[Study Aired October 4, 2020]

Isa 65:13  Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, my servants shall eat, but ye shall be hungry: behold, my servants shall drink, but ye shall be thirsty: behold, my servants shall rejoice, but ye shall be ashamed:
Isa 65:14  Behold, my servants shall sing for joy of heart, but ye shall cry for sorrow of heart, and shall howl for vexation of spirit.
Isa 65:15  And ye shall leave your name for a curse unto my chosen: for the Lord GOD shall slay thee, and call his servants by another name:
Isa 65:16  That he who blesseth himself in the earth shall bless himself in the God of truth; and he that sweareth in the earth shall swear by the God of truth; because the former troubles are forgotten, and because they are hid from mine eyes.
Isa 65:17  For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.
Isa 65:18  But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.

Our study today begins with the word, ‘Therefore’. For that reason we will begin by simply reading the last five verses of last week’s study so we can understand the grounds for what is being revealed to us.

Here are those five verses:

Isa 65:8  Thus saith the LORD, As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one saith, Destroy it not; for a blessing is in it: so will I do for my servants’ sakes, that I may not destroy them all.
Isa 65:9  And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor of my mountains: and mine elect shall inherit it, and my servants shall dwell there.
Isa 65:10  And Sharon shall be a fold of flocks, and the valley of Achor a place for the herds to lie down in, for my people that have sought me.
Isa 65:11  But ye are they that forsake the LORD, that forget my holy mountain, that prepare a table for that troop, and that furnish the drink offering unto that number.
Isa 65:12  Therefore will I number you to the sword, and ye shall all bow down to the slaughter: because when I called, ye did not answer; when I spake, ye did not hear; but did evil before mine eyes, and did choose that wherein I delighted not.

It is not at all over-simplifying the message of all scripture to say that the entire Bible, and every story in the Bible, regardless of the subject and regardless of the numbers of persons involved in any story, whether it is Joseph and his brothers, or Israel and Syria, or Israel and Assyria and Babylon; it is not over simplifying the message of the scriptures at all to say that all scripture concerns nothing more than two men. Those two men are “our old man” and our “new man”, and those two men are always at war with each other. Here is how the scriptures frame these two warring parties:

Gen 25:22  And the children struggled together within her [Rebecca, Isaac’s wife]; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to enquire of the LORD.
Gen 25:23  And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.

Those “two nations” are indeed “two nations”. They are not ‘one nation’, although they do come out of one womb, and that ‘one womb’ is “the first man Adam”. The first Adam in “every man” was “made to be taken and destroyed”, because he has a “natural… carnal mind” which must be destroyed if the new man is to be birthed. This is how Christ speaks of these two men:

Joh 12:24  Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die [our carnal minded old man], it abideth alone : but if it die [if it is destroyed], it bringeth forth much fruit [If our rebellious, carnal minded old man dies then it is through that dying process that our new man is born].
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.

Only one of these two men can “inherit the kingdom of God”. Therefore the natural first man, our “old man” must begin to be “put off” and be destroyed and begin to die before “the new man” can begin to be born. But the ‘birth’ of our “new man” is a process which continues within us until we draw our last physical breath. Only then will be “bear the heavenly” body in the fulness of our “new man”:

1Co 15:42  So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:
1Co 15:43  It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power:
1Co 15:44  It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. [A “spiritual body” can pass through a locked door and appear as a natural body. A “natural body” cannot do that. (Luk 24:39)]
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 [our old man]: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly [our new man].
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. [There is no such thing as “a spiritual physical body” as so many teach]

“The old man [and] the new man; the first man [and] the second man”, these are the two men with whom all scripture is concerned.

Eph 4:22  That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
Eph 4:23  And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
Eph 4:24  And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

‘Putting off the  old man, and putting on the new man’ are both in the aorist tense, and are taking place daily within our new man. ‘Corrupt according to deceitful lust and being renewed in the spirit of your mind’ are both in the present tense as the dying process of our old man is being worked out.

Our ‘old man’ is also called “the son of the bondwoman” and this is what we know of his fate:

Gal 4:30  Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.
Gal 4:31  So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.

We were “in time past… children of the prince of the power of the air… children of disobedience” but no more (Eph 2:2-3).

The spiritual significance of the number six is, that which is not completed within mankind:

Here is a link to the study of the Number Six

The spiritual significance of the number three is the process of judgment:

Numbers in Scripture – Three, the Process of Spiritual Completion Through Judgment

The Number Three in Scripture

It is not a coincidence that mankind was created on the sixth day along with all the other beasts:

Gen 1:26  And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
Gen 1:27  So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

Gen 1:31  And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

Ecc 3:18  I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts.
Ecc 3:19  For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity.
Ecc 3:20  All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.

In Genesis we are told that man is to have dominion over ‘the fish, the fowl the cattle, and over all the earth”, but in Ecclesiastes 3 we are told that man has no preeminence over a beast.

This apparent contradiction evaporates when we discover that the words “Let us make man in our image” is better translated as:

Gen 1:26 And saying is the Elohim, “Make will We humanity in Our image, and according to Our likeness, and sway shall they over the fish of the sea, and over the flyer of the heavens, and over the beast, and over all land life, and over every moving animal moving on the land.
Gen 1:27 And creating is the Elohim humanity in His image. In the image of the Elohim He creates it. Male and female He creates them.

Every verb in those two verses is in the Hebrew Qal stem, which is the equivalent of the Greek aorist tense. What that means is that God did not “make man in His image”. The fact is that He shaped man in dust and iniquity and conceived Adam in sin as we clearly informed:

Psa 51:5  Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.

But did we not just read:

Gen 1:31  And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

Add this next verse to Gen 1:31 to get “the sum of [His] word” concerning what was created in those six days:

Exo 20:11  For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

“All that in them is” would include the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, the crooked deceitful serpent and thorns and briers. Indeed the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was a “very good” tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The “crooked serpent” was a “very good… crooked, lying, murderous” serpent. Adam and Eve themselves were “very good… flesh and blood… corruption”:

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.

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

The serpent did not become a liar after Adam and Eve ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They ate of that tree because the serpent beguiled them and lied to them. That is what a “very good” serpent does. He is “very good” at what he was created to do. He did not become a “crooked serpent” after he lied to Eve. The Lord’s hand formed that “crooked serpent”:

Job 26:13  By his spirit he hath garnished the heavens; his hand hath formed the crooked serpent.

What does all of this tell us about that which is “very good”? The law of Moses is said to be “good”, and yet we are told it “is not for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient”:

1Ti 1:8  But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully;
1Ti 1:9  Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,
1Ti 1:10  For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine;
1Ti 1:11  According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust.

The “lawful use of the law” of Moses must be applied in our lives “according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God”, and in answer to the question… “What does all of this tell us about that which is ‘very good’?” this is what “the glorious gospel of the blessed God” tells us about that which is “very good”:

2Co 3:10  For even that which was made glorious [the law of Moses] had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth.

Let’s look at that verse along with the verses surrounding it so we can get its full impact:

2Co 3:7  But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, [“The law {of Moses} is good” (1Ti 1:12)] was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away:
2Co 3:8  How shall not the ministration of the spirit [“The law of Christ” (Gal 6:2 and Mat 5-7)] be rather glorious?
2Co 3:9  For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory.
2Co 3:10  For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth.
2Co 3:11  For if that which is done away was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious.

Based upon what we have just read, it is not adding to or taking from the Word of God to say, “That which was ‘very good’ was not good by reason of that which excels.” In other words ‘the good is actually the enemy of excellence’, to the point that “the milk of the Word” has become the enemy of going on to perfection.

To make this point I will quote from the end of Hebrews 5 and the beginning of Hebrews 6 without the verses nor the chapter breaks:

For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.
For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.
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.
Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,
Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. [The judgment which is now on the house of God and the great white throne judgment, the salvation of all]
And this will we do, if God permit.
For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,
And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,
If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.

The phrase “Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ…” connects what was said about being spiritual babes to the “milk of the Word” doctrines which are all listed here, and the phrase “For it is impossible… to renew them again to repentance…” connects what has just been stated about those spiritual babes with the warning that “it is impossible to renew them again to repentance.” In other words, those who insist on remaining only on the milk of the Word are actually crucifying Christ afresh and putting Him to an open shame, and are simply unwilling to receive a crown of life and a coat of many colors because they instinctively realize those gifts will separate them from those who want only ‘the milk of the Word’. A coat of many colors and a crown of life will separate us from our brothers, and a “coat of many colors” which will cause us to be “hated of [our] brothers”:

Gen 37:3  Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours.
Gen 37:4  And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.

The Lord has demonstrated this Truth to all of us when He dragged us out of Babylon and then He has demonstrated it over and over again when He causes those who were our equal, those who were our guides and our intimate acquaintances, those who ate bread with us and with whom we have over the years taken sweet counsel, and with whom for years we had gone up the house of God to suddenly forsake us, turn against us and magnify themselves against us.

These verses are addressed to you and to me:

Psa 41:9  Even a man desiring my welfare, I trusted in him, eating of my bread; this one has lifted up his heel against me.

Psa 55:12  For it was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could have borne it: neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me; then I would have hid myself from him:
Psa 55:13  But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance.
Psa 55:14  We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company.

All these Words of Christ will never pass away. They will be experienced by the saints of every generation:

Mat 24:32  Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:
Mat 24:33  So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
Mat 24:34  Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
Mat 24:35  Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

When Christ says, “This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled,” “these things” includes “the end [of the age”] (vs 14), as well as “the abomination that makes desolate spoken of by Daniel the prophet” (vs 15). This demonstrates the ‘is, was, and will be’ nature of the Word of God. It will always have an application to those living at the time it was penned, as well as every subsequent generation… “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away”. Any and all exceptions to this rule are made very clear in scripture. Things like being of the “blessed and holy… few” who are given to have a part in the first resurrection, and “the rest of the dead” who are not given that privilege (Rev 20:6). Those who are in the first resurrection are clearly told “the second death… shall not hurt [them] and has no power over [them] (Rev 2:10-11 and 20:6).

There is no way to apply these words to those who are in the lake of fire because the devil himself is being purified in that ‘fire’:

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.
Rev 2:11  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.

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

But when the apostle Peter writes:

2Pe 2:12  But these, as natural brute beasts [our old man], made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption;
2Pe 2:13  And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you;
2Pe 2:14  Having eyes full of [spiritual] adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children:
2Pe 2:15  Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;

Those who are given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God (Mat 13:10-15) will always remember these words of the apostle Paul, and will give every word here in 2 Peter a primarily personal application, while at the same time acknowledging that the scriptures also have a secondary past application as well as an apocalyptic end-time application:

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 [Greek: aion, age] 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.
Eph 2:4  But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
Eph 2:5  Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ [‘quickened’ Greek, aorist tense, ‘being given life’], (by grace ye are saved;)

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

Those who are granted to remember that “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”, will never forget to personally apply these words of the apostle Peter…

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;
2Pe 2:13  And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you;
2Pe 2:14  Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children:
2Pe 2:15  Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;

Knowing the meaning of “My words shall never pass away” we will always apply these words of Peter to our own old man whom we know very well we have served for so very long.

If we read scripture from any other perspective it becomes nothing more than a history book, with absolutely no personal application. However, if we see every story in scripture as a struggle between these two men and if we understand that these two nations are typically at war within our own heavens constantly struggling the one against the other then:

Gal 5:16  This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
Gal 5:17  For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

There are “two nations” within every man. One is the first to be given the hegemony over our heavens. Those “two nations” share a common ancestor, and yet they have nothing else in common. That ‘common ancestor’ is “the first man Adam”, and just as his actions involuntarily negatively affected all men, so also “the last Adam’s” actions will positively, involuntarily affect all men of all time. In other words, God did not at all “make men in His image”; rather the Truth of the scriptures is that He is in the process of making man in His image in two phases. Those two phases of His creation are “the first man Adam”, and “the last Adam”:

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.

Our study today concerns itself with the contrasts that exist between these two men who have nothing in common but the judgments of their Creator.

Our last study ended with the Lord revealing to us the marred condition of our old man:

Isa 65:11  But ye are they that forsake the LORD, that forget my holy mountain, that prepare a table for that troop, and that furnish the drink offering unto that number.
Isa 65:12  Therefore will I number you to the sword, and ye shall all bow down to the slaughter: because when I called, ye did not answer; when I spake, ye did not hear; but did evil before mine eyes, and did choose that wherein I delighted not.

Being “numbered to the sword” is being numbered to destruction, which is indeed the fate of our old man.

Our study today contrasts the cursed fruit of the ways of our rebellious old man with the blessings of the fruit of having Christ and His mind living within us:

Isa 65:13  Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, my servants shall eat, but ye shall be hungry: behold, my servants shall drink, but ye shall be thirsty: behold, my servants shall rejoice, but ye shall be ashamed:

It is our old  man who while spiritually starving to death, and spiritually dying of thirst, and being shamefully naked, actually thinks he is rich and increased with goods and in need of nothing:

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.
Rev 3:20  Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
Rev 3:21  To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.
Rev 3:22  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

As the converted Nebuchadnezzar, a type of our new man, confessed after seven years of humiliation at the hands of the Lord:

Dan 4:37  Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride [our old man] he is able to abase.

Such is how the Lord has chosen to work with His creatures. It is only through much humiliation and tribulation that any of us will enter into the kingdom of God. It is only through being brought to see our miserable, starved, thirsty and shamefully naked condition that the Lord drags us to Himself, as He tells us over and over again throughout the scriptures:

Lev 26:26  And when I have broken the staff of your bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall deliver you your bread again by weight: and ye shall eat, and not be satisfied.

Job 27:14  If his children be multiplied, it is for the sword: and his offspring shall not be satisfied with bread.

Just as Isaiah is doing in this 65^th chapter, the Lord, throughout scripture, contrasts the fate of our old man with the fate of our new man:

Psa 37:18  The LORD knoweth the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be for ever.
Psa 37:19  They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.

Isaiah continues with this contrast between the rewards for the humility and obedience of our new man in “this present time” to the shameful, poverty-stricken fruits of the pride and rebellion of our old man against his own Creator and Maker:

Isa 65:14  Behold, my servants shall sing for joy of heart, but ye shall cry for sorrow of heart, and shall howl for vexation of spirit.

“My servants shall rejoice… My servants shall sing for joy of heart”, does not mean we will do so because we will know nothing but physical blessings and physical joy in “this present time”. Do not allow yourself to be taken in by the insidious false doctrine of a “substitutionary atonement”. That particular lie is believed by literally millions of Christians. That false doctrine teaches that Christ came to this earth to die for you, which is true, of course. However, just as he did in the Garden of Eden, the serpent states a truth and then he twists that same truth into a lie which simply cannot be detected by those who live on nothing but smooth, sweet milk of the Word. Christ did not come and die for us so we could avoid persecution and the hatred of all men. These are His own words:

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.

Does that sound like Christ thought His death on the cross would somehow miraculously deliver us from sore trials in “this present time”? Just a few verses later, in this same chapter, Christ tells us in very clear language that He did not die for us so we would not have to die, rather He died for us so He could come in His Father’s spirit and give us the strength to die with Him for “His body’s sake, which is the church” (Col 1:24-27).

This is what Christ has to say about the function of His death for us and what we can expect if we are granted to believe in Him and His doctrines:

Mat 10:34  Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.
Mat 10:35  For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.
Mat 10:36  And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household.
Mat 10:37  He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
Mat 10:38  And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.
Mat 10:39  He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

There it is in very clear language. Christ expects us to die with Him. He did not die for us so we could avoid death. The exact opposite is The Truth.

This is how the apostle Paul expresses how these words of our Lord affected his life:

Gal 2:20  I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me [So I could be “crucified with Him”].

These “earthen vessels” (2Co 4:7) are the curse of corruption which cannot inherit the kingdom of God (1Co 15:50), which is the subject of our next two verses:

Isa 65:15  And ye [you and I, our old man] shall leave your name for a curse unto my chosen [our new man with a “new name”, Rev 2:17 and 3:12]: for the Lord GOD shall slay thee, and call his servants by another name:
Isa 65:16  That he who blesseth himself in the earth shall bless himself in the God of truth; and he that sweareth in the earth shall swear by the God of truth; because the former troubles are forgotten, and because they are hid from mine eyes.

“Swearing by the God of Truth” has been changed by our Lord to simply stating the Truth, which ‘Truth’ is that we will be the first to be saved, and in time “all in Adam shall be made alive in Christ”:

Mat 5:33  Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths:
Mat 5:34  But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God’s throne:
Mat 5:35  Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King.
Mat 5:36  Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black.
Mat 5:37  But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.

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

All the blessings of the kingdom are ours at this very moment in down-payment earnest form. Nevertheless “the redemption of the purchased possession” is the fullness of our promised reward and all of that is yet before us if we are granted to endure “much tribulation” to the end:

Isa 65:17  For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.
Isa 65:18  But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.

This “new heavens and new earth” are being created within us at this very moment through “much tribulation”, and “Jerusalem” is the “new name” of verse 15:

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.

Rev 3:12  He that overcometh, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go out thence no more: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God, and mine own new name. (ASV)

If indeed we are Christ, as He declares (Mat 25:40 and Act 22:8), and if indeed “His inheritance is in the saints” as we are informed in…

Eph 1:18  The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,

…Then our new name is His new name, and that name is “New Jerusalem”, a name befitting our “new man”.

This is what life is like in the New Jerusalem:

Rev 21:1  And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
Rev 21:2  And I John [Aaron, Steve, and all of us] saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
Rev 21:3  And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
Rev 21:4  And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

In “This present time” we rejoice in the glory that is to be revealed in us:

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

As “the manifested sons of God” the best is yet to come, minus all suffering, and according to our Lord “it is near even at the doors” (Mat 24:33).

That is our study for today, and here are the verses for our next study where we will learn the meaning of “the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed”:

Isa 65:19  And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying.
Isa 65:20  There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed.
Isa 65:21  And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them.
Isa 65:22  They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.
Isa 65:23  They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the LORD, and their offspring with them.
Isa 65:24  And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.
Isa 65:25  The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent’s meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD.

The Prophecy of Isaiah - Part 76 Discussion

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 Isa 20:1-6 How Shall We Escape From The King of Assyria?

Isa 20:1  In the year that Tartan came unto Ashdod, (when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him,) and fought against Ashdod, and took it;
Isa 20:2  At the same time spake the LORD by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, Go and loose the sackcloth from off thy loins, and put off thy shoe from thy foot. And he did so, walking naked and barefoot.
Isa 20:3  And the LORD said, Like as my servant Isaiah hath walked naked and barefoot three years for a sign and wonder upon Egypt and upon Ethiopia;
Isa 20:4  So shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptians prisoners, and the Ethiopians captives, young and old, naked and barefoot, even with their buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt.
Isa 20:5  And they shall be afraid and ashamed of Ethiopia their expectation, and of Egypt their glory.
Isa 20:6  And the inhabitant of this isle shall say in that day, Behold, such is our expectation, whither we flee for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria: and how shall we escape?

We now have the king of Assyria right back in his voracious ways, in this next chapter after the Lord Himself called Assyria the "blessed... work of My hands".

Isa 19:24 In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of the land:
Isa 19:25 Whom the LORD of hosts shall bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel mine inheritance.

And what is 'the king of Assyria doing here in this chapter? He is conquering and plundering "the Egyptians... and the Ethiopians", Israel's only hope of being saved from the king of Assyria.

Assyria and Egypt will both be saved through the lake of fire. But in the mean time both are used as instruments in the Lord's hand. Egypt symbolizes our flesh, the world within us which wants us to depend upon her for our well being, while Assyria, symbolizes the rod of the Lord's indignation against both Israel and Egypt. (Isa 10:5)

That is the message of our study today. Our old man is sacrificed for the salvation of our new man:

Isa 20:1  In the year that Tartan came unto Ashdod, (when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him,) and fought against Ashdod, and took it;
Isa 20:2  At the same time spake the LORD by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, Go and loose the sackcloth from off thy loins, and put off thy shoe from thy foot. And he did so, walking naked and barefoot.
Isa 20:3  And the LORD said, Like as my servant Isaiah hath walked naked and barefoot three years for a sign and wonder upon Egypt and upon Ethiopia;
Isa 20:4  So shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptians prisoners, and the Ethiopians captives, young and old, naked and barefoot, even with their buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt.

The first thing to notice is that God always first warns us, then admonishes us to repent, before He pours out His judgments and His wrath upon the kingdom of our rebellious old man. Just as He first warned Adam and Eve of the consequences of disobedience, so also the fall of Ashdod was a warning to Judah and Jerusalem, the Old Testament types of you and me, the Lord's rebellious apostatized people, that their own judgment was very near.

Spiritually Egypt and Ethiopia symbolize and typify the rebellious Adamic flesh into which we are all born. Egypt and Ethiopia, in these verses, typify "all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life." It is our own flesh and our own wisdom and  our own understanding upon which we just naturally depend to get us through every trial of life. For this reason we are told:

Pro 3:5  Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
Pro 3:6  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Pro 3:7  Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.

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

Leaning on our own understanding and being wise in our own eyes is symbolized by our hope in the Ethiopians as our expectation and Egypt as our glory. It is a recipe for disaster because "The inhabitant of this isle" in verse six symbolizes apostate Israel, who as "types of us" (1Co 10:6), has turned her back on her true and only Savior and is now depending upon her own flesh and the things of this world for deliverance and for salvation.

The first Christian martyr, Stephen, just before his stoning, tells us this about ourselves:

Act 7:41  And they made a calf in those days, and offered sacrifice unto the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands.
Act 7:42  Then God turned, and gave them up to worship the host of heaven; as it is written in the book of the prophets, O ye house of Israel, have ye offered to me slain beasts and sacrifices by the space of forty years in the wilderness?

1Co 10:6 Now these things became types of us, for us not to be lusters after evil things, (CLV)

Deu 4:19  And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the LORD thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven.

Before we come to know The True Shepherd we are "the nations under the whole heaven". It is we to whom the worship of the sun, moon, and stars, has been divided.  The worship and service we render to those heavenly bodies is accomplished by keeping the "days, months, times and years [of] the traditions of men" in every society on earth. Societies absolutely insist that their citizens participate. The pressure to partake is irresistible. Never mind, they insist, these holy spirit inspired words:

Gal 4:9  But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?
Gal 4:10  Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years.
Gal 4:11  I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain.
Gal 4:12  Brethren, I beseech you, be as I am; for I am as ye are: ye have not injured me at all.

"In all your ways acknowledge Him" (Pro 3:6) means that we should have His word directing our every move, and His Word does not sanction the observance of the traditions of men:

Col 2:7  Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.
Col 2:8  Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.

"As you have been taught" tells us that Paul spoke the same thing to these Colossians that he had taught to the Galatians. The Greek word translated "rudiments of the words" here is the same Greek word translated as "weak and beggarly elements" in Galatians 4. It is the Greek word 'stoicheion', and this is how Strong's defines this word:

G4747
στοιχεῖον
stoicheion
stoy-khi'-on
Neuter of a presumed derivative of the base of G4748; something orderly in arrangement, that is, (by implication) a serial (basal, fundamental, initial) constituent (literally), proposition (figuratively): - element, principle, rudiment.

The way 'stoicheion' is used in Galatians 4 and Colossians 2 speaks of the "basal, fundamental arrangement" of the "elements of this world". This pull of  our flesh to fit into society is symbolized by "Egypt [our] glory".

When we look at the base G4748 this what we see:

G4748
στοιχέω
stoicheō
stoy-kheh'-o
From a derivative of στείχω steichō̄ (to range in regular line); to march in (military) rank (keep step), that is, (figuratively) to conform to virtue and piety: - walk (orderly).

This base of 'stoicheion' is 'stoicheo', and of the five times it appears in the New Testament, it is always translated with the English word 'walk' as in:

Gal 5:25  If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk [stoicheo] in the Spirit.

So both words mean the same thing. They both mean to conform to the accepted principles we are expected to uphold, whether it is the principles of the doctrine of Christ or the principles of "the elements of this world [and] the traditions of men".

It always helps us to better understand a word when we see it used in both its positive and its negative applications. Galatians 4 and Colossians 2 both demonstrate the negative application of this Greek word 'stoicheion'. Both of those scriptures admonish us against conforming to the world's accepted principles of submitting to, conforming to, and participating in the observance of the days, months, times and years of the traditions of men.

Here is an example of its positive application:

Heb 5:12  For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles [G4747: 'stoicheion', basal, fundamental...arrangement] of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.

Romans 14:1 tells to bear with the weak in faith who can "eat [only] herbs" and who "esteems one day above another". We are told "let every man [weak and strong in the faith] be fully persuaded in his own mind." Romans 14 also lets us know that it is those who are:

Rom 14:1  Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations.
Rom 14:2  For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs.
Rom 14:3  Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him.
Rom 14:4  Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.
Rom 14:5  One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.
Rom 14:6  He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks.

Any "weak in the faith... babe in Christ" (1Co 3:1-4) can esteem birthdays, anniversaries, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas, Easter and Halloween, and fit right in with the traditions of men. It requires being very strong in the faith to "regard not the day... unto the Lord".

So what are the strong in the faith to do with the weak in the faith? These are our instructions for how we are to treat those who are not yet given the strength to "regard not the day... unto the Lord":

Rom 15:1  We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves.
Rom 15:2  Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification.
Rom 15:3  For even Christ pleased not himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me.
Rom 15:4  For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.
Rom 15:5  Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus:
Rom 15:6  That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Rom 15:7  Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God.

Christ died for us "while [we] were yet in [our] sins" (Eph 2:1-5). The least we can do is to be patient with those who are "weak in the faith... esteem[ing] one day above another". Nevertheless, nothing said in Romans 15 contradicts Romans 14:1, and it is incumbent upon "We which are strong" never to permit "them that are weak in the faith... to [engage in] doubtful disputations" about already established discernments and already established Biblical doctrine, such as Galatians 4:1-10 and Colossians 2:8-22.

The vast majority of ancient Israel's history was spent desiring to be like the nations about them and living in total rebellion against their own marriage covenant which required fidelity to their Husband, Christ, and to His laws. Here is how Christ portrays Israel's history:

Mat 23:37  O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!

The martyr Stephen said this just before he was stoned to death:

Act 7:51  Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.
Act 7:52  Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers:

In this chapter of Isaiah Christ is telling Israel, a type of us, that the time has come for them to be punished for their infidelity. As we have seen, Assyria is the symbol for "the rod of [His] indignation".

Isa 10:3  And what will ye do in the day of visitation, and in the desolation which shall come from far? to whom will ye flee for help? and where will ye leave your glory?
Isa 10:4  Without me they shall bow down under the prisoners, and they shall fall under the slain. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
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 people of [Christ's] wrath" is us, if we are "the house of God" in this age, because His judgment "begins at the house of God" (1Pe 4:17). This judgment begins with Christ revealing our own nakedness to us. Let's put Isaiah's words together with the words that say the same thing in the book of Revelation.

Here again is Isaiah:

Isa 20:2  At the same time spake the LORD by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, Go and loose the sackcloth from off thy loins, and put off thy shoe from thy foot. And he did so, walking naked and barefoot.
Isa 20:3  And the LORD said, Like as my servant Isaiah hath walked naked and barefoot three years for a sign and wonder upon Egypt and upon Ethiopia;

And this is the book of Revelation:

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.

The fact Isaiah was instructed to expose his own nakedness for three years tells us the process of judgment has begun at the house of God. [Link to the study on the number three.]

The phrase "At the same time" refers to the time that the king of Assyria fought against and took Ashdod. The king of Assyria had already come up against King Ahaz and had placed him and his people under tribute.

2Ki 16:8  And Ahaz took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the LORD, and in the treasures of the king's house, and sent it for a present to the king of Assyria.

Babylon, the king of Assyria, is called "the great city wherein our Lord was crucified", revealing that Babylon is the Lord's own people (Rev 11:8). Israel, as a type of us, was already naked and yet refused to acknowledge her own nakedness, telling herself:

Rev 18:7  How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.
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.

It is the blindness and stubbornness of His own people, you and me, which gives the Lord the excuse He is seeking to destroy the kingdom of our old man within us, and to show us our own spiritually naked condition.

Isa 20:4  So shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptians prisoners, and the Ethiopians captives, young and old, naked and barefoot, even with their buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt.

If we think this twentieth chapter of Isaiah is simply a history lesson, then it has no personal application. This is not just a history lesson, rather:

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

At the appointed time, we are brought to see our own nakedness, and we are made to acknowledge that there is no way to avoid the destruction which is staring us in the face:

Isa 20:5  And they shall be afraid and ashamed of Ethiopia their expectation, and of Egypt their glory.
Isa 20:6  And the inhabitant of this isle shall say in that day, Behold, such is our expectation, whither we flee for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria: and how shall we escape?

"This isle" is us, those whom the Lord is judging in this age. This all happened to Israel, to Ethiopia and to Egypt, as a "type of us", and it is all "written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages are come."

1Co 10:6 Now these things became types of us, for us not to be lusters after evil things. (CLV)

Up to this time our own pride, our own flesh, has been our "expectation" and our "glory", and we have indeed been "lusters after evil things". We actually think we can deliver ourselves from the judgment of the kingdom of our old man. It is our old man, the beast within us, who is symbolized in this passage by Ethiopia and by Egypt, both of which had been very formidable powers at their own appointed times. "Their expectation [and] their glory" is our own 'expectation... and... glory', as the Lord's apostatized people. But now "the great day of His wrath is come, and who shall be able to stand?"

Rev 6:17  For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

Revelation 17 portrays our beast within us, and all of his allies within us, as "ten kings" who will agree to give their power to the beast and to go to war with the Lamb. The number 'ten' in scripture signifies the epitome and the perfection of our corruptible, dying flesh: Link to the study on the number 10.

Rev 17:12  And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.
Rev 17:13  These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.
Rev 17:14  These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.

"These shall make war with the Lamb" tells us that judgment has come upon us and that the destruction of the kingdom of our old man is at hand, because "the Lamb shall overcome them: for He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and they that are with Him are called, and chosen, and faithful." They are not just called and chosen, but those who are with the Lamb are "called, and chosen, and [they are also] faithful [to the end]", which is required of those who will rule with Christ in His kingdom:

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.

The fact that we are now granted to be "ashamed of Ethiopia [our] expectation, and of Egypt [our] glory", and the fact that we now are saying, "Behold, such is our expectation, whither we flee for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria: and how shall we escape?" tells us that we have been brought to accept the fact that our old man has no way of escaping from, or being delivered from, the king of Assyria. We have been brought to accept the destruction of the kingdom of our old man and to see that allying ourselves with our own flesh was a very dear mistake because:

2Ki 18:21  Now, behold, thou trustest upon the staff of this bruised reed, even upon Egypt, on which if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it: so is Pharaoh king of Egypt unto all that trust on him.

Isa 36:6  Lo, thou trustest in the staff of this broken reed, on Egypt; whereon if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it: so is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all that trust in him.

King David tells us the same thing in these words:

Psa 146:3  Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.
Psa 146:4  His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.
Psa 146:5  Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the LORD his God:

Egypt and its king, Pharaoh, symbolize our corruptible flesh. It is inevitable that we will seek to Egypt as our ally against the judgment the Lord has placed in "the rod of His indignation... the King of Assyria." When we do so, we become the enemies of Christ, and we are actually going to war against Christ. But "the Lamb... is Lord of lords, and King of kings", and He will judge us and He will send us into Babylonian captivity, before He brings us "out of her" and before He will overcome and utterly destroy the kingdom of our old man. It has proceeded out of the mouth of God, and we will live by these words:

Hos 11:1  When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.
Hos 11:2  As they called them, so they went from them: they sacrificed unto Baalim, and burned incense to graven images.
Hos 11:3  I taught Ephraim also to go, taking them by their arms; but they knew not that I healed them.
Hos 11:4  I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love: and I was to them as they that take off the yoke on their jaws, and I laid meat unto them.
Hos 11:5  He shall not return into the land of Egypt, but the Assyrian shall be his king, because they refused to return.
Hos 11:6  And the sword shall abide on his cities, and shall consume his branches, and devour them, because of their own counsels.

But it is all "working together for good to them who [have been dragged to] love God, and who are the called according to His purpose" (Rom 8:28).

So the gospel of Jesus Christ really is good news for all men because He came into this world to judge it:

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.

Only a "few... firstfruits" are given to be faithful to the end in this age, but in the Lord's time "all in Adam [will] be made alive... in Christ" (1Co 15:22), and then all mankind will say together:

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

We will stop here for now, and we will cover these verses in our next study:

Isa 21:1  The burden of the desert of the sea. As whirlwinds in the south pass through; so it cometh from the desert, from a terrible land.
Isa 21:2  A grievous vision is declared unto me; the treacherous dealer dealeth treacherously, and the spoiler spoileth. Go up, O Elam: besiege, O Media; all the sighing thereof have I made to cease.
Isa 21:3  Therefore are my loins filled with pain: pangs have taken hold upon me, as the pangs of a woman that travaileth: I was bowed down at the hearing of it; I was dismayed at the seeing of it.
Isa 21:4  My heart panted, fearfulness affrighted me: the night of my pleasure hath he turned into fear unto me.
Isa 21:5  Prepare the table, watch in the watchtower, eat, drink: arise, ye princes, and anoint the shield.
Isa 21:6  For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Go, set a watchman, let him declare what he seeth.
Isa 21:7  And he saw a chariot with a couple of horsemen, a chariot of asses, and a chariot of camels; and he hearkened diligently with much heed:
Isa 21:8  And he cried, A lion: My lord, I stand continually upon the watchtower in the daytime, and I am set in my ward whole nights:
Isa 21:9  And, behold, here cometh a chariot of men, with a couple of horsemen. And he answered and said, Babylon is fallen, is fallen; and all the graven images of her gods he hath broken unto the ground.
Isa 21:10  O my threshing, and the corn of my floor: that which I have heard of the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, have I declared unto you.

Key verses: Gen 9:1, 18-21)

[Study Aired May 22, 2014]

For those who can receive and know the truth, the Word of God is the only solid foundation for knowledge which gives understanding in all things, even much more concerning life eternal. Only through the Word of God faith is given and only through the same Word, that faith can grow (Heb 5:12-14, Rom 1:17, Rom 4:20-21, Heb 11:6):

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

Rom 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

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

What is written in the Scriptures about the very earliest populations and cultures are given as the only key to the true history of humanity and nothing can compare with the written record in God’s Word. There is a physical application to all of God’s Word, but for those who desire the deep spiritual things of God that is not their primary concern (Rom 1:20):

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

God’s invisible things cannot be seen and appreciated by comparing physical with spiritual things, but only when we compare spiritual with spiritual:

1Co 2:9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
1Co 2:10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
1Co 2:11 For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.
1Co 2:12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
1Co 2:13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

This revelation comes only through God’s chastening fiery judgment when our perspectives on the things pertaining to spirit life become so much clearer (Rev 1:1-3, 1Pe 4:12, Heb 12:5-10, Isa 26:9). This clearer vision is what Noah and his family experienced typically through the global flood when they exited the ark to a new earth that looked very different from the one they left behind (1Pe 3:20-21). Seeing that the Bible does not mention any new children born to Noah, the first thing we see here is that the three sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, are important to God’s command to them to be fruitful, multiply, and replenish “the whole earth”. All of them were married and at a very high age at the time of the flood (over one hundred years old), yet all were childless:

Gen 5:32 And Noah was five hundred years old: and Noah begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

Gen 7:6 And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth.

Shem means “name” in the Hebrew who is always mentioned first in the Scriptures in relation to his other brothers usually suggesting the order of their births. In this case, Shem is always mentioned first because he is the direct ancestor of Abraham.

Gen 10:21 Unto Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber, the brother of Japheth the elder, even to him were children born.

Ham, means ‘hot’ or ‘warm’, and Japheth, means ‘expansion’ or ‘opened’. These three sons of Noah, and their sixteen sons in total, have been used to make various physical categorizations of humans throughout history and unfortunately also fed those with carnally twisted superiority and inferior complexes:

Gen 9:18 And the sons of Noah, that went forth of the ark, were Shem, and Ham, and Japheth: and Ham is the father of Canaan.
Gen 9:19 These are the three sons of Noah: and of them was the whole earth overspread.

Gen 9:1 And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful [Hebrew: “akarpos”], and multiply, and replenish the earth.

We know that from these three sons of Noah the three main family lines of all physical nations came forth, and are indeed important for those who are keenly interested in the natural distribution and boundaries of those three divisions of mankind. They all form part of one family or generation in the first man Adam:

Act 17:26 And hath made of one blood all nations [Greek: “ethnos” = race] of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation.

These nations from their beginnings until this hour are in constant friction because of how things were designed by God to dominate world news to this hour and focus most people’s attention on outward differences and racial separations:

Psa 2:1 Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?
Psa 2:2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying,
Psa 2:3 Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.
Psa 2:4 He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision [“…forgive them; for they know not what they do”].

The three sons of Noah and their offspring were given attributes that are indeed diverse, which sadly have led to many wars throughout human history, yet they also have much more complimentary issues that are not seen by those with carnal perspectives, as per God’s design. All these vain things which drive humanity have one common purpose after God’s counsel and will – to “take counsel together against the Lord and against His anointed”. The generation in the first Adam is of one flesh (“one blood”) and is always in opposition to the generation of Christ who is of one spirit – the one blood or mind of Christ (1Co 15:45-50, Gal 5:17, Joh 3:6):

1Co 6:17 But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.

Eph 2:18 For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.

Eph 4:4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling.

The flesh is united in all its efforts against the spirit to supply the resistance and persecution to the spiritual elect of God who is in need of being productive in bringing forth spiritual fruit. As the one physical family of flesh follow three lines to “be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth”, even so does the spirit of God distribute spiritual gifts within the one body “to profit withal”. Through God’s spirit the body of Christ is also joined fitly “for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, [and] for the edifying of the body of Christ” (Eph 4:12).

1Co 12:4 Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.
1Co 12:5 And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord.
1Co 12:6 And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.
1Co 12:7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.

The offspring of Noah’s three sons were given specific functions and areas to fill the earth and to be productive and industrious in those particular situations. The antithesis is seen in spiritual terms in connection with the “diversities of gifts”, the “differences of administrations” and the “diversities of operations” by which the spirit of God takes each one through his or her own spiritual growth process and to be of “reasonable” service in the body of Christ and to the rest of creation at a later stage (Rom 8:22-23, Php 2:9-13, Col 1:15-20, Rev 20:8-15):

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.

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:

Through this work of God the whole earth will indeed be filled with the knowledge of God, even in the thousand-year reign on earth and after the great white throne judgment (Isa 11:1-16, Rev 20:1-15):

Hab 2:13 Behold, is it not of the LORD of hosts that the people shall labour in the very fire, and the people shall weary themselves for very vanity?
Hab 2:14 For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.

Industriousness or fruitfulness is a foundational theme which also featured prominently after the flood as Noah and his three sons typify for us. This theme of fruitfulness helps us to be diligent to maintain good works and to “avoid [unprofitable] foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions”:

Tit 3:8 This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.
Tit 3:9 But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain.

Noah set the example for his sons to be productive and obedient to God’s word, even in the one hundred and twenty years when he continued to build the ark amidst a perverse generation who had no idea what he was aware of (Gen 6:3, Gen 6:14-16). It is not conjecture to assume that Noah’s example inspired his sons to help him with that task as that is what good parents do for their children. Job was also such a good example to his children when he “sent and sanctified them [his ten children], and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all” (Job 1:5, Gen 18:19, Deu 11:18-19, Pro 22:6, Pro 13:22, Eph 6:4):

Psa 78:4 We will not hide them [God’s works and words] from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done.
Psa 78:5 For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children:
Psa 78:6 That the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children:
Psa 78:7 That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments.

This industrious and obedient nature in Noah continued after the flood in obeying God’s commandment to be “fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth” (Gen 9:1):

Gen 9:20 And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard.

We are admonished by Scripture to be productive within our natural environment because it prepares us for our functions within the spiritual body of Christ:

2Th 3:10 For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.
2Th 3:11 For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies.
2Th 3:12 Now them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread.

To be idle is a temptation to “wandering about” (to live without the knowledge of the “only true God, and Jesus Christ”) and to speak and do things prematurely or out of season for which we will suffer humiliation:

1Ti 5:13 And withal they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house; and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not.

1Pe 4:15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men’s matters.

Ecc 3:1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.

The theme of productivity links with integrity and uprightness as we will be diligent even when no-one sees us. We will do everything “as to the Lord and not to men” (Pro 6:4):

Eph 6:7 With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men:

Col 3:23 And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;

Like Noah, the apostle Paul showed integrity by working with his own hands (which also points to privacy away from public view – “to men”) which enabled him not only to minister to his own needs, but also for the needs of others who were weak physically and spiritually (Mat 6:1-8):

Act 20:33 I have coveted no man’s silver, or gold, or apparel.
Act 20:34 Yea, ye yourselves know, that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me.
Act 20:35 I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.

After the global flood Noah “began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard” and that helps us so much to appreciate that our heavenly Father is not sleeping or slumbering at any time, but indeed the true industrious God who works all the time – even through Christ and the church (Psa 121:1-8, Joh 5:17, Php 2:13):

Joh 15:1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
Joh 15:2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
Joh 15:3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
Joh 15:4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
Joh 15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

Every fruitful branch in Christ is diligent and productive whether through the “diversities of gifts”, the “differences of administrations” or the “diversities of operations” to be of “reasonable” service in the body of Christ (1Co 12:4). This is how the spirit of God takes each one through his or her own spiritual growth process – there is no other way to become mature to “the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ”:

Eph 4:13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
Eph 4:14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
Eph 4:15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
Eph 4:16 From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

In the story of Noah, we see how we all naturally get intoxicated with our productivity at first as we drink too much of our own importance, and our own nakedness is then revealed:

Gen 9:21 And he [Noah] drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent.

This is the first mention of drunkenness in the Scriptures, and the uncovering of Noah’s nakedness is very revealing and instructive. Although there is nothing written here that condemned Noah for drinking wine specifically, in the sum of God’s Word we can see that drunkenness was never something good as it is regarded as a sin (Lev 10:9, Pro 20:1, Isa 5:11, Hab 2:15, 1Co 6:10, Gal 5:21):

Eph 5:18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit.

This also typifies our own drunkenness in our time in the spiritual wilderness (the dry land) when we spiritually fornicate with the false doctrines of Babylon and get entangled in the philosophies and temporal issues of the world. That is when the harlot is seated in our heavens, and we blaspheme God:

Rev 17:2 With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.
Rev 17:3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.

This phrase to “uncover nakedness” is always referring to something of a sexual nature in the Scriptures. Spiritually we display all types of sexual perversions when we commit spiritual fornication with the seductive “man of sin” within ourselves through the lusts of self-worship and pride in our hearts (Lev 18:6-30, 2Th 2:3-4, Rom 1:1-32). These sexual perversions are also exhibited in the company we keep spiritually when we want to be puffed up and patted by others who we gather around us in evil self-pleasing spiritual orgies (Eph 2:2-3, Gal 5:21):

1Co 15:33 Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.

2Ti 4:3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
2Ti 4:4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

Noah in his drunken state “uncovered” his own nakedness and was totally unaware of his condition, which shows us how our own natural man is blind to his own ignorance and vulnerability to be exploited by those who want to benefit from our blindness (Lev 18:6-20):

Lev 18:6 None of you shall approach to any that is near of kin to him, to uncover their nakedness: I am the LORD.

Nakedness equals shame as we think too much of ourselves when we cannot in childlike fashion acknowledge how we are dependent on the Lord and all in the Christ (Mat 18:1-4). We are all weak in the flesh and we all need the strength of the true angels God has ordained to serve us and “watch” with us as that is how we also overcome pride in our hearts (Mat 26:36-46, Luk 22:39-46, 1Jn 2:16):

Psa 10:4 The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts.

Php 4:5 Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.
Php 4:6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

———-

Detailed studies and emails written relating to these foundational themes in Scripture are available on the www.iswasandwillbe.com website, including these topics and links:

Uncovering the Nakedness of Your Near of Kin
Spiritual Drunkenness
Who is my Brother?

Every human comes naked from the hand of the Potter, which refers directly to our marred and sinful condition for which God Himself takes full responsibility:

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

Psa 51:5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.

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

However, nakedness and flesh were never God’s ultimate condition and goal for humanity. He is in the process of covering all in the generation of the first man Adam with His spiritual glory. First we must see our earthy condition for what it is to be able to appreciate what a holy God is all about. In Genesis 3:6 it is clear that the hearts of Adam and Eve were filled with lust and pride before they actually ate of the forbidden fruit. After they ate, their eyes were opened to see their nakedness. Their solution to have their nakedness covered was totally inadequate:

Gen 3:7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves [Hebrew: aleh from alah which means ‘to ascend’ or ‘exaltation’] together, and made themselves aprons [Hebrew: chagor or chagorah is a covering for the waist only].

The apron did not cover the whole body (their nakedness) and was made of fig leaves which again reflects on their inherent pride and self-righteousness. Our own works to cover our nakedness is seen as “filthy rags” and “profitable for nothing” in God’s eyes (Jer 13:1-27). He will ‘mar’ our own girdle of pride and self-righteousness, and we won’t give it up without a painful sacrifice (Job 40:7-14):

Isa 64:6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

The worldly spirit in Adam and Eve did not cause them to consult or wait on God but proposed their own answer for their nakedness. This also reminds us of Abraham and Sarah who found in Hagar a solution to satisfy their pride and impatience with God’s timetable (Gen 16:1-2). So the spiritual type of the improper covering of fig leaves appears throughout the Scriptures and applies in different ways in our lives. When “every man [does] that which [is] right in his own eyes” our man of sin (the first Adam) sits on God’s throne and exalts himself with his own hopeless solutions to cover his own deceits with much stubbornness and glaring arrogance (2Th 2:3-4):

Jdg 21:25 In those days there was no king in Israel [when God is not on the throne]: every man did that which was right in his own eyes [self-righteousness].

That is of course our natural perception, but self-righteousness is a delusion God sends (2Th 2:11). Not to see God as responsible for all the things which happen in our lives and thinking we can avoid giving an account for our own transgressions, is how we also use fig leaves to cover our own nakedness (Gen 45:5,8, Isa 63:17, Eph 1:11, Pro 16:4):

Gen 3:12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did 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.

Improper ‘clothing’ is familiar with the attire of a harlot. A harlot is known by her ‘subtil’ sensual dress code and smooth words aimed at enticement (Gen 38:14, Jer 4:30, Rev 17:4, Rev 3:17, Pro 5:3, Mat 5:28):

Pro 7:10 And, behold, there met him a woman with the attire of an harlot, and subtil of heart.
Pro 7:11 (She is loud and stubborn; her feet abide not in her house:
Pro 7:12 Now is she without, now in the streets, and lieth in wait at every corner.)

This clothing is all a type of the enticing mindset of the spiritual Babylonian harlot we all fall for at our appointed times. She eats her own bread and wears her own garments, but she is also called by the Name of Jesus (unashamedly using and quoting His words) to deceive the spiritually naked multitudes:

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.

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

God’s order is something the harlot and all natural minds despise (Num 12:1-15, Num 16:1-3). Cross-dressing is forbidden in Scripture because it reveals a rejection of the order in the Godhead and the way God ordained order in the Christ (1Co 14:40, Rom 1:20, 1Co 11:3):

Deu 22:5 The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman’s garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the LORD thy God.

Another deceitful way to be clothed is to look like a sheep or a lamb, but speak as a dragon:

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.

That is why spiritual wolves are extremely successful, by God’s design, because they come in sheep’s clothing (Act 20:29-30). These wolves speak with the forked tongue of the serpent (dragon) because they say that the outward (flesh) is nothing, but with the same breath turn around to promote and elevate the lasciviousness or indulgence in fleshly ‘blessings’ (Mar 7:20-23, 2Co 12:21, Gal 5:19, 1Pe 4:3, Jdg 1:4). This is the breath or spirit of the antichrist in us when we deny the appropriate place and function of the physical application of God’s word (Gen 2:7-9):

1Jn 4:3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

Mat 7:15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
Mat 7:16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

After we spent our appointed times under the harlot’s spell, God will drag us to Jesus who will clothe us with the new robe, like the father of the prodigal son did:

Luk 15:22 But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet:

God supplied better clothing and protection for Adam and Eve:

Gen 3:21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats [Hebrew: kethoneth or kuttoneth which is a long shirt-like garment] of skins, and clothed them.

They were much better prepared now for what was still lying ahead of them. Right through the Scriptures it is revealed that the proper “covering” can handle the enduring of a long and painful process (Luk 21:19, Act 14:22, Rom 5:3-5, 1Pe 4:12, Rev 15:8). God’s spiritual covering is special and different to the inadequate clothing and spirit of this world. This was typified by the Aaronic priesthood who was given ‘holy garments’ to function in the tabernacle and the physical temple:

Exo 28:2 And thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother for glory and for beauty.

Eze 44:18 They shall have linen bonnets upon their heads, and shall have linen breeches upon their loins; they shall not gird themselves with any thing that causeth sweat.
Eze 44:19 And when they go forth into the utter court, even into the utter court to the people, they shall put off their garments wherein they ministered, and lay them in the holy chambers, and they shall put on other garments; and they shall not sanctify the people with their garments.

The concept of ‘sweat’ points to our own covering of the works of self-righteousness when our earth (“dust you are”) brings forth thorns, thistles and the eating of herbs (1Co 15:50, Rom 14:1-2):

Gen 3:17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
Gen 3:18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
Gen 3:19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

Adam’s own work (“bodily exercise”) is all vanity (Ecc 1:3-4, 1Ti 4:8). That is the natural estate and the sum of the overall effort of all in the generation of the first Adam. Only God’s works are profitable to salvation and man is not able to contribute anything – it is all God’s “good works” (Tit 3:8, 1Ti 4:8, Eph 1:11). For God to make the “coats of skins” it required the sacrifice of a life. God’s provision of a sacrifice satisfies the proper covering for our nakedness [we will discuss this in our next discussion (#23), God willing]. God’s proper provision for adequate clothing is foundational to our understanding of the process of salvation of all in the generation of the first man Adam (1Co 15:22-28). Although the flesh of Adam and Eve was covered by physical clothes, outward clothing in itself is just a type of the covering we all need for our spiritual nakedness. The outside is not God’s priority, but the inside – the condition of the heart. But the inside is reflected and expressed even in the ‘conversation’ or outward walk in the life of God’s elect (2Co 1:12, Php 1:27, Heb 13:5):

1Pe 2:12 Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.

When Jesus came to ‘dwell among us’, He, too, came in the same naked flesh and “took part of the same” flesh as His brothers. He is the true inward shepherd who had an outward covering of naked flesh for a specific purpose (Joh 1:14, Heb 2:14):

Luk 2:7 And she [Mary] brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

God and His Son do not hold flesh or nakedness in any esteem, but the outward “body of sin” with all its ‘members’ is an integral part of God’s plan. We would never have known what sin is if it were not for the outward first. In that sense we would also never have known how the new spiritual body, the church, functions and how we play our part in it (1Co 12:12-28, 1Co 15:38-40, Heb 10:24-26). After His death to His flesh, Jesus was resurrected to be clothed again by His Father. Jesus appeared to John ‘in the spirit’ and He was still “clothed with a garment down to the foot”:

Rev 1:10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet.

Rev 1:13 And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.

Christ is our covering, and we are His. As He covers and completes us, we complete Him:

Eph 1:21 (GNB) Christ rules there above all heavenly rulers, authorities, powers, and lords; he has a title superior to all titles of authority in this world and in the next.
Eph 1:22 God put all things under Christ’s feet and gave him to the church as supreme Lord over all things.
Eph 1:23 The church is Christ’s body, the completion of him who himself completes all things everywhere.

The right clothing has to do with having the ‘right mind’ which is the righteous mind of Christ (Rev 7:14, Rev 19:7-8,14). That is spiritually referred to as being seated with Him in heaven, even in this age (Eph 2:6). Christ and His mind are our covering and will be our spiritual ‘house’ in fullness at the resurrection (2Co 5:1-4):

Mar 5:15 And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid.

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

The scriptures warn against uncovering the “nakedness” of the next of kin. A godly marriage union covers nakedness and only Christ is the appointed Husband and Head by the Father to be the one lawful partner or part to cover His spiritual bride. Any other cover is deceitful and a shame:

Hab 2:15 Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness!

1Co 11:6 For if the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn: but if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered.

God’s heritage is true love which will not uncover the nakedness in our next of kin in Adam to rule over others or to compare among selves (or getting benefits for ourselves) just to abuse others’ kindness (1Pe 5:3, Isa 26:13, Mat 20:25-26, 2Co 10:12, Jas 2:14-17):

Lev 18:6 None of you shall approach to any that is near of kin to him, to uncover their nakedness: I am the LORD.

Php 2:2 Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.
Php 2:3 Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.

Knowing we all have the same naked condition in Adam while we are in this “body of sin” and shame, we do not oppose ourselves but cover others with meekness (2Ti 2:24-26, Gal 6:1, Eph 4:2). Ham shamelessly and openly told his brothers about his father’s nakedness revealing his own loveless and naked condition (Gal 5:22-23):

Gen 9:20 And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard:

Gen 9:21 And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent.
Gen 9:22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without.

Mat 18:15 Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.

[Detailed studies and emails written by Mike Vinson relating to these foundational themes in Scripture are available on http://www.iswasandwillbe.com/ including:

Rev 1:13 – Part 3, Christ is Represented in the Offerings
Rev 3:14-22 Laodicea – Part 2
Women Covering Their Heads
Rev 19:6-10 Marriage Supper, Bride, Lamb

Isa 29:14 Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.
Isa 29:15 Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the LORD, and their works are in the dark, and they say, Who seeth us? and who knoweth us?
Isa 29:16 Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter’s clay: for shall the work say of him that made it, He made me not? or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, He had no understanding?

God is spirit, and God is holy, but He created evil and sinful flesh to fulfill His purposes, even in the physical Adam and Eve (Isa 45:7, Jer 18:4, Rom 8:20). When God created them, they were not given the spirit of the Father, but the breath or spirit of the world (Gen 2:7, Pro 16:4, Heb 12:9). This worldly spirit in their hearts was revealed before they ate of the forbidden fruit:

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.

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

These lusts and the pride ‘in the world; have intimate links with the shame or the nakedness of the first man Adam:

Pro 11:2 When pride cometh, then cometh shame: but with the lowly is wisdom.

Pro 3:35 The wise shall inherit glory: but shame shall be the promotion of fools.

Adam and Eve were not wise and did not have spiritual glory. Their proud hearts and minds revealed their shame. After Adam and Eve were tempted by the serpent to disobey God’s commandment, this very important aspect became clear to them, which was hidden up until this point:

Gen 3:7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

Nakedness was not a consequence of the disobedience of Adam and Eve, because they were just as naked as before they ate of the fruit of the forbidden tree. Neither the tree nor the fruit caused their nakedness. They were made naked by God. Nobody undressed them, neither did they ‘fall’ as some believe. No, they simply did not have “the robe of righteousness” as yet. This godly ‘robe’ is only being acquired through Christ, the last Adam, when we will be changed from this corruptible flesh to which the prophet Isaiah also alludes:

Isa 61:10 I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.

“The eyes of them were opened” and Adam and Eve could see their own nakedness in the proper light for the first time. Nakedness or being ‘uncovered’ is an important foundational theme which links directly with the pride and the lusts which were inherent in the hearts of Adam and Eve. Through this revelation we start to see our overwhelming need to obtain proper and adequate ‘clothing’ which God supplies at a later stage. This is also one of the main focuses of the book of Genesis where God wants to show mankind his marred and sinful condition and his need for a Saviour [We will discuss the theme of a ‘covering’ in our next study, #22]. Adam and Eve became aware that they were not appropriately dressed to be in God’s presence. Nakedness is not the way we want to appear before God. There are still many important lessons to be learned before naked flesh gets the full and proper ‘covering’ which God alone supplies. In the Scriptures nakedness is referred to as a shame, and it is indeed a sad spiritual position to be in:

Isa 47:3 Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen: I will take vengeance, and I will not meet thee as a man [Hebrew: adam].

Rev 16:15 Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.

Jer 49:10 But I have made Esau bare, I have uncovered his secret places, and he shall not be able to hide himself: his seed is spoiled, and his brethren, and his neighbours, and he is not.

God will not spare the first man Adam! Adam’s seed in all his generations is ‘spoiled’ and in darkness from the beginning and cannot be productive in the spiritual kingdom of God (Gen 1:2-3, 1Co 15:50). This spiritual darkness or blindness in the first man Adam in us is the creation and work of God (Isa 45:7).

Joh 9:1 And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth.
Joh 9:2 And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?
Joh 9:3 Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.

Nakedness in Scripture is referring to our first carnal eon (age) in the first Adam when we do not have spiritual knowledge or insight and when we unashamedly follow our flesh and its inherent pride and lusts. Flesh is sin and shameful (Psa 51:5, Mat 19:17, Rom 7:17-20). This relates very closely to the sin offering which was instituted because of the “sin through ignorance” of which all in the generation of the first Adam are guilty, being made in marred bodies of sin by the hand of the Potter (Jer 18:4). This applies also to Jesus Christ, our high priest, who came in the same naked flesh as the first Adam although He never committed a single trespass while in this “body of sin” (Heb 2:9-18, Rom 6:6, 2Co 5:21, Rom 4:25). Like Adam and Eve, our own trespasses reveal to us our sinful condition and that is how we approach God through the five offerings as typified in the old covenant (Lev 1-7). This also helps our understanding to see the important difference between the sin offering and the trespass offering:

Gen 2:24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
Gen 2:25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

Lev 4:1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Lev 4:2 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a soul shall sin through ignorance against any of the commandments of the LORD concerning things which ought not to be done, and shall do against any of them:
Lev 4:3 If the priest that is anointed do sin according to the sin of the people; then let him bring for his sin, which he hath sinned, a young bullock without blemish unto the LORD for a sin offering.

Flesh at its best displays and forms is nakedness and shameful to the spiritual eye. God does not want any nakedness to be seen at His altar. No steps were allowed at the altar of God (self-exaltation or high-mindedness). Only heathens have “high places” where they sacrifice, which indicates their own low spiritual ‘valleys’ (Jer 7:31, Num 33:52, Lev 26:30, Isa 16:12),

Exo 20:25 And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it.
Exo 20:26 Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar, that thy nakedness be not discovered thereon.

We are “uncovered” when we are intoxicated with the wine (false doctrines) of our own carnal ‘vineyard’.

Gen 9:20 And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard:
Gen 9:21 And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent.

God and His true spiritual sons have no desire to see next of kin spiritually ‘uncovered’. God only uses nakedness for His purpose. The prophet Isaiah had to walk ‘uncovered’ for three years for a special purpose – to reveal what flesh (Egypt and Ethiopia) is and the judgment it will have to endure:

Isa 20:2 At the same time spake the LORD by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, Go and loose the sackcloth from off thy loins, and put off thy shoe from thy foot. And he did so, walking naked and barefoot.
Isa 20:3 And the LORD said, Like as my servant Isaiah hath walked naked and barefoot three years for a sign and wonder upon Egypt and upon Ethiopia;
Isa 20:4 So shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptians prisoners, and the Ethiopians captives, young and old, naked and barefoot, even with their buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt.
Isa 20:5 And they shall be afraid and ashamed of Ethiopia their expectation, and of Egypt their glory.

We forsake and betray Jesus and His doctrine when we are naked:

Mar 14:50 And they all forsook him, and fled.
Mar 14:51 And there followed him a certain young man, having a linen cloth cast about his naked body; and the young men laid hold on him:
Mar 14:52 And he left the linen cloth, and fled from them naked.

Our nakedness is also seen when we walk with unclean spirits among the spiritual dead as we have not the true spiritual house, and we wander in the wilderness when we are bound with chains and fetters – our earthly Eden of fleshly lusts and pride:

Luk 8:26 And they arrived at the country of the Gadarenes, which is over against Galilee.
Luk 8:27 And when he went forth to land, there met him out of the city a certain man, which had devils long time, and ware no clothes, neither abode in any house, but in the tombs.
Luk 8:28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before him, and with a loud voice said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God most high? I beseech thee, torment me not.
Luk 8:29 (For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For oftentimes it had caught him: and he was kept bound with chains and in fetters; and he brake the bands, and was driven of the devil into the wilderness.)

Even when we received our first deadly wound, which is healed very quickly, we look with lust in our heart as we “go and fall backward” into our harlot mother’s womb. There we are more comfortable being naked in the night in our ship on the sea of vomit and sin as we openly display a lack of spiritual understanding and wisdom (Rev 13:3, Joh 3:4, 1Co 5:1-2, Eze 16:7, 22, 39, Mat 5:28, Pro 6:32). Only “when the morning comes” can we see and obey God’s word properly:

Joh 21:1 After these things Jesus shewed himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tiberias; and on this wise shewed he himself.
Joh 21:2 There were together Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two other of his disciples.
Joh 21:3 Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing.
Joh 21:4 But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus.
Joh 21:5 Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They answered him, No.
Joh 21:6 And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes.
Joh 21:7 Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher’s coat unto him, (for he was naked,) and did cast himself into the sea.

While we are in this spiritual stillborn state, we are not ashamed of our nakedness at all and we are “breathing out threatenings and slaughter” against the true elect thinking we do God a service:

Jer 3:3 Therefore the showers have been withholden, and there hath been no latter rain; and thou hadst a whore’s forehead, thou refusedst to be ashamed.

Pro 30:20 Such is the way of an adulterous woman; she eateth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith, I have done no wickedness.

Act 9:1 And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest.

Naturally we believe we are blessed when everything is good on the outside – we are like Adam and Eve, unashamed or unaware of our ignorance and darkness:

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:

Everyone in the first Adam is naturally incapable of doing the right thing. We cannot obey the commandment or law of God, like naked physical Israel who worshipped a golden calf in their impatience and insecurities:

Exo 32:25 And when Moses saw that the people were naked; (for Aaron had made them naked unto their shame among their enemies).

Rom 7:14 For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.
Rom 7:15 For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.

A wife is “uncovered” when she cannot see that her relationship with her own husband shows her spiritual knowledge and understanding of “the only true God, and Jesus Christ”, just as a man who cannot see that his Head is Christ (Joh 17:3, Rom 1:20):

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

This also refers to those who will come up in the second resurrection without Christ as their cover as yet (1Co 15:40, Rev 20:11-13):

2Co 5:3 If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked.

In our next discussion, God willing, we will look at what is meant with the proper covering and why we should not uncover the nakedness of our near of kin:

Lev 18:6 None of you shall approach to any that is near of kin to him, to uncover their nakedness: I am the LORD.

[Detailed studies and emails written by Mike Vinson relating to these foundational themes in Scripture are available on the www. iswasandwillbe. com website, including:]
Dealing with the Feelings of Guilt
What the Spirit says to the Angel of the Church in Laodicea – Part 2
The Trespass Offering
The Sin Offering
Was Adam Created Sin?

Hi Mike,
I have been reading your stuff for some time now. When I read the first article, the scripture came to mind ‘this man teaches with authority and not as the pharisees teach’. I fully appreciate the is, was and will be aspect of your teaching, but if I had one question pertaining to the ‘will be’ it would have to be – if there comes a time that our currency is transferred from paper to some form of implant to the right hand or forehead would you suggest I receive or reject it? Once again, Mike, your teaching and insight of scripture has been a pure and fulfilling lesson to my life. GOD IS GOOD ALL THE TIME.

May God continue to bless you and yours,
A____

Hi A____,
I am very grateful for your question. You ask:

… if there comes a time that our currency is transferred from paper to some form of implant to the right hand or forehead would you suggest I receive or reject?

My answer to all ‘What if’ questions is that ‘They are not’. But the scriptures are clear that there is nothing from without that can defile us.

Mar 7:15 There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him: but the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man.
Mat 15:17 Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught?
Mat 15:18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.
Mat 15:19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:
Mat 15:20 These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands [ or with a chip in your right hand or forehead] defileth not a man.

So an implant in our skin or forehead will not defile you or me. What will defile both of us is what comes out of our mouths, from our hearts. That is what will defile us, and that is NOT the result of a physical chip implant, but it is the result of the spirits of false doctrines we have received from false prophets. That is what will cause us to do or not do all deeds whether good or evil. That is what all of God’s Word tells us.

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

“Believing a spirit” is believing a doctrine. That is what “because many false prophets are gone out into the world” means. False prophets bring with them false doctrines, and that is the mark that is in the right hand and in the forehead of those who are defiled with the doctrines of Babylon which proceed from within and defile us all at our own appointed time.
That is why God calls His people “out of Babylon.

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

God’s Word is written in such a way that it appears we can avoid certain words which have proceeded out of God’s mouth. This verse of Rev 18:4 is a perfect example of words which have proceeded out of God’s mouth.

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:
Rev 1:2 Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.

All who are in Babylon have received the mark of the beast in their right hand and in their foreheads, and that includes all men who are upon the earth.

Rev 13:16 And he [ the beast] causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
Rev 13:17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
Rev 13:18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man [ Greek, anthropos, mankind]; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.

Six has been Adam’s number from the beginning because Adam, just like all other beasts, was created on the sixth day and is by nature nothing more than a beast, “marred in the Potter’s hand”. “They themselves are beasts”.

Gen 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
Gen 1:31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
Jer 18:4 And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.
Ecc 3:18 I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts.
Ecc 3:19 For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity.
Ecc 3:20 All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.

There are those who will declare that Adam was not “marred” until he chose to eat of the tree, even those people know that Eve was burdened with “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life… sin in her members”, before she ever touched the tree which made her aware of the naked and dusty and marred condition in which she had come from the Creator’s hand.

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.
Gen 3:6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food [“lust of the flesh”], and that it was pleasant to the eyes [“lust of the eyes”], and a tree to be desired to make one wise [“the pride of life”], she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
Gen 3:7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

“Not of the Father” does not mean that these things are not controlled by “the Father, of whom are all things”. What it does mean is that these are not the things the Father is using evil to produce. Being naked is a Biblical type of living in sin. Adam and Eve did not become naked when they ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they simply became aware of that nakedness into which they had been created for their “day of evil”.

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

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.

So God has given all of mankind “an experience of evil” by placing us in a naked body of “marred clay” which inherently has “sin within” it and is inherently unfit to “inherit the kingdom of God”:

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.

Are you and I responsible for this “law of sin which is in our members”? The answer is absolutely not! “It is not I that do it, but sin that dwells in my members… that is in my body”. So like all things, this “law of sin is also “of God”:

Jas 4:12 There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?

Be sure to check out the studies on “The Law of The Offerings” where you will see that God has provided an offering for what we are, which is “sinful flesh”, as well as an offering for what we do, that is we trespass against God. So God gave Israel a “sin offering” as well as a “trespass offering”. No particular trespass is mentioned in the sin offering, but many examples of transgressions are given in the trespass offering, because both are inherently within us and are food for the serpent.

Gen 3:14 And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou [ art] cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:

So it is by God’s own design that our first Adam has been given to Satan as His lunch, and he devours us as he is given to do. But this is the “evil experience which God has given to mankind to humble us”. It is common to all men and no one will escape without first experiencing the destruction of this first, rejected creation of God.

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

I hope this all helps you to see that anyone who thinks that the mark of the beast is an implant in the right hand or the forehead as something peculiar to the last generation before Christ’s return, simply “has not been granted understanding of the mysteries of the kingdom of God” (Mat 13:10-15) and is unable to apply Christ’s warning concerning what “comes out of a man, from our hearts”, as opposed to what enters into us from without, whether food, hip replacements, an implanted chip or any other outward work of mankind.
God bless you, as you seek to know Him and His Son.

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

Your brother in Christ,
Mike

Video Links

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Rev 3:18 – Laodicea, Part 2

What The Spirit Says to The Angel of the Church in Laodicea – Part 2

Updated December 15, 2023

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.

Introduction

In our last study we saw that the spirit of the angel of the church of Laodicea within us is lukewarm and believes he is rich and in need of nothing. This is what the Lord says to that spirit within each of us:

Rev 3:14 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;
Rev 3:15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
Rev 3:16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
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:

What we saw in our last study is all addressed “unto the angel” of the church in Laodicea within us. It is “unto the angel” that the spirit says, “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot: I would that you were either cold or hot but since you are neither but are lukewarm, I will spue you out of my mouth.” All the rest of verse 17 is also addressed “unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans.” These ‘angels’ are all spirits whom the Lord uses to accomplish His work within us just as He used “a lying spirit” to accomplish His work and His purpose in the life of King Ahab:

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.

King Ahab, as well as all men, are nothing more than “clay in the Potter’s hand”, and He is working His pleasure in all things, including that which is appointed for each of us:

Job 23:13  But [the Lord] 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.

It is “the angel of the church of Laodicea” within us who thinks of himself as rich and increased with goods and having need of nothing, when in reality he doesn’t even realize he is wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. All of the things we discussed last week are directed to “the angel of the church of the Laodiceans”, which angel is within “he that has an ear to hear.” All those things we saw last week must be burned out of that angel, and they must be burned out of “he that has an ear to hear.” Everything we read in verses 14 through 17, ‘being lukewarm and thinking you have everything and are in need of nothing’, is all the fuel for the fire which must burn within that angel and within “he that has an ear to hear, and he that reads and hears the words of this prophecy, and keeps those things written therein.”

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

Verses 14 -17 are part of “the things which are written therein.” They are the fuel for the fire which is mentioned in our next verse:

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.

This study will be on this one verse and the spiritual meaning of all the words of this one verse.

We will begin by asking, what is “gold tried in the fire?” Here is an example of “gold tried in the fire.”

Exo 25:31 And thou shalt make a [singular] candlestick of pure gold: of beaten work shall the candlestick be made: his shaft, and his branches, his bowls, his knops, and his flowers, shall be of the same.
Exo 25:32 And six branches shall come out of the sides of it; three branches of the candlestick out of the one side, and three branches of the candlestick out of the other side:

It is instructive to note that the singular “candlestick of pure gold” of Exodus 25 is the seven candlesticks of Revelation 1. There are to be no alloys of any metals other than God’s pure precious gold to be found in the making of the “seven golden candlesticks”, which we are told are the seven churches to whom these seven angels are sent as messengers.

Rev 1:10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,
Rev 1:11 Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send [it] unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.
Rev 1:12 And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks;

Exodus 25 tells us that the candlestick of beaten work was of pure gold, and any jeweler knows that pure gold is “tried in the fire” to have all the impurities burned out of it. What is this “pure gold” of which the seven branches of the singular “candlestick of pure gold, tried in the fire” is made? Here is that pure gold of which, not only the candlestick but, everything else in the tabernacle of God must be made.

Eze 16:11 I decked thee also with ornaments, and I put bracelets upon thy hands, and a chain on thy neck.
Eze 16:12 And I put a jewel on thy forehead, and earrings in thine ears, and a beautiful crown upon thine head.
Eze 16:13 Thus wast thou decked with gold and silver; and thy raiment was of fine linen, and silk, and broidered work; thou didst eat fine flour, and honey, and oil: and thou wast exceeding beautiful, and thou didst prosper into a kingdom.

This is what God does for Israel within us all when He first comes to us and draws us to himself.

Eze 16:4 And as for thy nativity, in the day thou wast born thy navel was not cut, neither wast thou washed in water to supple thee; thou wast not salted at all, nor swaddled at all.
Eze 16:5 None eye pitied thee, to do any of these unto thee, to have compassion upon thee; but thou wast cast out in the open field, to the lothing of thy person, in the day that thou wast born [This is the natural condition of all flesh].
Eze 16:6 And when I passed by thee, and saw thee polluted in thine own blood, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live; yea, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live.

What do we do with God’s gold and His silver with which He decks us? Here is what we all do as we “live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.”

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

Two chapters earlier, Ezekiel had told us what these “images of men” were: idols which we have covered with God’s gold and with God’s silver. These are not physical ‘images’ or physical “idols.” They are “idols of the heart.”

Eze 14:1 Then came certain of the elders of Israel unto me, and sat before me.
Eze 14:2 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Eze 14:3 Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face: should I be enquired of at all by them?

“Idols of the heart” become “stumbling blocks of iniquity.” They are one and the same. They are the perversion of the words of God into the words of men. They are all the false doctrines of men who have placed their own heart’s idols, their own doctrines, ahead of the “doctrine of Christ:”

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

It is “the doctrine of Christ” that comprises God’s gold and God’s silver, and it is with this gold and silver He decks us all from the moment He first begins to drag us to Himself. It is also with this same gold and silver, given to us by God, that we make our heart’s idols and the stumbling block of our iniquity, as we twist and pervert His words into our false doctrines, “the doctrines of men.”

Col 2:20  Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances,
Col 2:21  (Touch not; taste not; handle not;
Col 2:22  Which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men?

The “doctrines of men” are the ordinances to which we subject ourselves for many years before we are given to see or understand that false doctrines are ‘the stumbling block of our iniquity.’ Both God’s gold and God’s silver are “tried in the fire”, and both are His words and His doctrines as they are tried in us all as living “furnaces of earth” in which all the impurities of all of our false doctrines are burned out of us.

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.

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

“Pure gold” and “pure silver” are “pure words of the Lord”, and as Christ’s own disciples all demonstrated, we all think we have those “pure words” long before we discover that it was all just head knowledge; it was God’s gold perverted and wrapped around the idols of our hearts. It was cankered gold, the stumbling block of our iniquity, and it was not “gold tried in the fire” at all.

Your Gold and Silver are Cankered

As we saw last week, “Peter… and all the disciples” signify all of us, and until the gold we have been given is “tried in the fire”, God’s gold within us becomes “cankered.” Until it is “tried in the fire” it will become “the stumbling block of our iniquity”, and we will use it to cover the “idols of our hearts.” Look at what James has to say to us concerning this time in our walk:

Jas 5:1  Go to now, ye rich men [who are in reality poor], weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
Jas 5:2  Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.
Jas 5:3  Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.

There it is again. Our ‘gold’, our ‘garments’ and the ‘fire’ which is needed to try our gold. If our gold is cankered, then our clothes are moth eaten, and our nakedness is apparent, and we “shall eat our flesh as it were fire.”

However, if our gold is “tried in the fire” of bitter repentance after years of failure, and we come to see the inadequacies of our flesh, then it will make us “rich in faith,” and it can then be used to adorn the “white linen raiment” which will clothe us and hide “the shame of our nakedness.”

Jas 2:5  Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?

 What is “white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed?” Here is our raiment which covers our nakedness:

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

“The fine linen is the righteousness of the saints.” Where else do we find this phrase in scripture?

Rev 15:6  And the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles.

Rev 19:14  And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.

Like our gold and our silver, our righteousness is also “of the Lord” and belongs to Him. It is not of ourselves in any way whatsoever.

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

Jer 23:6  In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.

Jer 33:16  In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely: and this is the name wherewith she shall be called, The LORD our righteousness.

Jer 51:10  The LORD hath brought forth our righteousness: come, and let us declare in Zion the work of the LORD our God.

What is “the shame of thy nakedness?”

Why should we be ashamed of our nakedness? Did not our Creator make us that way? Yes, indeed He did:

Gen 2:25  And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

Was Christ born naked? Of course, He was:

Luk 2:7  And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

Luk 2:12  And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

When did “the man and his wife” become ashamed of their nakedness? They became ashamed of their nakedness only after they ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Until that time they were totally unaware that nakedness represented the shameful sin that is naked flesh:

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.

There is a false doctrine which denies all of these truths and declares that flesh is not sin or shameful. There is a false doctrine which declares that ‘in me, that is in my flesh, there is no sin’, and sin is only the result of a conscious decision of something that is completely separate from sinless flesh. According to this false doctrine, flesh is of itself sinless and the only thing that can sin is the carnal mind, which we are told is independent of the body of flesh. Such reasoning is totally unaware of the meaning of the word, ‘carnal’, which means flesh. It is the mind of the flesh that rules us until Christ comes to dethrone that carnal mind.

2Th 2:8  And then shall that Wicked [carnal mind] be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

Flesh is “corruption”, and anyone who says otherwise does not believe this verse of scripture:

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

Do the scriptures teach that the flesh is separate from the carnal mind, and that the carnal mind must consciously commit sin before I can say, “In me, that is in my flesh, dwells no good thing?” Or do the scriptures teach that “In me, that is, in my flesh, dwells no good thing… by nature?” In other words, what do the scriptures teach? Are we sin in the flesh, or is sin something which the scriptures separate from flesh?

The answer is that in both the Old and the New Testament, both King David and the apostle Paul, taught that flesh is in and of itself sin, apart from any conscious personal decisions. In other words, both King David and the apostle Paul considered the carnal mind to be just that, the mind of the flesh, which is what the word ‘carnal’ means.

Here again is the apostle Paul:

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.

Paul’s wording, under the inspiration of the holy spirit, is “in me, that is my flesh.” In other words flesh, dust, is what we are:

Gen 3:19  In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

The holy spirit through the apostle Paul declares that “in me… in my flesh, dwells no good thing.” To this evaluation of who we are and what we are, King David agrees in every detail, and it has nothing to do with our making conscious decisions with a mature carnal mind. We are told, by the holy spirit, that we are sin by virtue of being “made of a woman” before we are even born.

Psa 51:5  Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.

The doctrine that the carnal, fleshly mind is somehow not connected with the flesh, is the same false and lying spirit which demands that Christ is really not the son of man at all, and is not the son of Adam in any way whatsoever. “This is that spirit of antichrist.” It is a spiritual “idol of the heart,” and it will cost us our reward if we use the word of God to cover this false doctrine which denies that Christ was “made sin.”

2Co 5:21  For he hath made him [to be] sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

Here is this same verse in the Conservative Version:

2Co 5:21  For the man who knew no sin was made sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him. (ACV)

It is Christ Himself who tells us there was “no good thing” in His own flesh:”

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

If Christ’s flesh were not “sinful flesh” like the flesh of “the seed of Abraham” and like the “conceived in sin” flesh of King David, He could easily have said, “Yes, as the Son of God, I am good, and being ‘separate from sinners’ I am perfected.” That is not what Christ told this young man who called Him “Good Master.” Those who want to argue with Christ on this point refuse to accept His own testimony that He had to be resurrected on the third day in order to be perfected:

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

All who deny Christ His own claim to be the seed of Abraham and the seed of David “according to the flesh,” are denying that He was the same naked, shameful flesh, as you and me. What exactly do the scriptures have to say about this particular idol of our hearts? Here is what the scriptures teach concerning this particular doctrine:

1Jn 4:3  And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

“The flesh” is the only flesh there is. It is “the same as the children.” Christ’s flesh was as naked as yours and mine, and it had to be covered just as does our sinful flesh.

Heb 2:14  Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;
Heb 2:15  And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
Heb 2:16  For verily he took not on [him the nature of] angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham.
Heb 2:17  Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things [pertaining] to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.
Heb 2:18  For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.

Rev 1:13  And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.

Even here in the book of Revelation, Christ introduces Himself as “the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the foot.” Yes, just like you and me, Christ is both ‘the son of man’ and simultaneously the Son of God, and whenever He is “come in the flesh”, He must be “clothed with a garment:”

2Co 5:2  For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven:
2Co 5:3  If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked.

Christ and His words are “our house which is from heaven.” If Christ’s mother Mary did not even contribute a human egg to the conception of Christ, then Christ has no connection at all to us. If Christ’s mother Mary were not of “the seed of Abraham”, then Christ has no claim to be “the seed of Abraham according to the flesh.” If He were really the son of Abraham, then He was also the son of Adam, just as Luke 3 tells us He was.

Luk 3:23 And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli,
Luk 3:24 the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph, …

Luk 3:38  Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God.

As such, Christ’s flesh was the same sinful flesh as the flesh of Adam and Eve. It, too, was “marred in the hand of The Potter… shapen in iniquity, and conceived in sin,” just as was the flesh of all of Adam’s seed.

Psa 51:5  Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.

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

Does the absence of a physical Father preclude being “made sin, marred in the hand of the Potter, shapen in iniquity and conceived in sin?” If it does, then Adam was not a vessel of clay which was marred in the hand of the Potter, but if Adam were “made sin,” then so are all who are his children.

“He Himself suffered being tempted” (Heb 2:18). How is every man tempted?

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

Christ’s flesh lusted after its own preservation to the extent that Christ had to pray this prayer:

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

Christ is not ashamed to reveal His connection to our flesh, but our own hearts’ idols want to deny Him this connection to the first Adam. That is how we abuse the golden words of God which are our Lord Himself.

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

The truth of Christ being “made sin” cannot be understood without seeing Christ as the Father Himself reveals Christ to us in the law of the offerings in the book of Leviticus. In that book there are five different offerings given to ancient Israel. The last two are the sin offering and the trespass offering. They are as different as the other three offerings are. The sin offering is Christ, who is offered for what we are, as corruptible, naked clay which has been marred in the Potter’s hand. The trespass offering is not for what we are, but it is for what we do in the marred vessel which we are. The only way Christ can be a trespass offering is through us. That is why the sin offering is given first, for what we are as “marred clay vessels in the Potter’s hand and as “shapen in iniquity and conceived in sin.” We then furnish the trespass offering by “fill[ing] up what is behind of the afflictions of Christ, in our flesh, for His body’s sake which is the church.”

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:

It is only “through our offenses” that Christ was delivered up and it is only through our justification that He was raised from the dead.

Rom 4:25  Who was delivered for [Greek: ‘dia‘, through] our offences, and was raised again for [Greek: ‘dia‘, through] our justification.

Neither Christ nor His Father seek to separate Christ from the work of His own hands. It is only “that spirit of antichrist which you have heard should come, and which is already here” which seeks to make that separation between Christ and His brothers.

That is how we pervert God’s Words before we “buy of Him gold, tried in the fire.” Here is how we have used God’s Words to cover our hearts’ idols:

Eze 14:4  Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them [those who come to God’s Words of pure gold tried in the fire], Thus saith the Lord GOD; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I the LORD will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols;

What are those idols? Where did they originate?

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

Therefore idolatry, just like the subject of marriage, is primarily a spiritual matter of worshiping the false doctrines of the Babylonian system. It is a matter of being unfaithful to our True Husband, Christ and His doctrines. Rather than obeying the words and doctrines of Christ, who we claim as our spiritual husband we believe and live by the idols of our heart. In spiritual terms, this is called “adultery, fornication and whoredom.”

Eph 5:31  For this cause shall a man leave his father [Satan] and mother [Babylon The Great], and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.
Eph 5:32  This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.

Christ gave up everything His flesh wanted to please His heavenly Father. He is our example.

When asked by the rich young ruler what he must do to inherit eternal life this is what Christ said:

Mat 19:18  He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,

So again, this ‘whoredom’ of Ezekiel 16 and Revelation 17-18, just like ‘marriage’ in Ephesians 5, is primarily spiritual, and the very fact we are commanded not to commit adultery is proof that we have all done so spiritually.

… and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.

What is this “eyesalve” which gives us our sight? As is always the case, this, too, is a ‘Christ-centric’ spiritual concept which is clearly explained in these verses:

1Co 2:9  But as it is written, Eye [Eyes in need of spiritual eyesalve] hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him [Obey Him – 1Jn 5:2-3].

What then will give us spiritual eyes that have spiritual “eyesalve” which can see and know and understand spiritual what are the spiritual gifts we are given and eyes that can “compare spiritual things with spiritual, and can understand “the things of the spirit?”

1Co 2:10  But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
1Co 2:11  For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.
1Co 2:12  Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
1Co 2:13  Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
1Co 2:14  But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

“Gold tried in the fire” and spiritual “eyesalve” are the same thing. It is “Christ in us” and His fiery Words being lived out in us. Peter thought he had Christ in Him, and like Peter, we, too, think that just because we have been learning at Christ’s feet for several years, we understand deep spiritual matters. The Truth that is being revealed to us through the revelation of the angel of the church of Laodicea within us, is that our spiritual depth is not even revealed to us until we have walked through the fiery trials that Peter and all the disciples endured.

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

What does that verse say about the false doctrine of the substitutionary death of Christ? The anointing of our eyes with eyesalve is the anointing by God’s spirit. “God reveals the things that eye hath not seen “by His spirit.” It is His spirit which gives us the “eye salve” of spiritual vision. What is “the spirit?” Listen closely to the Word of God, and do not be deceived by false ministers who claim that the spirit is somehow independent of, and above, what is written. It most certainly is not:

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

The words ‘of men’ are not in the Greek, and while they may well be implied, the direct command of the spirit is that we are never to allow ourselves to “think above what is written.” When we fall for that false spirit which urges us to do so, we are doing nothing less than succumbing to the desire of the beast within, to circumvent the written word, and it yields us completely vulnerable to every wind of doctrine. When we are conquered by that very powerful false and lying spirit, which tells us that God’s spirit thinks above what is written, we are never again able to “try the spirits to see whether they are of God,” and we are adrift without a rudder in very dangerous and stormy seas.

Do you want to “anoint your eyes with eyesalve” so that you can see the things of the spirit? We all need to know what are the “things of the spirit.” How can we know “the things of the spirit” which things “eye hath not seen?” Let’s continue on with the verses right there in 1 Corinthians 2 which explain how the spirit reveals things which “eye hath not seen:”

1Co 2:11  For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.
1Co 2:12  Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
1Co 2:13  Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
1Co 2:14  But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

The natural man “cannot know the things of the spirit, because they are spiritually discerned.” There are two schools of false doctrines. One is ‘science falsely so called,” and the other is those who think that the written word is something less than the spirit of God. Both those who “think above what is written” and those who believe “contradictions of science falsely so called,” will use these golden words of the holy spirit to encapsulate the idols of their hearts. Both of those schools of false doctrines are condemned by these Words of our Lord:

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

“The [“That which is written”] words that I speak unto you, they are spirit.” We would have no concept of “the words Christ has spoken unto us” were it not for His written word. “Whosoever readeth let him understand… Learn in us not to think above that which is written”:

Mat 24:15  When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand)

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

Rev 22:7  Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.

“Thinking above that which is written” and believing the “contradictions of science, falsely so called” are both written in God’s Word to give us the warning and admonition that we need to “try the spirits to see whether they are of God.”

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

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

Anyone who prefers the “falsely so called” [‘facts’] of science to these inspired Biblical words, has simply not been granted faith to believe in “things that do not appear.”

Exo 20:11  For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

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, and they came to pass.

The Hebrew word translated as ‘suddenly’ [H6597: ‘pithom’] means, “instantly”, not over thousands and millions of years], and they came to pass.

H6597
פִּתְאֹם     פִּתְאוֹם
pith’ôm    pith’ôm
pith-ome’, pith-ome’

From H6621; instantly: – straightway, sudden (-ly).

“They went forth out of my mouth” tells us that God literally spoke His creation into existence with a man who had the appearance of age, and a hen which was capable of laying and setting eggs and tall stately trees with hundreds or thousands of age rings already within them.

Whenever we “think above what is written” we have accomplished nothing less than placing the beast himself, “the man of sin, that spirit of antichrist,” right back on the throne of our hearts and minds.

Ask those who so easily and willingly “think above what is written” by what means they try the spirits, and you will soon discover the absence of any means of trying the spirits in any such person, and when it comes to the “contradictions of science, falsely so called” we are admonished in “that which is written” to “Let God be true and every man a liar.”

1Ti 4:1  Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
1Ti 4:2  Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;

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.

Modern science and modern history are nothing but “seducing spirits and doctrines of demons” which are destroying our children. Carbon 14 dating is based upon the false premise of the theory of uniformity, which teaches that the earth has always been as it now is. The earth has not always been as it is, and it is “science falsely so called” which teaches otherwise. Beware of those who put false science before the word of God. Let God be true and every man a liar.

Conclusion

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.

We have seen in this study what the scripture reveal is God’s gold, and God’s silver, and we saw that it is His “pure words… tried in the fire…  purified in a furnace of earth seven times.”

We saw that God has called those who are poor in this world to be “rich in faith” in His precious and purified Words.

We have seen the scriptures which reveal that the white raiment is “the righteousness of the saints”, and that those in that “pure linen clean and white” are called “the seven angels with the seven bowls of God’s wrath, [and] the armies in heaven.” We have seen that those who are clothed in “white raiment which covers their nakedness” are God’s elect, and “the white linen is the righteousness of the saints.”

We saw that the righteousness of God’s saints is really of Him.

We saw all the scriptures which demonstrate that our shameful nakedness was given to us by our Creator, and that we are “shapen in iniquity and conceived in sin”, and we were shamefully naked long before we ever committed our first conscious trespass or ever became aware that we needed “white linen, pure and clean, that the shame of our nakedness does not appear.”

Finally we also saw that the “eyesalve” which gives us spiritual vision, is nothing less than the spirit of God, and the spirit of God is nothing less than “the words I have spoken unto you, which are spirit and they are life… the things that are written…” We saw that it is the spirit which reveals to us what those who are in need of eyesalve cannot see and cannot hear “because they are spiritually discerned.”

Next week, Lord willing, we will finish chapter three and the admonitions of the spirit to the angel of the angel of the church of Laodicea, or “He that hath an ear.” Here is the rest of what the spirit has to say to the angel of the church in Laodicea within us all.

Rev 3:19  As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
Rev 3:20  Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
Rev 3:21  To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.
Rev 3:22  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

Rev 1:13, Part 2 – One Like unto the Son of Man

Updated September 27, 2023

Rev 1:13 And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.

Last week we saw that “One like unto the Son of Man, means that this really is the “Son of Man,” who really is “in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks” within His elect, just as the disciples really did “see the Father” when they “saw the Son.”

Joh 14:7  If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.
Joh 14:8  Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.
Joh 14:9  Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?

We are slowly coming to see that our relationship with Christ mirrors Christ’s relationship with His Father. Is it true that “he that hath seen me hath seen the Father?” If that is true, and Christ says it is, then this is also true:

 Mat 10:40  He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.

If it is true that receiving Christ’s elect is the same as receiving Christ, then it is also true that having Christ’s elect in our midst is having Christ in our midst. “And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.” Could this same principle apply to being clothed with a garment?

“… Clothed with a garment down to his foot…”

Why are we told that Jesus Christ is “clothed with a garment down to His foot?” To answer this question we first need to ask, What is the spiritual significance of Christ being clothed?

We find the answer to that question at the very beginning of God’s Word.  It is in the book of Genesis where we read that Adam and Eve were both naked and were not ashamed.

Gen 2:25  And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

As an aside, I heard a very prominent American preacher say that when the resurrection comes he is going to “Walk straight up and sock Adam right in the nose.” Now there is a loving, forgiving, Christ-like spirit, if ever there was one?! This minister actually thinks that he could have done a much better job of obeying God than Adam did. Like all orthodox Christianity, he wants to go back to Eden, back to the time before Adam and Eve knew the difference between good and evil. The whole Orthodox Christian religion wants to go back to living in the nude, living unclothed, not even knowing the difference between good and evil. The whole Orthodox Christian world wants to live in a world that doesn’t know the meaning of the word shame.

Exo 32:25  And when Moses saw that the people were naked; (for Aaron had made them naked unto their shame among their enemies)

Nakedness and being ashamed of our sins are both the same in the word of God. The opposite of nakedness is being clothed “that the shame of [our] nakedness does not appear.”

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.

‘Gold tried in the fire’ is the trial of our faith:

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

Our ‘clothing of our nakedness’ is Christ living His life within us and doing the things He instructs within us. Our clothing is His good works within our lives:

Eph 2:8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph 2:9  Not of [our] works, lest any man should boast.
Eph 2:10  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

We are plainly told that it is “the righteousness of saints” which clothes us:

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

If we cannot even see ourselves as being naked, then we, like Israel at Sinai with the golden calf, will want to be naked and sinful. Not being able to see our own nakedness, we will want to “sock Adam right in the nose” all the while, reciting Christ’s commandment to “Love thine enemies.” It all brings this verse to mind:

2Ti 2:25  In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;

So why do we see Christ “clothed with a garment down to His feet?” Why would Christ need to cover His nakedness? Does Christ have nakedness to cover? Did Christ ever have any nakedness that would require “a garment down to His feet?”

Christ came in the flesh, in corruption, in sin.

In spite of the fact that the whole Christian world refuses to accept what is so plain in scripture concerning who and what Christ was while He was on this earth in a body of flesh and blood, the answer is, as the scriptures plainly declare, “He made Him sin, who knew no sin.” No, that is not a contradictory statement. It is the teaching of God’s Word. Christ was flesh, and flesh is corruption:

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

2Co 5:21 For the man who knew no sin was made sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him. (ACV)

Christ was not “made sin” by being nailed to the cross. He was “made sin” by coming in the “corruption” of “sinful flesh”, yet He resisted that sinful nature and never once sinned.

The whole Christian world will confess that Christ came in the flesh, but just like the Adversary in the garden of Eden, in the same breath they deny that there is any significance or truth to that fact. Here is the Adversary’s argument to Eve: “Yes, of course God said, ‘You shall die,’ but you shall not surely die.”

That is the forked tongue of a “great red dragon, that old serpent called the Devil and Satan.” Notice how similar to that event in the garden of Eden this doctrine of an immaculate conception is, which nullifies any significance to Christ’s claim to be “the Son of Man” or being able to identify with His own weak creation. Just look at the parallel. This is how it goes: “Yes, of course Christ came in the the flesh, but it isn’t really the same corruptible flesh of  Adam.”

That first lie separated Christ’s creation from Christ. The doctrine of an immaculate conception, or any form of that doctrine, does the exact same thing today. It separates Christ from His corruptible creation and guts all the scriptures which declare He was the same as us of any significance at all.

Did Christ come in the same corruptible flesh that you and I, the sons of Adam, have? Knowing Christ and His Father is what is at stake here with this doctrine, and that means this is a matter of life and death. So “Let God be true and every man a liar:”

Heb 2:14  Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of [corruptible (1Co 15:50)] flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;

If Christ were not made sinful flesh and blood, He would not have been subject to death. Death is the predestined fate of all flesh:

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

If Christ were not “in Adam” He would not have been capable of death. However, He was “the son of man [Adam].”  Why must Christ’s flesh be “the same… as the children?”

Heb 2:16  For verily he took not on [him the nature of] angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham.
Heb 2:17  Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things [pertaining] to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.
Heb 2:18  For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.

The Christ of  scripture is not the plastic Christ of pre-Christian paganism, who was immaculately conceived and “unstained with Adam’s sinful flesh” and completely incapable of identifying with His own weak, corruptible, creation. Rather, His Father “made Him of a woman… made Him under the law… made Him sin, who knew no sin,” and at the same time Christ is “the Son of God.” That is the very purpose for Christ’s incarnation:

Luk 1:35  And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

Christ is not just “of the holy spirit.” He is also “of thee,” of Mary, who was “in Adam… the same as the children… sinful flesh and blood.”

What is the spirit of antichrist?

What do the scriptures say of that teaching and of that spirit which denies the truth that Christ came in “the same” flesh? Here is God’s solemn warning against such rank heresy:

1Jn 4:3  And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the [same (Heb 2:14)] flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

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

The efforts to deny that Christ, as the Son of both Adam and of God, “add to the words of the book of this prophecy.” This immaculate conception doctrine which denies that Christ had “the same” carnal flesh that we have was alive and well long before Christ was even born in the flesh. The doctrine of a virgin giving birth through an unscriptural immaculate conception, with no carnal flesh or carnal mind involved, is of pagan origins which long precedes the birth of the Biblical Christ. The scriptures unabashedly confess that Christ was “made of a woman, made under the law.” Both of those characteristics of Christ are Bible-speak for “being made sin.”

2Co 5:21  For he hath made him [to be] sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

The words ‘to be’ are in brackets because they are added to the text and are not in the Greek, which actually reads “For he hath made him sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” The root of the word ‘sin’ means simply “to miss the mark”, and Christ’s flesh, as well as our flesh, misses the mark of a glorified spiritual body by a country mile. All flesh misses the mark of the manifestation of the sons of God in incorruptible, resurrected, spiritual bodies. Failing to understand that simple biblical fact is what is missing in the understanding of all those who insist that being made sin is the same as committing sin. They are denying the possibility of sin being inherent in all flesh. Yet that is exactly what Christ Himself and the scriptures teach:

Luk 18:19  And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God.

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

Psa 51:5  Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.

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

Christ was tempted because He had the same carnal flesh as His brothers

Here we have Christ Himself telling us from His own “treasures new and old…’I am not good… I shall be perfected only by a resurrection… I was made of a woman conceived in sin… a vessel of clay, marred in the Potter’s hand”, and yet we want to take away from these truths and add lies to them and say that Christ was incapable of being “led away of His own lust and enticed.” Once again, what do the scriptures say?

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

Being tempted is not committing a sin. Being tempted is being flesh. Giving in to that temptation is a transgression, and that is what all men, except Christ, do.

Was Christ a man?

Mat 8:20  And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air [have] nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.

E-sword brought up 85 New Testament entries for the phrase ‘Son of man’ as compared to 43 New Testament entries for the phrase Son of God. Christ is certainly the sinless, spotless lamb of God, but He is also the son of ‘Adam’ – which is the Hebrew word for ‘man.’ It is Christ Himself who puts twice the emphasis on His connection to us as He does to His connection with His Father even though both are true. It is the churches of Babylon who have chosen to emphasize the fact that Christ is the Son of God, to the exclusion of the fact that he had a mother who was of Adam via Abraham and David “according to the flesh”.

Rom 1:3  Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh;

Why does the Adversary want us all to see Christ as different from Adam to the extent that Christ is denied the struggles of having to overcome the temptations of a carnal mind? The answer is that such a doctrine keeps us from understanding that Christ, too, was “clothed with a garment down to the foot.” The answer is that any form of the immaculate conception heresy makes a  lie to so many scriptures which the holy spirit has inspired to demonstrate how closely Christ identifies with His lowly and weak creatures. It makes a lie of verses like this:

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,

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

The doctrine which teaches that Christ never struggled against a carnal mind claims that it was impossible for Christ to sin because He was not made of the same sinful flesh and blood, “the same as the children.” The fact that Hebrews 2:14 says the exact opposite, makes no difference. The immaculate conception doctrine guts the fact that Christ sweat blood striving against His carnal desire to preserve His carnal flesh. Those who recognize the fact that Christ was striving against His carnal nature are accused of blaspheming a holy Savior, as if He had never said that He was not good, or as if He had never pointed out that He, too, would have to suffer the death of His own flesh before He was perfected, or as if He never had to suffer in order to learn:

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

“Though he were a Son” – though He was “the Son of God… yet learned He obedience by the things which He suffered… in all ways being tempted… drawn away of His own lusts and enticed” to find a way to avoid the death of the cross. It is a body of sin that wants to avoid the cross. It is overcoming that carnal mind that makes Christ’s sacrifice so significant and gives force to the fact that He was indeed “made of a woman, made under the law” just as we all are.

Do the scriptures teach that flesh is not sin if it does not consciously commit sin? Do the scriptures teach that Christ’s flesh was not corruption even though He was  “made of a woman, made under the law?” Is it even possible to be sin without consciously sinning? What do the scriptures say?

We will answer all these questions in our next study.

Christ is the king of His kingdom, and it was He who told us that “Every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven … bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.”

Mat 13:52  Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.

Truth in the New Testament is grounded in the prophesies of the Old Testament.

We have seen what the scriptures teach about Christ’s need and our need to be “clothed with a garment down to the foot.” What we saw was that this garment is the righteousness of Christ which is needed to cover the nakedness of all flesh, including the flesh of Christ. We have seen the scriptures which plainly teach that Christ’s flesh and blood was just as subject to corruption as is all flesh and blood, none of which can “inherit the kingdom of God because it IS corruption.  We have seen that Christ’s flesh was “the same” as that of the children of Abraham, and we saw that Christ was, through His physical mother, descended from Abraham “according to the flesh” just as much as His Father was not of this world. We saw the scriptures which warn us that the spirit which denies that Christ’s flesh was the same as ours “is that spirit of antichrist.” We have seen that Christ struggled as we struggle and was in all points tempted as we are tempted, and that “every man is tempted when He is drawn away of His own lust and enticed.”

In our next study, Lord willing, we will see what the difference is between sin and trespass. It is the failure to understand this difference and it is not knowing why both a sin and a trespass offering were needed and why both must be made, that causes the masses to fall for the lie of an immaculate conception and all the errors that comes with that false doctrine.

Lord willing, we will also learn what is the spiritual significance of being “girt about the paps with a golden girdle.”  When we come to see the message of all these symbols, we will learn much more about the fact that it is God who is “working all things after the counsel of His own will.”

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.

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.

This is what He wills and desires for “all men”:

1Ti 2:3  For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;
1Ti 2:4  Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

W____ wrote:
Mike,
In Mar 14:50-52 as the soldiers took Jesus his followers forsook Him and fled.  However, a young man having a linen cloth cast around his body followed.  Once taken hold of he left the linen and took off naked.  I know that “linen is the righteousness of saints” (Rev 19:8).  Was he the spiritual being described in Dan 10:5?  Perhaps this was the point where Jesus became sin and was now in the heart of the earth as righteousness was cast away?  I believe every passage in the Bible is important and should not be overlooked.  Who was this man and why was he young?  What is the importance of the linen?  Once again thanks for your time.
W____ 

Hi W____,
Thank you for your question. Here is the verse you reference:

Mar 14:50  And they all forsook him, and fled.
Mar 14:51  And there followed him a certain young man, having a linen cloth cast about his naked body; and the young men laid hold on him:
Mar 14:52  And he left the linen cloth, and fled from them naked.
Mar 14:53  And they led Jesus away to the high priest: and with him were assembled all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes.

It is generally accepted that Mark is speaking of himself, as it was common at that time for writers to speak of themselves in the third person.
Here is the significance of the ‘linen cloth about his naked body:”

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 19:8  And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.

“The fine linen is the righteousness of the saints” but there was nothing righteous about ‘all of His disciples forsaking Him.’ They all, as do we all, “forsook Him,” and we have all “left the linen cloth.” The fact that this was “a young man” tells us that we are all “babes in Christ” when we all forsake Him and flee from His righteousness. It matters not how many physical clothes we may be wearing while we are denying God’s Words, we are at that moment spiritually “naked.” These are all “words proceeding out of the mouth of God,” which we all must live out and fulfill in our own lives:

Mat 4:4  But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
Rev 1:3  Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.
Rev 22:7  Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.
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:

The Greek reads “the afflictions of the Christ” showing that “as He is so are we in this world.”

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.

For most people this will not be fulfilled in this life, but if it is not, then all will “live by every word which proceeds out of the mouth of God” and “keep the sayings of the prophecy of this book” when it is being lived out in a thing called the lake of fire. 
Here is the spiritual significance of that linen cloth:

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.

“The shame of our nakedness” appears when ever we leave behind our righteous and Godly linen cloths and flee from and deny our Lord as we succumb to our toddler status in Christ. The way we deny Christ today is to say that we do not need to “live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” Those words are Christ, and when we say they are not applicable to us, then we will be ‘judged by our own words.’ Here is what we are told:

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

There are few indeed who have been given eyes to see this verse of God’s Word. There are even fewer who have been given the measure of faith to “keep the sayings of the prophecy of this book:”

Rev 22:6  And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done.
Rev 22:7  Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.

Here we have this admonition strategically placed at the very beginning and at the very end of this book called “the revelation of Jesus Christ.” But the revelation of Jesus Christ is not the book of Revelation alone. The revelation of Jesus Christ is what Paul also taught:

Gal 1:12  For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ .

But the revelation of Jesus Christ is even more than the writings of Paul and John. According to Christ Himself, we are to keep ” every word which 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 .

This is true because it takes the whole of God’s word to comprise Truth:

Psa 119:160 The sum of Your word is truth, And every one of Your righteous ordinances is everlasting.[ NASB]

When we deny that we “keep the sayings of the prophecy of this book,” when we deny that we must live by every word which “proceeds out of the mouth of God,” we are denying Christ and we are “leaving our linen cloth” and leaving Christ behind to preserve our standing in our physical families, in our communities and in our churches. That is the significance of “leaving the linen cloth.”
There is a very good reason why Christ tells us so clearly:

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

The ability to “endure to the end” simply is not granted to the multitudes who come to Christ. But it is encouraging to know that, for those with whom God is working,  we are given these words:

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

… and this promise:

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

I hope this answers your question about what is the significance of leaving the linen cloth, and I hope is of some help to you as you seek to understand “the things of the spirit.”

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

Mike