hand, signifying his signs and wonders, is putting the beast within or the old man to death while we walk in this world (land of Egypt). We sometimes get discouraged or frustrated when the old man rears its head in our lives, but here the Lord is telling us that He is the author of all that happens to the beast and its ultimate demise. The Lord is also telling us that the reason the old man’s death is not a one-time event is that it affords the Lord the occasion to confirm to us this great salvation of the Lord through the multiplication of His signs and wonders in our situation. This has the effect of strengthening our faith in Him.

Heb 2:3  How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;
Heb 2:4  God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?

Rom 9:17 For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.
Rom 9:18  Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.

Exo 7:4  But Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you, that I may lay my hand upon Egypt, and bring forth mine armies, and my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgments.
Exo 7:5  And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I stretch forth mine hand upon Egypt, and bring out the children of Israel from among them.

In verse 4, the Lord was talking to Moses about His strong hand of great judgments to bring forth His armies. This is to let us know that enlisting in the great armies of the Lord entails going through His strong hand of great judgment.

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.

As we shall see later, Pharoah or the beast within could resist the Lord’s word, but he could not resist the Lord’s hand of judgment.

Exo 7:6  And Moses and Aaron did as the LORD commanded them, so did they.
Exo 7:7  And Moses was fourscore years old, and Aaron fourscore and three years old, when they spake unto Pharaoh.

Our call is a call of obedience. If we profess that we love the Lord, then, we must express this love through obedience of His word for our own benefit.

1Jn 5:3  For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.

In verse 7, we are told that Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron was three years older, when they spoke to Pharaoh. According to the scriptures, being eighty years and over is regarded as an old age where one’s natural strength had failed. So, the mention of Moses and Aaron’s age is to let us know that they had realized that they cannot execute the Lord’s agenda in their “failed natural strength” and cannot discern between what is good and evil or taste what we eat or drink. This means that Moses and Aaron were basically blind and needed help. That is when they found rest in depending on the Lord to do what He had purposed. We all need to be “eighty or over” spiritually to find rest in the Lord.

2Sa 19:32  Now Barzillai was a very aged man, even fourscore years old [eighty]: and he had provided the king of sustenance while he lay at Mahanaim; for he was a very great man.

2Sa 19:35  I am this day fourscore years old [eighty]: and can I discern between good and evil? can thy servant taste what I eat or what I drink? can I hear any more the voice of singing men and singing women? wherefore then should thy servant be yet a burden unto my lord the king?

Jdg 3:30  So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest fourscore years.

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.

Exo 7:9  When Pharaoh shall speak unto you, saying, Shew a miracle for you: then thou shalt say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and cast it before Pharaoh, and it shall become a serpent.
Exo 7:10  And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and they did so as the LORD had commanded: and Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh, and before his servants, and it became a serpent.

As we have indicated, Pharaoh represents the old man or the flesh. One key characteristic of the flesh is that it puts more premium on signs and wonders or miracles than spiritual reality. It is therefore no wonder that Pharaoh would require a miracle from Moses and Aaron. Jesus, knowing the flesh, made the following statement about how we cherish signs and wonders when we are dominated by the flesh:

Mat 16:4  A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed.

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

Knowing this, the evil one always comes to deceive us with signs and wonders.

2Th 2:9  Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
2Th 2:10  And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.

As we indicated in prior studies, the rod that Aaron held is Christ. To cast to the ground means to destroy as used in the following:

2Sa 8:2  And he smote Moab, and measured them with a line, casting them down to the ground; even with two lines measured he to put to death, and with one full line to keep alive. And so the Moabites became David’s servants, and brought gifts.

Thus, Aaron casting down the rod is the same as showing how the flesh of Christ was destroyed, resulting in a resurrected Christ who is able to save us. This is the fiery serpent who is able to save us.

Num 21:8  And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.
Num 21:9  And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.

This means that the serpent resulting from the rod being cast by Aaron is the resurrected Christ who is able to save us as we look up to Him. However, to those who are not given to know Christ in this life, this serpent, who is the resurrected Christ, rather darkens their understanding. As we shall see in verse 13, Pharaoh, representing the flesh, became hardened by the rod of Moses turning into a serpent.

Exo 7:11  Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers: now the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments.
Exo 7:12  For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents: but Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods.
Exo 7:13  And he hardened Pharaoh’s heart, that he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said.

The wise men and the sorcerers, collectively called the magicians of Egypt, represent the leaders in Babylon. They also represent what Paul calls the disputers of this world.

1Co 1:20  Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?
1Co 1:21  For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.

The casting down of the rod of these magicians of Egypt and the turning of their rods into serpents before Moses and Aaron is to let us know that all that is in the world and in Babylon is under the spell of the devil who is represented here as a serpent.

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

Just as Christ stands for the word of God or truth, the devil or Satan or the serpent is synonymous with deception or lies (man’s wisdom). The rods of the magicians therefore represent lies. As indicated, the serpent from the rod of Aaron stands for Christ who is the truth. Aaron’s rod swallowing up the rods of the magicians of the Egyptians means that where the truth of the word of the Lord is, lies are expelled. Another way of saying this is that where there is light, darkness is expelled.

Joh 14:6  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Joh 1:4  In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
Joh 1:5 And the light [Truth] shineth in darkness [Lies]; and the darkness [Lies] comprehended it not.

The hardening of Pharaoh’s heart in verse 13 is the same as saying that in the camp of the Egyptians or Babylon, the light of Christ is a cloud and darkness to them.

Exo 14:19  And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them:
Exo 14:20 And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night.

1Co 1:18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
1Co 1:19 For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.

Exo 7:14  And the LORD said unto Moses, Pharaoh’s heart is hardened, he refuseth to let the people go.

The Lord telling Moses that the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart, resulting in his refusal to let the people of Israel go, is to let us know that the old man or the beast within (Pharaoh) is a formidable opposition who would not die without a fight. This old man or the beast within is the great mountain spoken off by the Lord to Zerubbabel that its removal is not by might nor power but by the spirit of the Lord (the word of Christ).

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.
Zec 4:7  Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it.
Zec 4:8  Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Zec 4:9  The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto you [The Lord who starts knows how to finish].

Zechariah chapter 4:7 shows us that it is through the chastening grace that this mountain (old man) becomes a plain (dies).

Exo 7:15  Get thee unto Pharaoh in the morning; lo, he goeth out unto the water; and thou shalt stand by the river’s brink against he come; and the rod which was turned to a serpent shalt thou take in thine hand.
Exo 7:16  And thou shalt say unto him, The LORD God of the Hebrews hath sent me unto thee, saying, Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness: and, behold, hitherto thou wouldest not hear.

Pharaoh going out to the water in the morning is to let us know the water with which our old man or the beast within is familiar. This water is the water of Egypt or Babylon which is the lies or the deception of the devil, which seems like the truth but does not satisfy. As Jesus said, when we are hooked to this water, we continually will go for more lies to cover up initial lies. This is the water that our old man is acquainted with. The old man cannot accept the truth which destroys it. This is the water that we have imbibed in our lives until Christ came to us with His word of Truth.

Joh 4:13  Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:
Joh 4:14  But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

In verse 15, the Lord commands us to stand at the brink of the river with the rod in hand. As indicated, this rod is Christ. To stand at the brink is to overcome this river of lies with the truth. Thus, it is when Christ comes to us (having the rod in hand) we can overcome this river of lies. That is the time that we are able to withstand the resistance of the beast or the old man within (verse 16).

Exo 7:17  Thus saith the LORD, In this thou shalt know that I am the LORD: behold, I will smite with the rod that is in mine hand upon the waters which are in the river, and they shall be turned to blood. 
Exo 7:18  And the fish that is in the river shall die, and the river shall stink; and the Egyptians shall lothe to drink of the water of the river. 
Exo 7:19  And the LORD spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and stretch out thine hand upon the waters of Egypt, upon their streams, upon their rivers, and upon their ponds, and upon all their pools of water, that they may become blood; and that there may be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood, and in vessels of stone.

As indicated, this river of the world and Babylon represents the false doctrines in our heavens. The river turning into blood is to show us the true nature of the doctrines we receive in Babylon. It is when the rod is used to smite the waters that it turns into blood. This is another way of saying that it is when Christ comes to us with His words (brightness) that we see that we are all murderers of the Lord and His elect, thinking we are doing God a service.  This does not mean that we physically killed anybody. However, resisting the words of the Lord and that of His elect or hating the Lord and His elect all amount to killing them.

1Jn 3:15 Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.

Joh 16:2  They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God.
Joh 16:3  And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me.

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

We are first vessels of wood and hay before we become vessels of precious stones. This means that verse 19 saying that blood must be found in both vessels of wood and stone is to confirm the fact that we are guilty of the death of Christ and His elect.

1Co 3:12  Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;
1Co 3:13  Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.

Exo 7:20  And Moses and Aaron did so, as the LORD commanded; and he lifted up the rod, and smote the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh, and in the sight of his servants; and all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood.
Exo 7:21  And the fish that was in the river died; and the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink of the water of the river; and there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt.

The effect of drinking from this water of blood is that we die, just like fish die in polluted water. Dying, spiritually, means that we are alienated from the life of Christ. Fish symbolize humanity.

Mat 4:19  And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.

Another way of saying that we die from this water of Egypt is that we become worse off than when we even started our walk with Christ.

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

Exo 7:22  And the magicians of Egypt did so with their enchantments: and Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, neither did he hearken unto them; as the LORD had said.
Exo 7:23  And Pharaoh turned and went into his house, neither did he set his heart to this also.

The magicians of Egypt turning their water into blood by their own enchantment is what hardened Pharaoh’s heart such that he refused to let the people of Israel go. Another way of saying that the magicians of Egypt did the same thing is by saying that the beast does great wonders and deceives them that dwell on the earth by means of miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast.

Rev 13:11  And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.
Rev 13:12  And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.
Rev 13:13  And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,
Rev 13:14  And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.

Exo 7:24  And all the Egyptians digged round about the river for water to drink; for they could not drink of the water of the river.
Exo 7:25  And seven days were fulfilled, after that the LORD had smitten the river.

The digging around for water is what has created several religious bodies with each digging their own water.

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.

The fact that it took seven days after the Lord had smitten the river is to let us know that it takes a complete period of time in our walk with Christ to realize our guilt for the death of our Lord Jesus Christ and His prophets.

The Prophecy of Isaiah - Part 41 Discussion

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Isa 9:1-4  They That Dwell In The Land of The Shadow of Death, Upon Them Hath The Light Shined.

Isa 9:1  Nevertheless the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation, when at the first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward did more grievously afflict her by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations.
Isa 9:2  The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.
Isa 9:3  Thou hast multiplied the nation, and not increased the joy: they joy before thee according to the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice when they divide the spoil.
Isa 9:4  For thou hast broken the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian.

Before we can continue this study of our judgment here at the beginning of Isaiah 9, we must repeat the last two verses of chapter 8 to remind us of the darkness which is "the dimness" we will be discussing here in the first verse of chapter nine.

Here are the  last two verses of chapter 8:

Isa 8:21  And they shall pass through it [the 'land' (vs 8) typifying our life here on earth - Jer 22:29], hardly bestead and hungry: and it shall come to pass, that when they shall be hungry, they shall fret themselves, and curse their king and their God, and look upward.
Isa 8:22  And they shall look unto the earth; and behold trouble and darkness, dimness of anguish; and they shall be driven to darkness.

What we are being told is that at the appointed time for each of us, our hedged and peaceful life on this earth will begin to fall apart, because as God's elect our judgment must begin for us in this age (1Pe 4:17). The words "hardly bestead" are translated from the Hebrew word 'qashah', which means stiff-necked and stubborn. We are made to become the victims of a spiritual famine and a life of darkness and ignorance. Yet we stubbornly dig in our heels rather than accept the inevitable death of our old man and the total destruction of him and his entire kingdom.

As our judgment intensifies, the heat gets hotter and hotter, and the waves of the sea begin to become higher and higher. In time we are brought to our wits' end (Psa 107:25-27). At this point "every weight, and the sin which so easily besets us" is beginning to be purged from our lives, and it just does not seem natural or necessary to be that 'spotlessly' cleansed of our sins. The truth is that we see ourselves as pretty good compared to most people, and we see the Lord as being unrealistic and much too demanding of us. We know we have certain sins we need to eliminate from our lives, but we simply can't do it, and the starvation and mental anguish that comes with the spiritual darkness we are in at this time seems to be way beyond what we see as befitting our 'little sins' - the weight and sin that so easily besets us'.

Heb 12:1  Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

At this point, when we are being punished for our sins, it seems that our "fiery trials" are just 'strangely' severe and simply more than we can bear.

1Pe 4:12  Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:

The reason we are told not to think our fiery trials are strange is because that is exactly what we all just naturally do. And when we do that we look upward and curse our God. We look to the earth, and all we see is trouble and darkness. It is so dark, so foreboding, so fearful that we "gnaw our tongues for pain".

We closed our study last week with the New Testament version of Isa 8:21-22, which is:

Rev 16:8  And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.
Rev 16:9  And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.
Rev 16:10  And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain,
Rev 16:11  And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.

While in my own total darkness I wondered how it was possible to be 'scorched with fire' and also be in a 'kingdom that was full of darkness'. With the Lord's spiritual eyes, that apparent contradiction vanished, and it is now clear how the fiery trials our spiritual blindness brings upon us can scorch us with fire while we are in that blind and dark kingdom.

Of course it is all by Christ's design. King David explains to us what God is doing with our lives in this age, and he tells us we are born into a body which is designed to bring upon itself God's wrath and judgment.

Psa 90:3  Thou turnest man to destruction; and sayest, Return, ye children of men.
Psa 90:4  For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.
Psa 90:5  Thou carriest them away as with a flood; they are as a sleep: in the morning they are like grass which groweth up.
Psa 90:6  In the morning it flourisheth, and groweth up; in the evening it is cut down, and withereth.
Psa 90:7  For we are consumed by thine anger, and by thy wrath are we troubled.

God has given us an evil experience in this life, and He did so for the specific purpose of humbling us, and that is what He tells us right up front:

Ecc 1:13 I applied my heart to inquiring and exploring by wisdom concerning all that is done under the heavens: it is an experience of evil Elohim has given to the sons of humanity to humble them by it.

Joh 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

Isaiah reiterates this truth in words which cannot be dismissed or denied by any intellectually honest mind:

Isa 63:17  O LORD, why hast thou made us to err from thy ways, and hardened our heart from thy fear? Return for thy servants' sake, the tribes of thine inheritance.
Isa 63:18  The people of thy holiness have possessed it but a little while: our adversaries have trodden down thy sanctuary.
Isa 63:19  We are thine: thou never barest rule over them; they were not called by thy name.

"They are not called by your name" implies 'Why have you given dominion of your people over to those who are not yours, why have you placed such a burden upon me which I cannot bear?' In spiritual terms we are asking "Why have you made me this way?"

Rom 9:19  Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will? [If He "made us to err from [His] ways", why on earth is He punishing us for what He made us do? And what is the answer to that inevitable natural question?]
Rom 9:20  Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?

Isaiah had read Psalms and Ecclesiastes and was very familiar with these truths. He knew that our lives, and the destiny of his country, physical Israel, were all predestined to be lived out "after the counsel of His own will" (Eph 1:11).

Later in our studies we will come to this verse which Paul was quoting in Romans 9.

Isa 45:9 Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands?

So I want to repeat those last two verses from chapter 8 and let Isaiah, the Lord's watchman for us, continue with his message from the previous chapter concerning the rebelliousness and stubbornness He has placed within us and what His methods are for dealing with the darkness of our rebellious stubborn minds:

Isa 8:21  And they shall pass through it [the 'land' (vs 8) typifying our life here on earth - Jer 22:29], hardly bestead and hungry: and it shall come to pass, that when they shall be hungry, they shall fret themselves, and curse their king and their God, and look upward.
Isa 8:22  And they shall look unto the earth; and behold trouble and darkness, dimness of anguish; and they shall be driven to darkness.

Isa 9:1  Nevertheless the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation, when at the first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward did more grievously afflict her by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations.
Isa 9:2  The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.

The spiritual message of Isa 9:1 is that the Truth of the gospel is not received by those who think they already have that truth. Here is that message from the mouth of our Savior.

Joh 9:35  Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God?
Joh 9:36  He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him?
Joh 9:37  And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee.
Joh 9:38  And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him.
Joh 9:39  And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.
Joh 9:40  And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also?
Joh 9:41  Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.

The words, "when at the first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward did more grievously afflict her by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations", refer back to what had happened to the northern kingdom of Israel when Pekah was king and had allied himself with King Rezin of Syria, against Ahaz king of Judah.

Here is what happened at that time:

2Ki 15:29  In the days of Pekah king of Israel came Tiglathpileser king of Assyria, and took Ijon, and Abelbethmaachah, and Janoah, and Kedesh, and Hazor, and Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali, and carried them captive to Assyria.

The destruction of the kingdom of our old man is not accomplished in one fell swoop. It takes place little by little as we are given to bear it. But as it takes place we dig in our heels, and the temperature rises and the height of the waves rises, until we are brought to our wits' end. King David knew all about how the Lord worked with His people, and he shared his experience with us:

Psa 107:24  These see the works of the LORD, and his wonders in the deep.
Psa 107:25  For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof.
Psa 107:26  They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble.
Psa 107:27  They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits' end.
Psa 107:28  Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses.
Psa 107:29  He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.
Psa 107:30  Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven.
Psa 107:31  Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!

What we are  being told is that the best thing that ever happened to Job was the loss of all he owned, the loss of all his children and being stricken with boils from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head (Job 1 and Job 2). What we are being told throughout the scriptures is that the best thing that ever will happen to any of us will be to suffer loss in this age and to be "saved though as by fire" (1Co 3:13-15). What we are being told here in Isaiah and in Psalms 107 and 1Corinthians 3, is that the loss of all our wood, hay, and stubble, the kingdom of our old man, is the best thing that will ever happen to us.

Because this is all so contrary to what is taught in this world, I will take the time to list two more sections of scripture which give us the same message we are being given here in Isaiah 9. Those two sections of scripture are:

1Pe 4:12  Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:
1Pe 4:17  For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

...And these verses of Revelation 14:

Rev 14:6  And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,
Rev 14:7  Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. [The understanding of the need for our judgment is a major part of the good news of the gospel:]
Rev 14:8  And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.
Rev 14:9  And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, [All do, Rev 13:16]
Rev 14:10  The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:
Rev 14:11  And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. [And what is the message of these three angels?]
Rev 14:12  Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.

Right here we are given the three steps of our judgment, and we are told "Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus."

We must all live the words of the third angel, or we have not received the gospel.

Here is this same message put in different words:

Rev 15:7  And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever.
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.

With all of that in mind, let's examine how these verses of Isaiah 9 are treated under the inspiration of the holy spirit in the New Testament:

Mat 4:12  Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee;
Mat 4:13  And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim:
Mat 4:14  That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying,
Mat 4:15  The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles;
Mat 4:16  The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.
Mat 4:17  From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Here we have a very good example of how the writers of the New Testament demonstrate for us that all scripture is Christ-centric. That is why Christ Himself tells us we must live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God (Mat 4:4 and Luk 4:4).

What we need to learn from these verses here in Isaiah 9 is that the Light does not come to those who consider themselves already to have light, rather it comes only "the people which sat in darkness... and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death". In other words, it comes only to those who have been bought low and have been brought to their wits' end.

Now let's consider what happens to those to whom this light comes:

Isa 9:3  Thou hast multiplied the nation, and not increased the joy: they joy before thee according to the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice when they divide the spoil.

Here is how the New King James, and almost every other translation on the market, translates Isa 9:3:

Isa 9:3  You have multiplied the nation and increased its joy; They rejoice before You according to the joy of harvest, as men rejoice when they divide the spoil.

Considering that we are speaking of those to whom the Light, Christ Himself, has come, it follows that their joy is indeed increased. I know my own joy has increase exponentially. Christ calls those who see His light "the meek" of the earth, and says this about such people:

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

Isaiah Himself verifies this fact concerning those who "have seen great light" in:

Isa 29:19  The meek also shall increase their joy in the LORD, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.

That is those who are the very subject under discussion according to the previous  verse:

Isa 9:2  The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.

While it is indisputable that the light of Christ increases outward persecution, it is also undeniable that it also increases inward joy and peace of mind:

Joh 14:27  Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

That great peace comes with the light of Christ and is affirmed for us in the prophecy of Zecharias, the father of John the baptist, when the holy spirit inspired him to tell us this:

Luk 1:79  To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Albert Barnes' Commentary explains how the words "and not increased the joy" were introduced into the King James Version, while it was being translated:

"And not increased the joy" - The Masoretes here read in the margin לו  lô “to it,” instead of לא  lo' “not.” Eleven manuscripts, two of them ancient, have this reading. This reading is followed by the Chaldee Paraphrase, the Syriac, and the Arabic. The Septuagint seems also to have so understood it. So also it is in the margin, and so the connection demands; and it is unquestionably the correct reading. It would then read, ‘thou hast increased for it (the nation) the joy.’" [End Quote]

I have over 120 translations on my computer, and 90% of them agree with the Hebrew scholars quoted by Albert Barnes. Even Tyndale's translation, while retaining the word 'not', poses this verse as a question:

Isa 9:3  Shalt thou multiply the people, and not increase the joy also? They shall rejoice before thee even as men make merry in harvest, and as men that have gotten the victory, when they deal the spoil.

Either way would agree with the very next verse with which we will conclude our study for this week:

Isa 9:4  For thou hast broken the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian.

"As in the days of Midian" makes it clear that the Lord does indeed increase the joy of all who come to His light:

Jdg 7:22  And the three hundred blew the trumpets, and the LORD set every man's sword against his fellow, even throughout all the host: and the host fled to Bethshittah in Zererath, and to the border of Abelmeholah, unto Tabbath.

How can we not rejoice when we come to know the battle is the Lord's, and He does our fighting for us?

Next week, Lord willing, we will see more clearly why 'He has increased the joy of the meek' (Isa 29:19), as we discover that it is "the zeal of the Lord [which] will perform this", and as we are brought to understand that nothing depends upon us, even though all things will be accomplished through us (1Co 3:21-22), through Christ (Php 4:13):

Isa 9:5  For every battle of the warrior is with confused noise, and garments rolled in blood; but this shall be with burning and fuel of fire.
Isa 9:6  For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
Isa 9:7  Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.
Isa 9:8  The Lord sent a word into Jacob, and it hath lighted upon Israel.

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; 

Php 4:13  I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

The Keys to the Kingdom of Heaven – Part 9

The Positive and The Negative Application of Every Word

Exo 14:20 And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night.

Introduction

Not understanding that all scripture has both a positive and a negative application has served to keep the keys to the kingdom of heaven hidden from those to whom those keys have not been given (Mat 13:9-15). Exodus 14:20 is speaking of Christ, who we are told was the “cloud [that] went before them.”

Exo 13:21 And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night:
Exo 13:22 He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.

The same cloud was to one people bright light as in the middle of the day, while on the other side of the very same cloud, there was such thick darkness that those in that darkness could not see their own hands in front of their faces.

Peter tells us that God has made Jesus “both Lord and Christ”. Here we are told, “The Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud.”

Act 2:36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.

The word ‘Lord’ in Exodus 13:21 is translated from what the Jews call ‘the tetragrammaton’, meaning ‘the four letters’, and those four letters are YHWH. Those who have added the vowels have generally agreed to ‘Yahweh’. Some scholars add an ‘o’ between the ‘h’ and the ‘w’, translating the tetragrammaton as ‘Yehowah’, which is then Anglicized into ‘Jehovah’. We have several FAQs which give the scriptures proving that Christ, “the Word” is the ‘Yahweh’ or ‘Jehovah’ who did much of the speaking of the Word in the Old Testament. ‘Yahweh’ appears more than any other name in the Old Testament with 6528 entries. In the King James Version it is almost always translated in all caps as the LORD. The only exceptions are that it is translated as ‘God’ four times and as ‘Jehovah’ four times.

It was Yahweh who talked with Moses out of the burning bush:

Exo 3:4 And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.
Exo 3:5 And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.
Exo 3:6 Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.
Exo 3:7 And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;

Yahweh, the LORD, spoke with Moses, and it was Yahweh who had spoken with and had eaten a meal with Abraham about 500 years earlier when He came to tell Abraham that Sarah would have a child:

Gen 18:13 And the LORD [Hebrew: Yahweh] said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old?

It is Christ Himself who reveals to us that it was He who spoke to Abraham, and it was He who was the cloud that led them through the wilderness when He tells us this:

Joh 5:37 And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape.

So it is Christ Himself who was as dark as the darkest night to the Egyptians, and it was Christ who was at the same time light to Israel, His elect in type. Christ is not just a pillar of cloud. He is also the Word. Here is the New Testament revelation of what the pillar of cloud which was darkness to the Egyptians while at the same time being light to the Israelites means:

Joh 1:1  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Joh 1:2  The same was in the beginning with God.
Joh 1:3  All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
Joh 1:4  In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
Joh 1:5  And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

If it is true that Christ is the Word, and if it is true “Ye have neither heard his voice at any time“, then it in no way contradicts those two truths to replace the word ‘made’ with the word ‘said’ in verse 3, and it would still agree with the sum of the Word of God.

Here is how it would then read:

Joh 1:3  All things were [said] by him; and without him was not any thing [said] that was [said].

One of the clearest applications of this key to the kingdom of God, this principle of being light to those who are given eyes that see while at the same time being total darkness to those who are not given eyes to see, is explained for us all in Matthew 13 where Christ explains to His disciples why He always spoke to the multitudes in parables:

Mat 13:10  And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
Mat 13:11  He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
Mat 13:12  For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
Mat 13:13  Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
Mat 13:14  And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:

It was given to Israel to see what God was doing, but to the Egyptians it was not given. Everything that happened there at the Red Sea was just a type and shadow of what Christ came to reveal to those to whom He gives eyes that see and ears that hear.

Mat 13:11  He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
Mat 13:12  For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
Mat 13:13  Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.

It seems impossible that the very words that reveal the mind of God and His Son to His elect, the very words that nourish and feed and give light and life to God’s elect, are the very same words that poison, weaken, blind and give darkness and bring death to our “old man… the first man Adam”.

Is this true of every word of God?

So, how far do we go in applying this dark to one and light to the other, this positive to one and negative to the other, key to the kingdom of heaven? If indeed Christ is the Word, and if the scriptures are in fact His written Word, then the principle revealed to us in this particular key to the kingdom of heaven must surely apply to “every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” What is it we are told of “every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God?”

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.

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

If it is true that the Word of God is darkness to those who do not know God and it is light to those to whom He is revealing Himself, and if it is true that “man shall… live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God”, then it follows that we must all live first in that spoken and written darkness before we are given eyes that see and ears that hear the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. Is that a true statement? Do the scriptures confirm that we are all first the Egyptians who could not see their hands in front of their own faces because of the extent of the darkness in which they were living?

Here is the scriptural answer to that question via the pen of the apostle Paul:

Eph 2:1  And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
Eph 2:2  Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
Eph 2:3  Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

There is our answer. “We all had our [way of life] in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.” What this key to the kingdom reveals in practice is that every man lives out both the positive and the negative words, the blessing and the curses, that have proceeded out of the mouth of God, including these very dark, negative words:

Joh 3:36  He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

Rev 15:7  And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever.
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.

No man is able to enter into the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels… [who were given] the seven vials full of the wrath of God are fulfilled in that person’s life, which life is the temple of God, as the apostle Paul told all those who were in His charge:

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

If indeed Christ is the Word, and if we are to live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God, does that not mean that we must confess to all the sins of all men and bear all the curses as well as all the blessings of scripture? Is that not exactly what Christ, our Savior, did?

Isa 53:2  For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
Isa 53:3  He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Isa 53:4  Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
Isa 53:5  But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
Isa 53:6  All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

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 15:3  For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;

Gal 1:4  Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father:

1Pe 2:24  Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.

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

Are these words which have no personal application to you and me? The keys to the kingdom of heaven, which kingdom is within us, reveal that both the bright side and the dark side of Christ are ours. It is not just the bright, good, lighted side which is ours. The keys to the kingdom of heaven reveal that we, too, must fill up in our own bodies that which is behind of the afflictions of “He [who] is despised and rejected of men.” We, too, must have no beauty that we should be desired. We also must be despised and rejected of all men. It is given to us to be a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. It is given to us on His behalf to bear the griefs and sorrows of our fellows. It is given to us to be wounded for the transgression and bruised for the iniquities of our fellow man; to be “crucified with Christ” for the very same reason, goal and purpose for which Christ was crucified.

It is also given to us to be required to bear all the sins of all men from Adam on, just as did Christ Himself:

Lev 16:10  But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness.

Lev 16:21  And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness:

[Read this link for more on who this ‘scapegoat’ symbolizes: The Spiritual Significance of the Scapegoat and the Nazarite Vow]

Luk 11:50  That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation;
Luk 11:51  From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation.

Let’s examine the depth of the application of this particular key to the kingdom of heaven which teaches us that there is both a bright, positive side to our Lord as that pillar of cloud, which was at the very same time dark and negative, as He stood between and delivered His people from their enemies, all of which we now know was a type and shadow of the kingdom of God which is within us.

Here is what is involved in being saved from sin and death for those who are given to receive it. This is what is given to the “scapegoat”, the Lord’s “living sacrifice…” to bear the sins of the people (Rom 12:1, Lev 16:10-21):

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

Mat 10:24  The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord.
Mat 10:25  It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household?

Act 9:15  But the Lord said unto him [Ananias], Go thy way: for he [Saul of Tarsus] is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:
Act 9:16  For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake.

Rom 8:17  And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

Rom 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.

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

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

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

2Ti 3:12  Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.

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

Heb 13:3  Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body.

1Pe 4:19  Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.

Rev 2:10  Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.

Does this all sound negative and dark? The fact is that this is the best thing to which any of us could possibly be called. If it is not given us to bear these words, then the proverb is true:

Pro 24:10  If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy [spiritual] strength is small.

The godly, the unjust and the day of judgment

Who are the unjust whom the apostle Peter tells us are “reserve[d]… unto the day of judgment?

2Pe 2:9  The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:
2Pe 2:10  But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities.
2Pe 2:11  Whereas angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not railing accusation against them before the Lord.
2Pe 2:12  But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption;

Whoever verse 10 is speaking of must surely be some especially reprobate person:

2Pe 2:10  But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities.

Do we think of ourselves only as ‘the godly’ whom the Lord knows how to deliver out of temptation? The keys to the kingdom of heaven within us, and this key concerning the light and dark side of the same cloud, the negative and the positive application of every word of God, will open our eyes to see that we ourselves are that man of verse 10. It is we ourselves who are “chief… of… sinners”. It is we who have taken Uriah’s wife and murdered Uriah to cover up our sin.

Only when we see ourselves as being that dark side first will we understand what the spirit is telling us when Christ said:

Mat 13:24  Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:
Mat 13:25  But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.
Mat 13:26  But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.
Mat 13:27  So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?
Mat 13:28  He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?
Mat 13:29  But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.
Mat 13:30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.

1Ti 1:15  This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.

That “kingdom of heaven” is not just “likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field.” It is also likened unto “his enemy [our “old man” who] came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way.” The keys to the kingdom of heaven reveal that the kingdom of heaven is also likened to the householder, Christ, who tells his servants to “let both [the wheat and the tares] grow together until the harvest, and in the time of the harvest… gather ye first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.”

When is “the harvest”? The harvest is the judgment. Whether it is now or at the great white throne judgment, that is when the tares are gathered first in bundles and are burned up.

1Co 3:13  Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.
1Co 3:14  If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
1Co 3:15  If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
1Co 3:16  Know ye not that ye are, the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
1Co 3:17  If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

So when are the tares gathered together in bundles and destroyed with the brightness of His coming? When are God’s elect judged and purged of all the tares in their lives? Here is when that day of judgment takes place in the kingdom of God within us:

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

The tares are even now being gathered and bound up in bundles and being burned up by the brightness of the coming of Christ and the Truths of His doctrine in all those who now are the house of God. Here again is how they are being “burned”, and here is how the wheat is being gathered into Christ’s barns:

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

Using ‘the dream is one’ key (Gen 41:26), and being told by Christ that the kingdom of heaven is within His people and that the wheat symbolizes His own words, His doctrine, we must conclude that God’s barn and God’s temple are both the same. They both symbolize those He is gathering together, those in whom He dwells as His temple, those who have Him within them and live by His words and His doctrines.

Gen 41:26  The seven good kine are seven years; and the seven good ears are seven years: the dream is one.

Mat 13:18  Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower.
Mat 13:19  When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.

Mat 13:41  The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom [within us] all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;

Mat 24:31  And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

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.

Conclusion

“Them that do iniquity” of Matthew 13:41 is our own old man within all of us, who is even now being judged and is now being crucified with Christ and is even now dying daily. What a blessing it is to know the mind of Christ and to have all these keys to the kingdom of heaven, and to know that the dark side of that cloud that is Christ is simply the first Adam whose demise is the birth of the new man, the bright side of the same cloud, the last Adam; the birth of Christ Himself within each of us:

1Co 15:45  And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.

Rom 11:28  As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers’ sakes.
Rom 11:29  For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.
Rom 11:30  For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:
Rom 11:31  Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.
Rom 11:32  For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.
Rom 11:33  O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!
Rom 11:34  For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?
Rom 11:35  Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again?
Rom 11:36  For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.

Psa 139:12  Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.

Isa 45:7  I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.

Rev 1:17  And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:

[Part ten can be found here.]

Darkness to Light

If the study about ‘thieves and robbers’ were a ‘hand’, then this study would be considered the ‘foot’. They go hand and foot together in concept, but as with all scripture, those scriptures put together for this study simply give a slightly different perspective of any given concept or doctrine when combined together.

Christ tells us to pick up our cross and follow Him, and we know that the cross represents death. What we want to focus on today, though, is that it also represents Life in Christ. In this study, we will explore darkness being equated to death and Light representing Life. Of course, there is so much that can be said about what darkness and light mean and how God uses these two things in our lives to manifest Himself to all of humanity.

However, for this study I will simply just follow where the Lord leads me in regards to how we live each and every day with the knowledge, understanding and implementation of these concepts in our lives.

The inspiration for this study today came from Joh 12:35 which reads:

Joh 12:35 Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.

To give us a little context to what is being said; I will read some verses surrounding Joh 12:35.

Joh 12:23 And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified.
Joh 12:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
Joh 12:25 He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.
Joh 12:26 If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.
Joh 12:27 Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour.
Joh 12:28 Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.

And ‘will glorify it again’.

Joh 12:29 The people therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered: others said, An angel spake to him.
Joh 12:30 Jesus answered and said, This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes.
Joh 12:31 Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.
Joh 12:32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.
Joh 12:33 This he said, signifying what death he should die.
Joh 12:34 The people answered him, We have heard out of the law that Christ abideth for ever: and how sayest thou, The Son of man must be lifted up? who is this Son of man?
Joh 12:35 Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.
Joh 12:36 While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light. These things spake Jesus, and departed, and did hide himself from them.
Joh 12:37 But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him:

I know that was a lot of verses, and this is a story with which everyone is mostly familiar, but I wanted to read it in context so that we could see where it is Christ made this comment.

Christ mentions this ‘hour has come’ to also have the Father say ‘my name is glorified and will again be glorified’, to be summed up to, “now is the judgment of this world”.

The very next verse says that Christ will be LIFTED UP and draw all men unto Him. So, it is fairly easy to conclude that judgment of this world comes and is accomplished with the cross.

Knowing all of this as I have just explained, and after Christ was asked, “who is the son of man,” He answers, “a little while the light is with you, so walk in it”.

What does this all mean?

“I will make darkness light before them”

Isa 42:16 And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness LIGHT before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.
Isa 42:17 They shall be turned back, they shall be greatly ashamed, that trust in graven images, that say to the molten images, Ye are our gods.
Isa 42:18 Hear, ye deaf; and look, ye blind, that ye may see.
Isa 42:19 Who is blind, but my servant? or deaf, as my messenger that I sent? who is blind as he that is perfect, and blind as the LORD’S servant?

If you’ll recall from the ‘thieves and robbers’ study, there were two thieves hanging next to Christ on crosses.

In order for another to lead a blind person to a place that they do not know, they themselves must know the Way. Otherwise, the blind lead the blind. For a ‘new’ man to be born, an old man must first be present and exist.

In like manner, in order for one to be the Lord’s servant they must know what it is like to NOT be the Lord’s servant in order to know when they are serving the Lord.

The Lord’s servants have first been the unrepentant thief who wants salvation for themselves and sees Christ as being the same as them, because of the way they mock the Christ, ‘you are no better than me up here on this cross’. The Lord’s servant gets to the point of being the Lord’s servant because sight is given to them due to their blindness, and hearing comes because of deafness.

This will sound very familiar to those to whom this Way is familiar.

One of the miraculous things which happens is that before ‘men’s eyes’, the darkness that they see, will be made into Light ‘in the twinkling of an eye’. In other words, the darkness that once dwelled in a person will be used to bring forth Light as God calls darkness out of Light.

The only way a servant of God knows of what He speaks is to be Saul on the road to Damascus who is struck down with a great light; thus creating Paul eventually.

Act 22:4 And I persecuted this way unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women.
Act 22:5 As also the high priest doth bear me witness, and all the estate of the elders: from whom also I received letters unto the brethren, and went to Damascus, to bring them which were there bound unto Jerusalem, for to be punished.
Act 22:6 And it came to pass, that, as I made my journey, and was come nigh unto Damascus about noon, suddenly there shone from heaven a great light round about me.
Act 22:7 And I fell unto the ground, and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
Act 22:8 And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest.

For those who have gone through this experience this is a great mystery of Light because it is something they have lived through, but it is darkness for those who are in it, and it is not a fun place to be.

Blindness is likened unto death, and death is likened to darkness. It really is spiritually all the same thing described in different terms and spiritual words.

So, someone who is blind has NO IDEA what Light really is.

I often walk out of my darkened room in the morning into a flood of the morning sun in the living room. When I do this, my eyes need to adjust, and I usually close them for a bit because suddenly being presented with bright lights hurts.

When Christ comes to those who dwell in darkness, and do not know it for lack of comparison, it is hurtful and blinding at first. Yes, Light can be blinding!

‘The day of the Lord’ and ‘the hour at hand’, to which this experience can be equated, are really saying one and the same thing. This is the point when Christ is being presented to someone as Light, and the immediate reaction is to see for the first time, but we all need some spiritual adjusting of the eyes in order for us to start to see clearly.

As an example, look at the process which shows us what the giving of sight to a physically blind man entails.

Mar 8:22 And he cometh to Bethsaida; and they bring a blind man unto him, and besought him to touch him.
Mar 8:23 And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and when he had spit on his eyes, and put his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw ought.
Mar 8:24 And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking.
Mar 8:25 After that he put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly.
Mar 8:26 And he sent him away to his house, saying, Neither go into the town, nor tell it to any in the town.

We are being witnessed to here with a great witness of how Christ works in mankind’s lives when He comes into their lives.

When the Light comes to darkness, it takes a process for Christ to fully reveal the situation to those to whom He is giving sight. Thus, He tells His servants to ‘keep it to yourself because you are just a babe’.

You might be saying, “But Christ didn’t say that. He said to not go into town or tell it to any in town.” But I ask you why did Christ tell the man to not tell any about this? The reason is that when we are brought from darkness and given the Truth about what men (mankind) is, then that work alone will be the witness that others will see.

That very work done to them/us by Christ will be what is used against the person as they judge themselves out of their own thoughts and mouth, just like the unrepentant thief challenges Christ to prove yet again that He is the Son of God.

It should be getting crystal clear that we are the first ones who don’t see who Christ really is and who “His Christ” are first BEFORE we are given to be the thief who realizes who he is and why he is hanging on a cross with and next to Christ.

1Th 5:1 But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.
1Th 5:2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
1Th 5:3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
1Th 5:4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.
1Th 5:5 Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.
1Th 5:6 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.
1Th 5:7 For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night.
1Th 5:8 But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.

Hope of Salvation

The hope of salvation that has been given to those which walk in the day are given to those who are following Christ where He is, and this is of no doing or work of themselves.

It is Christ’s beckoning to pick up the cross and follow Him that gets the chain moving in this process.

So, the focus of this study is to present the Truth that as we are sent out into the world amongst our family and friends, peers and loved ones, we are to do so knowing from where it is we have been delivered. That deliverance is from the enemy of darkness/blindness/sleep in the night/DEATH, and this is a continual life-long process.

You can only bring LIFE and salvation to a DEAD person, but just where is DEATH as Christ presents Life to His servants in order to be used to present it to others?

2Sa 22:1 And David spake unto the LORD the words of this song in the day that the LORD had delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies, and out of the hand of Saul:
2Sa 22:2 And he said, The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer;
2Sa 22:3 The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my saviour; thou savest me from violence.
2Sa 22:4 I will call on the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.
2Sa 22:5 When the waves of death compassed me, the floods of ungodly men made me afraid;
2Sa 22:6 The sorrows of hell (sheol:grave) compassed me about; the snares of death prevented me;
2Sa 22:7 In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried to my God: and he did hear my voice out of his temple, and my cry did enter into his ears.
2Sa 22:8 Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations of heaven moved and shook, because he was wroth.
2Sa 22:9 There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it.
2Sa 22:10 He bowed the heavens also, and came down; and darkness was under his feet.

1Co 15:25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
1Co 15:26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

Our hope of salvation is bringing the TRUTH of the LIGHT of the Gospel to those who Christ is dragging to His Father.

Again, when is it that Christ does this?

Joh 3:14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:

Joh 12:31 Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.
Joh 12:32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.

When we present this Truth out of the Word of God to someone, we are presenting the JUDGMENT of the Word of God on “all that is in the world” in that person.

Zep 1:14 The great day of the LORD is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the LORD: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly.
Zep 1:15 That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness,

Is it any wonder that they think we are being judgmental? They see the MESSENGER claiming to be the Son of God, of which we are, who then says, “here is what the Word of God says.”

Thus, the result is this, among other things:

2Co 11:12 But what I do, that I will do, that I may cut off occasion from them which desire occasion; that wherein they glory, they may be found even as we.
2Co 11:13 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.
2Co 11:14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
2Co 11:15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.

We will be accused, just as Christ was, of being self-righteous and full of evil spirits:

Mat 12:22 Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw.
Mat 12:23 And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David?
Mat 12:24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.
Mat 12:25 And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand:
Mat 12:26 And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand?

Mat 10:25 It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household?

Nevertheless, we needn’t be concerned with this because this is the calling to which we have been called.

There simply is never going to be a way around being persecuted for telling the Truth, because Light reveals what the darkness is hiding.

All around, it is simply death of the old man and his carnal ways which people experience as we spread Fire through the dry wood, hay and stubble of their minds and hearts.

Mat 6:21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
Mat 6:22 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.
Mat 6:23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!

“The Light that is in thee”

The light that is in any of us, the Word of God that any of us have dwelling in our hearts and minds, now lives in a place that was once full of darkness.

This is NOT simply knowing a bunch of scriptures, memorizing a bunch of verses and speaking them as often and quickly as possible. Rather, what does show forth with this Light in us is the Fruit of what the Spirit is working in our lives, and it is a LIFE-long process of these things being grown up in us until we take our last breath. This process with be something that develops in us the following things, Lord willing:

Gal 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
Gal 5:23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
Gal 5:24 And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
Gal 5:25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

What we have been talking about today is the flesh being crucified on the cross. What encompasses the flesh is NOT simply our flesh, bones and blood but also the mindset the goes along with it. We know this as the carnal mind, and if we get anything out of this study, it is that we ALL have a continual war going on in our minds which pits the carnal mind against the mind of Christ, the old man against the new man, and natural against the spiritual.

If this is a war in our minds, how much more is this the same war which goes on in the hearts and minds of those who are in our lives whether they be friend, family, peers, loved ones and so on.

After all, it was just a short time ago that we lived in complete darkness to these things, yet we have a friend in Christ who is there to give us peace to handle whatever God’s will is for us in our lives, and as of yet, they do not if the Lord has not willed Himself into their lives yet.

This is what we see with this war:

Mat 24:27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

The hour and the day of the Son of God comes when no one is watching. It comes as a thief in the night, so we must always be vigilant to realize that though we are “the Light of the world” in Christ, lightning is a frightful event to most.

Luk 10:17 And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name.
Luk 10:18 And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.
Luk 10:19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
Luk 10:20 Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.
Luk 10:21 In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight.
Luk 10:22 All things are delivered to me of my Father: and no man knoweth who the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him.

The darkness which is replaced with Light is a trying life to live, but it is one with GREAT reward.

The reward we are promised will not have a benefit for “all that is in the world”, but it will have a wonderful benefit in the spirit as it produces love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance.

1Jn 2:15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
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.

We should take joy that God dwells in us and is using the light He has created us to be, to drag others to Himself to join us in this process.

Act 17:24 God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;
Act 17:25 Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;

With the dragging that the Lord does, we should all strive to bring forth to the forefront of our minds just how precious those whom the Lord is working in now are.

Luk 9:37 And it came to pass, that on the next day, when they were come down from the hill, much people met him.
Luk 9:38 And, behold, a man of the company cried out, saying, Master, I beseech thee, look upon my son: for he is mine only child.
Luk 9:39 And, lo, a spirit taketh him, and he suddenly crieth out; and it teareth him that he foameth again, and bruising him hardly departeth from him.
Luk 9:40 And I besought thy disciples to cast him out; and they could not.
Luk 9:41 And Jesus answering said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you, and suffer you? Bring thy son hither.
Luk 9:42 And as he was yet a coming, the devil threw him down, and tare him. And Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the child, and delivered him again to his father.
Luk 9:43 And they were all amazed at the mighty power of God. But while they wondered every one at all things which Jesus did, he said unto his disciples,
Luk 9:44 Let these sayings sink down into your ears: for the Son of man shall be delivered into the hands of men.
Luk 9:45 But they understood not this saying, and it was hid from them, that they perceived it not: and they feared to ask him of that saying.
Luk 9:46 Then there arose a reasoning among them, which of them should be greatest.
Luk 9:47 And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a child, and set him by him,
Luk 9:48 And said unto them, Whosoever shall receive this child in my name receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me receiveth him that sent me: for he that is least among you all, the same shall be great.

Christ is “all the day long” delivered into the hands of men by the Fire He puts in our mouths which is the Word of God.

Keep the Faith, and know that God works this work in you and will deliver many from darkness to light in this process He uses in you all.

Hello again, Mike,

I am trying to get my thoughts in writing with respect to what I believe about 7 day creationism.

I note that you said many churches teach a gap theory. This is true. However, not all fundamentalist churches would hold to that position. I know that your literal interpretation is the exact same view that I was taught when I was a young Christian. I guess I would still need you to clarify for me how the whole stay of bread/ water can be removed when you are teaching specifically a certain doctrine that is still widely accepted.

But all the same token, I feel that literal seven-day creationism misses a few details in the Genesis narrative. Like you have done, please allow me to quote, bolder and underline the scriptures. I am quoting from the New American Standard version.

Gen 1:1-5 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.

I read that for many years, Mike, thinking that on the first day, God made the sun because how else can there be day or night except for the fact that the earth moved about the sun rotating as it does? As you pointed out, everything in the Genesis account is specifically qualified by the phrase “evening and morning”, but how do we account for that when, according to the Genesis account, there is no sun until the 4th day? It was only recently when I started to pay more attention that I noticed the sun and the moon and the other stars were not made until the 4th day:

Gen 1:14-19 Then God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years; and let them be for lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so. God made the two great lights, the greater light to govern the day, and the lesser light to govern the night; He made the stars also. God placed them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, and to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good. There was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.

So, Mike, how do we interpret the scriptures now when we are specifically told that the sun and the moon were not made until the 4th day? Clearly, the spirit is hiding this in plain sight for the wise man, or the king within us, to seek out:

Pro 25:2 It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, But the glory of kings is to search out a matter.

Both evening and morning are qualified on all six days of creation, and no distinction is made before the 4th day, and yet, the sun and the moon and the stars were not actually created until the 4th day.

I feel we must ask ourselves why this is so? Why did the spirit expressly have this written in such a way? Mike, I believe it is because this, like many other parts of the scriptures, are not to be taken literally.

At this point, you may say again to me: I am a believer in the six times qualified statement that this earth and all in it was created and spoken into existence instantly with the appearance of maturity in six literal “morning[s] and evening[s].”

But as I have shown you, Mike, if the sun and the moon and stars, which we are told were for the purpose of governing the day and the night, were not created until the 4th day, how can we reconcile the previous three days as being literal 24-hour periods of time? What was the earth orbiting? How was photosynthesis achieved on the 3rd day with respect to plant life without a sun to create ultra violet light?

Mike, this doctrine of seven literal 24-hour days seems akin to the fundamentalist reading of this verse and concluding that it means precisely what it says:

Rev 14:10-11 They will be tormented with burning sulphur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever.

I read that verse for many years and actually was terrified that I would be the person being burned alive with sulphur and that the smoke from my singed body would ascend until eternity. It was not until about a year ago that I began to see through the literal and understand that the bible cannot be taken that way all the time, because to do so simply leads one in circles. When I began to accept this, it was like a new understanding was given to me. Even though I am still learning, I do feel like I have been given new eyes to see the scripture.

Many thanks to you again.
S____

Hi S____,

If, after qualifying that this was all done in six evenings and mornings, we refuse to believe it is literal evenings and mornings, and as you conclude, the point in doing that is to show us that we are not to take the evenings and the mornings as literal days, then how can we know that anything in scripture is literal and physical?

I explained to you that when the scriptures qualify anything, then we are to accept those qualifying statements. When we are told that the sun stood still for a full day when Joshua was fighting the Canaanites, I hope we do not conclude that none of this is literal or that it didn’t really happen, just because we cannot understand how that is possible.

Jos 10:12 Then spake Joshua to the LORD in the day when the LORD delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon.
Jos 10:13 And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day.

I have already been through the same thought processes you are now experiencing. As I have quoted before:

Rom 3:3 For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?
Rom 3:4 God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.

If God grants us the faith to believe He created the entire universe, then He can also give us the faith to believe that He did it in the time and in the order in which He tells us He did it. “Let there be light” does not say ‘Let there be the sun and all the other stars of the heavens’.

Here is the creation account:

Gen 1:3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
Gen 1:4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
Gen 1:5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

If God can create this earth, can He not also provide the light for six evenings and mornings without the stars of the heavens? I have no problem with that at all if that is what He says He did.
Here are His words about the order in which He created the earth and the universe:

Gen 1:6 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
Gen 1:7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.
Gen 1:8 And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.
Gen 1:9 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.
Gen 1:10 And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.
Gen 1:11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.
Gen 1:12 And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
Gen 1:13 And the evening and the morning were the third day.

Now we come to the fourth day:

Gen 1:14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:
Gen 1:15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.
Gen 1:16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.
Gen 1:17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,
Gen 1:18 And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.
Gen 1:19 And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

Being human and knowing that the earth revolves around the Sun, we think in natural human terms. We cannot just naturally imagine that Christ Himself is the Sun, and that the sun consists in Him, or that He is capable of lighting the earth without the sun. However, that is exactly what we are told, and all we need is the faith to believe the order in which He reveals that He did it all. It is really no harder than believing or accepting that a virgin conceived a son, or “Sun”, without first having a male to contribute sperm. The one is no harder to believe than the other:

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.

So the physical sun is but a mere type and shadow of the true light which lighted and still lights this world:

Joh 1:9 That [Christ] was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.

So light does not depend on whether the sun was created before the earth. The physical sun consists and has its being in Christ and not vice versa.

Col 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
Col 1:17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

So there was no need for a physical sun, moon and stars to exist before Christ could have the power and the means to create the earth just as He tells us He did it. He was quite capable of providing light and causing the earth to rotate on its axis without the other heavenly bodies. If we cannot believe what He says here in Genesis, then we might also have a hard time believing in Joshua’s long day or Hezekiah’s long day.

We are told that all of the accomplishments of the first three days were completed and then the stars were created on the fourth day. So He created the stars, of which our physical sun was but one of billions, on the fourth day.

You ask:

“So Mike, how do we interpret the scriptures now when we are specifically told that the sun, and the moon were not made until the 4th day? Clearly, the spirit is hiding this in plain sight for the wise man, or the king within us, to seek out:

Pro 25:2 It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, But the glory of kings is to search out a matter.

Both evening and morning are qualified on all six days of creation and no distinction is made before the 4th day and yet, the sun and the moon and the stars were not actually created until the 4th day.

I feel we must ask ourselves why this is so? Why did the spirit expressly have this written in such a way?” (end quote)

Answer:

What this all serves to tell us is this principle on which God operates:

1Co 15:46 Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.
1Co 15:47 The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.

The sun and stars are all types of the heavens and the spiritual realm, and that is why the Lord made them after He made the earth. It was to tell us that when He qualifies a matter we are not to ignore those qualifying words.

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

You said this also:

“Mike, this doctrine of seven literal 24-hour days seems akin to the fundamentalist reading of this verse and concluding that it means precisely what it says:

Rev 14:10-11 They will be tormented with burning sulphur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever.

I read that verse for many years and actually was terrified that I would be the person being burned alive with sulphur and that the smoke from my singed body would ascend until eternity. It was not until about a year ago that I began to see through the literal and understand that the bible cannot be taken that way all the time because to do so, simply leads one in circles. When I began to accept this, it was like a new understanding was given to me. Even though I am still learning, I do feel like I have been given new eyes to see the scripture.

Yes, we do go in circles when we have no way of knowing what is to be taken as literal and what is to be take as spiritual. That is why we must be careful never to “think above what is written”. The only way you can know that the fire of the lake of fire is not literal is because those words have been qualified elsewhere in scripture as spiritual words which save mankind instead of tormenting him for eternity:

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.

1Co 3:13 Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.
1Co 3:14 If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
1Co 3:15 If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

So when we have such clear qualifying statements, then we know that the fire of scripture saves us, likewise when the days of creation are six times qualified as being six evenings and mornings of the earth rotating on its axis before the sun is even created, and we are told that the natural precedes the heavenly and the spiritual, then we know why the Lord created the earth in the order in which He reveals it to us.

1Co 15:46  Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual [the sun], but that which is natural [the earth]; and afterward that which is spiritual.
1Co 15:47  The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.
1Co 15:48  As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.
1Co 15:49  And as we have [first] borne the image of the earthy, we shall also [afterward] bear the image of the heavenly.

That is “the glory of a king to search out a matter.” That gives us a spiritual lesson which we do not get if we ignore the qualifying words which agree with the fact that we are plainly told that what was accomplished was done “instantly” in six evenings and mornings.

Isa 48:3 I have declared the former things from the beginning; and they went forth out of my mouth, and I shewed them; I did them suddenly [Hebrew: pith’ôm,  instantly], and they came to pass.

That is quite a qualifying verse which tells us that the evenings and mornings are to be taken literally as being literally spoken into existence. Christ made “the best wine” in an instant, and He also spoke the world into existence “suddenly”. God could have spoken it all into existence in six seconds, but He did it in six evenings and mornings for the purpose of creating man on the sixth day and giving man the number six, with everything that number reveals.

He created the physical earth before the physical heavens for what that reveals. When God does something it is “a short work”.

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

The last thing I want to do is to offend you. I hope you can appreciate my own position of being an easy target for every yellow journalist who is out there. Your experience with my detractors has graphically demonstrated how the forked-tongued serpent operates within his children. I truly believe you are seeking the Truth.

If I believed for one moment that you wanted me to teach against the scriptures, I would not be writing you. Regarding the subject of the order in which the universe was created, I hope you can also accept that I cannot “think above what is written” in any of our correspondences. I try hard to conform all of my thoughts and doctrines to what is written and not vice versa. Believing in a virgin birth does not require that you check your brain at the door. Neither does a six literal evening and morning creation, but both do require faith in the word of God.

Pro 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

Your brother in Christ.
Mike

Wow, Mike,

I’m very glad to have stumbled onto your website. I was really trying to find out how God answered David. It sounds so easy; David inquired of the Lord and God said to pursue them. How did God talk to David? Now that the Holy Spirit resides in us, it seems that it’s still hard to determine what God’s will is for me or to hear God’s voice.

C____

Hi C____,

Thank you for taking the time to write.

You ask:

How did God talk to David?

Here is what the scriptures tell us:

1Sa 23:2 Therefore David enquired of the LORD, saying, Shall I go and smite these Philistines? And the LORD said unto David, Go, and smite the Philistines, and save Keilah.
1Sa 23:4 Then David enquired of the LORD yet again. And the LORD answered him and said, Arise, go down to Keilah; for I will deliver the Philistines into thine hand.

Any time you see the word LORD in the King James in all caps like that, it is taken from the Hebrew word Yahweh. There are many such instances where David spoke directly with Yahweh, just as did many others before him. We will begin with Adam and Eve:

Gen 2:16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
Gen 3:13 And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
Gen 4:9 And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper?
Gen 7:1 And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.

Yahweh also spoke with and appeared to many other Old Testament patriarchs and kings and prophets, including King David, just as we talk to each other today.

But for us now, it is a matter of knowing the voice of the True shepherd through His Words. That is a blessing which is given to very few indeed.

Joh 10:2 But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
Joh 10:3 To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.
Joh 10:4 And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.
Joh 10:5 And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.

It is my prayer that you will recognize the “voice” of the True Shepherd in the writings on iswasandwillbe. com. I would also encourage you to read Rightly Dividing The Word in the essential reading section of the iswasandwillbe. com web site.

Here is that link:

http:// iswasandwillbe. com/ understandingbible. php

I hope this answers your question. The fact that King David, and so many others, saw and talked with Yahweh, tells us that Yahweh was none other than Christ Himself, the Word of God.

Joh 1:18 No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
Joh 5:37 And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape.

I hope this has served to answer your questions.

Your brother in His service,

Mike

Video Links

Job 28:1 Surely there is a vein for the silver, and a place for gold where they fine it.

Job 28:2 Iron is taken out of the earth, and brass is molten out of the stone.

Job 28:3 He setteth an end to darkness, and searcheth out all perfection: the stones of darkness, and the shadow of death.

Job 28:4 The flood breaketh out from the inhabitant; even the waters forgotten of the foot: they are dried up, they are gone away from men.

Job 28:5 As for the earth, out of it cometh bread: and under it is turned up as it were fire.

Job 28:6 The stones of it are the place of sapphires: and it hath dust of gold.

Job 28:7 There is a path which no fowl knoweth, and which the vulture’s eye hath not seen:

Job 28:8 The lion’s whelps have not trodden it, nor the fierce lion passed by it.

Job 28:9 He putteth forth his hand upon the rock; he overturneth the mountains by the roots.

Job 28:10 He cutteth out rivers among the rocks; and his eye seeth every precious thing.

Job 28:11 He bindeth the floods from overflowing; and the thing that is hid bringeth he forth to light.

Introduction

Job will be holding the floor through chapter 31. He is in the process of declaring his own righteousness and his knowledge of God and God’s ways. But he is also judging the wicked of whom he thinks he is not. Having no concept of self- righteousness and of being judged out of his own mouth, Job continues to do just that, condemning the beast and the man of sin which is in his own members.

Rom 7:17 Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.

Rom 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.

Rom 7:19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.

Rom 7:20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.

Rom 7:21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.

Rom 7:22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:

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.

These verses of Rom 7 are rank heresy to us while we are in our Babylonian, self- righteous, Job stage of our walk. Like Job, we know nothing at all of a ‘law of sin… in [ our] members’, to which we are, by nature, enslaved. We are carnal babes in Christ, who think we have had our senses exercised to know good and evil.

1Co 3:1 And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.

1Co 3:2 I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.

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

1Co 3:4 For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?

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

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.

In Babylon we are always speaking far above our own understanding. We say “God is love”, and we know not what we are saying. We will say “His mercy endures forever”. and we do not know what we are saying. We say “God is sovereign” and do not know what we are saying. So too, Job will be speaking far above his own understanding in this chapter.

Job 28:1 Surely there is a vein for the silver, and a place for gold where they fine it.

Job 28:2 Iron is taken out of the earth, and brass is molten out of the stone.

All the metals mentioned here require being refined in fire. That is the meaning of “there is… a place for gold where they fine [ refine] it”. Refining in fire is essential even for the basest of metals. From lead to tin, to iron, to copper, to silver, and to gold, fire is essential to the basest of metals as well as the most valuable. See all the studies on iswasandwillbe. com, on all the metals mentioned in scripture.

Job knows that fire is required for purifying any and all metals, but he does not understand how personally applicable are the lessons of the words he is speaking. Job does not believe that he needs to be purified of anything. He is already “clean without transgression”. He maintains his own righteousness, and his own integrity.

Job 33:8 Surely thou hast spoken in mine hearing, and I have heard the voice of thy words, saying,

Job 33:9 I am clean without transgression, I am innocent; neither is there iniquity in me.

Nevertheless this is the Truth of this matter for all mankind:

Num 31:22 Only the gold, and the silver, the brass, the iron, the tin, and the lead,

Every thing that may abide the fire, ye shall make it go through the fire, and it shall be clean: nevertheless it shall be purified with the water of separation: and all that abideth not the fire ye shall make go through the water.

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

1Co 3:14 If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.

1Co 3:15 If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

The works of all flesh will be burned up, not because we chose to do so, but because God Himself ordained that we all bear a sinful earthy body before we would wear a heavenly body:

1Co 15:45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.

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

1Co 15:47 The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.

1Co 15:48 As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.

1Co 15:49 And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.

1Co 15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

Job 28:3 He setteth an end to darkness, and searcheth out all perfection: the stones of darkness, and the shadow of death.

“Setting an end to darkness” is not ‘plan B’ for God. ‘Darkness’ is the Biblical type of ignorance of the thoughts of the mind of God and His Son. All men are first children of darkness and are born into “the shadow of death”, because Biblical ‘darkness’ and “the shadow of death” are one and the same, in scriptural terms:

Mat 4:16 The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.

So the “end to darkness” which God Himself “create[ d]” was “set” by God Himself “before the world began”. It was God Himself who “create[ d] darkness”, and He created it for the very purpose of first placing us, His creatures, in that darkness. It is only by first being “in darkness” that God demonstrates for His creatures what is the light in which we now dwell with Him if indeed He is living in us and we are in living in Him and in His Son.

Isa 45:4 For Jacob my servant’s sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me.

Isa 45:5 I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:

Isa 45:6 That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else.

Isa 45:7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.

When did Christ do all of this? Did God “set an end to darkness” as a means of dealing with the unforeseen result of the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, which caused our first parents to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? When do the scriptures teach us God made this decision to place us first into darkness and in need of a Savior from our sins, and to “set and end to darkness”? Here is the Biblical answer to that question:

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

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,

Tit 1:2 In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;

God is not operating on ‘plan B’! He is the ultimate cause of all things, including all the sinful creatures which He has filled with darkness, and whose darkness He has “set an end… before the world began”.

Job 28:4 The flood breaketh out from the inhabitant; even the waters forgotten of the foot: they are dried up, they are gone away from men.

Just like the light and the darkness, which were both created by and whose dark end is set by God, so too, the floods are brought upon our sinful lives. “Forgotten of the foot” is a phrase which, in Biblical terms, refers to our walk and the way in which we conduct our lives. The word ‘darkness’ in the previous verse, refers to the walk we are first given. It is God who gives us to lose our first love, to walk first in darkness, and to forget that even the floods of life are given to us by our own heavenly Father for our own good.

King David, Isaiah and all the prophets proclaim this same message concerning the sovereign work of God even over the evils of our lives:

Psa 107:25 For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof.

Psa 107:26 They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble.

Psa 107:27 They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits’ end.

Psa 107:28 Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses.

Psa 107:29 He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.

The knowledge of the Truth of those words of Psa 107 are “the waters [ which are] forgotten of the foot… are dried up, [ and] are gone away from men”. So too, is the truth of these verses of scripture:

Isa 63:17 O LORD, why hast thou made us to err from thy ways, and hardened our heart from thy fear? Return for thy servants’ sake, the tribes of thine inheritance.

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

Mankind is “out of the ground” and is made in that marred form just as the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, as well as the tree of life, all first come “out of the ground”, and are all conceived in sin and shapen in iniquity before they are then “made… anew… as it seemed good to the Potter to make it.

Job 28:5 As for the earth, out of it cometh bread: and under it is turned up as it were fire.

Job 28:6 The stones of it are the place of sapphires: and it hath dust of gold.

We are back to the fact that God has ordained that purification comes only through ‘pur’ the Greek word for ‘fire’, from which we get our English word pure or purify. So we are plainly told:

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?

The “fire… under… the earth” which produces the precious stones and gold, is the chastening and scourging of a loving heavenly Father, who has ordained that it be so “before the world began”.

1Co 3:13 Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire [ Greek ‘pur’, fire, God’s chastening, scourging fire]; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.

1Co 3:14 If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.

1Co 3:15 If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

Job 28:7 There is a path which no fowl knoweth, and which the vulture’s eye hath not seen:

Job 28:8 The lion’s whelps have not trodden it, nor the fierce lion passed by it.

While there is always both a positive and a negative application for every word of scripture, and while the dove is used as a symbol of the spirit of God and the lion of the tribe of Judah is Christ, when the word ‘fowl’, especially in conjunction with “the vulture’s eye”, is used, it is clear that we are speaking here of those unclean fowl which “snatch away the word” and which torment God’s people before they are delivered from the power of those spirits. When a ‘lion is mentioned in this same context, it is obviously referring to the lion which was sent to devour God’s people.

It is no less than Christ Himself who reveals to us the meaning of “the fowls”.

Mat 13:3 And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;

Mat 13:4 And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:

So what does Christ explain are “the fowls”?

Mat 13:18 Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower.

Mat 13:19 When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.

Here is the scripture which tells us what this “fierce lion” is:

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

Here is an example of “a path which no fowl knows and which the vulture’s eye has not seen [ and which] the lion’s whelps have not trodden”. Here is an example of what “the wicked one… has not seen”, and to which “the wicked one” is not yet made privy:

Mat 8:28 And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way.

Mat 8:29 And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?

As this entire book of Job demonstrates, all ‘fowl’, and ‘roaring lion[ s]’ are nothing more or less than mere servants and instruments of our heavenly Father, to the extent that they are said to be “from the Lord” and are called “Thy hand”:

Job 1:11 But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.

Job 1:12 And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.

1Sa 16:14 But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him.

1Sa 16:15 And Saul’s servants said unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee.

Job 28:9 He putteth forth his hand upon the rock; he overturneth the mountains by the roots.

If indeed God’s “hand” is the devil, as Job 1 and 2 demonstrate, then when “He puts forth His hand upon the Rock”, and if Christ is that ‘Rock’, then we must conclude that it was God Himself who put forth His hand” upon our Lord, to deliver Him up to the death of the cross. Is that not exactly what the scripture tell us?

Act 4:25 Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things?

Act 4:26 The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ.

Act 4:27 For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together,

Act 4:28 For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done.

Job 28:10 He cutteth out rivers among the rocks; and his eye seeth every precious thing.

Job 28:11 He bindeth the floods from overflowing; andthe thing that is hid bringeth he forth to light.

“The thing that is hid brings He forth to light”, is just another way of saying that there is nothing which is hidden from our Lord.

Mar 4:22 For there is nothing hid, which shall not be manifested; neither was any thing kept secret, but that it should come abroad.

An even deeper understanding of the mind of our Lord and His Father teaches us that from God’s perspective ‘the light and the darkness are both alike’ to Him, and the Truth is that we cannot hide even our very thoughts from Him simply because even those thoughts are His work, are “of the Lord”, and are known by Him before they are ever conceived within us.

Psa 139:2 Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off.

Psa 139:3 Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.

Psa 139:4 For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether.

Psa 139:5 Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me.

Psa 139:6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.

Psa 139:7 Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?

Psa 139:8 If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.

Psa 139:9 If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;

Psa 139:10 Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.

Psa 139:11 If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me.

Psa 139:12 Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light areboth alike to thee.

So God is not trying to keep up with the affairs of all mankind, but is rather working all of mankind’saffairs after the counsel of His own will.

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

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

Eph 1:8 Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;

Eph 1:9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:

Eph 1:10 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:

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

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

Next week, if the Lord wills, we will learn what is the source of all wisdom.

Job 28:12 But where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding?

Job 28:13 Man knoweth not the price thereof; neither is it found in the land of the living.

Job 28:14 The depth saith, It is not in me: and the sea saith, It is not with me.

Job 28:15 It cannot be gotten for gold, neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof.

Job 28:16 It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx, or the sapphire.

Job 28:17 The gold and the crystal cannot equal it: and the exchange of it shall not be for jewels of fine gold.

Job 28:18 No mention shall be made of coral, or of pearls: for the price of wisdom is above rubies.

Job 28:19 The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, neither shall it be valued with pure gold.

Job 28:20 Whence then cometh wisdom? and where is the place of understanding?

Job 28:21 Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living, and kept close from the fowls of the air.

Job 28:22 Destruction and death say, We have heard the fame thereof with our ears.

Job 28:23 God understandeth the way thereof, and he knoweth the place thereof.

Job 28:24 For he looketh to the ends of the earth, and seeth under the whole heaven;

Job 28:25 To make the weight for the winds; and he weigheth the waters by measure.

Job 28:26 When he made a decree for the rain, and a way for the lightning of the thunder:

Job 28:27 Then did he see it, and declare it; he prepared it, yea, and searched it out.

Job 28:28 And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.

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Job 22:15 Hast thou marked the old way which wicked men have trodden?

Job 22:16 Which were cut down out of time, whose foundation was overflown with a flood:

Job 22:17 Which said unto God, Depart from us: and what can the Almighty do for them?

Job 22:18 Yet he filled their houses with good things: but the counsel of the wicked is far from me.

Job 22:19 The righteous see it, and are glad: and the innocent laugh them to scorn.

Job 22:20 Whereas our substance is not cut down, but the remnant of them the fire consumeth.

Job 22:21 Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee.

Job 22:22 Receive, I pray thee, the law from his mouth, and lay up his words in thine heart.

Job 22:23 If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up, thou shalt put away iniquity far from thy tabernacles.

Job 22:24 Then shalt thou lay up gold as dust, and the gold of Ophir as the stones of the brooks.

Job 22:25 Yea, the Almighty shall be thy defence, and thou shalt have plenty of silver.

Job 22:26 For then shalt thou have thy delight in the Almighty, and shalt lift up thy face unto God.

Job 22:27 Thou shalt make thy prayer unto him, and he shall hear thee, and thou shalt pay thy vows.

Job 22:28 Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee: and the light shall shine upon thy ways.

Job 22:29 When men are cast down, then thou shalt say, There is lifting up; and he shall save the humble person.

Job 22:30 He shall deliver the island of the innocent: and it is delivered by the pureness of thine hands.

Introduction

It is Eliphaz’s sincere understanding that under no circumstance would God ever bless the wicked while pouring our His wrath upon His own elect. After all, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar are the type and shadow of who we are while we are enslaved to the lies which are Babylon the Great. Like any tithe- paying, church- going Babylonian who first hears “I create evil… I the Lord do all these things”, Eliphaz will not let the Truth stand in his way as he defends his god who would never, under any circumstance, “chasten and scourge” His own child, while physically blessing evil men who He uses to chasten His elect. But what do the scriptures teach us?

Isa 10:5 O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation.

Isa 10:6 I will send him against an hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets.

The “Assyrian” is the Babylonian who kills God’s witnesses and leaves their dead bodies unburied in the streets of “that great city”.

Rev 11:8 And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.

“The great city… where our Lord was crucified… spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt. What else is “that great city where our Lord was crucified” spiritually called?

Rev 16:17 And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.

Rev 16:18 And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.

Rev 16:19 And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.

“The great city where also our Lord was crucified” is within each of us, and it is also called “great Babylon”. It is given to us to be the first to endure the wrath of God upon our own self- righteous old man (1Pe 4:17). Eliphaz is the spirit of Babylon, which is the “Assyrian” who God uses to chasten and crucify His Christ, His elect .

This is all unheard of by any of us while we work at our own righteousness. Nevertheless this is what God is working:

Psa 73:3 For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

Psa 73:4 For there are no bands in their death: but their strength is firm.

Psa 73:5 They are not in trouble as other men; neither are they plagued like other men.

Psa 73:6 Therefore pride compasseth them about as a chain; violence covereth them as a garment.

Psa 73:7 Their eyes stand out with fatness: they have more than heart could wish.

“They are not plagued like other men” includes the plagues which God pours out on His own sons, of whom Job is the Old Testament type:

Heb 12:5 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:

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?

God’s chastening scourges us to the point that we all “faint”. If we are told not to faint, it is because we faint. Like Job who wanted to die, and like our Lord in the garden, we are “troubled, even unto death”, to the point that these words are placed here and to the point that Christ Himself had to be strengthened by an angel to endure the pain of physical suffering and the even greater mental pain of being forsaken by His closest friends, His disciples.

Mat 26:31 Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad.

Mat 26:32 But after I am risen again, I will go before you into Galilee.

Mat 26:33 Peter answered and said unto him, Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended.

Mat 26:34 Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.

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

Mat 26:38 Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.

Luk 22:41 And he was withdrawn from them about a stone’s cast, and kneeled down, and prayed,

Luk 22:42 Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.

Luk 22:43 And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.

Luk 22:44 And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

In this same way, Job typifies Christ, as Eliphaz, Bildah, and Zophar, his “inward friends” blatantly, and with no proof or witnesses, tell him to his face that what they really think of him is that his “wickedness is great”.

Job 22:5 Is not thy wickedness great? and thine iniquities infinite?

‘After all, just witness what God has done to you, Job. You are obviously a sinner above all men. Is not your wickedness great, and your iniquities infinite?’ Eliphaz is the same spirit and is the same as the symbol of the Pharisee who looks down on the publican. He simply cannot conceive of a righteous child of God ever needing to be chastened or scourged by his heavenly Father. Self- righteousness is not even detected as being a sin in the mind of Eliphaz.

Isaiah speaks of this spirit:

Isa 65:5 Which say, Stand by thyself, come not near to me; for I am holier than thou. These are a smoke in my nose, a fire that burneth all the day.

Christ, of course, was especially repulsed by such an insidious sin which inflates us with pride and causes us to despise our brothers.

Luk 18:11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.

It is with this spirit that Eliphaz continues to assault his friend he had come to comfort:

Job 22:15 Hast thou marked the old way which wicked men havetrodden?

Job 22:16 Which were cut down out of time, whose foundation was overflown with a flood:

“Have you marked the old way which wicked men have trodden?” Job lived much closer to the time of the flood than we live. There was no foolish ‘theory of evolution’ denying that God had destroyed the evil in a flood. My own father and grandfather never heard of the theory of evolution when they were attending school. The flood was taught as history for well over half of our nation’s history. It was very much a part of the history of Job’s day, so how, Eliphaz wonders, could Job possibly think that God would punish the righteous while prospering the wicked.

Job 22:17 Which said unto God, Depart from us: and what can the Almighty do for them?

Job 22:18 Yet he filled their houses with good things: but the counsel of the wicked is far from me.

“Which say unto God, Depart from us: and what can the Almighty do for them? Yet he filled their houses with good things: but the counsel of wicked is far from me”; These are all Job’s own words with which he had just answered Zophar in the last chapter:

Job 21:14 Therefore they say unto God, Depart from us; for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways.

Job 21:15 What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? and what profit should we have, if we pray unto him?

Job 21:16 Lo, their good is not in their hand: the counsel of the wicked is far from me.

Eliphaz is quoting Job’s words back to him, mocking him and casting everything Job told Zophar in a different light, as if the fact “a flood… overflow[ ing] the foundation of the wicked” somehow proved how wrong Job is about God blessing the wicked in this age. At the same time he mockingly applies Job’s statement that “the counsel of the wicked is far from me” to himself rather than Job.

“Which said unto God, Depart from us” is Job’s observation of how God blesses the wicked in this age. Eliphaz is furious that Job actually thinks that God blesses the wicked who tell God to depart from them, while simultaneously “chastening and scourging” His own people. Yet that is the exact experience of which our judgment consists. But King David saw how God works, and he witnesses to this same experience in his observations of life in this evil age:

Psa 73:11 And they say, How doth God know? and is there knowledge in the most High?

Psa 73:12 Behold, these are the ungodly, who prosper in the world; they increase in riches.

So the ungodly do prosper in this world, while God’s children are being chastened and scourged and purified in this age. Christ Himself tells us the same thing in the parable of Lazarus and the rich man. This is Christ Himself, telling us how He operates and “works all things after the counsel of His own will”:

Luk 16:22 And it came to pass, that the beggar [ Lazarus] died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;

Luk 16:23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

Luk 16:24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.

Luk 16:25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.

As Eliphaz we see none of this, and we self- righteously continue to equate our own physical blessings as proof positive of our own righteousness and the trials of our elect brothers as worthy of our scorn. So Eliphaz continues his attack upon the prostrate suffering Job:

Job 22:19 The righteous see it, and are glad: and the innocent laugh them to scorn.

Job 22:20 Whereas our substance is not cut down, but the remnant of them the fire consumeth.

“The righteous see it, and are glad: and the innocent laugh them to scorn”. Is this true? Here is what the scriptures reveal:

2Ki 19:20 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, That which thou hast prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard.

2Ki 19:21 This is the word that the LORD hath spoken concerning him [ the king of Assyria]; The virgin the daughter of Zion hath despised thee, and laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee.

2Ki 19:22 Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed? and against whom hast thou exalted thy voice, and lifted up thine eyes on high? even against the Holy One of Israel.

Psa 2:4 He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.

Psa 37:13 The Lord shall laugh at him: for he seeth that his day is coming.

Psa 52:6 The righteous also shall see, and fear, and shall laugh at him:

Psa 52:7 Lo, this is the man that made not God his strength; but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself in his wickedness.

“See it, and are glad” refers to what Eliphaz had said in verses 15-16:

Job 22:15 Hast thou marked the old way which wicked men have trodden?

Job 22:16 Which were cut down out of time, whose foundation was overflown with a flood:

Eliphaz sees himself as “the righteous” who is witnessing Job’s destruction, and he sees himself as “the innocent [ who will] laugh [ Job] to scorn, as he witnesses God’s judgment upon Job. What Eliphaz, as well as the Pharisees of Babylon, cannot see is that it is Job who is the type of those at whose house judgment begins first:

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?

“Whereas our substance is not cut down” [ as yours is Job], is what Eliphaz is saying here. “But the remnant of them the fire consumed” as Job’s substance was consumed with fire from heaven.

Job 1:16 While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, T he fire of God is fallen from heaven, and hath burned up the sheep, and the servants, and consumed them; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.

Eliphaz considered Job to be as wicked as Sodom, and therefore Job’s household was like the remnant of those who were destroyed in the flood. In drawing this parallel, Eliphaz is ignoring the fact that God had given the dominion of the kingdoms of men over to evil men from Noah to Sodom, and right up to his own day.

Like the self- righteous Pharisee he typifies within each of us, Eliphaz thinks he knows God and that he knows how God thinks, yet he would have no idea what these words mean, and it is these words which express the true mind of God, :

Isa 53:4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did [ as Eliphaz, the self- righteous Pharisee] esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

Eliphaz is you and me when we see our brothers and sisters being “stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted”, and we look down on them like the Pharisee looked down on the publican, and the rich man looked down on Lazarus.

So he admonishes Job:

Job 22:21 Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee.

Job 22:22 Receive, I pray thee, the law from his mouth, and lay up his words in thine heart.

Job 22:23 If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up, thou shalt put away iniquity far from thy tabernacles.

Job 22:24 Then shalt thou lay up gold as dust, and the gold of Ophir as the stones of the brooks.

If only we can indeed come to ‘acquaint ourselves with God’. If only we can come to know who is God, and who is Christ! “Acquaint… thyself with Him, and be at peace” is the very definition of “life eternal”. There is no way of knowing the Father but by Christ, and when we “know Christ”, then we understand that we have no righteousness of our own, and we know that Christ was the very first to be ‘esteemed (by us) stricken and smitten of God, and afflicted’:

Isa 53:4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did [ as Eliphaz, the self righteous Pharisee] esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

Mat 11:27 All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.

Joh 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

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

Eliphaz tells Job, “Receive, I pray thee, the law from his mouth, and lay up his words in thine heart”. “The law from his mouth” includes these words:

Heb 12:5 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:

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

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

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

1Pe 4:12 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you [ like Job], as though some strange thing happened unto you:

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

1Pe 4:14 If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.

But while dominated by the stubborn, rebellious, self- righteous spirit of Eliphaz, we are blinded to these words.

“If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up, thou shalt put away iniquity far from thy tabernacles. Then shalt thou lay up gold as dust, and the gold of Ophir as the stones of the brooks.” This is all true, but until we are granted to admit we have strayed from the sheepfold, we will never be acquainted with “the Almighty”. As long as we are the “ninety and nine which (think they) need no repentance”, and we cannot see that the gold we are to acquire must be “gold tried in the fire”, we will never be given to partake of the blessing of all of these riches.

Luk 15:7 I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.

Rev 3:17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:

Rev 3:18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.

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

As Eliphaz we cannot yet accept such weighty words. We want only to have our ‘decrees established’ and to have God’s favor.

Job 22:25 Yea, the Almighty shall be thy defence, and thou shalt have plenty of silver.

Job 22:26 For then shalt thou have thy delight in the Almighty, and shalt lift up thy face unto God.

Job 22:27 Thou shalt make thy prayer unto him, and he shall hear thee, and thou shalt pay thy vows.

Job 22:28 Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee: and the light shall shine upon thy ways.

Every word here is true, but when we never see that all of these blessings must be preceded by judgment upon our own house, these words all amount to nothing more than half- truths. So we are told:

Psa 119:160 The sum of thy word is truth; And every one of thy righteous ordinances endureth for ever.

Part of that “sum” is these words:

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.

As Eliphaz we read those words and we say ‘Amen’, and we don’t have a clue what they mean. We continue to place every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God concerning the wicked and the judgment of those wicked off on that wicked man, Job, whose “iniquities [ we see as being] infinite”.

As Eliphaz these words of King David mean very little to us:

Psa 119:75 I know, O LORD, that thy judgments are right, and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me.

Just look at how Eliphaz utters words of truth, even as he demonstrates that he has no idea what he is saying:

Job 22:29 When men are cast down, then thou shalt say, There is lifting up; and he shall save the humble person.

Job 22:30 He shall deliver the island of the innocent: and it is delivered by the pureness of thine hands.

As the self righteous Pharisee within us, who Eliphaz symbolizes, we acknowledge that men must be cast down before there can be a lifting up. We confess that God saves those who have first been humbled. We speak of being pure, and all the while we think we are speaking of ourselves, even as we argue against the obvious and undeniable Truth that God is blessing the wicked in this age, while simultaneously using them to chasten and to scourge His elect. We read of suffering loss and yet being saved (1Co3:15), and we don’t even see what we just read. We read that all things are ours (1Co3:21-22), and we don’t see what we just read. We read that we are to keep the things written in the revelation of Jesus Christ (Rev 1:3), but we cannot see that the revelation of Jesus Christ is the revelation of the description of the seven churches within us. It is all the events described in each of the seven seals. It is the judgments of the seven trumpets, which are a perfect parallel of the seven bowls which fill up the wrath of God which is poured out upon our self- righteous old man “beast” for the purpose of destroying that old man and thereby birthing a new man who is conformed to the image of our humble Lord, who has given us this experience of evil to humble us and to make us like Him.

Ecc 1:13 I applied my heart to inquiring and exploring by wisdom concerning all that is done under the heavens: it is an experience of evil Elohim has given to the sons of humanity to humble them by it.

Next week, if the Lord wills, we will read of Job’s answer to Eliphaz, and we will see that God’s elect are all just the first to be tried by the fire of God’s Word, and we will see that before that trial we are just as self- righteous as Eliphaz before the spirit of Eliphaz is burned out of us, as we “live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.”

Here are next week’s verses:

Job 23:1 Then Job answered and said,

Job 23:2 Even to day is my complaint bitter: my stroke is heavier than my groaning.

Job 23:3 Oh that I knew where I might find him! that I might come even to his seat!

Job 23:4 I would order my cause before him, and fill my mouth with arguments.

Job 23:5 I would know the words which he would answer me, and understand what he would say unto me.

Job 23:6 Will he plead against me with his great power? No; but he would put strength in me.

Job 23:7 There the righteous might dispute with him; so should I be delivered for ever from my judge.

Job 23:8 Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him:

Job 23:9 On the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him: he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him:

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

Job 23:11 My foot hath held his steps, his way have I kept, and not declined.

Job 23:12 Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.

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

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

Job 23:15 Therefore am I troubled at his presence: when I consider, I am afraid of him.

Job 23:16 For God maketh my heart soft, and the Almighty troubleth me:

Job 23:17 Because I was not cut off before the darkness, neither hath he covered the darkness from my face.