Matthew 22:23–46 The Great Commandment

[Study Aired October 6, 2025]

Today’s study is focused on the Sadducees asking the Lord about the  resurrection. Other issues to be discussed entail the great commandment and finally, the issue about Jesus being the son of David.  

Sadducees Ask About the Resurrection

Mat 22:23 The same day came to him the Sadducees, which say that there is no resurrection, and asked him, 

The Sadducees were an aristocratic and priestly sect of Jews in the time of Jesus. They were known for their political power, focused on the written Law of Moses and were rivals to the Pharisees. They did not believe in the resurrection, the afterlife and angels. These Sadducees represent our brothers and sisters in the church system of this world. When our focus is on the false doctrine of rapture, instead of the first resurrection of the Lord’s elect, then spiritually, we are like the Sadducees who did not believe in resurrection.  

The word “Rapture” is taken from the Latin Vulgate translation of 1 Thessalonians 4:16‐17, which says:

1 Thess 4:16-17 “For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the archangel’s call, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first; then we who are alive, who are left, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so we shall always be with the Lord”

The verse above is the basis of the rapture doctrine which an English Protestant minister named John Nelson Darby began teaching to his followers in the 1830s. There was no scriptural basis for Darby’s “Rapture” Theology. Neither was there a basis for it in tradition since it had never been a teaching of the historic Christian Church. The idea that God’s people will be rescued on earth from earthly persecutions is completely anti‐Biblical. At no time in human history did God ever pull His people out of worldly danger. The early Christians suffered horribly at the hands of their persecutors. They were crucified, fed alive to wild animals, beheaded and set on fire for following Christ. The idea that Christians in the future will be spared persecution is wishful thinking.

Heb 11:35  Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: 
Heb 11:36  And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment:
Heb 11:37  They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; 
Heb 11:38  (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. 
Heb 11:39  And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: 
Heb 11:40 God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect. 

Mat 22:23  The same day came to him the Sadducees, which say that there is no resurrection, and asked him, 
Mat 22:24  Saying, Master, Moses said, If a man die, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother. 
Mat 22:25  Now there were with us seven brethren: and the first, when he had married a wife, deceased, and, having no issue, left his wife unto his brother: 
Mat 22:26  Likewise the second also, and the third, unto the seventh. 
Mat 22:27  And last of all the woman died also. 
Mat 22:28  Therefore in the resurrection whose wife shall she be of the seven? for they all had her. 
Mat 22:29  Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. 
Mat 22:30 For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.  

Jesus’ response to this story about each of the brothers marrying the wife of the eldest to preserve posterity, not only affirmed the fact of resurrection but also explained that the Lord is God of the living, not of the dead. Jesus’ explanation shows us that what holds us back from knowing the truth is our false doctrines or the idols of our hearts. These Sadducees’ inability to know the scriptures is their false doctrines which is described as the stumbling block of iniquity, which causes us to be deceived according to these false doctrines in our hearts and minds. 

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 stumbling block of their iniquity before their face: should I be enquired of at all by them? 
Eze 14:4  Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumbling block 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;

Not knowing the scriptures does not mean that we do not know the letter of the word. What it means is that we are not given to understand the spiritual interpretation of His word. 

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. 

2Co 3:6  Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. 

Jesus’ answer in verse 29 also shows us that if we do not know the power of God, we end up erring from the truth. The question is, “What is the power of God?” According to the scriptures, the power of God refers to the word of God but specifically, the word of the Lord which deals with the cross we must bear or the judgment of our old man or flesh. 

2Co 6:7  By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left,

2Co 13:4  For though he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of God toward you.

2Ti 1:8 Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God;

It is through this judgment of our old man or flesh that we are able to hear the voice of the Lord. 

Deu 5:24  And ye said, Behold, the LORD our God hath shewed us his glory and his greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire: we have seen this day that God doth talk with man, and he liveth. 

Jesus’ response in verse 30 shows us that the angels of God do not marry. This statement refutes the false doctrine of angels (sons of God) marrying human beings and producing giants. 

Gen 6:1  And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, 
Gen 6:2  That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. 
Gen 6:3  And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. 
Gen 6:4 There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.

The sons of God in these verses represent the Lord’s elect, in those days before the flood, who ended up marrying pagan women instead of the Lord’s elect. In other words, the Lord’s elect are seduced by the harlot woman or Babylon in every generation.  

Mat 22:31  But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, 
Mat 22:32  I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.

When the Lord revealed Himself to Moses in the wilderness to instruct him to rescue His people from captivity in Egypt, He had to introduce Himself in a powerful way for Moses to believe Him. He told Moses that He is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Moses responding to the Lord’s call to rescue His people from captivity means that Moses believed in a living God, since no one will follow a dead God. Here in verse 32, Jesus is showing us that He is indeed, the God of the living and not a dead one. In other words, He is a God who is actively working out His salvation plan through us. 

Exo 3:6  Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God. 
Exo 3:7  And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; 
Exo 3:8  And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 

We can know the Lord’s purpose and His ways through His dealings with our fathers – Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. What we need to understand is that the patriarchs were three, and the number three spiritually means the process of spiritual maturity through judgment. This implies that the God of our fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, is showing us how He takes us from the pit of darkness to become spiritually mature sons through His judgment to accomplish His purpose. If we add together all the different aspects of the experiences of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob including Joseph, who was technically part of Jacob, we see a clear picture of the complete experience of the elect and our understanding of God’s eternal purpose and how His eternal purpose is being fulfilled through His elect.

Mat 22:33  And when the multitude heard this, they were astonished at his doctrine. 

Jesus was the first to explain the spiritual aspect of the word of the Lord. Before Jesus came, all the prophets focused only on the letter and therefore did not understand what they were saying. To the multitude, who represent the church system of this world or Babylon, they were amazed or astonished because Jesus’ teaching was not according to what they had heard before. As Isaiah stated, when we are exposed to new things of the word of the Lord, we refuse to believe. That is why many in the churches of this world reject our message, simply because they have not heard before.

Isa 52:15  So shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him: for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider. 

Isa 53:1  Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?   

The Great Commandment

Mat 22:34  But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together. 
Mat 22:35  Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, 
Mat 22:36  Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
Mat 22:37  Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Mat 22:38  This is the first and great commandment. 

We can see that during the time approaching for the Lord to be sacrificed for our sins, the scribes, the Pharisees, the Sadducees and the Herodians were all trying to find fault with the Lord so they could put Him to death. These represent all of humanity including us.  

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. 

All of these attempts to entrap our Lord did not yield any result. It rather portrayed the wisdom of the Lord.

Rom 11:33  O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! 
Rom 11:34  For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor? 
Rom 11:35  Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? 
Rom 11:36 For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory forever. Amen.

As indicated, the great commandment of the law is to love the Lord with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. As we are aware, our love for the Lord is expressed through our obedience. We cannot say we love the Lord if we do not obey Him. On the other hand, our Lord expresses His love towards us by giving. 

Joh 14:15  If ye love me, keep my commandments. 
Joh 14:16  And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever; 
Joh 14:17  Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. 

Joh 14:21  He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
Joh 14:22  Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? 
Joh 14:23  Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. 
Joh 14:24 He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me. 

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

The whole of the law of Moses hinges on our obedience to the Lord. We know from the word of the Lord that on our own, we do not have the capacity to love the Lord or to obey Him. This implies that the whole essence of the law is to show us our sinful state as we are not capable of obeying the Lord on our own. It is when we come to this realization that we are given the power through faith to obey the Lord.

Rom 3:19  Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. 
Rom 3:20  Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. 
Rom 3:21  But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; 
Rom 3:22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: 

Mat 22:39  And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. 
Mat 22:40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. 

To love thy neighbor as thyself means to extend the mercy that we have received from the Lord to others. The story of the good Samaritan illustrates this point. 

Luk 10:25  And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? 
Luk 10:26  He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? 
Luk 10:27  And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. 
Luk 10:28  And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live. 
Luk 10:29  But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour? 
Luk 10:30  And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. 
Luk 10:31  And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 
Luk 10:32  And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. 
Luk 10:33  But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, 
Luk 10:34  And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 
Luk 10:35  And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee. 
Luk 10:36  Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? 
Luk 10:37 And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise. 

As demonstrated in this story, being a neighbor means showing mercy to others. It is worth pointing out here that some in their quest to demonstrate their love for their neighbors, have focused on the physical needs of those around us and in so doing, have strayed from the faith. It is good to meet the needs of those around us, given the opportunity. However, our calling is not to save the world now. In the fullness of time, the mercy we have received shall be extended to the whole of the human race. That is when we become true neighbors.

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

Currently, our focus as the Lord’s elect is on the house of faith, that is, the Lord’s elect. 

Gal 6:9  And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
Gal 6:10  As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith. 

Whose Son is the Christ?

Mat 22:41  While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, 
Mat 22:42  Saying, What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The Son of David. 

In these verses, Jesus was subtly telling the Pharisees that He is Lord over David and all of humanity and not just a physical descendant of David. As we are aware, the Pharisees represent us when we were in the church system of this world. During this period, the Lord spoke to us in parables.

Mat 13:10  And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? 
Mat 13:11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. 

The Jews, through the scriptures, knew that a descendant of David will ascend on the throne of David. They therefore believed that this Messiah shall deliver the people of Israel from captivity to the Romans. However, they were not given to know that Jesus was not going to be a physical king sitting on the throne of David. Their expectation was based on the following verses:  

Isa 9:7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

Isa 11:1  And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: 
Isa 11:2 And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;

Psa 89:35  Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not lie unto David. 
Psa 89:36 His seed shall endure forever, and his throne as the sun before me. 

The Pharisees’ answer to Jesus in verse 42 that Christ is the son of David was therefore something that they had known through the letter of His word. 

Mat 22:43  He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying, 
Mat 22:44  The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool? 
Mat 22:45  If David then call him Lord, how is he his son? 
Mat 22:46  And no man was able to answer him a word, neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions. 

Here in these verses, Jesus was trying to point the Pharisees to the fact that this son of David is Jesus and has a higher pedigree than David. That is why David called Him Lord. The reason Jesus did not reveal Himself to them as the Lord is that they treasured the idols of their hearts more than the truth. It is these idols of the heart which were causing them to find means to murder Jesus. This is the problem with the church system of this world. They consider themselves as spiritually rich because of the false doctrines in their hearts and minds as they consider we, His elect, as spiritually dead in the street of Jerusalem. As a result, they remain in their ignorance. Their unbelief is our gain as we are being shown mercy at their expense. In the fulness of time, they will also be shown mercy. 

Rom 11:30  For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief: 
Rom 11:31  Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy. 
Rom 11:32  For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all. 
Rom 11:33  O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! 
Rom 11:34 For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor? 

On the other hand, if we look at Jesus’ encounter with the woman at the well, she also had idols of the heart as she did not want to have anything with do with Christ because she was not only a Samaritan, but a woman. However, her willingness to know the truth about the living water made it easier for the Lord to reveal Himself to her. The difference was that the Pharisees did not want to know the truth, but this woman wanted the truth.  

Joh 4:10  Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. 
Joh 4:11  The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? 
Joh 4:12  Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? 
Joh 4:13  Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:
Joh 4:14  But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. 
Joh 4:15  The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.
Joh 4:16  Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither. 
Joh 4:17  The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband: 
Joh 4:18  For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly. 
Joh 4:19  The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. 
Joh 4:20  Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. 
Joh 4:21  Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. 
Joh 4:22  Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.
Joh 4:23  But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
Joh 4:24  God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
Joh 4:25  The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things. 
Joh 4:26 Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he. 

Are you hungry for the truth? When the word of the Lord says that blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, it means that it is those who thirst for the truth regarding righteousness, which entail the Lord’s judgment, who are the ones who are going to be filled. 

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

May the Lord be merciful to us as we seek for the truth of His word. Amen!!

The Spiritual Significance of the Holy Days, Part 5B

Trumpets

[Study Aired September 12, 2025]

Lev 23:23  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Lev 23:24  Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation.
Lev 23:25  Ye shall do no servile work therein: but ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD.

Num 29:1  And in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, ye shall have an holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work: it is a day of blowing the trumpets unto you.
Num 29:2  And ye shall offer a burnt offering for a sweet savour unto the LORD; one young bullock, one ram, and seven lambs of the first year without blemish:
Num 29:3  And their meat offering shall be of flour mingled with oil, three tenth deals for a bullock, and two tenth deals for a ram,
Num 29:4  And one tenth deal for one lamb, throughout the seven lambs:
Num 29:5  And one kid of the goats for a sin offering, to make an atonement for you:
Num 29:6  Beside the burnt offering of the month, and his meat offering, and the daily burnt offering, and his meat offering, and their drink offerings, according unto their manner, for a sweet savour, a sacrifice made by fire unto the LORD.

We paused our last study to come back to the story of the conquest of Jericho by marching around it with seven priests blowing seven trumpets for seven days. Jericho was conquered, and Israel was in a figure resting while that conquest took place by the hands of our Lord.

Jos 6:1  Now Jericho was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel: none went out, and none came in.
Jos 6:2  And the LORD said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour.
Jos 6:3  And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days.
Jos 6:4  And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams’ horns: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets.

Heb 4:3  For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.

The battle of Jericho as well as all of Israel’s battles were “finished from the foundation of the world.” That is why the Lord spoke to Joshua as if the battle had already been won:

Jos 6:2  And the LORD said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour.

‘Have given’ is in the Hebrew Qal stem which equates to the Greek aorist tense. Both are defined as verbs which have no regard to tense. What that means is that ‘I have given’ is an is, was, and will be statement. All of Israel’s battles, whether they won or lost, were all “finished from the foundation of the world.” The same can be said for anything that has been done, is being done, or will be done in the history of mankind. For this reason we are plainly told this about God’s perspective on the lives of all men of all time:

Psa 139:16  Thine eyes did see mine unformed substance; And in thy book they were all written, Even the days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was none of them.  (ASV)

These words are written ‘for our admonition’:

1Co 10:11  Now these things happened unto them by way of example; and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages are come. (ASV)

We are told that circumcision signifies “the putting off of the flesh.”

Col 2:11  In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:

Israel had been circumcised at Gilgal just a few weeks before the conquest of Jericho. Circumcision signifies that the day of judgment “begins at the house of God”, and that judgment has been “begin[ning] at the house of God” since that kingdom was first established within us. Judgment is accomplished in all men “each in his own order” (1Co 15:23). The seven priests with the seven trumpets circling Jericho demonstrate, and the festival of trumpets itself signifies, that in time God’s trumpet judgments will include “all [who are] in Adam.” That judgment has been, is being, and will always be administered by the “seven priests” who are also called the seven angels of the seven churches, which angels we are also told blow the seven trumpets. It is the book of Joshua which shows us the seven trumpets are blown by seven priests, and it is the book of Revelation which shows us that the seven angels of the seven churches signify those who keep the sayings of the prophecy of the book of Revelation. The entire prophecy is addressed “to the angel of the [seven] churches.”

Rev 1:4  John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne;

Rev 2:1  Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus [Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea] write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;

The book of Revelation, and indeed all scripture, is addressed “to the seven churches”, and is also addressed to “the angel” of every church. If we want to know who the seven priests who are blowing the seven trumpets as Israel marches around Jericho, if we want to know who they signify, then we must first know who the seven angels of the seven churches signify. So who do those seven angels signify? “One of the angels” tells us who they all signify:

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

Rev 19:10  And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

The “second witness” to this Truth is found in:

Rev 22:8  And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things.
Rev 22:9  Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.

This book is addressed to the seven churches and to the seven angels of the seven churches. It is they are are commanded to “read, hear, and keep… the 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.

That is who the seven priests of Joshua 6 signify. It is each of us who are admonished that we will be blessed if we “read, hear, and keep the things which are written therein.”

The seventh trumpet consists of ‘seven vials’ which “fill up the wrath of God” (Rev 15:1and 6). The Canaanites and the giants in the land of Canaan signify our weaknesses and our passions and our rebellious carnal mind. The destruction of the walls of Jericho on the seventh day of blowing of trumpets signifies the wrath of God being poured out upon the kingdom of our rebellious old man, the man of sin, the beast within every man.

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

Rev 15:6  And the seven angels [you and I and our fellow servants, the seven angels to the seven churches] came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles.

The fact that these seven angels “came out of the temple” proves that they are the seven priests which the seven priests of Joshua 6 prefigure and foreshadow. Only the priests were permitted to enter into the temple. Anyone who was not a son of Aaron, anyone who was not a priest was to die, and the priest who let them in was to die also:

Num 18:2  And thy brethren also of the tribe of Levi, the tribe of thy father, bring thou with thee, that they may be joined unto thee, and minister unto thee: but thou and thy sons with thee shall minister before the tabernacle of witness.
Num 18:3  And they [the Levites who are not the sons of Aaron] shall keep thy charge, and the charge of all the tabernacle: only they shall not come nigh the vessels of the sanctuary and the altar, that neither they, nor ye also, die.

It is these same seven angels who pour out the seven vials of the wrath of God which are essential to “consume [the man of sin] with the spirit of [their] mouth, and destroy [him] with the brightness of His coming.”

Jos 6:13 And seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the LORD went on continually, and blew with the trumpets: and the armed men went before them; but the rereward came after the ark of the LORD, the priests going on, and blowing with the trumpets.

2Th 2:8 And then shall that Wicked [the first man Adam, the beast, the man of sin within all of us] be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: [“At the last trump”]

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

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

Rev 21:9 And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife.

Who are these seven angels? Here is “one of” the seven angel’s own answer to that question:

Rev 19:10 And I fell at his feet to worship him [the angel of Rev 17:1]. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

Rev 22:8 And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things.
Rev 22:9 Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.

This angel tells us that he signifies the very churches and angels to whom this whole prophecy is addressed… “I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book.”

It is through the blowing of the seven trumpets by the seven priests that Jericho’s walls, typifying the walls and fortifications of the kingdom of the beast within us, are destroyed. As we showed earlier it all “begins at the house of God.”

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

“Begin at the house of God” does not mean that the judgment which “must begin at the house of God” is the one and only judgment mentioned in scripture. This judgment which “begins at the house of God” is the first of the Lord’s judgments. This first judgment prepares those who are being judged first “in this present time” to “have part in the first resurrection”, which Christ refers to as “the resurrection to life”:

The resurrection

John 5:28  Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
Joh 5:29  And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto life [Rev 20:6]; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation [Rev 20:11].

The judgment of this present time is just the beginning, and it begins within His own “house”, His firstfruits, His “body, which is His church.” This is how Paul describes this judgment which “begins at the house of God.”

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:

This verse, Colossians 1:24, reveals a great truth which many who have been deceived by the false doctrine of a “substitutionary atonement death of Christ”, will and do consider to be blasphemy. Nevertheless, Paul very clearly states that his own sufferings are for “[Christ’s] body’s sake, which is the church.” He even states that this suffering in his body is “the afflictions of Christ in my body… which are behind [Greek: lacking] of the afflictions of Christ”. It is all a work of God and not of us, but it is being done through us “for His body’s sake, which is the church” as we will discuss in our next study if the Lord wills.

The next holy day is the day of atonement, only nine days after the feast of trumpets. The day of atonement is followed five days later by the feast of tabernacles and the last great day, which we will get to in the following study, Lord willing. Every holy day reveals the order in which the Lord is working to save all of His creatures.

Before we begin our study of the day of atonement, I want to briefly review what we have so far learned through the holy days, about the plan of God to save all men of all time:

Review

The revelation of that plan begins with the Passover.

Indeed Christ was offered on the day of the Passover. Rest assured the priests and the Pharisees did not plan it that way. They were as blind to what they were doing as you and I were to the fact that we are the beast. As such we also are partakers in the crucifixion of our Lord, and we also must be “crucified with Christ” and with him we must bear the sins of the Lord’s people:

1Pe 2:24  Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.
1Pe 2:25  For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.

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 priests and the Pharisees had no clue that it would be “through our offences” that Christ would be delivered up to be crucified, and that it would be  through our justification that He would be resurrected 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.

Romans 4:25 is an integral part of being called in Christ “before the world began”:

2Ti 1:9  Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,

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

While Peter, typifying all of His apostles, went out and wept bitterly for denying Christ when He most needed them most, they and we still must endure seven sevens of the work of God in our lives while we are being matured for the day of Pentecost, “on the morrow after the seventh sabbath.” Only then, “When the day of Pentecost was fully come” can the holy spirit come to us and enter into our hearts and form and found the church of Christ and the kingdom of God within us.

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

Luk 24:49 And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.

Act 2:1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
Act 2:2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
Act 2:3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
Act 2:4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Pentecost is the day after which we are finally willing to die with Christ because the spirit of God has changed our hearts, and we now become Christ’s firstfruits, “endued with power from on high… and not of ourselves” (Luk 24:49, Eph 2:8-10).

Lev 23:15 And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be complete:
Lev 23:16 Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the LORD.
Lev 23:17 Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals: they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baken with leaven; they are the firstfruits unto the LORD.

If we are Christ’s, then we are “”Firstfruits unto the Lord… a kind of firstfruits” because this feast typifies those who are in that blessed and holy first resurrection as Christ’s firstfruits. So the feast of Pentecost is also called “the feast of your firstfruits.” The meal offering of Pentecost is “baken with leaven” because we, unlike the head of His body, are not without sin and are therefore “baken with leaven.”

Exo 23:14 Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year. [The number ‘three’ signifies the process of the Lord’s judgment of mankind:

The Number Three

Exo 23:15 Thou shalt keep [1] the feast of unleavened bread: (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt: and none shall appear before me empty:)
Exo 23:16 And [2] the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field: and [3] the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field.
Exo 23:17 Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord GOD.

While our Lord was a sin offering “who knew no sin”, the same cannot be said for His firstfruits, who, in Him, become a trespass offering which Christ fulfills only through “them that are Christ’s.” That is how we can be “chief of sinners” and also “fill up in our bodies what is behind of the afflictions of the Christ.” Because Christ fulfills the trespass offering only through us, the Pentecost offering is the only offering offered to God with leaven:

Lev 23:17 Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals: they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baken with leaven; they are the firstfruits unto the LORD.

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)

We become the righteousness of God in Him, and He becomes the trespass offering through us… “baken with leaven.” “In Him” we offer our lives as the scapegoat (Lev 16:8-26) and the second bird (Lev 14), as a living sacrifice, “for His body’s sake, which is the church.”

Col 1:24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and fill up on my part that which is lacking of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church; (ASV)

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

Pentecost is the second festival season, and it signifies the third step we all must experience in the Lord’s plan. Pentecost is the summer wheat harvest, which comes fifty days after the Spring barley harvest. Pentecost is the only holy day in the Summer season. The last four steps in the process of the salvation of all men are all in the third season of the Lord’s plan for the salvation of all men of all time. These last four steps are all in “the seventh month”, and they begin with the festival of trumpets on the first day of the seventh month which we are concluding with this study.

Before that goal of God being in all His sons is accomplished, we are told that “the last enemy that shall be destroyed is death”. Add the following verse to all we have learned about the plan God for the salvation of all mankind of all time which He is revealing to us through these holy  days:

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

Our first father, Adam, and “the first man Adam” in all of us (1Co 15:45), has demonstrated that flesh and blood are not fit to be in the incorruptible kingdom of God, simply because flesh and blood are dying corruption which can never become immortal. We are very clearly told that death must be destroyed before God can be all in all. If that is the case and if flesh is dying in every generation of mankind, how is it even possible for death to ever be destroyed since little ‘flesh and blood, corruptible, Adams’ are being born every day by the millions?

The answer to this dilemma is solved for us in the story of Samson in Judges 14:

Jdg 14:1 And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines. [This story signifies God’s elect lusting after the doctrines of Babylon]
Jdg 14:2 And he came up, and told his father and his mother, and said, I have seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines: now therefore get her for me to wife.
Jdg 14:3 Then his father and his mother said unto him, Is there never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson said unto his father, Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well.
Jdg 14:4 But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the LORD, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines: for at that time the Philistines [signifying all flesh and blood, (Rev 13:16)] had dominion over Israel.

The Philistines were a very religious people whose God was named Dagon. These Philistines are the Biblical type of all who are in the land of promise but they are there without the benefit of circumcision, and they are more than willing to put the teachings of their god, Dagon, ahead of the doctrines of Christ. They see their preeminence over God’s elect as proof that their God is the true God just as the Jews of Christ’s day, and the Christians of today feel toward the Lord’s ‘scattered flock.’

Jdg 16:23 Then the lords of the Philistines gathered them together for to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god, and to rejoice: for they said, Our god hath delivered Samson our enemy into our hand.

Dagon typifies the god of modern day ‘Babylon the great’  who is none other than the “great Red Dragon” who empowers the beast within all men:

Rev 13:4 And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?

Rev 13:16  And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:

The entire story of Samson is a type of God’s elect whose service to God is first in the strength of our own flesh as we are married to the doctrines of Babylon, and to the modern day ‘leaven of the Pharisee and Sadducees’. This self-righteous iniquity in time brings us to our wits’ end as this story of Samson demonstrates. Only then are we finally made aware that we are blind as a bat and totally useless to God or mankind in a life of our own making while living in and among the doctrines of the enemy. Samson in his death typifies God’s elect who are more than willing to die to everything in this life to gain Christ:

Php 3:7 But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.
Php 3:8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,
Php 3:9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, [the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees] but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:
Php 3:10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;
Php 3:11 If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.

Physically blind Samson is the type of this same mind. Here are Samson’s own words after he, in type, is finally given spiritual vision:

Jdg 16:30 And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life.

Dying “with the Philistines” is the dying of our flesh to our old man, and just as Samson delivered his people through his death, so we are delivered from our own sinful flesh through our dying daily to the power of our flesh over the new man who is being born within us as we “die daily.”

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

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.

This is the fruit of Pentecost which introduces the church era which leads up to the day of the blowing of trumpets in our lives.

Christ’s doctrine and His own example demonstrate for us that life comes only through death:

Joh 12:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
Joh 12:25 He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.

Col 1:22 In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:

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;

It is only “through death”, the death of our old man, that our new man can be born. So it is for all men of all time, and so it is with death itself. Until death itself is destroyed, there will be no victory over death. As long as little Adams are being born, death cannot be destroyed, and that is the real reason for putting “the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan” in prison for a thousand years, just to release him again for “a little season” afterward.

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

Why, after placing Satan in prison for a thousand years, would a loving heavenly Father release him upon an unsuspecting world? The answer is that God is seeking an occasion against the Philistines of that time. When Satan is loosed upon the world after it has been ruled with a rod of iron for a thousand years, mankind’s carnal mind will be ripe for the deception Satan is sent to bring upon all nations at that time. After being ruled with a rod of iron for a thousand years, mankind will be convinced by Satan that he is capable of overcoming the saints of the “blessed and holy first resurrection”, who have been their rulers for the past one thousand years. We are told that Satan is given to deceive the nations in the four quarters of the earth to “encompass the camp of the saints”, and at that very moment, just like the fall of Jericho and just like the sudden destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, fire will come down from God out of heaven and will destroy all flesh of all men “in the four quarters of the earth” so that it can truthfully be said that death is destroyed, and there will be no one left on this earth who can beget another rebellious carnal-minded Adam in a vessel of clay.

That is why it is right after being told that fire comes down from God out of heaven, that we then immediately read of “a great white throne” revealed to us for the first time. This great white throne is also revealed at the same time as we learn for the first time of “the lake of fire”:

Rev 20:7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
Rev 20:8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
Rev 20:9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. [Notice what happens immediately after the destruction of all flesh]
Rev 20:10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
Rev 20:11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
Rev 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
Rev 20:13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
Rev 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
Rev 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life [a thousand years earlier] was cast into the lake of fire.

“The second death… is… the lake of fire”. When the second group of mankind experiences the death of their carnal mind that is the death of death, and it is “through [this] death” that life is given to all men of all time.

The four months from Pentecost to Trumpets signify this age of grace, when God is preparing a few faithful elect out of the many called multitudes who come to Him. Judas was an elect who did not leave Christ when the multitudes left Him.

Joh 6:64 But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him.
Joh 6:65 And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.
Joh 6:66 From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.
Joh 6:67 Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away?
Joh 6:68 Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.

Christ knew who would betray Him, and yet “the twelve”, which included Judas, remained faithful even after “many of His disciples went back, and walked no more with Him.” Still Judas was found not to have a proper wedding garment, and he was predestined to be God’s rejected elect who, like God’s anointed, King Saul, sought to kill God’s faithful elect, signified by King David. Both King Saul and Judas were the Lord’s anointed, but neither was faithful to the end. Being called and being elect are not enough to be given a wedding garment and to be in that “blessed and holy… first resurrection.”

Rev 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Rev 20:5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
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.

Those who are with Christ in the armies of heaven will have one more necessary qualification, and that qualification is to be faithful to the end:

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.

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 [“to the end”].

As the apostle Paul said of the Hebrews (Heb 6:9)… “I am persuaded better things of [us].”

Next week, Lord willing, we will begin our study of the day of atonement, and we will begin to see the blessings of being in that “blessed and holy… first resurrection”, and in time we will see what is the function of those blessed and holy  few who “endure [and are] faithful… to the end”.

Here is a taste of what is in store for all who are given that blessed calling:

Isa 49:6 And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.

The next step in the Lord’s plan for us is signified by the day of Atonement, a day of fasting and afflicting our souls demonstrating that we realize the need to have our sins covered and be at one with our Lord.

Lev 23:26  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Lev 23:27  Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD.
Lev 23:28  And ye shall do no work in that same day: for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the LORD your God.
Lev 23:29  For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people.
Lev 23:30  And whatsoever soul it be that doeth any work in that same day, the same soul will I destroy from among his people.
Lev 23:31  Ye shall do no manner of work: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.
Lev 23:32  It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath.

[Here is the link to the next study in this series.

Rev 20:1-6 Those Who Have Part in the First Resurrection, Part 2

[Study Aired June 15, 2025] 

Rev 20:1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
Rev 20:2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
Rev 20:3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
Rev 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and [I saw] the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received [his] mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Rev 20:5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This [is] the first resurrection.
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.

We concluded our last study with the determination to continue demonstrating that the promise of Christ’s appearing on this earth in power and glory is to rule over the kingdoms of this physical world for a thousand years, which will yet be realized outwardly before the beginning of the spiritual  great white throne judgment.

The adversary realizes just how powerful this message is in giving us hope and an incentive to endure the fiery trials of this present evil world, and he is determined to destroy that incentive:

Heb 11:6  But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and  that he is a rewarder of them that seek him

Heb 11:24  By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter;
Heb 11:25  Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;
Heb 11:26  Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.

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

Those who teach that “the resurrection is past already” simply ignore the fact that all the Old Testament patriarchs and prophets before Christ were not ministering to themselves but to us, and that “without us [as their saviors] they should not be made perfect”:

1Pe 1:9  Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.
1Pe 1:10  Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you [“Not unto themselves”]:
1Pe 1:11  Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.
1Pe 1:12  Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.

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

The fact is that we without them will be made perfect because Christ tells us this about all these men of Old Testament faith:

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

“He that is least in the kingdom of God will be greater than… John the Baptist” because Christ’s saving faith was not available to anyone until after His death and resurrection, and “Jesus Christ of Nazareth” is the only name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved.”

Act 4:12  Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

It is “the revealing of His glory” at the beginning of the thousand-year reign which will cause those who are raised up from the dead at the beginning of that reign to “be glad with exceeding joy.”

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.

“When His glory shall be revealed” tells us that Peter is looking forward to something which has not yet happened and is yet to come:

Rom 8:22  For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.
Rom 8:23  And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.
Rom 8:24  For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?
Rom 8:25  But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.

Romans 8:22-25 does not contradict Romans 6:4-5:

Rom 6:4  Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up [Aorist tense] from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk [Aorist tense] in newness of life.
Rom 6:5  For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be [future tense] also in the likeness of his resurrection:

“Christ was raised up” is in the Aorist tense because Christ is still being raised up. “We also should walk” is in the Aorist tense because we continue to walk in newness of life. “Shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection” is in the future tense because ‘the resurrection is NOT already past”, as Hymenaeus and Philetus and many until this very day with that same self-righteous, idol of their heart (Eze 14:1-9),  would have us believe.

“The earnest of the spirit” is merely the downpayment of our reward. It is not “the redemption of the purchased possession.”

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

Poor Hymenaeus and Philetus and all who have fallen for their lie. They actually think that the ‘promise’ is the possession, while nothing could be further from the Truth. The best is yet to come… “the redemption of the purchased possession”, a glorious ‘spiritual body’ which will never die (1Co 15:44-50), ruling with Christ a thousand years and judging angels and the house of Esau in the great white throne judgment/lake of fire/second death (1Co 6:3, Oba 1:21, Rev 20:7-15).

The contrast is always between being “the firstfruits unto God and the Lamb, [at] the resurrection to life” (Joh 5:28-29] with “the resurrection of judgment” at the great white throne judgment/lake of fire/ second death (Joh 5:28-29, Rev 20:11-15). The holy spirit always contrasts those in the first “resurrection of life” with those who will suffer the second death, which is the lake of fire which begins at the great white throne judgment.

According to Paul, every word of God which proceeds out of His mouth is not far from us. It is not hidden way up high, in the physical heavens, nor is it way down low in the physical sea. Rather it is “within you, even in your mouth, and in your heart.”

Rom 10:6  But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:)
Rom 10:7  Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.)
Rom 10:8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, [even] in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;

Here is the Old Testament passage from which Paul is teaching.

Deu 30:11 For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off.
Deu 30:12 It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?
Deu 30:13 Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?
Deu 30:14 But the word [Christ] is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.

These verses in Deuteronomy 30 and Paul’s statement in Romans 10:8 are both saying the same thing this revelation of Jesus Christ within us tells us at both the beginning and the end of this book.

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 22:6 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.

It is phrased “do it” in Deuteronomy 30:14, and it is phrased “keep the things written therein” here in this revelation of Jesus Christ, within us. Both, according to Paul, are speaking of bringing Christ to us.

This 20^th chapter is “the things written therein” which we are to “keep”, but we must ‘rightly divide the Word of Truth’ and pay attention to qualifying statements such as “the things which must shortly be done… until the thousand years are finished… when the thousand years are expired… the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years are finished…” etc. Nowhere in scripture are we ever told… ‘the resurrection is past already.’ That is clearly labeled as the self-righteous, iniquitous, false doctrine of Hymenaeus and Philetus. This 20^th chapter clearly has to do with things which must shortly be done, not things which are “past already”:

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

In Christ we are given the “key of knowledge”, enabling us to understand the message of scripture which concerns what “is done” and what “must shortly come to pass.” When we rightly divide The Word of Truth we are ‘keeping the things which are written’ in this prophecy, and we are fulfilling these words:

Joh 20:21 Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.

These words of our Lord Himself accord perfectly with these words which the holy spirit later inspired the apostle Paul to pen:

Eph 3:8  Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;
Eph 3:9  And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
Eph 3:10  To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,
Eph 3:11  According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:

Paul reiterates this same Truth in his epistle to Timothy:

1Ti 3:14  These things write I unto thee, hoping to come unto thee shortly:
1Ti 3:15  But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.

There is no contradiction with Paul’s declaration that “the church of the living God… is… the pillar and ground of The Truth” and His declaration to the church at Corinth telling them that Christ is the only foundation on which to build His church:

1Co 3:11  For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

Rather these verses complement each other by showing just how much our Lord identifies with “His body… 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:

Like Pharaoh’s dream, and like the four different names for Satan, the principle of “the dream is one” helps us to see that it is we who have ‘come down from heaven’ with ‘the key of knowledge, and the keys to the kingdom… to make known by the church the manifold wisdom of God.’ All of this is true only “because [we faithfully] speak this [fiery] Word”:

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

We still have to also ask, “Why in the world does God chain Satan in this “bottomless pit… place a seal on him so that he cannot deceive the nations during that period, just to release Satan onto an unsuspecting world at the end of this “thousand-year reign” of God’s elect?? What good did it do for the elect to rule the nations of this world a thousand years just to have the entire world immediately deceived again “when the thousand years are fulfilled”??? Why does God do this?” All these questions were and are meaningless to anyone who has been given over to the false doctrine which teaches that “the resurrection is past already” (2Ti 2:16-18).

Before we answer that vital question, I want to share with you the differences between the bottomless pit of Revelation 9:1-2 and the bottomless pit of this 20^th chapter.

In our English King James Version, “the bottomless pit” is the exact same phrase we find in chapter 9:

Rev 9:1 And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless [G12: abussos, deep, the sea], pit [ G5421: phrear, well, pit].
Rev 9:2 And he opened the bottomless [abussos, deep, the sea] pit; [G5421, phrear – well, pit] and there arose a smoke out of the pit [phrear], as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit [phrear].

Here in chapter 9 there are two Greek words for ‘bottomless pit’. The first is the Greek word ‘abussos’, which simply means ‘deep’, and the second is the Greek word ‘phrear’, which means, as it is properly translated, ‘pit’. So there is no such thing as a pit with no bottom, and a much better translation would be ‘the deep pit.’ Satan is bound in ‘the deep’ for a thousand years. It is from this ‘abussos’ that all flesh arises:

Rev 13:1  And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.

The Greek word for ‘sea’ in this verse is ‘thalassa’. Nevertheless a study of the story of the devils whose name was ‘legion’ who Christ permitted to enter into the swine which in turn drowned in the sea, demonstrates that this Greek word ‘thalassa’ and the Greek word ‘abussos’ are used interchangeably for the sea of Galilee as we will see later.

The fact of the matter is that the Greek word ‘phrear’, meaning ‘pit,’ is not to be found  here in this 20^th chapter. In this chapter the two English words ‘bottomless pit” are translated from the single Greek word ‘abussos’. Still the translators opted to use the two words of chapter 9… ‘bottomless pit.’ The ‘abussos’, meaning ‘the deep’, is used as an adjective to describe the depth of the ‘phrear’, the pit.  The Greek word ‘abussos’, with the Greek word ‘phrear’ or ‘pit appears three times in Revelation 9:1-2 :

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

The Greek phrase ‘abussos phrear’ is found twice in these two verses, but referring to this same ‘abussos phrear’ it is referred to twice as simply ‘phrear’. Later in this same chapter this ‘abussos phrear’ is also referred to simply as ‘abussos’:

Rev 9:11  And they [The locusts which “came out of the smoke which had ascended out of “the abussos phrear” of vs 2] had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit [G12, a single Greek word, ‘abussos’], whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.

Understanding all of this it is not adding to the word to use both words in Revelation 20 even though there is but one Greek word, ‘abussos’. The problem is not in using two words where only one is used. Rather, the problem is that the English word ‘bottomless’ is not at all the meaning of the single Greek word ‘abussos’ which is the only word that appears here in chapter 20 to describe Satan’s one-thousand year imprisonment:

Rev 20:1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit [G12: abussos – the deep] and a great chain in his hand.
Rev 20:2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
Rev 20:3 And cast him into the bottomless pit [G12: abussos], and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.

The concept of ‘a pit’ is not an issue regarding Satan’s imprisonment. The only consideration is where he is imprisoned and for how long. Therefore the Greek word ‘phrear’ is not needed here speaking of where and for how long Satan is to be in prison. The reason the word ‘pit’ occurs in Revelation 9 is that the subject of that chapter is not the pit alone, but the depth of the deception proceeding forth out of that  pit. It is an “abussos phrear.” It is a ‘deep pit.’ Satan’s one-thousand year long imprisonment is to be in the depth of all flesh yet completely stripped of any power and incapable of deceiving the nations or withstanding the Lord’s elect during that one-thousand year kingdom.

The spiritual significance of “the key…”

This Greek word for ‘key’ appears three times in this revelation of Jesus Christ within us. A key is used to open a door. It is through an open door that we are given the ability to see what is within or what is behind that door.

Rev 4:1 After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard [was] as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.

This word ‘key’ is mentioned twice in reference to this thing called “the bottomless pit”, first in Revelation 9:1 and again here in today’s study on Revelation 20:1. This word ‘key’ is first used in chapter 2 when we are told that the overcomers will be given “the key of David.”

Rev 3:7 And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth;
Rev 3:8 I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.

It is with a key that a door is opened and not closed, and it is with a key that a door is closed so no man can open. As we are hopefully beginning to understand, “the dream is one” principle (Gen 41:25, 32) demonstrates for us that the “key of David” of Revelation 3:7, the “keys to the kingdom of God” of Matthew 16:19, and the “key of knowledge” of Luke 15:52 are one and all a God-given gift of eyes that see and ears that hear the meaning of all the symbols and significations used by the holy spirit to keep mankind blinded in this present time:

Mat 16:19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Luk 11:52 Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered.

This is just how important ‘the key of knowledge’ is to us:

Hos 4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.

Rev 3:7  And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth;

If we are gifted with eyes that see and ears that hear “the mysteries of the kingdom of God” then we are in possession of “the key of knowledge”, and we will have the knowledge and understanding that the “key of David” is but another iteration of the blessing of eyes that see and ears that hear and understand the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, which the Lord has simply withheld from the multitudes who come to Him to hear His parables, take advantage of His physical healing power, eat His loaves and fishes, and still have no room for His Words and still want Him crucified (Mat 13:9-15, Joh 8:30-44).

All these ‘keys’ and ‘the key to the bottomless pit’ are all the same one “key” which symbolizes the “key of [the] knowledge” which this key opens up to us. This is that very vital key of knowledge which will save us from being destroyed:

1Co 1:30  But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: [and knowledge, (Hos 4:6)]

Here is the lifesaving knowledge of Hosea 4:6:

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

I have stated in this study that the bottomless pit is the carnal mind of all flesh whence comes the self-righteous rebellion in all men of all time. The Greek word for ‘bottomless pit’ as we have already noted is first ‘abussos phrear’ in Revelation 9:1 where an angel falls from heaven and opens the ‘abussos phrear.’ This deep pit has been open from the very beginning because this ‘abussos’ can be shown to be nothing less than the carnal mind of man which is capable of producing 200 million false doctrines by which mankind has darkened the air and the sun.

Contrary to what many believe, this thing called “the bottomless pit” is not first mentioned in Revelation 20. As we saw much earlier, the ‘abussos phrear’, the “bottomless pit” is first brought to our attention in Revelation 9.

We have seen that it is not bottomless, and yet it is indeed deep and dark because it is the symbol of our rebellious, yet very self-righteous carnal mind. It is in the carnal mind of the whole world that Satan will reside for a thousand years while being stripped of any power to be ‘the tempter’ (Mat 4:1), to be ‘a roaring lion walking about seeking whom he may devour  (1Pe 5:8), stripped of his ability to be ‘a lying spirit in the mouths of false prophets’ (1Kg 22:22) and stripped of any ability to fight against the Lord and His Christ’ (Rev 12:7).

There is more to learn about this ‘bottomless pit’ but we will pause at this point and continue our review of the bottomless pit in our next study.

]]> https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/rev-201-6-those-who-have-part-in-the-first-resurrection-part-1/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rev-201-6-those-who-have-part-in-the-first-resurrection-part-1 Fri, 13 Jun 2025 21:49:11 +0000 https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/?p=33346 Audio Download

Rev 20:1-6 Those Who Have Part in the First Resurrection, Part 1

[Study Aired June 13, 2025]

Rev 20:1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
Rev 20:2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
Rev 20:3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
Rev 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and [I saw] the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received [his] mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Rev 20:5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This [is] the first resurrection.
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.

Introduction

Chapter 19 begins by informing us that the Lord’s judgments include the fall of Babylon (Rev 19:2). As the smoke of her destruction ascends, we are informed of an event called “the marriage supper of the Lamb” (Rev 19:7). Putting Revelation 12:5, where the Lord’s elect are called “a manchild who was to rule the nations with a rod of iron”, together with Revelation 19:12 it is very clear that “as My Father hath sent me, even so send I you” to rule the nations of this world with a rod of iron.

Just like the last parts of chapters 7 and 14, without any notice or explanation, the last part of chapter 19 skips past the thousand-year reign and brings us to an entirely different ‘supper’ called “the supper of the great God” which deals with “the flesh of all men.”

Rev 19:17  And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God.
Rev 19:18  That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.
Rev 19:19  And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.
Rev 19:20  And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
Rev 19:21  And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.

This “supper of the great God” does not occur when the ten horns which hate the whore also hate Christ and His Christ and make war with Him before the thousand years begin. There is no mention of “the flesh of all men” at that event:

Rev 17:12  And the ten horns which thou sawest [on the beast] 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 [“the armies in heaven”] are called, and chosen, and faithful.
Rev 17:15  And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.
Rev 17:16  And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.
Rev 17:17  For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.
Rev 17:18  And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.

The ten horns on the beast make war with Christ and His armies before the thousand years. The supper of the Great God is furnished by “the flesh of all men” at the great white throne judgment which is subsequent to the thousand-year kingdom of God on this physical earth.

This 20^th chapter provides us with the sequence of events leading up to “the supper of the great God”:

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

We are only covering the first six verses of chapter 20 in this study, but the next five verses, as well as verse 7, demonstrate how pivotal this thousand-year reign of the Lord and His Christ is to bringing a close to ‘times eonian’ and to the destruction of the last enemy which is death:

Rev 20:2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,

The next four verses are all concerned with this thousand-year kingdom:

Rev 20:3  And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
Rev 20:4  And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Rev 20:5  But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
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.

The Lord’s firstfruit elect rule with Him over the nations of this world for a thousand years. Those who teach that “the resurrection is past already” (2Ti 2:18) deny the doctrine of a thousand years of rule by the Lord’s elect over the kingdoms of this world. In doing so, they are also denying that ‘the heavens must receive Christ until the times of restitution of all things” (Act 3:21). A doctrine which denies that there will be a thousand-year kingdom also denies any need for Christ to appear again on this earth. All those qualifying words like ‘and after that he must be loosed a little season… the rest of the dead live not again until the thousand years are finished … until the restitution of all things… when the thousand years are expired…’ etc. are meaningless if that kingdom is inward only and if Christ’s appearing is inward only. The entire work of God is understood only “by the [outward] things that are made.”

Rom 1:18  For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
Rom 1:19  Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
Rom 1:20  For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world [His eonian plan and purpose] are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
Rom 1:21  Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. [And they decided they did not need to wait to find out what the consensus of the elders, ‘the multitude of counselors’ was. The idol of our heart tells us we are right and “I don’t care what the consensus of the elders is. We are right!”]
Rom 1:22  Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,

In the first part of the previous chapter, the Lord’s elect are “blessed [to be] called to the marriage supper of the Lamb”. In this chapter we learn that the marriage supper of the Lamb is also called “the first resurrection”, and the same blessings are pronounced upon those who have a part in it:

Rev 19:6  And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.
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.
Rev 19:9  And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.

The first six verses of this 20^th chapter emphasize the judgment of the nations of this world by the Lord’s elect who are being judged in “this present time” (Rom 8:18) and are “blessed to be called to the marriage supper of the Lamb” which is called the “blessed and holy… first resurrection” in verse 6 of this chapter. As Joseph told the Pharaoh, when the Lord tells us anything in two different ways, then truly “the dream is one” (Gen 41:25-26). The “fiery trials” of this present judgment, which is judgment now on the house of God, are preparing us to be capable of making the hard decisions which must be made and enforced during that thousand-year kingdom. Those hard decisions and their enforcement are signified by “a rod of iron” which characterizes this thousand-year reign of the Lord’s elect over the outward unconverted “nations of this world”.

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.

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

These verses are not to be taken inwardly. The phrases “fiery trials… tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb” are used to describe the tribulations and persecutions of this age, but the phrase “rod of iron” is never used in reference to our trials in this life. That phrase is reserved to refer to “our Lord and His Christ” as resurrected spirits who will be dealing with rebellious, outward, carnally-minded flesh for a thousand years:

Psa 2:9  Thou [Christ and His ‘manchild’ elect, (Rev 11:15)] shalt break them [“the kingdoms of this world”, (Rev 11:15)] with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.

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

Rev 12:5  And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations [the kingdoms of this world]: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.

Rev 19:15  And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations [the kingdoms of this world]: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

All four of these verses concern the kingdom of God which precedes the white throne judgment which “great… white throne” follows the “short season” of rebellion which immediately follows the thousand-year reign of “the Lord and His Christ.” All of these qualifying details are meaningless to “the resurrection is past already” crowd of false prophets:

2Ti 2:16  But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness.
2Ti 2:17  And their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus;
2Ti 2:18  Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some.

The Lord is showing us “what He is about to do” outwardly:

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

It is not “the kingdom of God is within you” which “are become the kingdoms of our Lord and His Christ.” Rather, it is the outward “kingdoms of this world.”

If this thousand-year kingdom were spiritual and inward only, then it would indeed have no end. However, this kingdom is qualified as having a definite beginning and a definite end. The thousand-year kingdom begins at “the resurrection of life” which occurs only at the beginning of the thousand-year kingdom:

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

That ‘end’ of that outward kingdom age is signified by the release of devil from his ‘bottomless pit’ prison and giving the devil the power to organize all men to rebel against “the camp of the saints” (Rev 20:7-9).

Rev 20:3  And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.

Rev 20:7  And when [ and not until] the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
Rev 20:8  And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
Rev 20:9  And they [“the nations in the four quarters of the [physical, outward] earth”] went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them [all nations of mankind, the beginning of the death of death].
Rev 20:10  And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

This angel of verse one of this 20^th chapter is simply a messenger of God, and the ‘key’ is the simple Word of God declaring that the devil will not be capable of ‘deceiving the nations’ (Rev 18:23, Rev 20:8), nor will he be able to exercise power as ‘the prince of the power of the air’ (Eph 2:2), neither will he be capable of being ‘a roaring lion roaming about seeking whom he may devour’ (1Pe 5:8). All this power will be stripped from the devil for “a thousand years… after which he must be loosed for a little season.”

Notice just how integral to the message of this chapter this ‘thousand years’ is. It is mentioned six times in six consecutive verses:

Rev 20:2  And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
Rev 20:3  And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
Rev 20:4  And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Rev 20:5  But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
Rev 20:6  Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
Rev 20:7  And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,

Verses 7 through 15 of this 20^th chapter informs us of what takes place during the “short season” which follows the thousand-year reign of the Lord’s elect over “the kingdoms of this world.” We will discuss that in another study. This study is concerned with whether there is a literal kingdom of God ruling over the kingdoms of this world.

Christ referred to this thousand-year age as “the restitution of all things” during which King David, signifying Christ and His Christ would rule the kingdoms of this world, and this is what He tells us about His kingdom on this physical earth:

Act 3:21  Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.
Act 3:22  For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you.
Act 3:23  And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.
Act 3:24  Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days.

This physical kingdom age is followed by another age which is called the “white throne judgment.” This age is a spiritual age because in the resurrection “it is raised a spiritual body:

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.

This great white throne judgment/lake of fire/second death is initiated by a second resurrection which will include all of mankind who were not given to have a part in the “blessed and holy… first resurrection.

Throughout this revelation of Jesus Christ the holy spirit is constantly contrasting the blessings of the spirit upon our inward new man with the curses of the carnal mind of the old man. In chapter seven the contrast is between the few numbered with “a multitude which no man could number.” In chapter 14 the same 144,000 numbered are called “the firstfruits unto God and the Lamb. In chapter 14 three angels are used by the holy spirit to signify the judgment of the 144,000. The first angel preaches the gospel to all nations proclaiming with a loud voice that the hour of God’s judgment is now, at this very moment, on His house [1Pe 4:17]. The second angel proclaims the fall of Babylon within those who are being judged in this age. The third angel demonstrates that we endure the same “fire and brimstone… torment in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb” which is experienced by all the rest of mankind after at the “great white throne… judgment. The “fire and brimstone judgment we endure in this age is called “the fiery trial, which is to try you”:

1Pe 4:12  Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:
1Pe 4:13  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.

Here is how the holy spirit describes this experience in Christ’s own life:

Luk 22:41  And he was withdrawn from them about a stone’s cast, and kneeled down, and prayed,
Luk 22:42  Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.
Luk 22:43  And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.
Luk 22:44  And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

Mark uses these words to express the same fiery trial endured by our Lord:

Mar 14:33  And he taketh with him Peter and James and John, and began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy;
Mar 14:34  And saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death: tarry ye here, and watch.
Mar 14:35  And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him.
Mar 14:36  And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt.

Christ’s sweat “as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground” and His being “exceeding sorrowful unto death”is the same as our being tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb spoken of in:

Rev 14:10  The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:
Rev 14:11  And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.

What do the scriptures call this excruciating judgment which both we and Christ must endure? Here is what this experience of the wrath of God upon our man of sin in this age is called in scripture:

Rev 14:12  Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.
Rev 14:13  And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.

The “fire and brimstone… torment” endured by “the saints” refers to our every day “fiery trials” that Peter tells us all we must expect if we are serving Christ:

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.

Those who deny a literal thousand year reign of “our Lord and His Christ”, and there are many who do so teaching that the resurrection is spiritual and inward and “the resurrection is past already” (2Ti 2:18):

2Ti 2:15  Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
2Ti 2:16  But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness.
2Ti 2:17  And their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus;
2Ti 2:18  Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some.

There are many who, until this very day, are teaching that “the resurrection is past already” because we do experience an inward resurrection. Demonstrating their inability to “rightly divide the word of Truth” they quote the apostle Paul’s own words:

Rom 6:2  God forbid. How shall we, that are dead [Aorist tense] to sin, live [Future tense] any longer therein?
Rom 6:3  Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized [Aorist tense] into Jesus Christ were baptized [Aorist tense] into his death?
Rom 6:4  Therefore we are buried with [Aorist tense] him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up [Aorist tense] from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk [Aorist tense] in newness of life.
Rom 6:5  For if we have been [perfect tense] planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be [future, not present tense] also in the likeness of his resurrection:
Rom 6:6  Knowing this [present tense], that our old man is crucified with [Aorist tense] him, that the body of sin might be destroyed [Aorist tense], that henceforth we should not serve [Present tense] sin.
Rom 6:7  For he that is dead [Aorist tense] is freed [Perfect tense] from sin.
Rom 6:8  Now if we be dead [Aorist tense] with Christ, we believe [Present tense] that we shall also live [Future tense, NOT present tense] with him:

The fact that the words “shall also live” are in the future tense, does not mean that we are not figuratively living “in Christ” at this time also.

Those who are still fostering the false doctrine of Hymenaeus and Philetus, that “the resurrection is past already” are denying the need for any literal resurrection of all those who have physically died both before and after Christ came down from heaven to die for our sins. Christ in the flesh was not Christ in us. It was essential that Christ had to physically die to become our spiritual Savior:

Joh 16:7  Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.

“Go away” means that it was expedient that Christ had to physically die or we would have no Savior.

The work Christ has given us to accomplish is very similar to the work which His Father has given Him to accomplish, and when we understand just how similar that work is we will have a much greater appreciation for these verses of scripture:

Joh 20:21  Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.

Joh 3:17  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

In like manner we, too, must physically die, or “be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye” (or there will be no “saviors… on Mount Zion judging the house of Esau (Oba 1:21):

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

1Co 15:51  Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
1Co 15:52  In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
1Co 15:53  For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

Christ has not at this time made His appearing to put down all physical powers and authorities and place His own elect in the positions of power over the kingdoms of this world. He is yet to appear and when He does these changes will take place, whether Hymenaeus and Philetus or those who have been seduced by their false teaching believe it or not.

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

In coming to understand what Christ has sent us to do we will continue to give the lie to the false doctrine of Hymenaeus and Philetus and all the modern day false prophets who feel so spiritual while teaching that “the resurrection is past already”:

1Ti 1:19  Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck:
1Ti 1:20  Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.

Hymenaeus was in cahoots with both Alexander and Philetus in pushing his ‘the resurrection is past already’ self-righteous false doctrine. Notice what Paul has to say about this subversive disciple in his next epistle to Timothy:

2Ti 2:15  Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
2Ti 2:16  But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness.
2Ti 2:17  And their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus;
2Ti 2:18  Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some.
2Ti 2:19  Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.

Paul characterizing the teaching that “the resurrection is past already” as proof that Hymenaeus and Philetus are incapable of “rightly dividing the Word of Truth. He also calls this doctrine ‘profane and vain babblings which increase unto more ungodliness.’ Those who deny a “resurrection to life”, preceding the thousand-year reign, deny the veracity of our fifth verse in today’s study and of our Lord’s own words:

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

Rev 20:5  But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.

“The rest of the dead” clearly means any of the dead who were not in the blessed and holy first resurrection.

We will pause here and continue to expose the lie that the resurrection is past already  in our next study.

Ezekiel 37:1–14 The Valley of Dry Bones

[Study Aired Nov 18, 2024]

INTRODUCTION

Today’s study focuses on the restoration of the people of Israel into a great army in spite of the deplorable situation that they found themselves in as a result of their rebellion against the Lord. As we are aware, the people of Israel represent us, the Lord’s elect. We are the ones who had rebelled against the Lord during our time in the churches of this world or Babylon and were therefore without hope.

Isa 1:2  Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.
Isa 1:3  The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider.
Isa 1:4  Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.
Isa 1:5  Why should ye be stricken anymore? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.
Isa 1:6  From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.
Isa 1:7  Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.
Isa 1:8 And the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city.

This is what the Lord says about our rebellion from the New Testament perspective:

Rom 1:18  For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
Rom 1:19  Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
Rom 1:20  For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
Rom 1:21  Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
Rom 1:22  Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
Rom 1:23  And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
Rom 1:24  Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:
Rom 1:25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

As we can see, we became spiritually dead and had no hope. In His life here on earth, the Lord physically raised the dead to show us who are given to understand the spiritual significance of His words, that He is in the business of raising us from the dead to become alive in Him. The story of Lazarus, who was raised from the dead by the Lord, is to remind us of what the Lord is doing today in the lives of His elect – raising us from the dead. Later, in an age to come, all humanity will also taste of His resurrection power in their lives.

Joh 11:14  Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.
Joh 11:15  And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him.
Joh 11:16  Then said Thomas, which is called Didymus, unto his fellow disciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him.

Joh 11:38  Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it.
Joh 11:39  Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days.
Joh 11:40  Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?
Joh 11:41  Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me.
Joh 11:42  And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.
Joh 11:43  And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.
Joh 11:44 And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.

It is insightful to note that the stone which shielded the dead body of Lazarus from being seen by the people, was removed by those following Jesus after Jesus’ command for its removal. The stone in this case represents that which withholds us from seeing our deplorable situation. At the Lord’s command, the stone, or that which withholds us from seeing, is taken away by those following Jesus who represent the church of the firstborn.

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

Again, it was the people following Jesus who were asked to remove the graveclothes which bound Lazarus ‘hand and foot’, together with the napkin which covered the face. This is all to show us the key role the church plays in disentangling our hands and feet so that the work of our hands and our walk shall be pleasing to the Lord. It is the church that the Lord has empowered to remove the veil (the napkin covering the face of Lazarus) so that we can see and hear the mysteries of the kingdom.

2Co 3:13  And not as Moses, which put a vail over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished:
2Co 3:14  But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ.
2Co 3:15  But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart.
2Co 3:16  Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away.
2Co 3:17  Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
2Co 3:18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

This story of Lazarus therefore show us the resurrection power that the Lord is availing to His elect to bring them from death to life. Today’s study shows us what the Lord is doing to make us alive in Him after we have come to see our spiritually deplorable state of dry bones in the valley.

The Dry Bones in the Valley

Eze 37:1  The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones, 
Eze 37:2  And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry. 

The hand of the Lord being upon Ezekiel is the same as Ezekiel being carried out in the spirit of the Lord. Ezekiel in this case represents the Lord’s elect. Being carried in the spirit is the same as being in the spirit and in many instances in the Bible, being carried in the spirit is followed by the Lord unveiling a mystery of the kingdom to His elect. For example, when Apostle John was on the island of Patmos, he was carried away by the spirit to understand what Babylon and the New Jerusalem represent.

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.

Rev 21:10  And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,

In verses 1 and 2 therefore, Ezekiel being carried in the spirit of the Lord is to show him the valley full of the dry bones of the people of Israel which represent the state of the Lord’s people in Babylon. In the Bible, bones represent our flesh. It also signifies our spiritually dead situation when we were in the world and in Babylon.

Gen 2:23  And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.  

Gen 50:24  At last Joseph said to his brothers, “I‘m about to die. God will definitely take care of you and take you out of this land to the land he swore with an oath to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
Gen 50:25 Joseph made Israel’s sons swear an oath. He said, “God will definitely take care of you. So be sure to carry my bones back with you.” (GW)

It is instructive to note that the bones that Ezekiel saw were dry. Anything that is dry is devoid of water. What this implies is that when we are lacking the word of the Lord, we become spiritually dead. The dry bones that Ezekiel saw therefore symbolize the spiritually dead state of the Lord’s elect when we were in Babylon. The dry nature of the bones therefore suggest that our spiritually dead state is because we were not receiving the truth of the word of the Lord.

Eze 37:3  Then he asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” I answered, “Only you know, Almighty LORD.”

This question was also asked by Job in another way and here in the Book of Job, we are provided an answer to the question. As indicated by Job, no man can bring a clean thing out of an unclean. Ezekiel responding to the Lord’s question here in verse 3 that it is only the Lord who knows, is another way of saying that it is only the Lord who can cause dry bones to become alive.

Job 14:4  Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one.

Job 14:7  For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease.
Job 14:8  Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the stock thereof die in the ground;
Job 14:9  Yet through the scent of water it will bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant.
Job 14:10  But man dieth, and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he?
Job 14:11  As the waters fail from the sea, and the flood decayeth and drieth up:
Job 14:12  So man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep.
Job 14:13  O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave, that thou wouldest keep me secret, until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me!
Job 14:14  If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come.
Job 14:15 Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee: thou wilt have a desire to the work of thine hands.

As shown here in Job, in our spiritually dead state (the dry bones), all we could do was wait until ‘our change come’ from the Lord.

Eze 37:4  Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. 
Eze 37:5 Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live: 

Prophesying to the dry bones to hear the word of the Lord is the same as the Lord coming to us with the spirit of His mouth and His brightness. As indicated in the Book of Job, it is through ‘the scent of water’ that the tree that was cut down will bud and bring forth boughs like a plant. That is to say that it is what we hear of the word of the Lord that makes us alive in Christ.

Job 14:7  For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease.
Job 14:8  Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the stock thereof die in the ground;
Job 14:9  Yet through the scent of water it will bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant.

The Lord coming to us with the spirit of His mouth and His brightness is to ’cause breath to enter into us, so that we can live’, in verse 5.

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

This coming of the Lord to us is what the Lord has promised us as follows:

Joh 14:18  I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.
Joh 14:19  Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.
Joh 14:20  At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.

Joh 14:25  These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you.
Joh 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

Eze 37:6  And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the LORD. 

What is described here in verse 6 is the coming of the new man, who is created in righteousness and true holiness within us as our old man is dying through the Lord’s coming with His judgement.

Eph 4:24  And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

Col 3:10  And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:

Eze 37:7  So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone. 
Eze 37:8 And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them. 

As stated in verse 7, the result of the prophesies was that there was noise and a shaking causing the bones to come together. This is to show us that it is through the Lord’s judgement (shaking) that the new man is formed within us as our old man commences his dying process.

Hag 2:6  For thus saith the LORD of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land;
Hag 2:7  And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts.
Hag 2:8  The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the LORD of hosts.
Hag 2:9 The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the LORD of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the LORD of hosts.

In verse 8, we are told that the sinews and the flesh came up upon the bones before the skin covered them. At this point, the bones did not have the breath of the Lord. That is to say that we did not have the Holy Spirit and our lives were just like the Lord’s disciples before the coming of the Holy Spirit.

Act 19:1  And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples,
Act 19:2  He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost.
Act 19:3  And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John’s baptism.
Act 19:4  Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.
Act 19:5  When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
Act 19:6 And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.

Verse 8 therefore shows us that becoming alive in Christ is a process. We do not become spiritually mature all at once. We grow into maturity. It is the truth spoken to us in love that ensures that we grow up into Christ in all things. This truth is what every joint supplies within the body of Christ and as we assimilate the truth, we gradually become mature and are not tossed about by every wind of doctrine.

Eph 4:11  And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
Eph 4:12  For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body 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.

A Great Army is Formed

Eze 37:9  Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. 
Eze 37:10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army. 

The wind in verse 9 represents the Holy Spirit. The four winds therefore signifies the whole of the Spirit of God – the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD.

Isa 11:1  And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:
Isa 11:2  And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;
Isa 11:3 And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears:

As the Lord stated before His ascension, the Holy spirit is what gives us the power to live our lives here on earth as the children of God. That is what makes us alive in Him.

Act 1:8  But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

Just as the Holy Spirit descended on the disciples and made them a great army for the Lord, we are also being endued with power from the Holy Spirit to become a great army. This great army is not visible yet to the natural man but in the fullness of time, we shall appear as a great army riding on horses with the Lord.

Act 2:1  And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
Act 2:2  And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
Act 2:3  And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
Act 2:4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Rev 19:11  And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.

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

Eze 37:11  Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts. 
Eze 37:12 Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. 

Here in verse 11, we are being told that the dry bones signify the whole of the house of Israel. This house of Israel represents the Lord’s elect of every generation. All the Lord’s elect, must go to Babylon or the physical churches of this world before we are given to leave Babylon to become His elect. Our spiritual state in the churches of this world is what is described here in Ezekiel as dry bones without hope. However, in the fulness of time, the Lord delivers us from spiritual death by coming to us with the spirit of His mouth and His brightness to make us a great army.  This restoration is also prophesied by the prophet Joel as follows:

Joe 2:25  And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you.
Joe 2:26  And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed.
Joe 2:27 And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your God, and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed.

Eze 37:13  And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves, 
Eze 37:14 And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the LORD have spoken it, and performed it, saith the LORD. 

Verses 13 to 14 summarize all that have been said so far in this chapter. The Lord opening our graves means that we were spiritually dead in the churches of this world. However, in His mercy, He came to us with the spirit of His mouth and His brightness to makes us alive in Him. He also poured His spirit within us to empower us and to lead us into the truth of His word. Through the spirit that He has poured on us, we are able to know the Lord. Placing us in our own land in verse 14 means being given to overcome our flesh as we offer our bodies as living sacrifice to the Lord.

Rom 12:1  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
Rom 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

We are grateful to our Lord Jesus Christ for His mercy that He has shown towards us. Amen!!

The Book of Joel – Chapter 3:7 – 16

[Study Aired October 12^th 24]

We left last week’s Study hanging on the Lord’s question in Joel 3:4, “Will ye render me a recompence? and if ye recompence me, swiftly and speedily will I return your recompence upon your own head”?

Christ, the Lord of the Old Covenant, confronted Israel for their Sodom, Greco-Tyrian-Epicurean pursuit of neighbouring ideologies and doctrines that promised endless pleasure without pain instead of embracing the eternal life offered by Christ’s word. Of course, we know in hindsight that the yet-to-come enigmatic holy spirit and Christ’s faith would conclusively solve that sorry condition.

“Epicureanism is a system of philosophy founded around 307 BCE based upon the teachings of Epicurus, an ancient Greek philosopher. Epicurus was an atomist and materialist, following in the steps of Democritus. His materialism led him to religious scepticism and a general attack on superstition and divine intervention. Epicureanism was originally a challenge to Platonism, and its main opponent later became Stoicism. It is a form of hedonism insofar as it declares pleasure to be its sole intrinsic goal. However, the concept that the absence of pain and fear constitutes the greatest pleasure, and its advocacy of a simple life, make it very different from hedonism as colloquially understood.

Hedonism refers to the prioritisation of pleasure in one’s lifestyle, actions, or thoughts. The term can include a number of theories or practices across philosophy, art, and psychology, encompassing both sensory pleasure and more intellectual or personal pursuits, but can also be used in everyday parlance as a pejorative for the egoistic pursuit of short-term gratification at the expense of others.” – Wikipedia.

1Jn 2:15  Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 
1Jn 2:16  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 
1Jn 2:17  And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

And so, God rhetorically demands of Israel and us how our Epicurean doctrines of substitutionary death that today’s Babylonian Christians likewise subscribe to will advance us when Israel, ever since being in Egypt, failed miserably while pursuing those very same Epicurian lusts!?

The Israelites entered the promised land under Joshua forty years later, in 1406 BC. The northern tribes called Israel, were deported by the Assyrians in 721 BC . The southern tribes, called Judah, were exiled by the Babylonians; the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem and left it desolate in 586 BC. Apparently, and from that account, Israel resided in the Promise Land for 820 years. The number 8 + 2 classically for Israel represents judgement and is the process of going through the eight to become circumcised of the spirit and the new beginnings, the New Man in Christ’s commands and not in our fabled Epicurian Hedonistic ways focusing on our will rather than Christ’s.

“And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition” – Rev 17:11 . That is us, the Beast, sitting on God’s throne claiming unwittingly and consciously that we are God! We thus go into perdition, and it is the best thing that could happen to us. We are not perfected in the flesh; we are to “die daily” (1Co 15:31).

The following verses, outwardly to the non-spiritual man, don’t sound too Epicurian-Hedonistic to me, promising an easy life without chastisement.

1Co 15:19  If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.
1Co 15:20  But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.
1Co 15:21  For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
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. 
1Co 15:25  For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. 
1Co 15:26  The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
1Co 15:27  For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him.
1Co 15:28  And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.
1Co 15:29  Else what shall they do which are baptised for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptised for the dead?
1Co 15:30  And why stand we in jeopardy every hour? 
1Co 15:31  I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.

Of course, Israel and Judah’s excile potently represents our spiritual progression from our Old Man to the New Man in Christ. Hence, our Lord begins to answer his question where he charges us of selling our birthright to Greco/Sodom-like sensualities.

Rom 8:4  That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 
Rom 8:5  For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. 
Rom 8:6  For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
Rom 8:7  Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

Significations:

Joe 3:7  Behold, I will raise them out of the place whither ye have sold them, and will return your recompence upon your own head: 

The obvious question that springs to mind is, who is the “them” in Joel 3:7? Remember the shocking realisation that scriptures are overwhelmingly for the Bride of Christ alone and not for greater Israel in the north of her inheritance. Consequently, in verse 6, the scripture identifies the “them” as greater Israel whom the Priests of God represented by “Judah and the children of Jerusalem“ in the south, sold to their enemies, the Assyrians! It is the Priests of God in Judah and Jerusalem who have dealt treacherously with her sisters in the north. Because the Priests pillaged the Lord of his silver and gold and sexually/spiritually perverted the Lord’s word by not righteously judging Israel in the north, Israel was exiled to Assyria. The Lord’s act of “raising them [Greater Israel] out of the place whither ye have sold them [to Grecian/Epicurean idologies], and will return your recompence upon your own head” means that a remnant will return “recompence” upon the Priest’s heads because they used the Lord’s power and commandments for their lusted Epicurian wealth that pleased the nation far more than her Lord’s word. Consequently, the “recompense”, ‘the bountiful dealing, the fulness of God’s wrath’ is upon the Priests of God, even to this day with his Bride, which she is learning to receive joyously (Luke 8:13-15).

A shocking outward parallel is increasingly happening this very day since the U.S. Federal Reserve in the early 1900s was privately confiscated by the same symbolic Jews underhandedly claiming the God of the Old Covenant’s name via the British Empire, to which the USA and the West remain subservient ~ “She” is becoming increasingly “hated” and by all accounts it seems it won’t be long before she is “burnt with fire” (Rev 17:6-16).

It is the treacherous Priests of Judah, represented as Jerusalem, who sold themselves to every Grecian doctrine by turning a blind eye to greater Israel’s sins, thus corrupting and leavening the entire nation. The Priests took their Lord’s silver and gold into ‘their temples’ and fastened their idols to their hearts, which condemned the entire nation of Israel to exile. Hence, the Lord returns the Priest’s “recompense” H1576 – meaning, ‘dealing, benefit’ upon themselves. For not faithfully teaching the Lord’s commandments, Joel 3:8 says that all of Israel’s coming exile is on Judah and Jerusalem’s heads that we see today is upon our heads of the Bride, the Heavenly Jerusalem, anytime we similarly steal the Lord’s silver and gold.

Joe 3:8  And I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the children of Judah, and they shall sell them to the Sabeans, to a people far off: for the LORD hath spoken it. 

It is our Lord, via his created lying servant, Satan (Job 26:13), whom he gives power to our former Babylonian selves, the crooked priests we were, to sell our children to Jewish traditions in Babylonian Christianity. Our children and anyone who suffered to hear our false rhetoric twisting our Lord’s silver and gold into idols of our hearts they sequentially sold to the Christian world of greasy grace, the Sabeans, in every corner of the Earth collectively called Babylon the Great (Rev 17:5).

Definition: Sabeans H7615 = drunkard or he who is coming 1. the people of the nation of Sheba. H7614 – Sheba = seven or an oath n pr m 1. son of Joktan and a descendant of Seth 2. son of Raamah, grandson of Cush, and a descendant of Ham 3. son of Jokshan, the son of Abraham by Keturah n pr loc 

4. a nation in southern Arabia.

Any scriptural reference to Sheba overwhelming represents the ‘complete’ (Number 7) satiation of wealth attained through the trade of the world’s rich material wealth as represented by Tyre in all of Ezekiel 27:1-36 mirroring the fullness of our spiritual hedonistic ways.

Eze 27:21-27  Arabia, and all the princes of Kedar, they occupied with thee in lambs, and rams, and goats: in these were they thy merchants.
Eze 27:22  The merchants of Sheba and Raamah, they were thy merchants: they occupied in thy fairs with chief of all spices, and with all precious stones, and gold. 
Eze 27:23  Haran, and Canneh, and Eden, the merchants of Sheba, Asshur, and Chilmad, were thy merchants.
Eze 27:24  These were thy merchants in all sorts of things, in blue clothes, and broidered work, and in chests of rich apparel, bound with cords, and made of cedar, among thy merchandise.
Eze 27:25  The ships of Tarshish did sing of thee in thy market: and thou wast replenished, and made very glorious in the midst of the seas. 
Eze 27:26  Thy rowers have brought thee into great waters: the east wind hath broken thee in the midst of the seas.
Eze 27:27  Thy riches, and thy fairs, thy merchandise, thy mariners, and thy pilots, thy calkers, and the occupiers of thy merchandise, and all thy men of war, that are in thee, and in all thy company which is in the midst of thee, shall fall into the midst of the seas in the day of thy ruin.

Those verses mirror us spiritually by Babylon the Great, the Great Whore in Revelations 18:1-24 and are highly recommended to read.

Continuing…

Joe 3:9  Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up: 

It is the Priests of God today, his Elect, who prepare for war to proclaim the seven plagues and vials of God’s wrath upon themselves, as seen in Revelations chapters 15 and 16. They came into the Temple, the very Bride of Christ herself, to give and receive within herself the meanings of these plagues and vials.

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

For a thorough understanding of Revelations, please, as you are spiritually led, begin in Revelations chapter 1 in the following link with access to all other studies in Revelations:

https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/revelation-11-2-read-hear-and-keep-these-words/

These events in the chapters of Revelation 15-16 about Babylon the Great and the Great Whore parallel what Joel 3:10 begins to prefigure with the 1,000-year rule under the ‘rod of iron’. Since Isaiah 2 speaks about the ‘last days’ when the ‘mountain of the Lord is established’, it is speaking about the Resurrection to Judgement, the Lake of Fire, when the entire world will be saved.

Isa 2:4  And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

However, the 1,000-year rule is a type and shadow of the Resurrection to Judgement, where there will not be any more war physically or spiritually since nobody is converted or judged but ruled unyieldingly, as does a spiritually inflexible rod of iron. Yet, at the end of the One Thousand Year rule under the rod of iron, Satan is released from prison, and Babylon the Great symbolised as Gog and Magog, resurfaces to make war with the Saints for the very last time ever!

Rev 20:7  And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
Rev 20:8  And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
Rev 20:9  And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
Rev 20:10  And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

War is a God-designed mechanism of the flesh common to highly varying degrees of ferocity in all beasts of the field and no more violently expressed than by the machinations of man’s vile evil spirit of intent. Subsequently, the purpose of war for the righteous spirit should be war equally as ferocious upon all doctrines opposing the word of God within his chosen Elect.

Joel Chapter 3 primarily points to judgement and then the Resurrection of the Elect, the First Fruits of God, and covertly then the reverse order of Resurrection and judgement for the Gog and Magog of humanity since Adam in the Lake of Fire.

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.

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.

Rev 13:4 And they [Mankind, the Beasts] worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?

2Pe 2:12 But these, [Mankind, the Beasts] 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;

Rev 13:1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast [the same Beast] rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.
Rev 13:2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.

For those given to see that they are but beasts in transition to being the very spiritual sons of God, they make war within and beat those guileful instruments of war opposing God’s word into ministries, bringing forth the fruit of our Lord’s Kingdom within.

Isa 2:3  And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
Isa 2:4  And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
Isa 2:5  O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the LORD.

Here is a paradoxical statement opposing physical war and advancing spiritual warfare in Luke 22:35-38:

Luk 22:35  And he said unto them, When I sent you without purse, and scrip [bag of food provisions], and shoes, lacked ye any thing? And they said, Nothing. 
Luk 22:36  Then said he unto them, But now, he that hath a purse [Money, his own righteousness in decline], let him take it, and likewise his scrip: and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one. 
Luk 22:37  For I say unto you, that this that is written must yet be accomplished in me, And he was reckoned among the transgressors: for the things concerning me have an end.
Luk 22:38  And they said, Lord, behold, here are two swords. And he said unto them, It is enough.

For the warfare of the New Covenant, we are armed with the Lord’s food and wine of his spirit, teaching and feeding us spiritual righteousness that directly corresponds to the physical warfare and symbolised ideologies represented by each instrument of war. As we well know, we now fight with the spiritual sword of the Lord’s word with every aspect of the physical mechanisms of war, spiritually.

Eph 6:10  Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might (Eph 4:6).
Eph 6:11  Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
Eph 6:12  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Eph 6:13  Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, [practice committing to all the Lord’s commandments] to stand. 
Eph 6:14  Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; 
Eph 6:15  And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
Eph 6:16  Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
Eph 6:17  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God:

That verse answers the incongruous statement in Luke 22:36, he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one, meaning to sell all your previously held Babylonian doctrinal lies and by the Lord’s word, sell it not and now fight fairly in spirit and truth with the sword of His word in prayerful supplications day and night (Eph 6:18).

Eph 6:18  Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
Eph 6:19  And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,
Eph 6:20  For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

Joe 3:10  Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong. 
Joe 3:11  Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O LORD. 
Joe 3:12  Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. 

There is one event to all of mankind, although in his order of salvation. All of Israel, meaning Babylonian Christianity, inclusive of the embryonic Elect of God, has been in bed with the hedonistic heathen, not necessarily using physical implements of war, but their evil spiritual equivalence in our dastardly dealings with each other having twisted the Lord’s word to suit a more Epicurean and pain-free life. It all happens not in the dusty literal Valley of Jehoshaphat, full of dry bones, but in our whitewashed tombs within, heavy with the stench of decay.

Mat 23:25  Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. 
Mat 23:26  Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. 
Mat 23:27  Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. 
Mat 23:28  Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.
Mat 23:29  Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous,
Mat 23:30  And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.
Mat 23:31  Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. 
Mat 23:32  Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.
Mat 23:33  Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? [Age-lasting Gehenna fire].
Mat 23:34  Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city:
Mat 23:35  That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.
Mat 23:36  Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation. 

And that “this generation” spoken of in the last verse is the Elect of God filling up behind the afflictions of Christ within themselves, the first fruits who foundationally believed in Christ.

Being at war in Christ’s spirit against our lusts of the flesh and mind is our judgement of ourselves by his commandments. It brings forth a personal harvest in each joint comprising the Bride of Christ, thus building up the Body, the Temple she is.

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

Consequently, and for the Bride, she is being judged today in preparation for the hope of being in the First Resurrection as her Lord’s Wife. Since she and all people are appointed to die once, the Lord’s budding wife will not suffer judgment in the Resurrection to Judgement, the Lake of Fire. The Lake of Fire is where the heathen in Joel 3:12, meaning all of mankind since Adam is then “wakened” from their ‘sleep’ of death in the valley of Jehoshaphat to be judged.

The following verses contain a little more baffling mystery regarding the negative and spiritual aspects of spiritual warfare that land each person in his designated order of salvation.

Joe 3:13  Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great.
Joe 3:14  Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision. 

The Lord’s Bride is depicted as the first of the first fruit, and Christ is that very first fruit with which she subsequently is his harvest and inheritance, and he is hers.

Jer 8:20  The [First fruit] harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we [Babylon/the world] are not saved. 
Jer 8:21  For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt; I am black; astonishment hath taken hold on me.
Jer 8:22  Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?

The Bride of Christ is reflecting upon her not being chosen by her will but by her Lord’s will. She thus looks back at her sisters, astonished at her election since she, symbolically as the five wise virgins, fully consume the balm of Gilead, her Lord’s spiritual understanding, in the way she walks in harmony with and in him. Consequently, the ‘health of the daughter of her elder sisters in Babylon’, are not in their order of being “recovered” until the Resurrection to Judgement.

Pro 3:9  Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase:

Jas 1:17  Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
Jas 1:18  Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we [the Bride] should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures [all mankind].

The main wheat harvest in Palestine was subject to the much more general and assured rainfall, spiritually meaning that its harvest is for Gog and Magog that will overflow the barns and vats of wickedness for judgement in the Lake of Fire, the “valley of decision” where every sole ever to be conceived will assuredly ‘make a decision’ to acknowledge their sins before Christ and his Christs. For Babylonian Christians, inclusive of all religions and ideologies of every man and woman, it will be a day of thick darkness and gloom since everyone’s conscience will condemn them, thus blackening their self-assumed brightness of Epicurean, Grecian and Sodom-like academia. This is represented as the Last Great Day, the Eight Day of the Feast of Tabernacles.

Joe 3:15  The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. 
Joe 3:16  The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.  

Particularly for those Jews who believe in Christ, which is Babylonian Christianity, the Book of Joel causes them immense elation since their focus is on their unconscious self-righteousness, believing that they are the Elect of God who will be saved in their fabled one and only Resurrection. Accordingly, and because of their sun, another Jesus, and the Moon, their harlot churches they will realise too late are darkened, and their multitude, being the stars of heaven as numerous as the sand of the sea, are blackened of understanding. To their horror, the Lord will appear with a great roar as he reveals the Heavenly Jerusalem in his Bride, now his Wife, coming in the heavens in great power and might.

2Pe 3:10  But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
2Pe 3:11  Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,
2Pe 3:12  Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?

(Rev 11:18  And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged [to give their imaginary “recompense”], and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.)

2Pe 3:13  Nevertheless we [The Elect of God], according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.

And so, if we refuse to soberly see the significance of the dry bones in the Valley of Jehoshaphat, they will become the bones of his chosen Elect alongside her elder sisters, if we turn back from progressing toward perfection in Christ and become the “very Elect” (Mat 24:24). Hence, it is impossible for the “very Elect” in any way to render Christ “recompense” (benefit, ‘bountiful fruit’) for his service to advance the Kingdom within by not following his every commandment. Ironically and most miserably, those in the Lake of Fire will render a “recompense”, meaning a harrowing acknowledgement of their sins before Christ and his Christs.

Php 2:5  Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: 
Php 2:6  Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 
Php 2:7  But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
Php 2:8  And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
Php 2:9  Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
Php 2:10  That at the name of Jesus every knee should [will] bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
Php 2:11  And that every tongue should [will] confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 

Lord, hurry the consummation!

The Book of Micah – Part 4, Micah 4:1-6

[Study Aired March 16, 2024]

Following the three leading chapters of Micah identifying us, the rulers and prophets, the very priests of Christ established as the greatest hypocrites, deaf and blind from birth, we originally were horrified that it is we who formerly touted our superior understanding of scripture only to pluck out the eyes and chop off the ears of any who dared confront our lordship over any who would suffer listening to us.

Isa 42:18  Hear, ye deaf; and look, ye blind, that ye may see [the Christs; (plural) budding Kings and Priests, not just blessed with marriage to Christ, but iron rulership in the One thousand Years and judgment under Christ in the Resurrection to Judgment]. 
Isa 42:19  Who is blind, but my servant? or deaf, as my messenger that I sent? who is blind as he that is perfect, and blind as the LORD’S servant? [We were!]
Isa 42:20  Seeing many things, but thou observest not; opening the ears, but he heareth not.
Isa 42:21  The LORD is well pleased for his righteousness’ sake; he will magnify the law, and make it honourable. [… first in his Elect, his espoused Wife]
Isa 42:22  But this is a people [Yes, his Bride before being dragged to Him] robbed and spoiled; they are all of them snared in holes, and they are hid in prison houses [unwittingly within]: they are for a prey, and none delivereth; for a spoil, and none saith, Restore.
Isa 42:23  Who among you will give ear to this? who will hearken and hear for the time to come? [… those few rag-tag ‘nobodies’ to the world; the ‘fear not little flock’ ones whom He chose (Luke 12:32, Joh 15:16].
Isa 42:24  Who gave Jacob for a spoil, and Israel to the robbers? [As seen in the first three chapters of Micah] did not the LORD, he against whom we have sinned? for they would not walk in his ways, neither were they obedient unto his law.
Isa 42:25  Therefore he hath poured upon him [First the priests, the rulers, Christs emerging Kings and Priests (Rev 1:6)] the fury of his anger, and the strength of battle: and it hath set him on fire round about, yet he [The incipient Kings and Priests] knew not; and it burned him, yet he laid it not to heart.

Now that we are severely humbled, we discover that our Lord had a cunning plan all along to make us Kings and Priests under Him!

Luk 12:32  Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom [Christ is their inheritance in marriage and rulership]. 

Eph 1:11  In whom also we [Not the world, but the Elect of God, even though they, too, gain eternal life as their inheritance only as by fire (1Co 3:15)] 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.

Rev 1:4-7  John to the seven churches which are in Asia [the number 7 meaning all inclusive as one Church]: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven spirits [One spirit, the holy spirit denoting seven qualities of those churches that is one Church] which are before his throne; [facetiously, not an imagined ‘uncle holy spirit’ but the ONE spirit of God, the Father and Son given in downpayment to his ‘little flock’… Eph 4:4  There is one body, and one spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; Eph 4:5  One Lord, one faith, one baptism, Eph 4:6  One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you (first chosen of…) all].

Rev 1:5  And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that [… first… ] loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,
Rev 1:6  And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. 
Rev 1:7  Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him [again, the rag-tag chosen who likewise were “first” to pierce Him]: and all kindreds of the earth [ultimately the entirety of humanity ever to be conceived!] shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.

Colloquially, as the saying goes, “Just WOW!” Whoever in the world is dragged into reading those incredible revelations, hopefully, is electrified to understand all of Christ’s apocalyptics.

So, let’s step into more of Christ’s glory revealed in his commandments.

The Mountain of the Lord

Mic 4:1  But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it.

At the moment a person is given by Christ who does the choosing of whom HE wills, that moment is that person’s initially unwitting “last days”!

Gen 49:1  And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days [The “last days” first come in the “natural” outward dispensation to the entire world, however, first spiritually they come to his few Elect]

Act 2:17  And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: [Yes, following the Lake of Fire, all flesh will have the full complement of the spirit of God, the Father and Son who are the spirit! However, for those whom the Lord has first given his downpayment of spirit before the First Resurrection, that timeframe is their “last days” of earth-shaking spiritual revelation].

2Ti 3:1  This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.

Those last days in every generation in each person’s own time and order will be dreadfully perilous to the old incipient dying man of flesh and mouldy beliefs since all that he ever learned about Christ was a shocking, dreadful, strong delusion. Most perilously, he learns that he is ‘the man’ of lawlessness!

2Th 2:1  Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ [maybe “today”, your “last days”?], and by our gathering together unto him, 
2Th 2:2  That ye be not soon shaken in mind [Initially we certainly will be shaken!], or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
2Th 2:3  Let no man deceive you by any means [… and we all are from the beginning]: for that day [The Last Days, of course] shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; [That “falling away” is what Babylonian Christianity self-righteously in strong delusion believes is people leaving one of their (unwitting) harlot denominations… good-humouredly, can’t have that, the tithes and offerings will cease; and for some mega-harlots, the six-figure salaries and A1 jet fuel will dribble away.] 
2Th 2:4  Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
2Th 2:5  Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
2Th 2:6  And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.
2Th 2:7  For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let [to know that he, you and I are the man of perdition, the man of sin] until he be taken out of the way [meaning that his lying beliefs he learned in bed with the Great Whore “fall away” then…]
2Th 2:8  And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming [that day, the beginning of his personal “last days”!]:
2Th 2:9  Even him [you and me], whose coming is after the working of Satan [our first father (Joh 8:43-44)] with all power and signs and lying wonders,
2Th 2:10  And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them [you and I] that perish; because [now, formerly we] they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
2Th 2:11  And for this cause God shall send them [ALL] strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
2Th 2:12  That they all might be damned who [at this point of their “last days” formally] believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.)

Continuing in verses containing the term “last days”.

Heb 1:2  Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir [First Christ and then His Christs – plural] of all things, by whom also he made the worlds [Col 1:15-17];

Jas 5:3  Your gold and silver [your strong and delusional self-righteousness formally unwittingly holding the Lord’s word unrighteously] is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire [not a literal fire, though, and at first, it will surely feel like molten lava, ‘rocks’, falling upon us all]. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. 

2Pe 3:3  Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,

These are the people to whom the Lord hasn’t, by His spirit, revealed His word spiritually (1Co 12:9.  To another faith by the same spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same spirit; 1Co 12:10  To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: 1Co 12:11  But all these worketh that one and the selfsame spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will. 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.)

2Pe 3:4  And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. 
2Pe 3:5  For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: [In other words, these Babylonian Christians remain deaf and blind by only understanding scripture physically as was the Old Covenant, Old Jerusalem; but those whom Christ reveals himself, they become the New Heavenly Jerusalem, above].

Isa 2:2  And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD’S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.

That verse to the ‘natural physical mind’ will believe that they alone who believe the unwitting strong delusion that they are saved now applies to them at the resurrection. Many will delusionally believe the lying traditions of men that they will look upon the rest of the unbelieving world writhing in permanent agony in a literal fire; they don’t see that “all nations shall flow unto it”, the heavenly Jerusalem above.

Rom 5:10 For if, when we were enemies [all of humanity are enemies, but His first fruits of Him are first to be reconciled], we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. We are being reconciled by dying daily; it’s a process, and after drinking all of the same cup as Christ did, we “shall be saved by his life”.

Eph 2:5  Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)

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; [Not only that, yet that scripture proves that God in humanity is still being created, and that process is happening in man, “the beginning of the creation of God”!

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 [at the First Resurrection, afterwards the rest of the world in the Resurrection to Judgment].

Joh 5:28  Marvel not at this: for the hour cometh, in which all that are in the tombs shall hear his voice, 
Joh 5:29  and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life [the First Resurrection and marriage to Christ]; and they that have done evil [ALL OF US, in our time and order of resurrection], unto the resurrection of judgment.

Mic 4:2  And many nations [ALL OF THEM, in their own time and order; a very few in the First Resurrection, and the remainder ever to be conceived in the Resurrection to Judgement] shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. 
Mic 4:3  And he shall judge among many people [before being given his full compliment of himself, the holy spirit and eternal life], and rebuke strong nations afar off [every last jot and titling lie within]; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares [to cut asunder to the bone and marrow of every lie againt Christ and plow the same lying weeds], and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

The entirety of humanity in their own time and order will learn war no more once every child of doctrinal lies is dashed against Christ’s rocks, his Elect under his authority. War denotes daily warfare of removing those inward enemies of the cross and not an outward slaughter as the Old Covenant dictated! Sadly, contemporary Israel and most Zionist Christians believe “Israeli Rabbi Eliyahu Mali, who heads the Shirat Moshe religious school in Israel where students serve in the military, said, “There are no innocent people” in Gaza, and all babies in the tiny enclave must be slaughtered.” [End quote].

Mic 4:4  But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the LORD of hosts hath spoken it.

None will be afraid because all war and genocide WITHIN will be finished, and only the peace of Christ will reign and not by a ghostly relic of old Israel who is cut off from Christ.

Mic 4:5  For all people will walk every one in the name of his god, and we will walk in the name of the LORD our God for ever and ever.

Everyone other than the Elect of God does presently “walk everyone in the name of his god”; however, there is only one God. 

1Co 8:4  Concerning therefore the eating of things sacrificed to idols [other gods – “another Jesus”! 1Co 11:4], we know that no idol is anything in the world, and that there is no God but one.
1Co 8:5  For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or on earth; as there are gods many, and lords many; 
1Co 8:6  yet to us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we unto him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and we through him.
1Co 8:7  Howbeit there is not in all men that knowledge: but some, being used until now to the idol, eat as of a thing sacrificed to an idol; and their conscience being weak is defiled.

“Howbeit there is not in all men that knowledge” – that there is only one God; because the one and only God has blinded all humanity to believe many strong delusions as seen above in this study, therefore their consciences are weak in their God-given hazy light of understanding.

However, if the Lord gives understanding, there is incredible hope for all of humanity.

The Lord Shall Rescue Zion

Mic 4:6  In that day, saith the LORD, will I assemble her that halteth, and I will gather her that is driven out, and her that I have afflicted;
Mic 4:7  And I will make her that halted [to limp, be lame] a remnant, and her that was cast far off a strong nation: and the LORD shall reign over them in mount Zion from henceforth, even for ever.

Unless the Lord blesses us with the spiritual understanding of His word, we will remain firmly entrenched in Babylon, believing that salvation is of the fleshy Zionist Jews “’cause, gee, the Bible and the esteemed Rabbi say so!”

Joh 4:22  Ye [those Jews, meaning Christians] worship that which ye know not: we [the spiritual Jews as is Christ] worship that which we know; for salvation is from the [spiritual] Jews.

The militant orthodox Jews of today still hate Christ, the revisionist, and want to kill everyone who opposes the outwardly Jewish versions of the Old Covenant Law.

Mat 24:20  And pray ye that your flight [in your tribulation and earthquake of understanding in the hopeful current “last days”] be not in the winter, neither on a sabbath [when one’s spiritual growth is cold when the sun/Son is dim and Christ, our sabbath hasn’t shown himself]:
Mat 24:21  for then shall be great tribulation, such as hath not been from the beginning of the world until now [the “last days”], no, nor ever shall be.
Mat 24:22  And except those days had been shortened, no flesh would have been saved [since our personal tribulations both outwardly and inwardly will be too overwhelming for the timeframe left]: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened. 

Joh 4:23  But the hour cometh [today, if you hear his voice in these hopeful “last days”], and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth: for such doth the Father seek to be his worshippers.
Joh 4:24  God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship in spirit and truth.

Rev 3:9  Behold, I give of the synagogue of Satan [Promoting that salvation is of the Old Covenant], of them [Christians] that say they are Jews, and they are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy [Christ and His Christs – plural] feet, and to know that I have loved thee.

Christ’s Christs are the “halted” weak, lame and beggarly despised remnant, the little flock of no renown “cast far off” as having no distinction worth considering.

Isa 66:5  Hear the word of the LORD, ye that tremble at his word; Your brethren that hated you, that cast you out for my name’s sake, said, Let the LORD be glorified: but he shall appear to your joy, and they [all who don’t know ‘the Christ] shall be ashamed.

Upon the apostles being arrested and much debate about chastising them, the most honoured Pharisee, named Gamaliel, recommended the apostles be freed…

Act 5:40  And to him [Gamaliel] they agreed: and when they had called the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.
Act 5:41  And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.

Luk 6:22  Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake.
Luk 6:23  Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets. 

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

Mic 4:8  And thou, O tower of the flock, the strong hold of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion; the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem.

It is the Bride of Christ who is the ‘tower of the flock’, the daughter of Zion figuratively standing on her sisters, the Moon, representing the Babylonian world who was given first to rule and have dominion over her enemies within to subsequently rule with an iron rod in the One Thousand Year reign.

Mic 4:9  Now why dost thou cry out aloud? is there no king in thee? is thy counsellor perished? for pangs have taken thee as a woman in travail.
Mic 4:10  Be in pain, and labour to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in travail: for now shalt thou go forth out of the city, and thou shalt dwell in the field, and thou shalt go even to Babylon; there shalt thou be delivered; there the LORD shall redeem thee from the hand of thine enemies. 

Jer 29:4  Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, unto all that are carried away captives, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem unto Babylon;
Jer 29:5  Build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them; 
Jer 29:6  Take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; that ye may be increased there, and not diminished. 
Jer 29:7  And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the LORD for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace. 

Rev 12:1  And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman [the Lord’s Wife] clothed with the sun, and the moon [Babylonian Christianity] under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: [rulership over the world]
Rev 12:2  And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. 
Rev 12:3  And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. 
Rev 12:4  And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born. [Christ was first to escape to Egypt from Herod, and now His Christs, the Bride from the great red Dragon, Satan]
Rev 12:5  And she brought forth a man child, [Christ] who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne. [… just as His Bride is today caught up to be with Him and literally at the First Resurrection]

In the meantime, the Bride is still a voice in the wilderness, dragged out to be chastised and become the sons of God for the figurative timeframe of three and a half years (10 x 10 x 10+5), similar to Jesus’s ministry on Earth.

Rev 12:6  And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.

Mic 4:11  Now also many nations are gathered against thee, that say, Let her be defiled, and let our eye look upon Zion.

Even though the entire world hates the Lord’s Elect, she knows her calling and is coming out of her defiled ways with a single-eyed focus on her Lord and God.

Son 4:9  Thou hast ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse; thou hast ravished my heart with one of thine eyes, with one chain of thy neck.

Mic 4:12  But they know not the thoughts of the LORD, neither understand they his counsel: for he shall gather them as the sheaves into the floor.

The Lord already considers His Bride married to him, having her harvest of evil seed within fall to the ground and daily die, and bring forth a bountiful harvest of the Lord’s good seed to be threshed out and stored in His barn. The world thinks her methodology is foolish having no understanding of Christ’s spiritual counsel. The bride is the little harvest of souls, the Lord’s Wife, first to be shown mercy following her chastisement to know the mind of her Lord so that she can lead the world to salvation under Christ. It is she who is given to arise to rule with her Lord’s rod of iron in the One Thousand Years and to thresh the main harvest of souls in the Resurrection to Judgment, the Lake of Fire.

Rom 11:30  For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:
Rom 11:31  Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy. 
Rom 11:32  For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all. 
Rom 11:33  O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! 
Rom 11:34  For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor? 
Rom 11:35  Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? 
Rom 11:36  For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.

Mic 4:13  Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion: for I will make thine horn iron, and I will make thy hoofs brass: and thou shalt beat in pieces many people: and I will consecrate their gain unto the LORD, and their substance unto the Lord of the whole earth.

Jer 51:33  For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; The daughter of Babylon is like a threshingfloor, it is time to thresh her: yet a little while, and the time of her harvest shall come.

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. 

The Bride, the “daughter of Zion”, is the little harvest of wheat following Christ, the barley harvest. She is the first to get threshed and brings forth much fruit that results in her being skilled in threshing her sisters in Babylon, the main harvest of souls in the Resurrection to Judgement of “the whole earth”.

Rev 14:14  And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. 
Rev 14:15  And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.
Rev 14:16  And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped. 
Rev 14:17  And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. 
Rev 14:18  And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe. 
Rev 14:19  And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. 
Rev 14:20  And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.

Next week, Lord willing, we will continue to understand the incredible plan God has for the ‘creation of God’.

The Book of Romans, Part 10 – “Faith Counted as Righteousness”

[Study Aired August 29, 2023]

Rom 4:13 For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. 
Rom 4:14 For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect:
Rom 4:15 Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression.
Rom 4:16 Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all, 
Rom 4:17 (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.
Rom 4:18 Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be. 
Rom 4:19 And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara’s womb: 
Rom 4:20 He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; 
Rom 4:21 And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.
Rom 4:22 And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness. 
Rom 4:23 Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; 
Rom 4:24 But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; 
Rom 4:25 Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.

In these verses, Paul intertwines the concepts of faith, the law and God’s promises, using Abraham’s life as a type and shadow of the power of faith. The message is clear: righteousness and salvation come through faith in God’s promises, rather than adherence to the law.

Rom 4:13 For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. 
Rom 4:14 For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect:
Rom 4:15 Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression.

Here, Paul highlights that the promise of inheritance and blessing to Abraham and his descendants was not based on adherence to the law, but rather on the righteousness that comes from faith. The promise was not tied to observance of the law, but to a trust-based relationship with God. The law exposes mankind’s shortcomings and sins, bringing about God’s righteous wrath. Where there is no law, there is no clear violation, but the law reveals our need for redemption.

Rom 4:16 Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all, 
Rom 4:17 (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.

Paul reaffirms that the promise is based on faith and by grace, ensuring its accessibility to all who believe, not just those bound by the law. Abraham’s faith serves as a model for all believers, making him a spiritual father to many. Paul quotes from Genesis, emphasizing God’s power to fulfill His promises. Abraham believed in God’s ability to bring life even from the dead, foreshadowing the resurrection and underscoring God’s ability to accomplish the seemingly impossible.

Genesis 15:5 And he (God) brought him (Abram) forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.

Genesis 17:4-5 As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.

Genesis 17:15-16 And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be. And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her.

In the narrative of Abraham and Sarah, a transformation occurs as their names are changed by God. This symbolism echoes a broader theme of transition that encompasses all believers. Just as Abraham and Sarah’s identities were altered, signifying their divine calling, our journey involves a shift from the Law of Moses to the Law of Christ.

The alteration of their names mirrors our own spiritual process. In Genesis 17:5, God changes Abram’s name to Abraham, foretelling his role as “a father of many nations.” Similarly, in Genesis 17:15, Sarai’s name becomes Sarah, a symbol of her destiny to be a mother of nations.

This name-changing principle extends to our spiritual transformation. Just as their identities were redefined, we undergo a transition from the carnal Law of Moses to the spiritual Law of Christ. This transition is illuminated in Matthew 5:17-18, where Jesus declares that He came not to destroy the law but to fulfill it. Galatians 3:24-26 reinforces this shift, explaining how the law was a tutor leading us to Christ, enabling us to be justified by faith.

Mat 5:17-18 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. 

Gal 3:24-26 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

Abraham and Sarah’s story serves as a prelude to the shift from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant. The Law of Moses, with its regulations, changes into the Law of Christ, founded on love, grace and faith. This transformation is echoed in Hebrews 8:6, highlighting the superiority of the New Covenant established through Jesus Christ.

Heb 8:6 But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.

In essence, their narrative foreshadows the broader transition that unfolds for all believers—a change from the confines of the Old Covenant to the freedom and fulfillment found in the New Covenant under the guidance of Christ’s transformative doctrines.

The following verses highlight Abraham’s unwavering faith, his refusal to doubt despite the circumstances of his age and Sarah’s barrenness. His strong faith was characterized by giving glory to God and being fully convinced of God’s ability to fulfill His promises.

Rom 4:18 Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be. 
Rom 4:19 And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara’s womb: 
Rom 4:20 He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;
Rom 4:21 And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.

Abraham stands as a model for us, illustrating the path of faithfulness we are to follow. It is incumbent upon us to embrace the Word of God, placing our trust in His faithfulness to bring His work to completion.

Heb 4:3 For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.

Rom 4:22 And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.

Genesis 15:4-6 And, behold, the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness.

Rom 4:23 Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; 
Rom 4:24 But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; 
Rom 4:25 Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.

In these verses, Paul intertwines the concepts of faith, the law and God’s promises, using Abraham’s life as an illustration of the power of faith. The message is clear: righteousness and salvation come through faith in God’s promises, rather than adherence to the law.

If we have the faith of Christ within us our faith is counted as righteousness.

Here are the verses for our next study:

Rom 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: 
Rom 5:2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 
Rom 5:3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; 
Rom 5:4 And patience, experience; and experience, hope:
Rom 5:5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. 
Rom 5:6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 
Rom 5:7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. 
Rom 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 
Rom 5:9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. 
Rom 5:10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
Rom 5:11 And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.

The Book of Joshua – Part 13, Joshua 11:1-23

For Jehovah is a God of judgment; blessed are all those who wait for Him (Isa 30:18)

[Study Aired May 20, 2023]

When we read the book of Joshua and spiritually understand the metaphors for endless wars and killing of everything – man, woman, child and city – but for the Lord’s spirit, it is possible to insidiously reflect the nature of a listless harlot.

How do we become a harlot? It is quite easy. A seasoned harlot will fake her pleasure, hoping her earnest laborer will be substantially ravished to finish early while being a dispassionate production line operator mechanically watching the clock. She can be us, detachedly listening to a study’s content read for the one-hundredth time in forty years, hoping it will finish early. It is typified by Israel becoming bored with her Lord’s power of going before her to win her battles and hearing “… and Joshua left nothing remaining; he destroyed it, and all the souls that were in it; and every soul in it he completely destroyed that day…”, and so forth unceasingly. If we are a dull-eyed wife, we could inwardly hate our Lord’s light bread, having heard this stuff a hundred times before, provoking the same emotion as reading the Chronicles of who begat whom.

Num 21:5 And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread.

Pro 27:5 Open rebuke is better than secret love. 
Pro 27:6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.

Christ is our enemy when we get bored with his kisses where our flocks (teeth – Song of Solomon metaphor) rest at noon when we are no longer aroused in our passion for him. In the negative, it is possibly a bit late when we subsequently need a hit of “strong drink” for our dying man. (Pro 31:6)

2Ti 1:6 Therefore I remind you to inflame anew the gift of God, which is in you by the putting on of my hands. 
2Ti 1:7 For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
2Ti 1:8 Therefore you should not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner. But be partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God.

Hopefully, let’s be inflamed by the holy spirit discerning our Lord’s spirit as His hands mould us through our many afflictions. We must learn to delight in routing our land from the endless giants, men, women and children; representing our sins.

Conquests in Northern Canaan

Jos 11:1 And it happened when Jabin, king of Hazor, had heard, he sent to Jobab king of Madon, and to the king of Shimron, and to the king of Achshaph,
Jos 11:2 and to the kings on the north of the mountains, and on the plains south of Chinneroth, and in the valley, and in the borders of Dor on the west,
Jos 11:3 and to the Canaanite on the east and on the west, and the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Jebusite in the mountains, and to the Hivite under Hermon, in the land of Mizpeh.
Jos 11:4 And they went out, they and all their armies with them, many people, even as the sand on the seashore in multitude, with very many horses and chariots.
Jos 11:5 And when all these kings had met together, they came and pitched together at the waters of Merom, to fight against Israel.
Jos 11:6 And Jehovah said to Joshua, Do not be afraid because of them, for tomorrow about this time I will deliver them up, all killed before Israel. You shall hamstring their horses and burn their chariots with fire.
Jos 11:7 And Joshua came suddenly, and all the people of war with him, against them by the waters of Merom. And they fell on them.
Jos 11:8 And Jehovah delivered them into the hand of Israel, who struck them and chased them to great Sidon, and to the salt pits, and to the valley of Mizpeh eastward. And they struck them until they left them none remaining.
Jos 11:9 And Joshua did to them as Jehovah commanded him. He hamstrung their horses and burned their chariots with fire.
Jos 11:10 And Joshua at that time turned back and took Hazor [‘khaw-tsore], and struck its king with the sword. For Hazor formerly was the head of all those kingdoms.
Jos 11:11 And they struck every soul in it with the edge of the sword, destroying them. And he left none breathing. And he burned Hazor with fire.
Jos 11:12 And Joshua took all the cities of those kings, and all the kings of them. And he struck them with the edge of the sword. He destroyed them, as Moses the servant of Jehovah commanded.
Jos 11:13 But Israel did not burn any of them, the cities that stood in their strength, except Hazor only. Joshua did burn it.
Jos 11:14 And all the spoil of these cities and the cattle the sons of Israel took for a prize to themselves. But they struck every man with the edge of the sword, until they had destroyed them. They left none breathing.
Jos 11:15 As Jehovah commanded Moses His servant, so did Moses command Joshua, and so Joshua did. He left nothing undone of all that Jehovah commanded Moses.
Jos 11:16 So Joshua took all that land, the hills, and all the south country, and all the land of Goshen, and the valley, and the plain, and the mountains of Israel, and its lowlands,
Jos 11:17 from mount Halak [khaw-lawk] that goes up to Seir, even to Baal-gad in the valley of Lebanon under Mount Hermon. And he took all their kings, and struck them and killed them. 
Jos 11:18 Joshua made war a long time with all those kings.
Jos 11:19 There was not a city that made peace with the sons of Israel, except the Hivites, the inhabitants of Gibeon. All others they took in battle.
Jos 11:20 For it was of Jehovah to harden their hearts so that they should come against Israel in battle, so that they might be destroyed, so that they might have no favor, but that He might destroy them, as Jehovah commanded Moses.
Jos 11:21 At that time Joshua came and cut off the giants from the mountains, from Hebron, from Debir, from Anab, and from all the mountains of Judah, and from all the mountains of Israel. Joshua destroyed them with their cities.
Jos 11:22 There were none of the giants left in the land of the sons of Israel; only in Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod there remained some.
Jos 11:23 And Joshua took the whole land, according to all that Jehovah commanded Moses. And Joshua gave it for an inheritance to Israel according to their divisions by their tribes. And the land rested from war.

Our Lord never used words in scripture that weren’t relevant; moreover, they often had extensive spiritual meanings. On the surface, sometimes the meanings of names appear bland and of little consequence, yet, almost always, some body member will be gifted with greater spiritual insight for our delight. So if we are to get much out of the endless killing of the enemy within or reading the Chronicles of who begat who, our priestly obligation is to study the nuances of our Lord’s word.

Although it may seem tedious to a dull-eyed harlot, the bright-eyed wife of righteousness can construct a spiritual picture from the meanings of the below names.

Jos 11:1 And it happened when Jabin [‘whom God observes; to discern, understand, consider’], king of Hazor [‘Castle, court, enclosures’], had heard, he sent to Jobab [Phonetic – jaw-bab. ‘desert; to cry shrilly’]  king of Madon [‘strife; stature; size; garment’], and to the king of Shimron [‘watch-height; lees, dregs; to guard, observe, give heed; have charge’], and to the king of Achshaph [‘I shall be bewitched; to practice witchcraft or sorcery’],
Jos 11:2 and to the kings on the north [Judgement comes from the north and is the Lord’s people’s ‘treasure’] of the mountains, and on the plains south of Chinneroth [‘harps; lyre; sing. Early name of the sea of Galilee’], and in the valley, and in the borders of Dor [‘generation’ – the coastal city of Manasseh. ‘period, generation, habitation, dwelling’] on the west [While the light of Christ comes from the east, neither the east, west or south sustains growth without judgment from the north. (Psa 75:6 For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south.)]
Jos 11:3 and to the Canaanite on the east and on the west, and the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Jebusite in the mountains, and to the Hivite under Hermon, in the land of Mizpeh.

For our understanding, the essence of that 6-member pictorial is, as always, describes the Beast sitting on the throne of God. He’s both full of pomp and glory, yet schizophrenic when ruled by evil spirits that cause him to cry and regain strength through his ‘clothing’ of self-righteousness and support for his cause from his neighbour’s equal spiritual derangements. It is precisely what we can expect when we fight without the Lord’s power to go before us.

Thankfully, and at our appointed time, our Lord is guaranteed to cut off the horns of our power.

Psa 75:1 To the Chief Musician. Do not destroy. A Psalm of Asaph. A Song. To You, O God, we have given thanks, to You we have given thanks; for Your name is near, Your wonderful works declared.
Psa 75:2 When I take the appointed time, I will judge uprightly.
Psa 75:3 The earth and all its people are melting away; I hold up its pillars. Selah.
Psa 75:4 I said to the proud, Do not boast; and to the wicked, Do not lift up the horn;
Psa 75:5 do not lift up your horn on high; nor speak with a stiff neck.
Psa 75:6 For lifting up comes neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south.
Psa 75:7 But God is the judge; He puts down one and sets up another.
Psa 75:8 For in the hand of Jehovah there is a cup, and the wine is red; it is fully mixed; and He pours out from it; but the dregs of it, all the wicked of the earth shall drain its dregs and drink.
Psa 75:9 But I will declare forever; I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.
Psa 75:10 Also I will cut off all the horns of the wicked; but the horns of the righteous shall be lifted up.

Jos 11:4 And they went out, they and all their armies with them, many people, even as the sand on the seashore in multitude, with very many horses and chariots.

Immediately, any time we see the term ‘sand of the seashore’, we know that that sand represents the billions of humans who will have ever lived. Because of Abraham’s faithfulness (as was Joshua’s) to do all that the Lord commanded, he made Abraham’s seed as numerable as the stars of heaven and the sand of the seashore.

Gen 22:16 and said, I have sworn by Myself, says Jehovah; because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only one;
Gen 22:17 that in blessing I will bless you, and in multiplying I will multiply your seed like the stars of the heavens, and as the sand which is upon the seashore. And your Seed shall possess the gate of His enemies.

Gen 32:11 Deliver me [Jacob, Abraham’s son], I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest he will come and smite me, and the mother with the children.
Gen 32:12 And thou saidst, I will surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.

Of course, those coming out of the resurrection to judgment, the Lake of Fire, are those numberless stars finally (figuratively) ascending into their inheritance of eternal life in God’s realm. They are of Esau, who serve Jacob. However, by the strength of their power (horses and chariots) in high places within, these books of Joshua represent our seemingly inexhaustible sins. In the duality of meaning, and when these sins and people are ground to powder and burned with fire, we will possess, that is, rule and judge numberless humanity beginning in the one-thousand years and completed in the resurrection to judgment.

Jos 11:5 And when all these kings had met together, they came and pitched together at the waters of Merom [may-rome – ‘high place’], to fight against Israel.
Jos 11:6 And Jehovah said to Joshua, Do not be afraid because of them, for tomorrow about this time I will deliver them up, all killed before Israel. You shall hamstring their horses and burn their chariots with fire.

Our fine Australian member, Anthony, knows what it is like to be hamstrung when he tore his Achilles tendon. Joshua slashing the horse’s hamstrings rendered the horses utterly incapacitated, meaning spiritually that the pride of our power is rendered useless, as are the conveyances of our power represented by chariots.

Our Lord comes suddenly upon our sins as he drags us out of Babylon.

Jos 11:7 And Joshua came suddenly, and all the people of war with him, against them by the waters of Merom. And they fell on them.
Jos 11:8 And Jehovah delivered them into the hand of Israel, who struck them and chased them to great Sidon, and to the salt pits, and to the valley of Mizpeh eastward. And they struck them until they left them none remaining.
Jos 11:9 And Joshua did to them as Jehovah commanded him. He hamstrung their horses and burned their chariots with fire.
Jos 11:10 And Joshua at that time turned back and took Hazor [‘khaw-tsore], and struck its king with the sword. For Hazor formerly was the head of all those kingdoms.

As we saw in Joshua Part 12, if we crush an enemy’s head, the rest of him is rendered as useless as a horse without his hamstrings. In war, for the most part, if the capital is captured, the rest of the country yields to the coup. For the spiritual-minded, it means to kill the heart, the spirit of the intent for the proposed sinful act.

Jos 11:11 And they struck every soul in it with the edge of the sword, destroying them. And he left none breathing. And he burned Hazor with fire.
Jos 11:12 And Joshua took all the cities of those kings, and all the kings of them. And he struck them with the edge of the sword. He destroyed them, as Moses the servant of Jehovah commanded.
Jos 11:13 But Israel did not burn any of them, the cities that stood in their strength, except Hazor only. Joshua did burn it.

Verse 13 sounds alarm bells for us to not burn to the ground our sins standing in their strength. Nonetheless, and as represented above, if Hazor, the capital of our land, is destroyed, the remaining parts of the body submit. Even if the sin isn’t decapitated, the strength of our spiritual walk is utterly incapacitated, symbolised by cut hamstrings.

Jos 11:14 And all the spoil of these cities and the cattle the sons of Israel took for a prize to themselves. But they struck every man with the edge of the sword, until they had destroyed them. They left none breathing.

Mercifully, our Lord doesn’t lay our land waste in one move since we would become overwhelmed by his chastisement.

Exo 23:29 I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become a waste, and the beast of the field multiply against you.
Exo 23:30 By little and little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased, and inherit the land.

Jos 11:15 As Jehovah commanded Moses His servant, so did Moses command Joshua, and so Joshua did. He left nothing undone of all that Jehovah commanded Moses. 
Jos 11:16 So Joshua took all that land, the hills, and all the south country, and all the land of Goshen, and the valley, and the plain, and the mountains of Israel, and its lowlands, 
Jos 11:17 from mount Halak [khaw-lawk] that goes up to Seir, even to Baal-gad [bah’-al gawd ‘lord of fortune’] in the valley of Lebanon under Mount Hermon. And he took all their kings, and struck them and killed them. 
Jos 11:18 Joshua made war a long time with all those kings.

Our Lord, instead of dispatching all our enemies within in one fell swoop with the high probability of us being overwhelmed, stretches our faith by making us contend with our adversaries in dying daily.

1Co 15:30 And why are we also in danger every hour? 
1Co 15:31 Day by day I die, by your rejoicing, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Jos 11:19 There was not a city that made peace with the sons of Israel, except the Hivites, the inhabitants of Gibeon. All others they took in battle.

We harken back to the Gibeonites being a Levitical city of Benjamin, our brother kin to whom we extend mercy for their inherited unwitting Christian Babylonian ways. They are hardened of heart by God not to have ears that hear and eyes that see. They serve the Tabernacle and, for the time being, feed our Benjaminite kin with magic sermons suitable for etching ears (2Ti 4:3).

Isa 61:5 And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers.

Rom 9:15 For He said to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.”
Rom 9:16 So then it is not of the one willing [Babylonian Christians], nor of the one running, but of God, the One showing mercy.
Rom 9:17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “Even for this same purpose I have raised you up, that I might show My power in you, and that My name might be declared throughout all the earth.”
Rom 9:18 Therefore He has mercy on whom He will have mercy, and whom He will, He hardens.

Our Lord’s mercy upon the Gibeonites highlights the Lord’s power to choose the weak and beggarly elect of God to raise them to royal honor that His name will be declared throughout all the earth.

We, too, in our time, have been made by God to come against him to do battle so that he will be given an occasion to destroy and remake us in his image.

Jos 11:20 For it was of Jehovah to harden their hearts so that they should come against Israel in battle, so that they might be destroyed, so that they might have no favor, but that He might destroy them, as Jehovah commanded Moses.
Jos 11:21 At that time Joshua came and cut off the giants from the mountains, from Hebron, from Debir, from Anab, and from all the mountains of Judah, and from all the mountains of Israel. Joshua destroyed them with their cities.
Jos 11:22 There were none of the giants left in the land of the sons of Israel; only in Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod there remained some.
Jos 11:23 And Joshua took the whole land, according to all that Jehovah commanded Moses. And Joshua gave it for an inheritance to Israel according to their divisions by their tribes. And the land rested from war.

We will be battling our spiritual giants, and the meaning of their names in the recent studies in Joshua perfectly describes the nature of our enemies.

These verses show us that our battle against the flesh is fought until the first resurrection, and we hopefully gain Christ, our inheritance. Then we will be totally at rest from the wars of our flesh in Christ.

The Book of Joshua – Part 11, Joshua 10:1-15 ‘I know that You hear Me always…’

“And I know that You hear Me always, but because of the people who stand by I said it, so that they may believe that You have sent Me.” – John 11:42

[Study Aired May 6, 2023]

Central to this Study in Joshua 10 is the mind-boggling impossibility against all laws of physics by the sun and the moon standing still in the heavens.

Jos 10:13 And the sun stood still, and the moon stood still, until the people had avenged themselves on their enemies. Is this not written in the Book of Jasher? And the sun stood still in the midst of the heavens, and did not hasten to go down about a whole day.

If the sun instantly stood still in the heavens, it means that the Earth instantly stood still since the revolution of the Earth gives the appearance that the sun rotates around it. The Earth rotates in one day at the rate of 1,037 km/h, and if the Earth suddenly stops, everything, tall buildings, homes, trees, all living things and the scoured ground, loose boulders and the oceans, would chaotically detach instantly at a little lower than 1,037 km/h (644 mph) to the east. Our near neighbour, Jupiter’s turbulent atmosphere, only travels at a bit over half that speed.

I’ve belaboured the point thus far in the study of Joshua that the Lord is graphically etching in young Israel’s heart and soul that the successful outcome of all wars and tribulations is by His power alone. Of course, the Body of Christ immutably knows that Israel, without the holy spirit, is a fruitful and bright understanding for the Elect’s sake and a fruitless experience for old Israel until the resurrection to judgment. Yet, some dedicated souls like Moses, Joshua and Job, to name a very few, did their fleshly best, learning to keep the laws of the Commandments by the Lord’s power’ roughly perfectly’ (false negative). Through Israel’s tumultuous journey, God was ramming home to our spirit that our works are utterly useless without him, and Israel was our patsy (Rom 9:20-21).

Joh 6:63 The spirit is the life giver; the flesh is of no value: the words which I have said to you are spirit and they are life. (BBE)

Yet, no number of outrageous miracles to titillate our senses without His spirit ever changed Israel or us. The sun and the moon stopping in the heavens is as excessive as a miracle can get. It is like God saying, “Is your power frustrating you yet?”

Job 38:1 And the Lord made answer to Job out of the storm-wind, and said,
Job 38:2 Who is this who makes the purpose of God dark by words without knowledge? 
Job 38:3 Get your strength together like a man of war; I will put questions to you, and you will give me the answers. (BBE)

So, let the Moon (New Jerusalem above)  stand still in the glory of the Sun (Christ) and be strengthened by the holy spirit for us to be that man of war, mighty confident in lockstep with Christ and learn from Israel’s endless frustrations.

Jos 10:1 And it happened, when Adoni-zedek (Phonetic: ad-o”-nee-tseh’-dek) king of Jerusalem had heard how Joshua had taken Ai and had utterly destroyed it (as he had done to Jericho and its king, so he had done to Ai and its king) and how the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were among them, 
Jos 10:2 they feared greatly, because Gibeon was a great city, like one of the royal cities, and because it was greater than Ai, and all of its men were mighty.
Jos 10:3 And Adonizedek king of Jerusalem sent to Hoham king of Hebron, and to Piram king of Jarmuth, and to Japhia king of Lachish, and to Debir king of Eglon, saying,
Jos 10:4 Come up to me, and help me, so that we may strike Gibeon. For it has made peace with Joshua and with the sons of Israel.
Jos 10:5 And the five kings of the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, the king of Eglon, gathered themselves. And they went up, they and all their armies, and camped before Gibeon, and made war against it.
Jos 10:6 And the men of Gibeon sent to Joshua to the camp to Gilgal, saying, Do not withhold your hand from your servants. Come up to us quickly, and save us, and help us. For all the kings of the Amorites who dwell in the mountains have gathered against us. 
Jos 10:7  So Joshua went up from Gilgal, he and all the people of war with him, and all the mighty men of war.
Jos 10:8 And Jehovah said to Joshua, Do not fear them, for I have delivered them into your hands. There shall not a man of them stand before you.
Jos 10:9 And Joshua came to them suddenly, coming up from Gilgal all night.
Jos 10:10 And Jehovah troubled them before Israel, and killed them with a great slaughter at Gibeon, and chased them along the way that goes up to Beth-horon, and struck them to Azekah, and to Makkedah.
Jos 10:11 And it happened, as they fled from before Israel, and were in the descent of Bethhoron, Jehovah cast down great stones from the heavens on them to Azekah, and they died. The many who died from hailstones were more than the sons of Israel killed with the sword.
Jos 10:12 Then Joshua spoke to Jehovah in the day when Jehovah delivered up the Amorites before the sons of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun! Stand still on Gibeon! And, moon, stand still in the valley of Aijalon!
Jos 10:13 And the sun stood still, and the moon stood still, until the people had avenged themselves on their enemies. Is this not written in the Book of Jasher? And the sun stood still in the midst of the heavens, and did not hasten to go down about a whole day. 
Jos 10:14 And there was no day like that before it or after it, that Jehovah listened to the voice of a man. For Jehovah fought for Israel.
Jos 10:15 And Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp to Gilgal.

Study Exposition:

Jos 10:1 And it happened, when Adoni-zedek [ Phonetic: aw-done’– Definition: 1. firm, strong, Lord, master] king of Jerusalem had heard how Joshua had taken Ai and had utterly destroyed it (as he had done to Jericho and its king, so he had done to Ai and its king) and how the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were among them,
Jos 10:2 they feared greatly, because Gibeon was a great city, like one of the royal cities, and because it was greater than Ai, and all of its men were mighty.

Just as the Lord endlessly drives home the same message to old Israel in the wilderness, today our belief and faith are empowered to believe that our Lord will kill our enemies without an outward miracle.

Before being dragged to the Lord, we sat in our temple as King of Old Jerusalem, garnering support for our false doctrines from striking hands in oaths against our Lord from our leering friends. If the Lord ever got frustrated with us, it is because of disbelief that He is good on His word against us being god, and we sit masterly and resolutely in the temple of God.

Mat 17:17 Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I suffer you? Bring him here [boy with a demon] to Me. 
Mat 17:18 And Jesus rebuked the demon, and he departed out of him. And the child was cured from that very hour. 
Mat 17:19 Then the disciples came to Jesus apart, and said, Why could we not cast him out? 
Mat 17:20 And Jesus said to them, Because of your unbelief. For truly I say to you, If you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain, Move from here to there. And it shall move. And nothing shall be impossible to you.

All of our enemies fear Christ, Who goes before us to fight our battles, just as the demons of the two demon-possessed ones in the country of the Gergesenes feared Christ. Likewise, these five kings infesting the Promised Land were stricken with dread for the same God of Israel. A Gergesene means H1086 – ‘a stranger drawing near’, and its people are Girgasites, the very same “clayey soil” enemies Israel fights.

Mat 8:28 And when He had come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, two demon-possessed ones met Him, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that no one might pass by that way.
Mat 8:29 And behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with You, Jesus, Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time? [Lake of Fire]

As we discovered in Part 10 of Joshua, the Girgasites were part of “seven nations stronger than you (Israel)” (Deu 7:1. Jos 3:10. Jos 24:11), symbolised as being cast into the resurrection to judgment. These kings and their peoples are symbolised as legions of evil spirits whom Israel tormented by fear and death before their typified time in the Lake of Fire.

Jos 10:3 And Adonizedek [‘aw-done’] king of Jerusalem sent to Hoham king of Hebron, and to Piram king of Jarmuth, and to Japhia king of Lachish, and to Debir king of Eglon, saying, 
Jos 10:4 Come up to me, and help me, so that we may strike Gibeon. For it has made peace with Joshua and with the sons of Israel. 
Jos 10:5 And the five kings of the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem [‘aw-done’], the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, the king of Eglon, gathered themselves. And they went up, they and all their armies, and camped before Gibeon, and made war against it [against Gibeon!].

The definitions of the other four kings:

Hoham king of Hebron – Definition: Hoham = whom Jehovah impels. Origin H2267 – Hebron, association; company; magician; charmer.

Piram king of Jarmuth – Definition: Hebron. [Location only] Origin H2267 association; company; magician; charmer. Jarmuth – Phon’ ‘yar-mooth’ – def’ ‘heights; to rise up; to be set on high; exault’.

Japhia king of Lachish – Phonetic: yaw-fee’-ah. 1. a town on the border of Zebulun and Issachar. Origin: H3313 1. to shine, shine forth or out, cause to shine, send out beams.

Debir king of Eglon – Debir – ‘deb-eer’ means ‘sanctuary’; the holy of holies; temple; an oracle-god. Eglon – ‘eg-lawn’ – calf-like; bull calf.

From that aggregate of meanings for the Kings and their locations for our spiritual understanding, we see our God-given broad company of 44,000 odd Babylonian Christian doctrines within ourselves. While in Babylon, we were unwitting magicians charming the laity with falsehoods from the traditions of ‘godly’ fellow Christians, exalting ourselves while preaching another Jesus (2Co 11:4). We were giddy with the delusion that we were saved by ‘greasy grace’, and unwittingly reflected the light of the first “moon” so that we were blinding ourselves by our brightness. Little did we know we were ‘holy cow’ worshippers, Canaanites. The five kings all have the same spirit of mind for our glorious chastisement (Rev 3:19) to be given faith by grace. They all are represented by their principal king Adonizedek [‘aw-done’], of the (first) desolate Jerusalem that much later developed into more of a “city of peace”, as projected for our understanding.

The armies of all five kings fought their countrymen of Gibeon, which we remember, ironically means the city of Benjamin. We see within the same pattern that happened much later with Ammon and Moab.

2Ch 20:23 For the sons of Ammon and Moab stood up against the people of mount Seir to completely kill and destroy. And when they had made an end of the people of Seir, everyone helped to destroy another.

Pro 16:7 When a man’s ways please Jehovah, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.

Since Gibeon (the Hivites) is Israel’s city through Benjamin, they are typified as our Babylonian Christian brothers and sisters. Typically, they are interested in a different Jesus with only enough fear to believe that the Lord, and in this case, Israel, will save their hides, yet, they can be us if we haven’t been given to go the distance to keep all the Lord’s Commandments.

Jos 10:6 And the men of Gibeon [symbolic of our Babylonian Christian near kin, Benjamin] sent to Joshua to the camp to Gilgal, saying, Do not withhold your hand from your servants. Come up to us quickly, and save us, and help us. For all the kings of the Amorites who dwell in the mountains have gathered against us.

Mat 7:21 Not everyone who says to Me, Lord! Lord! shall enter the kingdom of Heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in Heaven.
Mat 7:22 Many will say to Me in that day, Lord! Lord! Did we not prophesy in Your name, and through Your name throw out demons, and through Your name do many wonderful works? 
Mat 7:23 And then I will say to them I never knew you! Depart from Me, those working lawlessness! 

The Hivites (from the land of Gibeon) are our Gentile Christian kin of the world with whom we rub shoulders every day. They are not too dissimilar in appearance to Israel and blend in with Israel’s inherent affability (when Israel should have generally been more circumspect for the Lord’s commands). While the Lord’s focus was Israel, all these heathen nations of the ‘world’, including the Hivites, helped sculpt Israel for our immense spiritual benefit.

Joh 17:9 I pray for them [the Elect of God]. I do not pray for the world, but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours.
Joh 17:10 And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine; and I am glorified in them.
Joh 17:11 And now I am in the world no longer, but these are in the world, and I come to You, Holy Father. Keep them in Your name, those whom You have given Me, so that they may be one as We are.
Joh 17:12 While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those that You have given Me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition [us, if we go back to being a worldly Hivite] that the Scripture might be fulfilled. 
Joh 17:13 And now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world that they might have My joy fulfilled in them.
Joh 17:14 I have given them Your Word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
Joh 17:15  I do not pray for You to take them out of the world, [away from the subtle lies and bombastic ruling of the laity of our Babylonian kin] but for You to keep them from the evil.
Joh 17:16 They [the Lord’s people ~ aliens Lev 19:34; 1Pet 2:11] are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 
Joh 17:17 Sanctify them through Your truth. Your Word is truth.

Jos 10:7 So Joshua [Christ and his Christs] went up from Gilgal, he and all the people of war with him, and all the mighty men of war. 
Jos 10:8 And Jehovah said to Joshua, Do not fear them, for I have delivered them into your hands. There shall not a man of them stand before you.

For those verses and the longstanding Saints’ awareness, it seems banal to state the obvious (and we will), that our ravished hearts for the Lord’s word is demonstratively Shulamite; there is always a hidden gem hidden for our finding and child-like joy when a Body member reveals the discovery of a sapphire or nugget. And, so…

We don’t half-step into battle. “All the people of war” are the Lord’s Elect and are “mighty men of war” ~ how?

Eph 6:10 Finally, my brothers, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.
Eph 6:11 Put on the whole armor of God so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
Eph 6:12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the world’s rulers, of the darkness of this age, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 
Eph 6:13 Therefore take to yourselves the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Eph 6:14 Therefore stand, having your loins girded about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness 
Eph 6:15 and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.
Eph 6:16 Above all, take the shield of faith, with which you shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. 
Eph 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, 
Eph 6:18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching to this very thing with all perseverance and supplication for all saints. 
Eph 6:19 And pray for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, 
Eph 6:20 for which I am an ambassador in bonds; so that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

Jos 10:9 And Joshua came to them suddenly, coming up from Gilgal all night.

The Lord’s people are given to see perfectly at night since Christ is their pillar of fire (Exo 13:21), who came suddenly in our long spiritual darkness, rousing us from our sleep while drunk on Babylonian wine (another Jesus).

Israel is a witness to their Gibeonite kin so that in the Resurrection to Judgment, humanity, particularly ‘Christian Gibeonites’, will remember that the Lord’s Elect was powerfully among them in the one-thousand year reign when judged on the eighth day. However, for the moment, the lukewarm Benjaminites of Gibeon are prophetically reminded of their inherent nature.

Gen 49:26 The blessings of your father are above the blessings of my ancestors [for this parallel, Benjamin], to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills. They shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him, the ruler, the leader of his brothers.
Gen 49:27 Benjamin is a wolf that tears in pieces. In the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil.

Jos 10:10 And Jehovah troubled them [the Five Kings and their armies] before Israel, and killed them with a great slaughter at Gibeon, and chased them along the way that goes up to Beth-horon, and struck them to Azekah, and to Makkedah. 
Jos 10:11 And it happened, as they fled from before Israel, and were in the descent of Bethhoron, Jehovah cast down great stones from the heavens on them to Azekah, and they died. The many who died from hailstones were more than the sons of Israel killed with the sword.

The hail that is the fiery word of God smashes all lies, culminating in the resurrection to judgment when all people therein will be reminded of their deliberate and unwittingly believed lies from their former flesh. For the marginally astute sons of God, that hailstone event is synonymous with the one-thousand year reign with a rod of iron. The many who died from those hailstones will be the entirety of humanity since Adam, who are not counted in the First Resurrection.

Eze 38:22 And I will judge him [Gog and Magog now, within], with a plague and with blood [I die daily]. And I will rain on him, and on his bands, and on the many peoples with him, an overflowing shower, and great hailstones, fire and brimstone.
Eze 38:23 So I will magnify Myself and sanctify Myself. And I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am Jehovah. 

Rev 16:19 And the great city [you and I] came to be into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And great Babylon was remembered before God, to give to her the cup of the wine of the anger of His wrath. 
Rev 16:20 And every island fled away, and mountains were not found [including the Kings within (us), Joshua prefigured as fighting].
Rev 16:21 And a great hail, as the size of a talent, came down out of the heaven on men. And men blasphemed God [The Elect steeply decreasing blasphemy, but all nations blaspheming now, but more so at the end of the OTY rod of iron reign] because of the plague of the hail; for the plague of it was exceedingly great.

Isa 28:14 Therefore hear the Word of Jehovah, scornful men who rule this people in Jerusalem [Babylon today and within]. 
Isa 28:15 Because you have said, We have made a covenant with death, and we have made a vision with hell; when the overwhelming rod shall pass through, it shall not come to us; for we have made lies our refuge, and we have hidden ourselves under falsehood, [… For she says in her heart, “I sit as a queen, and I am not a widow…” (Rev 18:7)]
Isa 28:16 therefore so says the Lord Jehovah, Behold, I place in Zion a Stone for a foundation, a tried Stone, a precious Cornerstone [Christ], a sure Foundation; he [the Christs] who believes shall not hurry [why hurry; patience is a virtue; Christ is creating the pot at his leisure] 
Isa 28:17 Also I will lay judgment to the line, and righteousness to the plummet; and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.

Jos 10:12 Then Joshua spoke to Jehovah in the day when Jehovah delivered up the Amorites before the sons of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun! Stand still on Gibeon! And, moon, stand still in the valley of Aijalon! 

The sun and the moon effectively stand still today for the Elect of God as they are given to slaughter every enemy king and child within until all their brothers and sisters are done being killed.

Rev 6:10 And they [Elect] cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?
Rev 6:11 And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season [while the sun (Christ) stands still for the Moon, the Church], until their fellowservants [Moon…] also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled. 

Jos 10:13 And the sun stood still, and the moon stood still, until the people had avenged themselves on their enemies. Is this not written in the Book of Jasher? [Contemporary alleged works of Jasher are spurious; its word doesn’t correspond to the Lord’s spirit in the rest of the Bible] And the sun stood still in the midst of the heavens, and did not hasten to go down about a whole day.

Christ, our sun, shines with increasing brightness on His Bride, the Moon. He is standing still for us today while we are given time to kill a great slaughter of the lies within. (Incidentally, I remember harvesting wheat at 2 am one night in Queensland many years ago. The moonlight was so bright that I easily read newsprint). 

Christ says vengeance is His, and since the Elect of God are Christs (plural), vengeance is theirs, like Joseph was to his brothers and the Elect to humanity in the Resurrection to Judgement.

Deu 32:31 For their rock is not as our Rock, even our enemies themselves being judges [Job 15:6  ‘… I will judge you out of your own mouth, wicked servant!’ Luk 19:22]
Deu 32:32 For their vine is of the vine of Sodom, and of the fields of Gomorrah. Their grapes are grapes of gall. Their clusters are bitter.
Deu 32:33 Their wine [twisted word of God] is the poison of serpents, and the cruel venom of asps. [As opposed to the words on the roof of the Lord’s mouth the Shulamite deems better than wine Son 7:9-10]
Deu 32:34 Is not this laid up in store with Me and sealed up among My treasures?
Deu 32:35 Vengeance and retribution belong to Me. Their [the world] foot shall slide in time [order of salvation], for the day of their calamity [fiery judgement] is at hand, and the things that shall come on them make haste. 
Deu 32:36 For Jehovah will bring His people justice; and He shall have compassion on His servants, for He sees that their power is gone, and only the imprisoned and abandoned remain.

Jos 10:14 And there was no day like that before it or after it, that Jehovah listened to the voice of a man [in that age of old Israel]. For Jehovah fought for Israel.
Jos 10:15 And Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp to Gilgal.

The Father listens to the man, Jesus, our Lord and God, who stands still for a little moment while His Moon gathers His brightness to soon receive the full complement of His spirit in dazzling white linen robes.

Isa 54:7 For a little moment I have left you; but with great mercies I will gather you.
Isa 54:8 In a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment; but with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you, says Jehovah your Redeemer.

Joh 11:41 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me.
Joh 11:42 And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.
Joh 11:43 And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.
Joh 11:44 And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.

Our Joshua is Christ who speaks to the Father “in the day” to whom the Father listens, just as the Father listens to His Elect who are washed by their Husband’s words.

Joh 9:4 I must work the works of Him who sent Me, while it is day. Night comes when no man can work.
Joh 9:5 As long as I am in the world, I am the Light of the world.

Soon, we who are hopeful for the resurrection to life will hear the loud voice of the Archangel and a trumpet call when the physically dead in Christ will rise, followed soon after by those who are alive.

1Th 4:16 For the Lord Himself shall descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ shall rise first. 
1Th 4:17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air. And so we shall ever be with the Lord. 
1Th 4:18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.