Matthew 14:22–36 Peter Walks on the Water

[Study Aired July 7, 2025]

In today’s study, we shall look at the spiritual implication of the Lord and Peter walking on the waters of the sea. We shall also come to understand the spiritual meaning of the people of Gennesaret getting healed as they touched the hem of Jesus’ garment.  

Jesus Walks on the Water

Mat 14:22 And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away. 

The word “straightaway” in verse 22 is to make us aware that it was immediately after the feeding of the five thousand that Jesus constrained His disciples to go to the other side where Jesus followed later. It shows us how the Lord worked as hard as a bull in fulfilling His ministry here on earth. Spiritually, this implies the zeal of the Lord to serve God and His elect. 

Joh 2:17  And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up. 

According to Strong’s Dictionary, the word “constrained” can mean to compel by force. Therefore, the Lord constraining the disciples to get into a ship means that the Lord forced the disciples to get into the ship. This is to show us that we do not have free will as taught in the churches of this world. Yes, we do have a will, but our will is not free – it is caused. That is to say that it is the Lord who controls our will and all our actions. We therefore do not make decisions independent of the Lord. Even the sins we commit are caused by the Lord.

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

Jer 10:23  O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps. 

Here in verse 1, the Lord constrained the disciples to get into a ship. A ship or boat is what causes us to journey through the sea without drowning. We know that the sea represents the flesh of humanity. This suggests that to an elect, the Lord drags us in this age to start this journey of overcoming the flesh as He comes to us with the spirit of His mouth and His brightness. All the multitude were sent away by the Lord to their various places on foot. As we have indicated in our studies of the Book of Matthew, the multitude represents our brothers and sisters in the churches of this world who are not given to become overcomers of the flesh, of which we were part at a certain stage of our walk. They are therefore not constrained by the Lord to overcome the flesh. 

Mat 13:10  And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
Mat 13:11  He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. 
Mat 13:12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.

Our lives as an elect here on earth can therefore be likened to travelling in a boat over the sea, that is, overcoming the flesh, just as Jesus overcame the flesh in His life here on earth.

Rev 3:21  To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. 

In the Book of Mark, we learn that the other side referred to in verse 22 is Bethsaida. 

Mar 6:45  Jesus quickly made his disciples get into a boat and cross to Bethsaida ahead of him while he sent the people away. (GW)

The name “Bethsaida” means house of fishing or simply, fishing. As we know, when Jesus called Peter and Andrew, he told them that they shall be fishers of men. We are called to fish for men, but before we can do this, we have to go to the other side. To get to the other side means we must overcome the flesh in this age in order become saviors of the world or fishers of men.   

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. 

The boat is where the Lord’s disciples were gathered in the midst of the sea, and it is what keeps us afloat on the sea. Our gathering or assembly is what helps us to become overcomers through what every joint supplies.

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. 

This mystery of how the Lord constrains us to get into a ship or boat as we overcome the pulls of the flesh is what Solomon mentioned as follows:

Pro 30:19  The way of an eagle in the air; the way of a serpent upon a rock; the way of a ship in the midst of the sea; and the way of a man with a maid.

The way of a man with a maid shows us the mystery of the Lord’s unflinching love for His elect.       

Mat 14:23  And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone. 

This verse shows us that in spite of the ministry that the Lord has given to us, we must pay attention to our personal growth in Christ as we see Jesus sending away the disciples and the multitude so He can pray. Any relationship without effective communication is bound to have problems. Our relationship with Christ must be nurtured to grow through personal prayers and the study of His words. 

The mention of the fact that Jesus was alone when evening came is to show us that this walk is a lonely one. Lonely in the sense that we are going contrary to the wind or the standards of this world, and therefore not many people will agree with us regarding what the Lord is showing to us. In Paul’s letters, we can see that he was lonely as we see him telling Timothy to come to him as the whole of Asia had departed from him.

2Ti 1:15  This thou knowest, that all they which are in Asia be turned away from me; of whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes. 
2Ti 1:16  The Lord give mercy unto the house of Onesiphorus; for he oft refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain: 
2Ti 1:17 But, when he was in Rome, he sought me out very diligently, and found me.    

2Ti 4:9  Do thy diligence to come shortly unto me: 
2Ti 4:10  For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia. 
2Ti 4:11 Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry

Mat 14:24  But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary. 

As the Lord constrains us to start this journey of overcoming the flesh in this life, He raises storms in our lives to bring us to our safe haven – to become overcomers as the flesh is destroyed through the Lord’s judgment. 

Psa 107:23  They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters; 
Psa 107:24  These see the works of the LORD, and his wonders in the deep. 
Psa 107:25  For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof. 
Psa 107:26  They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble. 
Psa 107:27  They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits’ end. 
Psa 107:28  Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses. 
Psa 107:29  He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still. 
Psa 107:30  Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven. 
Psa 107:31 Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! 

The wind being contrary in verse 24 implies that our walk with Christ in this life is in opposition to the standards of this world. As the Lord indicated in His words, going against the standards of this world means being renewed in our minds. The boat being thrown around by the waves because it was going against the wind indicates that it is because the Lord wants us to go against the standards of this world that is why He raises a storm in our lives or judges us. 

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.    

Mat 14:25  And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. 

A little while before morning, the Lord Jesus Christ came to His disciples by walking on the sea.  The dawning of the morning is when the day star, which is Christ, begins to rise in our hearts. That is the beginning of our  understanding of the mysteries of the kingdom of God. 

2Pe 1:19  We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: 

To walk on the sea means to overcome the pulls of the flesh in our walk with Christ. Jesus going to His disciples as He walked on water is to show us, His elect, that as our understanding is enlightened, we are given to know that we can also overcome the pulls of the flesh in this life through Christ. It is also to show us that because He has overcome, we, too, shall overcome.

Joh 16:33  These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

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

Mat 14:26  And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. 
Mat 14:27 But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. 

Why were the disciples troubled? It was because since creation, no human being had been able to walk on the sea. Therefore, it must have been a spirit. Indeed, they were not far from the truth in the sense that it is those who walk in the spirit who do not fulfill the desires of the flesh or walk on the water of the sea. 

Gal 5:16  This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. 
Gal 5:17  For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. 
Gal 5:18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.

It is also important to note that Jesus coming to the disciples walking on the water during the storm is to show us that the fiery trials we go through are to strengthen us to walk on the water, that is, to overcome the flesh. When Christ comes to us while we are undergoing fiery trials or storms, we do not immediately recognize His presence. That is to say that we do not appreciate that what we are going through is the Lord establishing His kingdom within us. The Lord in His mercy, however, reassures us of His presence to let us know that we are on course and that we should not be afraid. 

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.  

Mat 14:28  And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. 
Mat 14:29  And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. 

The verses above show us that the only way we are assured of the presence of the Lord in our lives is when we are able to walk on the water just like Peter did. As we have indicated, walking on the water of the sea is overcoming the pulls of the flesh in our lives. That is the same as walking in the spirit and not fulfilling the desires of the flesh. 

Gal 5:16  This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. 
Gal 5:17  For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. 
Gal 5:18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. 

Mat 14:30  But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. 
Mat 14:31  And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? 

When our focus is turned from Christ to our circumstance, we start to yield to the desires of the flesh, and therefore, we become afraid just like Peter. It is instructive to note that Adam yielded to the woman (Eve), to eat of the fruit of the tree in the midst of the garden. As a result, he became afraid when Jesus came into the garden looking for them. This scenario is the same as what Peter went through.

Gen 3:9  And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? 
Gen 3:10  And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. 
Gen 3:11 And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? 

What happened to Peter is what we have experienced or experiencing in our walk with Christ. This is what Paul said about the Galatian church which applies to us:

Gal 5:7  Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth? 
Gal 5:8  This persuasion cometh not of him that calleth you.
Gal 5:9 A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. 

Gal 3:1  O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you? 
Gal 3:2  This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? 
Gal 3:3  Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh? 
Gal 3:4 Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain. 

Indeed, Peter did run well while he was walking on the water focusing on Jesus. It was when he turned his focus to the boisterous wind that he became afraid. The boisterous wind in this case can represent false doctrines which, when we imbibe, it takes us away from Christ and we begin to sink in the sea of flesh. In other words, we are overcome by the flesh. 

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; 

In verse 30 and 31, the Lord stretched forth His hand to rescue Peter, when he cried to Jesus to save him. These verses assure us that the Lord will not relent in saving us. In other words, He who has began a good work in us will not leave us alone, but will come to us to see to its completion. 

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

Jesus addressing Peter as having little faith is to reveal to us that it is through faith that we can overcome the pulls of the flesh or walk on the water. Our walk with Christ is a walk of faith, and when we compromise our faith, we yield to the desires of the flesh.

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

Heb 11:32  And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets: 
Heb 11:33  Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 
Heb 11:34  Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. 
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: 

Mat 14:32  And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased. 
Mat 14:33  Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God. 

As indicated previously, the ship is where the disciples had gathered and therefore, the ship in this case signifies the assembly of the Lord’s elect. Peter leaving the ship to initially walk on the water means that when we neglect our fellowship with our brothers and sisters, we initially think we are all right because we think our Lord Jesus has called us to a higher calling of walking on the water. However, this walking on the water or overcoming the flesh, will not last as long as we neglect the fellowship of the Lord’s elect. The boisterous wind of false doctrines will eventually sink us in the depth of the sea of flesh. The fact that Peter asked the Lord if he could come to him is to show us that even our failures are the work of the Lord, to bring us to our safe haven. 

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

It is insightful to note that when Jesus rescued Peter and brought him to the ship where the disciples were, the wind ceased. The ceasing of the wind  implies that it is in our gathering that the hail of the truth of the Lord’s words, destroy all the false doctrines or lies of the enemy. 

Isa 28:17  Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place. 

That is why we are admonished by the Lord not to neglect our assembling together as we see the day approaching. The day approaching in its present application means the coming of Christ into our boat to bring us to our safe haven.

Heb 10:24  And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: 
Heb 10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. 

Again, we are made aware in verse 33 that they who were in the ship came and worshiped the Lord. It is in our assembly that we worship the Lord in truth and in spirit. The disciples saying that Jesus is truly the son of God, is to show us that it is in the fellowship of the Lord’s elect that we come to know who Christ really is – the son of God. Knowing Him as the son of God means that we come to appreciate the fact that Jesus is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature and that it is through Him that everything consists or is sustained, and that it pleases the Father that in Jesus should dwell all fulness.  

Col 1:15  Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: 
Col 1:16  For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: 
Col 1:17  And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. 
Col 1:18  And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. 
Col 1:19 For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; 

Jesus Heals the Sick in Gennesaret

Mat 14:34  And when they were gone over, they came into the land of Gennesaret. 
Mat 14:35  And when the men of that place had knowledge of him, they sent out into all that country round about, and brought unto him all that were diseased; 
Mat 14:36 And besought him that they might only touch the hem of his garment: and as many as touched were made perfectly whole. 

The disciples finally came to the land of Gennesaret, which means a harp. This brings to mind Revelation chapter 14:1-2, which talks about the Lord’s elect as harpers with their harps praising the Lord. That scenario depicts the victory of the Lord’s elect after their journey through the raging waters of the sea of flesh in this life, which accords with the study. 

Rev 14:1  And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads.
Rev 14:2  And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps:
Rev 14:3  And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth. 
Rev 14:4 These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb. 

In verse 35 and 36, people from all the country round about that area brought all who were diseased, and they were healed as they touched the hem of Jesus’ garment. What does the hem or border of Jesus’ garment signify? We know that garments represents righteousness and therefore the people wanting to touch the hem of Jesus’ garment show us how the Lord will humble humanity  to seek after His righteousness in the lake of fire age where they will be made perfectly whole. 

This will be done in the presence of the Lord’s elect represented here as the Lord’s disciples, just as Shadrack, Meshack and Abednego were in the fire with the Lord and were not burnt. 

Dan 3:23  And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. 
Dan 3:24  Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king.
Dan 3:25 He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God. 

May the Lord continue to constrain us in the boat so that we can reach the other side through His mercy. Amen!!

Matthew 13:1–30 The Parable of the Sower and That of the Weeds

[Study Aired June 16, 2025]

The study today is about the parable of the Sower and of the weeds. In the study we shall come to understand why Jesus spoke in parables to the multitudes. The study also highlights Jesus’ interpretation of the parable of the Sower to guide us, His elect, in understanding all His parables.  

Mar 4:13  And he said unto them, Know ye not this parable? and how then will ye know all parables? 

The study ends with the parable of the weeds and its interpretation. 

The Parable of the Sower

Mat 13:1  The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side. 
Mat 13:2  And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore. 
Mat 13:3 And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow; 

The use of the phrase “the same day” is to let us know how our Lord Jesus worked hard like an ox during the three and half years of His ministry here on earth. The Greek word for ‘ox’ is ’shore’, and it is translated in English as bullock, bull, cow, ox and oxen. A key characteristic of an ox is its service or production and increase in wealth during the Biblical days.

Pro 14:4  Where no oxen are, the crib is clean: but much increase is by the strength of the ox. 

It is through the work of Christ, described as an ox during His time here on earth, that has made us spiritually rich.

As we have indicated in previous studies, the great multitude that followed Jesus represents those who are not given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of Heaven. They signify our brothers and sisters in the physical churches of this world who are not given to understand the spiritual reality of the word of the Lord. At a certain stage of our walk with Christ, we were part of the multitude when we were in the churches of this world. It is significant to note that the multitude stood on the shore while Jesus got up from the shore and went into a ship to speak to the multitude. 

In the Book of Revelation, it was while we were standing at the shore of the sea that we saw the beast coming out of the sea. Standing on the shore signifies our time in the churches of Babylon, since the shore represents the earth, but its closeness to the sea means that it is influenced by the sea of flesh as the raging waves of the sea foams out their own shame on the corridors of Babylon (shore). It is in Babylon that the Lord starts to show us what we really are – a beast! 

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. 

Jud 1:13  Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever. 

Psa 73:22  So foolish was I, and ignorant: I was as a beast before thee. 

The fact that Jesus was sitting on the shore before He went into a ship is to demonstrate to us that to know our Lord Jesus Christ, we must first be in Babylon before we are given to be in a ship of fellow elect, plowing through the sea of flesh. 

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

As we are aware, the sea represents the flesh of man, and being in a ship on the sea signifies overcoming the pulls of the flesh. In other words, being in a ship on the sea means being delivered from the pulls of the flesh. It is when the Lord comes to us with His judgment that we are gradually delivered from the pulls of the flesh and are given to hear Him speak to us.

Heb 12:22  But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, 
Heb 12:23  To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,
Heb 12:24  And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel. 
Heb 12:25 See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven: 

In verse 3, the Lord spoke to the great multitude in a ship while they were standing on the shore of the sea, which represents the churches of this world or Babylon. In this age, the Lord speaks in parables to our brothers and sisters in Babylon so that they cannot understand. The reason they cannot understand is that they are of their father the devil. In times past, we were also of our father the devil, and therefore we could not understand what the Lord was saying to us. 

Joh 8:43  Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. 
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.

Mat 13:4  And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: 
Mat 13:5  Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: 
Mat 13:6  And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. 
Mat 13:7  And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: 
Mat 13:8  But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. 
Mat 13:9  Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.  

Without Jesus explaining what the parable of the sower means, it would have been impossible for us to understand what He was saying to us who were part of the multitude at a certain stage of our walk with Christ. From verses 4 to 7, the parable shows us our responses when we heard the word of the Lord in our time in Babylon. We did not appreciate the truth of the word of the Lord because we were spiritually blind and deaf. In the fullness of time, when the Lord opened our hearts and minds to understand His words, we started to produce fruit. This is the Lord’s explanation of the parable of the Sower: 

Mat 13:18  Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower. 
Mat 13:19  When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side. 
Mat 13:20  But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; 
Mat 13:21  Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.
Mat 13:22  He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful. 
Mat 13:23 But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 

The Lord’s explanation of the parable of the sower is to teach us, His elect, how to rightly divide the word of truth.

2Ti 2:15  Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 

In Matthew 13:23, it is the good ground that received the seed or the word of the Lord sown, and as a result was able to bear fruits. The good ground refers to the heart and mind of an elect. As we are aware, it takes time for a farmer to prepare the soil for planting. In a similar way, it takes time for our hearts and minds to be prepared to be recipients of the word of the Lord. 

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: 

The preparation of our hearts and minds is the Lord’s judgment of our old man or flesh, which we are going through to prepare us to receive the word of the Lord and to bear fruits of the spirit. These are the fruits of the spirit which we are to bear:

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

1Pe 4:1  Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; 
1Pe 4:2 That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God. 

The Purpose of the 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. 

These verses show us that in this age, the Lord is saving a few people known as His elect. In verse 11, the elect who are privileged to be saved in this age are represented by the Lord’s disciples. What verse 11 also means is that it is a privilege in this age to be given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of Heaven and not a right. We are called and chosen before the foundation of the world by God to be saved in this age. 

Eph 1:4  According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: 
Eph 1:5  Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, 
Eph 1:6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

Those who are not given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of Heaven are the people of this world and our brothers and sisters in the churches of this world or Babylon. Their bondage to corruption is all part of the design by the Lord to prevent them from understanding the mysteries of the kingdom in this age. In Romans 8:20, we are told that it is not that people choose to sin willingly, but that their subjection to vanity is according to the counsel of God with the aim of liberating them at the right time to become the sons of God. That is why the whole of creation are waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God, His elect, who will be the agents of liberation of the people of the world including our brothers and sisters in Babylon.

Rom 8:19  For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. 
Rom 8:20  For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, 
Rom 8:21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 

We are therefore the source of salvation or saviors to the whole of humanity. 

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.

The verses following show us how the Lord is making the people of this world, including our brothers and sisters in Babylon, blind, so that they do not know Him in this age.  

Mat 13:12  For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. 
Mat 13:13  Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. 

The Lord is taking away from our brothers and sisters in Babylon even the little knowledge they have of the Lord and giving it to us, His elect. In other words, the Lord is making blind our brothers and sisters in Babylon including the people of the world, so that they do not come to know the truth in this age. As a result, the word of the Lord has become a parable to them to keep them in blindness, as shown in verse 13.

Joh 9:39  And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind. 
Joh 9:40  And some of the Pharisees [our brothers and sisters in Babylon] which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also? 
Joh 9:41 Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth. 

Mat 13:14  And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: 
Mat 13:15 For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. 

The blindness of our brothers and sisters in the churches of this world is due to the smoke that comes out of the bottomless pit, which represents our hearts and minds. The smoke is the false doctrines in their hearts and minds that eclipse the truth of the word of the Lord such that hearing they will hear and not understand, and seeing they will see and not perceive. 

Rev 9:1  And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. 
Rev 9:2  And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. 
Rev 9:3 And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. 

The propagators of these false doctrines are the false prophets who are described as locusts in the verses above. They come as angels of light but inwardly, they are grievous wolves. 

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

The works of these false prophets show themselves by people’s hearts becoming gross as their ears become dull of hearing and their eyes are blinded to the truth of the word of the Lord, as shown in verse 15. We must remember that at a certain stage of our walk with Christ, we were also in such condition, as our eyes were blinded and our ears could not hear the truth.

Eph 2:1  And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins
Eph 2:2  Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: 
Eph 2:3  Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. 
Eph 2:4  But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 
Eph 2:5  Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
Eph 2:6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

Mat 13:16  But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. 
Mat 13:17 For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.     

It is indeed a privilege to be counted as children of the Lord in this age. Not that we deserved it, but in His mercy, He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world to become saviors with our Lord Jesus Christ.

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

The prophets and righteous men of old were not given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of Heaven. All the work they did was for our sake, as shown in the following verses:

1Pe 1:10  Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: 
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.

As verses 18 to 23 highlight the explanation of the parable of the Sower, which we have addressed, we shall proceed to the parable of the weeds as follows:

The Parable of the Weeds

Mat 13:24  Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: 
Mat 13:25  But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. 
Mat 13:26  But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. 

The man who sowed good seed in his field represents Christ and His Christ. The good seed signifies the word of the Lord. The field represents our hearts and minds. Christ came to us when we were part of the people of the world to deliver us so that we shall no longer conform to the standards of this world, but live as children of Christ. In our zeal, we unsuspectingly entered the churches of this world thinking we shall grow in the knowledge of Christ and His grace. However, as the parable suggests, this is the period of our walk when we were spiritually sleeping, just like the ten virgins who fell asleep while waiting for the bridegroom.  In other words, it is while we were in the churches of this world that we fell asleep and the enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat that is sown in our hearts and minds. The enemy here represents the devil who works through his false prophets to sow false doctrines of man’s wisdom and traditions in our hearts and minds while we were in the corridors of the churches of this world. These false doctrines are the tares.

2Pe 2:1  But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. 
2Pe 2:2  And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. 
2Pe 2:3 And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.  

It is the fruits which are born by the wheat and the tares that serves to distinguish between them. If false doctrines of man’s wisdom and tradition (tares) are sown in our hearts, we shall end up producing the fruits of the flesh. On the other hand, if the truth of the word of the Lord (wheat) is sown in our hearts, the result shall be the fruits of the spirit. 

Gal 5:19  Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 
Gal 5:20  Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
Gal 5:21  Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. 
Gal 5:22  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 
Gal 5:23  Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. 
Gal 5:24 And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. 

As Jesus said, by our fruits, we shall know whether we are of Christ or the evil one. 

Mat 7:15  Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
Mat 7:16  Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
Mat 7:17  Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. 
Mat 7:18  A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
Mat 7:19  Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 
Mat 7:20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. 

Mat 13:27  So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? 
Mat 13:28  He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?
Mat 13:29  But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. 
Mat 13:30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn. 

In verse 28, the servants of the householder wanted to go and gather up the tares, but he stopped them by saying that they should let the wheat and the tares grow together until the harvest, since in gathering up the tares, the wheat may also be rooted up. The fact that it is until the harvest that the tares will be gathered together and burnt means that it takes time for us effectively distinguish between the truth of the word of the Lord and false doctrines. It is as we are maturing spiritually that we can discern clearly between the truth of the Lord’s words and the false doctrines of the devil. The time of the harvest is therefore the period in our lives when our senses are exercised to discern the truth from false doctrines which are destroyed in our lives by the hail of the truth of His words. In other words, it is the time of the harvest that we are able to test the spirit to see if it is of the Lord.     

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

1Jn 4:1  Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. 
1Jn 4:2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: 

Eze 44:15  But the priests the Levites, the sons of Zadok, that kept the charge of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from me, they shall come near to me to minister unto me, and they shall stand before me to offer unto me the fat and the blood, saith the Lord GOD: 

Eze 44:23  And they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean. 
Eze 44:24 And in controversy they shall stand in judgment; and they shall judge it according to my judgments: and they shall keep my laws and my statutes in all mine assemblies; and they shall hallow my sabbaths. 

We are grateful to our Lord Jesus Christ for favoring us to be called and chosen in this age, to the praise of His glory. Amen!!  

Revelation 13:1-2 Part 1, Who is the Beast?

[Study Aired Janary 3, 2025]

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.
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.

Introduction

By now we should all have learned that we are the ones who “live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God, that all things present and things to come are ours, and that we are blessed if we are given to read, hear and keep the things written in this book” (Mat 4:4, 1Co 3:21-22, Rev 1:3).

Mat 4:4  But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

1Co 3:21  Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours;
1Co 3:22  Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours;

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.

By now we should realize that John is seeing this entire vision as he looks behind himself and sees what God is doing, has done and is continuing to do in his own life, as “the revelation of Christ” is being revealed within him, John, who signifies you and me and all of our “fellowservants who keep the sayings of this book” (Rev 19:10 and 22:8-9).

Rev 19:10  And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am [I signfy] thy fellowservant, 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.

It is you and I who see these things and immediately tend to worship the messenger instead of God.

Let us remember that this chapter concerning the beast within us, the previous chapter concerning the woman and the manchild and their relationship with the great red dragon, along with the next two chapters, are all “the days of the seventh trumpet when he shall begin to sound” (Rev 10:7).

Rev 10:7  But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.
Rev 10:8  And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and said, Go and take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth.
Rev 10:9  And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.
Rev 10:10  And I took the little book out of the angel’s hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.
Rev 10:11  And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.

This is that excruciating time in our lives leading up to the fulfilling of the great day of God’s wrath, which is poured out on all of our unrighteousnesses and ungodlinesses.

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;

Rev 15:7  And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever.
Rev 15:8  And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.

“Holding truth in unrighteousness” is the very function of Babylon the great, out of whom we must all come. ‘Holding the Truth in unrighteousness’ is holding Christ’s name, proclaiming His Truth and at the same time proclaiming that disobedience to His doctrine is Godly. The ministers of Babylon are quick to tell you to ‘Love your enemies’, but they add to the Lord’s words… ‘Unless he means you bodily harm, in which case you can blow him away to the glory of God’. The ministers of Babylon are quick to tell you that you, “Thou shalt not bear false witness”, but with the same forked tongue they will tell you it is just fine to lie to your child if it is a national tradition, and tell that child that Santa comes down the chimney and leaves gifts to good children.

When you and I refuse to follow the traditions of men, then we are in the process of coming out of Babylon, and we can expect to be “hated of all men”:

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

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.

So we will ask once more: if we are to “read, hear, and keep the things written therein” (Rev 1:3), then how do we keep these first two verses of Rev 13? To answer that question we will have to know what is signified in these two verses. So let us ask…

… What is meant by “standing on the sand of the sea”?

If this really is John as the symbol of all of us who read, hear, and keep the things written in this book, then it truly is instructive that he sees himself, at this point as “standing on the sand of the sea”. ‘Sand’, according to our Lord, is very unstable and never to be relied upon as a foundation for anything.

Mat 7:26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
Mat 7:27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

So the “sand of the sea” is the symbol of each of us when we have heard Christ’s words but simply did not see the need to “tremble before [them]”. The “sand of the sea” and standing or building on that sand, is you and me when we consider obedience to every word of God to be fanatical and impractical in a world that completely ignores the words of God.

To whom will God reveal Himself, and where is the place of His rest?

Isa 66:1 Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest?
Isa 66:2 For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.
Isa 66:3 He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man; he that sacrificeth a lamb, as if he cut off a dog’s neck; he that offereth an oblation, as if he offered swine’s blood; he that burneth incense, as if he blessed an idol. Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations.
Isa 66:4 I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them; because when I called, none did answer; when I spake, they did not hear: but they did evil before mine eyes, and chose that in which I delighted not.
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 shall be ashamed.

So John “standing upon the sand of the sea” is in type you and me when we “Hear the sayings of Christ and do them not”. “Standing upon the sand of the sea” is “choosing our own ways and delighting in our abominations and doing evil before God’s eyes and choosing that in which God does not delight”. Standing on sand is asking what is permissible (what’s the least I can get by with?) instead of what is commendable and in complete accord with the word of God. That is where we are when this beast is revealed to us as coming up out of the sea.

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.

As always we need to know where these verses of Revelation derive their force and power. Once we see where they obtain their force and power, then we will see that all the beasts of the Old Testament become one single beast in the New Testament. If we are given to understand that mankind himself is that beast, then we will know that what applies to the verses from which these verses come applies to each of us individually before God. That is what is meant by “comparing spiritual things with spiritual” (1Co 2:13-14). Instead of seeing the people and events of the Old Testament as mere historical events and people, we see every person and event as what is, what was and what will be taking place in our lives.

So do the scriptures really reveal that mankind is a beast? What do the scriptures actually teach?

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.

Let us ask a simple question. Where else in scripture are we told that something rises up out of the sea? Here is the answer to that question.

Isa 63:11 Then he remembered the days of old, Moses, and his people, saying, Where is he that brought them up out of the sea with the shepherd of his flock? where is he that put his holy Spirit within him?

In light of what we learned about the woman who was given the two wings of a great eagle to fly into the wilderness last week, could this beast actually be you and me as we are being brought up out of the sea into the wilderness to rebel against the very Savior who is delivering us? Is that possible? Here are God’s own words concerning you and me as His firstborn and as His first fruits:

Hos 11:1 When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.
Hos 11:2 As they called them, so they went from them: they sacrificed unto Baalim, and burned incense to graven images.

That is indeed what we all do. Where do we go from the wilderness? We enter into the land of promise. It flows with “milk and honey”, but there is no mention of the “strong meat of the word” in the “land flowing with milk and honey”:

Exo 33:1  And the LORD said unto Moses, Depart, and go up hence, thou and the people which thou hast brought up out of the land of Egypt, unto the land which I sware unto Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, Unto thy seed will I give it:
Exo 33:2  And I will send an angel before thee; and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite:
Exo 33:3  Unto a land flowing with milk and honey: for I will not go up in the midst of thee; for thou art a stiffnecked people: lest I consume thee in the way.
Exo 33:4  And when the people heard these evil tidings, they mourned: and no man did put on him his ornaments.
Exo 33:5  For the LORD had said unto Moses, Say unto the children of Israel, Ye are a stiffnecked people: I will come up into the midst of thee in a moment, and consume thee: therefore now put off thy ornaments from thee, that I may know what to do unto thee.
Exo 33:6  And the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments by the mount Horeb.
Exo 33:7  And Moses took the tabernacle, and pitched it without the camp, afar off from the camp, and called it the Tabernacle of the congregation. And it came to pass, that every one which sought the LORD went out [“of her” (Rev 18:4)] unto the tabernacle of the congregation, which was without the camp [out of Babylon].

The scriptures make clear that we do not naturally want to follow the messengers of God. We prefer to return to Egypt. Do we return to Egypt as we want? No, we will not go back to Egypt. Even at this early stage we are told that we will eventually go into Babylon until God sees fit to deliver us from there. It is right here in the same context of Hosea 11, and for those who are given to receive it, it is in the very next verses.

Hos 11:3 I taught Ephraim also to go, taking them by their arms; but they knew not that I healed them.
Hos 11:4 I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love: and I was to them as they that take off the yoke on their jaws, and I laid meat unto them.
Hos 11:5 He shall not return into the land of Egypt, but the Assyrian [The rebellious churches of Babylon] shall be his king, because they refused to return [“They refused to… tremble at My words”].
Hos 11:6 And the sword shall abide on his cities, and shall consume his branches, and devour them, because of their own counsels.

“Our own counsel” means we do what we want to do in direct opposition to God’s counsel and what God wants us to do. “Their own counsel” is hearing what Christ’s says in His Word, and “doing them not”. That is the spiritual meaning of “standing upon the sand of the sea”.

Why does this beast have “seven heads and ten horns”, just like the great red dragon of chapter twelve?

We saw in our studies in chapter 12 that this beast and the great red dragon were nothing less than father and son.

Joh 8:44 Ye [“Jews which believe on Me… but do not do as I say”, Luk 6:46] 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.

Can we “look behind us” and see that we all “walked according to the prince of the power of the air… our father the devil”, and that we were all “the children of disobedience”, before we become the children of God.

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

This beast here in Daniel is the spiritual composite within us of all the nation empires of the Old Testament. All of those Old Testament empires are nothing more than the single offspring of the first Adam, whose carnal minded flesh is signified here by ‘the sea’ here in Revelation 13. It is only here in the New Testament that the spirit reveals, for the first time, that from God’s spiritual perspective, everything that was in Adam is revealed to be within each and every one of his children. The result of this revelation is that we find all of the Old Testament empires and the beastly symbols of those empires all wrapped up into one composite beast within each and every one of us. Notice how the four beast empires of Daniel 7 compare to the four features of the single beast of Revelation 13. This is not just coincidence. What we are being told is everything that is in Adam is in all of of his children, including “the fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly… the dragon gave him his power and seat and great authority”. Notice the correlation between Daniel 7 and Revelation 13.

Here are the four beasts of Daniel:

Dan 7:3 And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another.
Dan 7:4 The first was like a lion, and had eagle’s wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man’s heart was given to it.
Dan 7:5 And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and [it had] three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh.
Dan 7:6 After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it.
Dan 7:7 After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it [was] diverse from all the beasts that [were] before it; and it had ten horns.

“It had ten horns”. Here in these five verses we have four beasts, one of which has four heads. That means we have four beasts with seven heads total.

There is no description given of the fourth beast except to say that it was dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns. Who is this fourth beast? Why is it different from the other three? Where else in all of scripture do we read of any creatures which have “seven heads and ten horns”? It is only here in Revelation 12 and 13. Here is the answer to all of those questions:

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.

Exactly who do the scriptures reveal this great red dragon to be? The scriptures leave no room for speculation:

Rev 12:9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

So as we have already established in our studies in chapter 12, this great red dragon is “that old serpent called the Devil and Satan”.

Now look at the spiritual offspring of this great red dragon, and notice how much the spiritual son is the reflection of his spiritual “father the devil”.

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.
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.

In Daniel 7 we have the same lion, leopard and bear, but in Daniel we are told that the fourth beast has the teeth of a devouring lion, even as we are told that “the fourth beast differs from the other three beasts”. This fourth beast is said to be “dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that [were] before it; and it had ten horns.

Were it not for the 12th chapter of Revelation, we would never know that this fourth beast is “our [first spiritual] father the devil”, and that the beast here in chapter thirteen is merely his spiritual seed and his offspring with the same spiritual “seven heads and ten horns”.

Why seven heads?

The reason there are seven heads here in Revelation and in Daniel tells us what the number seven always tells us. What we are being told when we read that this beast that comes up out of the sea has seven heads is that this is a complete and mature beast, and we are now dealing with the revelation of Adam in his full bloom. Notice what we read of the four beasts with seven heads in Daniel:

Dan 7:7 After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it [was] diverse from all the beasts that [were] before it; and it had ten horns.
Dan 7:8 I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn [were] eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.
Dan 7:9 I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment [was] white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne [was like] the fiery flame, [and] his wheels [as] burning fire.
Dan 7:10 A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.
Dan 7:11 I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld [even] till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame.
Dan 7:12 As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time.
Dan 7:13 I saw in the night visions, and, behold, [one] like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.
Dan 7:14 And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion [is] an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom [that] which shall not be destroyed.

This prophecy here in Daniel 7 takes us all the way to the day of the judgment of this beast. “I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld [even] till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame”. This is the day of judgment we are now in, but here in Daniel this is all “sealed up”, and we are told that it is not to be understood until “the time of the end”, the time of judgment and the time when “the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame.”

Dan 12:4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.

Dan 7:11 I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld [even] till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame.

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

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

Well, we happen to be those upon whom “the ends of the ages have come”. It is we who are living in the time when “many are running to and fro, and knowledge is being increased” in this “time of the end”.

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

There it is! Christ is the “ends of the age”, and He was not accessible to those of Daniel’s generation, but He is accessible to us.

Rev 1:8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.

We will pause here and in our next study we will learn why Daniel was told to “seal up the book” while John, here in Revelation is told “Seal not the book”.

Rev 10:5-11 Part 1 – In The Days of The Voice of The Seventh Angel

[Study Aired Sept 15, 2024]

Rev 10:5  And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven,
Rev 10:6  And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer:
Rev 10:7  But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.
Rev 10:8  And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and said, Go [and] take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth.
Rev 10:9  And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take [it], and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.
Rev 10:10  And I took the little book out of the angel’s hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.
Rev 10:11  And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.

Introduction

The first thing we will do today is to review last week’s study. After that, our attention will be focused on the statement that “There should be time no longer”, in verse 6 and the meaning of “in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as He has declared to His servants the prophets”, in verse seven.

Several of the verses in this week’s study were a necessary part of last week’s study, so since we did not have the time to summarize last week’s study, we need to comment on the symbols of those verses as a review of what we learned last week, and as an introduction to our study of what “In the days of the voice of the seventh angel” means.

A review of the seven symbols of Rev 10:1-4

Here is a brief overview of the seven symbols we discussed in our last study:

1) The mighty angel

Who is this “mighty angel” described in verse one? We saw that this angel with His feet on our sea and our earth, speaking as a lion roars, is Christ as the Lord of our lives, who is subduing and putting under His feet our every thought to Himself, at the expense of and making a prey of, the life of our old man.

Eph 1:22  And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church

That is a principle which governs the relationship between these two men throughout scripture:

Joh 3:30  He [Christ] must increase, but I [our old man] must decrease.

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 [“The eyes of our understanding being enlightened”, Eph 1:18]:

2) The little book

What is this “little book” mentioned in verse two? We saw that this “little book” is contained within the book given to the slain Lamb, the lion of the tribe of Judah, in chapter 5, by the man on the throne. This is the same book which is written within and without with “lamentations,  mourning, and woe”, upon the kingdom of our old man because it is the revelation of Christ in His Christ within us, who must enter the kingdom through “much tribulation.”

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

There is a principle revealed to us in the story of Joseph, which tells us that when the Lord gives us something twice, it is simply a second witness to a single truth. The details may differ, but the meaning is the same, and the time is imminent.

Gen 41:25  And Joseph said unto Pharaoh, The dream of Pharaoh is one: God hath shewed Pharaoh what he is about to do.
Gen 41:26  The seven good kine are seven years; and the seven good ears are seven years: the dream is one.

The “book in the hand” in Ezekiel 3 and the book in the hand of the mighty angel in Rev 10, are one book. That is why both men are told to “Eat this book”. Christ told us in John 6 to “eat My flesh”. We are also told in the same sixth chapter of John that His flesh is His words, which are “the bread of life.”

Joh 6:48  I am that bread of life.
Joh 6:49  Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead.
Joh 6:50  This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die.
Joh 6:51  I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.

In this same chapter, what does Christ say gives us life? Here is the answer:

Joh 6:63  It is the spirit that giveth life; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I have spoken unto you are spirit, and are life.(ASV)

So when Christ says “I will give my flesh for the life of the world”, what He is really saying, contradictory as it may sound to the natural man is, “It is the spirit that gives life, the flesh profits nothing: the words that I have spoken unto you are spirit and are life”. “Eat this bread”, and “eat this book”, is one and the same thing. Again, the book in Rev 5 which the man on the throne gives to the Lamb, had this “little book… sealed” within it, detailing through the seals, trumpets, and vials, the trials and tribulations of “Christ in us” (Col 1:27).

Eze 2:10  And he spread it before me; and it was written within and without: and there was written therein lamentations, and mourning, and woe.

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

Rev 5:8  And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.
Rev 5:9  And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;
Rev 5:10  And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

So the “little book” is sweet in our mouth, but it is bitter in our bellies. Christ is “the book of the life of the Lamb”, and our lives are the life of Christ in us. Our lives are the “little book” which we are told to eat, just as Christ told us to “eat my flesh… the true bread of life.” It is “out of the books” that we are “judged according to our works”.

Rev 13:8 And will worship him [the beast within us] all those dwelling on the earth, of which not has been written the name in the scroll of the life of the lamb of that having been killed, from a casting down of a world. (EDT) Emphatic Diaglott

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.

All of Christ’s words are good for us, and we will live by them all. But our lives are not sinless as was Christ’s life, and we will be judged out of those things which were written in the lesser books, according to how Christ has worked in us as the “little book”, as the Lord’s Christ, the Christ of Christ, the anointed of Christ.

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

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.

Rev 12:10  And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.

3) His right foot on the sea, and His left foot on the earth

Why does He “set His right foot on the sea, and His left foot on the earth”?

We saw that whatever is under one’s feet is subjected to that person. Christ has been given all power in heaven and in earth.

Mat 28:18  And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

As such He is our King over our lives and over all we do.

Eph 1:22  And [The Father] hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,

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

4) What are “the sea and the earth”?

We saw that “the sea and the earth” are those realms below the heavens. As such they are the realm of the temporal, and the realm of death. The earth is pushed up our of the sea, but both the sea and the earth are still below the heavens, and both oppose heavenly things and are the enemies of Christ.

Col 3:1  If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
Col 3:2  Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.

5) The mighty angel cries with a loud voice, as a lion roars

Why does this mighty angel “cry with a loud voice, as when a lion roars”?

A lion roars only when he has taken his prey. The “roar of the lion” and having “the sea and the earth under His feet” are both compatible with Christ’s destruction of His enemy, “the body of this death”. Our salvation comes only through the death and destruction of our old man. Christ is roaring as a lion against our old man as He destroys and devours him:

Isa 31:4  For thus hath the LORD spoken unto me, Like as the lion and the young lion roaring on his prey,when a multitude of shepherds is called forth against him, he will not be afraid of their voice, nor abase himself for the noise of them: so shall the LORD of hosts come down to fight for mount Zion, and for the hill thereof.

Joh 5:24  Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

1Co 3:17  If any man defile the temple of God [and we all have], him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

Lam 2:5  The Lord was as an enemy: he hath swallowed up [apostate] Israel, he hath swallowed up all her palaces: he hath destroyed his strong holds, and hath increased in the daughter of Judah mourning and lamentation.

Lam 3:10  He was unto me as a bear lying in wait, and as a lion in secret places.
Lam 3:11  He hath turned aside my ways, and pulled me in pieces: he hath made me desolate.

Amo 3:4  Will a lion roar in the forest, when he hath no prey? will a young lion cry out of his den, if he have taken nothing?
Amo 3:5  Can a bird fall in a snare upon the earth, where no gin [is] for him? shall [one] take up a snare from the earth, and have taken nothing at all?
Amo 3:6  Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it?

6) The connection between the little book and the seven thunders

What is the connection between this “little book” and the seven thunders which are sealed up and not written?

We saw that this little book is introduced to us just before the seven thunders utter their voices. We also saw that John, the type and symbol of God’s elect, heard the voices of the seven thunders and “was about to write” what he had heard. If this little book is Christ and His Words in us, if John is the symbol of us and Christ in us, and if thunder typifies the wrath of God upon the unrighteousness of those who are to become His elect, then the connection between the revelation of this little book and the seven thunders, is the revelation of the work of Christ’s Words upon all that is within us which is contrary to those Words of Christ.

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.

Mat 4:4  But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

Mat 24:34  Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
Mat 24:35  Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

1Co 3:21  Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours;
1Co 3:22  Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours;

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.

7) Seal up the seven thunders

What is it that has been “sealed up and are not written”? What exactly is thunder? Exactly what is it that we are not being allowed to know?

We saw that ‘thunder’ symbolizes the wrath of God, on all that withstands His Word and His Work.

Psa 18:7  Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because he was wroth.
Psa 18:8  There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it.

Psa 18:13  The LORD also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave his voice; hail stones and coals of fire.

We saw that the Lord withholds nothing good from His elect.

Psa 34:10  The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing.

Act 20:27  For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God

We also saw that it is just after telling us that the thunder of God’s wrath will destroy all that is contrary to His Words within us, we are told that “the secret things belong to God”.

Deu 29:24  Even all nations shall say, Wherefore hath the LORD done thus unto this land? what meaneth the heat of this great anger?
Deu 29:25  Then men shall say, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD God of their fathers, which he made with them when he brought them forth out of the land of Egypt:
Deu 29:26  For they went and served other gods, and worshipped them, gods whom they knew not, and whom he had not given unto them:
Deu 29:27  And the anger of the LORD was kindled against this land, to bring upon it all the curses that are written in this book:
Deu 29:28  And the LORD rooted them out of their land in anger, and in wrath, and in great indignation, and cast them into another land, as [it is] this day.
Deu 29:29  The secret things [The seven thunders] belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed [as we are prepared to receive them] belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.

Compare these words of Deu 29 with these words of Rev 10.

Rev 10:2  And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth,
Rev 10:3  And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices.
Rev 10:4  And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not.

Since we are told that we will not be given more than we can bear, it is obvious that what the seven thunders utter is “the secret things” which belong to God, concerning that which lies ahead of us which we are not, at this moment, able to bear.

Joh 16:4  But these things have I told you, that when the time shall come, ye may remember that I told you of them. And these things I said not unto you at the beginning, because I was with you.
Joh 16:5  But now I go my way to him that sent me; and none of you asketh me, Whither goest thou?
Joh 16:6  But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart.
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.
Joh 16:8  And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
Joh 16:9  Of sin, because they believe not on me;
Joh 16:10  Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;
Joh 16:11  Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.
Joh 16:12  I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.

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

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

We also saw the verses of God’s Word which promise to “prepare our hearts” before we are faced with any trial.

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

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

It is only after we have been prepared, that we, with John, are given ears to hear the voices of the seven thunders and we are prepared for our trial which lies before us. But it is always sealed up, and we only hear it when the Lord has prepared out hearts to receive it:

Joh 16:12  I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.
Joh 16:13  Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come [and has prepared your heart to bear The Truth], he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come [as we are made able to bear it].

Mar 4:33  And with many such parables spake he the word unto them, as they were able to hear it.
Mar 4:34  But without a parable spake he not unto them: and when they were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples.

It is “not written” because it is a tailor-made trial for each of us alone at that moment. “The secret things belong to God who alone does knows what we will do tomorrow, but we do not know because “The secret things [of our trials and tests] belong to God… because we have forsaken the covenant of our fathers…  [so] seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not” because:

Jas 4:13  Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:
Jas 4:14  Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.
Jas 4:15  For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.
Jas 4:16  But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.
Jas 4:17  Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

We will pause here and continue our study on Rev, 10:5-11 Part 2 in our next study.

Rev 10:1-4, Part 2 – Seven Thunders Utter Their Voices

[Study Aired Sept 8, 2024]

We were in the process of seeking the scriptural meaning of the seven symbols of these four verses:

Rev 10:1  And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire:
Rev 10:2  And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth,
Rev 10:3  And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices.
Rev 10:4  And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not.

By way of reminder and review, those seven symbols were:

1)  Who is this “mighty angel” described in verse one?

2)  What is this “little book” mentioned in verse two?

3)  Why does He “set His right foot on the sea, and His left foot on the earth”?

4)  What is “the sea and the earth”?

5)  Why does this mighty angel “cry with a loud voice, as when a lion roars”?

6)  What is the connection between this “little book” and the seven thunders which are sealed up and not written? What is this all about?

7)  Then we will also need to ask ourselves, What is it that has been “sealed up and are not written”?

We had gotten down to:

4) What is “the sea and the earth”?

The dry land is pushed up out of the sea.

Gen 1:9  And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry [land] appear: and it was so.
Gen 1:10  And God called the dry [land] Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that [it was] good.

The gathering together of “the waters” is revealed as that which covers the earth and out of which the beast and the dry land appear:

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 sea, “the waters under the heavens”, is revealed to be the masses of mankind upon whom the great harlot of Babylon sits as the mother of all religions which have rejected their Creator. Those nations are all dominated by false harlot religions know as “Babylon The Great, The Mother Of Harlots and abominations of the earth”.

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 17:2  With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.
Rev 17:3  So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
Rev 17:4  And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:
Rev 17:5  And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
Rev 17:6  And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.

Revelation 17:15 reaffirms the meaning of the waters of ‘the sea’:

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 17:18  And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.

“The  dry land” which is pushed up out of the sea when “the waters under the heavens are gathered together” is called earth and is revealed to signify the people of God who have turned their backs on their own Creator, and who refuse to hear the word of their Creator.

Gen 1:9  And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry [land] appear: and it was so.
Gen 1:10  And God called the dry [land] Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that [it was] good.

Jeremiah uses that very moniker to address the Lord’s rebellious, carnal minded people:

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

5) Why does this mighty angel “cry with a loud voice, as when a lion roars”?

Rev 10:3  And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices.

God’s dominion over the sea and the earth is revealed to us only through His wrath upon all unrighteousness. His feet being upon the sea and the earth is in accord with His “crying with a loud voice, as when a lion roars”. It is because the great day of His wrath has arrived that we are told:

Pro 19:12  The king’s wrath is as the roaring of a lion; but his favour [is] as dew upon the grass.

A lion roars when he has taken his prey:

Amo 3:4  Will a lion roar in the forest, when he hath no prey? will a young lion cry out of his den, if he have taken nothing?
Amo 3:5  Can a bird fall in a snare upon the earth, where no gin [is] for him? shall [one] take up a snare from the earth, and have taken nothing at all?
Amo 3:6  Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid; shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it?

The Lord has both the sea and the earth “under His feet”, and He wants the world to know it.

Isa 45:5  I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:
Isa 45:6  That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else.

The sea and the earth both are the enemies of God, and are both “the body of this death”. We are by nature that world of “the sea and the earth”, and if He is in us, He will rejoice and “roar” because of His dominion over the sea and the earth, which is “the body of this death” which we call our flesh and which flesh, by nature, “serves the law of sin”.

Psa 107:2  Let the redeemed of the LORD say [so], whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy;

Rom 7:19  For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
Rom 7:20  Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:21  I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
Rom 7:22  For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
Rom 7:23  But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
Rom 7:24  O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
Rom 7:25  I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

Christ, as “the lion of the tribe of Judah…, devours his enemy”, our ‘old man’, even as “He redeems us from the hand of [that] enemy… the body of this death.”

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.

Hos 13:4  Yet I am the LORD thy God from the land of Egypt, and thou shalt know no god but me: for [there is] no saviour beside me.

Hos 13:7  Therefore I will be unto them as a lion: as a leopard by the way will I observe [them]:
Hos 13:8  I will meet them as a bear [that is] bereaved [of her whelps], and will rend the caul of their heart, and there will I devour them [our old man] like a lion: the wild beast shall tear them.

Amo 3:8  The lion hath roared, who will not fear? the Lord GOD hath spoken, who can but prophesy?

Isa 31:4  For thus hath the LORD spoken unto me, Like as the lion and the young lion roaring on his prey, when a multitude of shepherds is called forth against him, [he] will not be afraid of their voice, nor abase himself for the noise of them: so shall the LORD of hosts come down to fight for mount Zion, and for the hill thereof.

6) What is the connection between this “little book” and the seven thunders which are sealed up and not written?

What is this all about? Why are the seven thunders “sealed up and not written”? God has taken His “very elect” into His confidence to a very great extent and has seen fit to reveal to them all “the mysteries of the kingdom of God”. Yet he plainly tells us that there are some things which He has not taken us into His confidence to reveal to us.

Deu 29:29  The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.

God shows us what He is doing in us only after He has prepared us to receive it (Psa 10:17). It is a process which involves every word that proceeds out of His mouth, and preparing our hearts to endure our trials is a process which is common to all men.

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

Deu 29:2  And Moses called unto all Israel, and said unto them, Ye have seen all that the LORD did before your eyes in the land of Egypt unto Pharaoh, and unto all his servants, and unto all his land;
Deu 29:3  The great temptations which thine eyes have seen, the signs, and those great miracles:
Deu 29:4  Yet the LORD hath not given you an heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day.

Witnessing great miracles obviously is not what is required to change one’s heart and turn it toward God. Those things which do change our hearts are His thunders and His wrath upon our sins, and they are revealed only as we can receive them. “Seal them up and write them not” does not mean they will never be revealed, for those are the same words the Lord told Daniel:

Dan 12:4  But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.

So, Moses concludes this prophecy in Deu 29 with the words we quoted earlier:

Deu 29:29  The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.

The connection between John hearing seven thunders just before being told not to write what he heard is the same as why Daniel was told to “shut up the words and seal the book, even unto the time of the end” In other words, ‘even unto the appointed time’, when we will then be prepared in our hearts to accept what we cannot at this time accept, just as Christ told His disciples:

Joh 16:12  I have yet many things to say unto you, [‘seven thunders’] but ye cannot bear them now.
Joh 16:13  Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
Joh 16:14  He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

 7) What then are the seven thunders which John is told to seal up and write them not?

These “secrets things” are not revealed and are “sealed up and not uttered”, until the Lord prepares our hearts to receive them. The Lord has given us to know the outcome of His plan and of His purpose in all things. He has given us the overview of all He is doing. So, what are “the secret things [which] belong to God”? Here is what the scriptures reveal that we do not know:

Jas 4:14  Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

The Lord has taken us into His confidence and has revealed exactly what He is in the process of accomplishing, but it is in His great mercy that He has not revealed to us the details of our daily judgment. It is our complete detailed daily judgment which is signified by “seven trumpets”, and it is in the Lord’s mercy that He does not let us know what tomorrow holds for us.

Mat 24:42  Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.

Mar 13:32  But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.
Mar 13:33  Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.
Mar 13:34  For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch.
Mar 13:35  Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning:

But “the things which are revealed” are written and uttered to only very few.

Mat 13:9  Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
Mat 13:10  And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
Mat 13:11  He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
Mat 13:12  For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
Mat 13:13  Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.

So, the multitudes who come to Christ to hear his parables still, to this very day, think they have eyes that see when in reality “they see not”. They think they have ears that hear, and they believe they can read, but the Truth remains “neither do they understand”. But to His elect He says, “It is given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to them it is not given.” Yet we are told that John himself was to “seal up what the seven thunders had uttered and write them not” because the Lord knows our frame and He knows that ‘He has many things to tell us which we cannot receive’ until after He has prepared out hearts to do so. He know that it is much better that He uses each daily trial to prepare our heart to endure the next trial.

What is the significance of telling us that there is something that is not revealed? Was not John told to write down all he had seen?

Rev 1:19  Write therefore the things which thou sawest, and the things which are, and the things which shall come to pass hereafter;

It was in obedience to this commandment that John begins to write what the seven thunders had uttered. John no doubt thought that this too, would edify and exhort and comfort those who were given to “read, hear and keep the things written therein” (Rev 1:3). After all, we have already been told “Woe, woe, woe to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the three trumpets which are yet to sound.”

Our next trumpet is the seventh trumpet, and the seventh trumpet is “the seven last plagues of God’s wrath” which are poured out upon the inhabiters of the earth. What could be in these seven thunders, which is not to be revealed nor written down? The answer to this question can be understood only when we know what is meant by “thunders” and when we notice that John himself heard the voices of the seven thunders, and was about to write them down when he was told not to do so. If we are given to understand who John typifies, and if we know what the number 7 typifies, and if we know what thunder signifies, then we will understand why John was told to “seal up what the seven thunders had uttered and write it not.”

The number 7 signifies completion of whatever is under discussion. Here is an in depth study on the Spiritual Significance of the Number Seven

We must also understand the spiritual significance of the word ‘thunder’, and we must understand the spiritual significance and symbolism of John himself, and we must know what is not revealed, before we can understand why John himself could hear these seven thunders but was not permitted to write down what he had heard.

What is the spiritual significance of the word ‘thunder’?

The first time this word appears in scripture tells us of its spiritual significance.

Exo 9:23  And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven: and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground; and the LORD rained hail upon the land of Egypt.

Exo 9:27  And Pharaoh sent, and called for Moses and Aaron, and said unto them, I have sinned this time: the LORD [is] righteous, and I and my people [are] wicked.
Exo 9:28  Intreat the LORD (for [it is] enough) that there be no more mighty thunderings and hail; and I will let you go, and ye shall stay no longer.
Exo 9:29  And Moses said unto him, As soon as I am gone out of the city, I will spread abroad my hands unto the LORD; and the thunder shall cease, neither shall there be any more hail; that thou mayest know how that the earth is the LORD’S.

That is the fruit of God’s thunder in our lives. That is the fruit of God’s wrath upon our sins:

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;

Vengeance belongs only to the Lord, and His vengeance and His wrath produce righteousness, while our wrath, “the wrath of man”, fails in that regard:

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

Jas 1:20  For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.

This very apostle, John, and his brother, James, were called “sons of thunder” by our Lord.

Mar 3:17  And James the [son] of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; and he surnamed them Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder:

The reason for this name is revealed in this incident, which is recorded for our edification:

Luk 9:53  And they [the Samaritans] did not receive him, because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem.
Luk 9:54  And when his disciples James and John saw [this], they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?
Luk 9:55  But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.
Luk 9:56  For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them. And they went to another village.

So, thunder signifies God’s wrath, and these seven thunders signify the complete wrath of God, and John was given to hear what those seven thunders uttered, but he was told to seal it up and write it not. So now we need to remember who John signifies and symbolizes.

Who, spiritually, is John?

John makes clear who he is, and who he symbolizes in the first two verses of this book:

Rev 1:1  The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:
Rev 1:2  Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.

There it is. John is the symbol of all who “bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all thing that he saw.” Now let’s see who else has this testimony, and bares record of these words.

Rev 19:10  And I fell at his feet to worship him [The angel who is showing these things to John]. 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.

And this revelation that John himself is signified by the angel that shows him all these things is repeated in chapter 22:

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.

Who is it who shows us all these things?

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

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

Reading and understanding is the same as reading and hearing. It is given to only a few to “read, hear, and keep the things which are written in the words of this prophecy.”

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

This book is a “two edged sword”, and if we “keep the things written therein,” then we must acknowledge that this means “every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God”, the good with the evil.

Deu 8:3  And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.

Lam 3:38  Out of the mouth of the most High proceedeth not evil and good?
Lam 3:39  Wherefore doth a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins?

How does the Lord humble us?

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

Job 2:10  But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.

“Job… did not… sin” in attributing “receiving evil… at the hand of God”. Yet the churches of Babylon are blinded to this simple Truth.

We, though, are given eyes which see, and knowing all of this it becomes clear that John, the Lord’s servant who was used of God to convey the message of His judgments upon the kingdom of our old man, signifies, and is the symbol of those who know and understand and live the truth of this verse of scripture:

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.

John is the symbol of God’s elect, who know their experience is the same as all men, but in God’s grace, “according to His own will” (Eph 1:11) His elect have that experience first. Nevertheless, even His elect must wait until the Lord prepares their hearts to receive the revelation of the full extent of the work of His judgments within our lives:

Joh 16:12  I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.

There are a few scriptures which tell us that which God has not revealed. Here is the most explicit verse on that subject:

Jas 4:14  Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

It is in love and mercy, that we are not given to know the secrets that God knows concerning the details of our future struggles. God does not withhold from us anything that is for our good.

Psa 34:10  The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing.

Act 20:27  For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.

But he does not take us into His confidence to the extent of revealing to us more of the details of our judgment then we are prepared to accept or receive.

Mat 19:12  For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from [their] mother’s womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it.

It is only given to a few to receive a gospel which, right up front, asks you to be willing to be “hated of all men… crucified with Christ… and [acknowledge that we are all] children of wrath.” But even those few to whom it is given to receive this calling must have their hearts prepared before they can receive and keep the things which are written in the book of this prophecy.

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

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

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

Before our hearts are ‘tried toward God’, we are first prepared as sheep for the slaughter.

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

It is in God’s great mercy that the details of our suffering on “the morrow”, “the voices of the seven thunders”, are not made known in advance, and it is in His mercy that we are not told what the seven thunders of God’s wrath utter. John, as the symbol of our election, hears the thunders when his heart is prepared to receive their judgments.

Here are the words that immediately precede that verse in Deu 29, which informs us that the secret, “sealed up” things belong to God.

Deu 29:24  Even all nations shall say, Wherefore hath the LORD done thus unto this land? what [meaneth] the heat of this great anger?
Deu 29:25  Then men shall say, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD God of their fathers, which he made with them when he brought them forth out of the land of Egypt:
Deu 29:26  For they went and served other gods, and worshipped them, gods whom they knew not, and [whom] he had not given unto them:
Deu 29:27  And the anger of the LORD was kindled against this land, to bring upon it all the curses that are written in this book:
Deu 29:28  And the LORD rooted them out of their land in anger, and in wrath, and in great indignation, and cast them into another land, as [it is] this day.
Deu 29:29  The secret things [the “seven thunders” of His judgments] belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.

Summary

Let’s review what we have seen in the scriptures telling us the spiritual significance of the symbols of these first four verses of Revelation 10:

1) Who is this “mighty angel” described in verse one?

We have seen that is angel with His feet on our sea and our earth, is Christ as the Lord of our lives, who has subdued our every thought to Himself.

2) What is this “little book” mentioned in verse two?

We have seen that this “little book” is the revelation of the judgment of Christ in His Christ. Christ is “the book of the life of the Lamb,” and our lives are the books out of which we are “judged according to our works.” (Rev 20:12)

3) Why does He “set His right foot on the sea, and His left foot on the earth”?

We saw that whatever is under one’s feet is subjected to that person. Christ has been given all power in heaven and in earth. As such He is our King over our lives and over all we do.

4) What is “the sea and the earth”?

We have seen that “the sea and the earth” are that realm which is below the heavens. As such they are the realm of the temporal, and the realm of death. Both are the enemies of Christ.

5) Why does this mighty angel “cry with a loud voice, as when a lion roars”?

A lion roars only when he has taken his prey. The “roar of the lion” and having “the sea and the earth under His feet” are both compatible with Christ’s destruction of His enemy “the body of this death”, the kingdom of our old man.

6) What is the connection between this “little book” and the seven thunders which are sealed up and not written? 

We have seen that this little book, which is “bitter in [our] belly” is introduced to us just before the seven thunders utter their voices, signifying the dregs of the Lord’s wrath. We also saw that John, the type and symbol of God’s elect, heard the voices of the seven thunders and “was about to write” what he had heard. If this little book is Christ and His Words in us, if John is the symbol of Christ in us, and if thunder typifies the wrath of God upon the unrighteousness of those who are to become His elect, then the connection between the revelation of this little book and the seven thunders, is the revelation of the judgment of Christ’s Words upon all that is within us which is contrary to those Words of Christ.

7) What is it that has been “sealed up and are not written”? Exactly what is it that we are not being allowed to know?

Since we are told that we will not be given more than we can bear, it is obvious that what the seven thunders utter is that which we “cannot bear now” (Joh 16:12), and  which we are not, at this moment, able to bear. We also saw the verses of God’s Word which promise to prepare our hearts before we are faced with any trial. It is only after we have been prepared, that  we are given to hear the voices of the seven thunders and we are prepared for what next lies before us.

In our next study, Lord willing, we will continue in chapter 10, which deals with “the days of the seventh angel, when he begins to sound… and the finishing of the mystery of God.”

Rev 10:5  And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven,
Rev 10:6  And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer:
Rev 10:7  But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.
Rev 10:8  And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and said, Go [and] take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth.
Rev 10:9  And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take [it], and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.
Rev 10:10  And I took the little book out of the angel’s hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.
Rev 10:11  And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.

Rev 10:1-4 – A Mighty Angel and a Little Book-Part 1

[Study Aired Sept 6, 2024]

Rev 10:1  And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow [was] upon his head, and his face [was] as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire:
Rev 10:2  And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and [his] left [foot] on the earth,
Rev 10:3  And cried with a loud voice, as [when] a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices.
Rev 10:4  And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not.

Introduction

There are seven symbols which we need to consider in this study of the first four verses of Rev 10. They are:

1)  Who is this “mighty angel” described in verse one?

2)  What is this “little book” mentioned in verse two?

3)  Why does He “set His right foot on the sea, and His left foot on the earth”?

4)  What is “the sea and the earth”?

5)  Why does this mighty angel “cry with a loud voice, as when a lion roars”?

6)  What is the connection between this “little book” and the seven thunders which are sealed up and not written? What is this all about?

7)  Then we will also need to ask ourselves, What is it that has been “sealed up and are not written”?

“Keeping” ignorance, and remaining uninformed, is not that great of a challenge, as I am sure we will all agree. But what do the scriptures reveal concerning the Lord’s ‘thunder’ that we are not given to know? Again we must come to see what the scriptures reveal as being unrevealed and sealed up concerning these “seven thunders”.

We must always supply the verses of God’s word which shed the light on what these symbols mean. Anything else is just personal speculation. If on the other hand the scriptures tell us what these symbols mean then we, with Paul, are speaking “in demonstration of the spirit behind the words of God.

1Co 2:4  And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit [Joh 6:63] and of power:
1Co 2:5  That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of [the spirit filled words of] God.

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.

Since we are told to “seal up those things the seven thunders uttered, and write them not,” we need to remind ourselves once again, that we are admonished to “read… hear… and keep the thing written therein, for the time is at hand”.

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.

If we “read… hear… and keep those thing which are written therein” then we must agree that we do not know what the seven thunders uttered. Likewise we must also read, hear, and keep the scripturally revealed meaning of each symbol of this book. Therefore…

1) Who do the scriptures reveal to be this “mighty angel” described in verse one?

Rev 10:1  And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow [was] upon his head, and his face [was] as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire:

Where else in scripture has this “angel” been described in these same terms?

Eze 1:26  And above the firmament that [was] over their heads [was] the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne [was] the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it.
Eze 1:27  And I saw as the colour of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about.
Eze 1:28  As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so [was] the appearance of the brightness round about. This [was] the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw  [it], I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake.

“The appearance of a man” in Ezekiel and the “mighty angel” of Rev 10 both have “a rainbow and the appearance of fire” in common. Who is this? The answer is… “This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord”.

Now look at what Dan 10 and Rev 1 have in common when describing Christ.

Dan 10:5  Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins [were] girded with fine gold of Uphaz:
Dan 10:6  His body also [was] like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in colour to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude.

Rev 1:13  And in the midst of the seven candlesticks [one] like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.
Rev 1:14  His head and [his] hairs [were] white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes [were] as a flame of fire;
Rev 1:15  And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.

Rev 2:18  And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet [are] like fine brass;

The appearance of a rainbow, girded with gold, face as the sun, eyes as lamps of fire, feet as brass in a furnace, are all parts of the description of “the Son of Man”. They are all describing Christ, and Christ is a messenger sent from God. Christ is “God’s angel… the Cloud” who led Israel out of Egypt.

2) What is this “little book”?

What does the Word of God reveal about this little book? Would it not be most instructive if we could know what was written in this “little book”?  We dare not “think above what is written” (1Co 4:6), so we will let the demonstration of the spirit and power of the Word of God tell us what this little book is all about:

Eze 2:1  And he said unto me, Son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I will speak unto thee.
Eze 2:2  And the spirit entered into me when he spake unto me, and set me upon my feet, that I heard him that spake unto me.
Eze 2:3  And he said unto me, Son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that hath rebelled against me: they and their fathers have transgressed against me, [even] unto this very day.
Eze 2:4  For [they are] impudent children and stiffhearted. I do send thee unto them; and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD.
Eze 2:5  And they, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, (for they [are] a rebellious house,) yet shall know that there hath been a prophet among them.
Eze 2:6  And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns [be] with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions: be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they [be] a rebellious house.
Eze 2:7  And thou shalt speak my words unto them, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear: for they [are] most rebellious.
Eze 2:8  But thou, son of man, hear what I say unto thee; Be not thou rebellious like that rebellious house: open thy mouth, and eat that I give thee.
Eze 2:9  And when I looked, behold, an hand [was] sent unto me; and, lo, a roll of a book [was] therein;
Eze 2:10  And he spread it before me; and it [was] written within and without: and [there was] written therein lamentations, and mourning, and woe.

Here in Ezekiel this book is called “a roll of a book”, and we are told “it was written within and without with lamentations, and mourning, and woe”. So we have a general idea of what is written in this little book in the hand of this mighty angel. It might seem to our old man that it would be nice if it were written within and without with “smooth things”, but that simply is not the Truth. Instead it is full of “lamentations, mourning, and woe”. But how can we know that this is the same book as the one mentioned in Rev 10:2? Can we really know that this book in the hand of the angel of Rev 10:2 is the same as this book here in Ezekiel 2? Yes, indeed, we can know this because of all the things these two descriptions of this one book have in common, as demonstrated by the instructions given to Ezekiel concerning this same book in Ezekiel 3, the very next chapter:

Eze 3:1  Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou findest; eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel.

Rev 10:8  And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and said, Go [and] take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth.
Rev 10:9  And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take [it], and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.
Rev 10:10  And I took the little book out of the angel’s hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.
Rev 10:11  And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.

Why are both Ezekiel and John, told to “eat this roll… eat it up”? What does that mean? Did not Christ also tell us to “eat my body and drink my blood”?

Joh 6:48  I am that bread of life.
Joh 6:49  Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead.
Joh 6:50  This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die.
Joh 6:51  I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.
Joh 6:52  The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us [his] flesh to eat?
Joh 6:53  Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.
Joh 6:54  Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.
Joh 6:55  For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.
Joh 6:56  He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.
Joh 6:57  As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.
Joh 6:58  This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.

These verses here in Joh 6 make clear that eating the bread from heaven is the same as eating Christ’s flesh and drinking His blood. Both are required to give us life. But Christ, in this same chapter, also informs us that it is His words which are the light and the life.

Joh 6:63 It is the spirit that giveth life; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I have spoken unto you are spirit, and are life. (ASV)

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

Let’s review what we are being told. Christ tells us we must eat His flesh and drink His blood to have life (Joh 6:54). He tells us that He is the true bread which came down from heaven. He tells us that He is the light of the world. Christ tells us that those who eat His flesh and drink His blood “dwell in Christ, and Christ in them.” Finally, Christ tells us that we will be “witnesses of these things”:

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.

Now let’s compare all of this to what Ezekiel is told in Eze 2 and 3, and what John is told in Rev 10. When we do this, we find that it is the very same message. That one message is that God’s Word must be within us before we can witness for Him and before we can have life. Both Ezekiel and John are told to “eat this book… it will be sweet in your mouth… I send you to the house of Israel… you must prophesy before many…” Applying the “line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little”, key to the kingdom of heaven within us, we see that “It will be bitter in your belly is added here in Revelation,” but even that is explained in Ezekiel’s experience with Israel, as described in Ezekiel 3.

Eze 3:14 So the Spirit lifted me up, and took me away; and I went [to witness] in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; and the hand of Jehovah was strong upon me.

It is obvious that ‘eating this book’, eating the true bread from heaven and eating the flesh and drinking the blood of Christ is all one and the same nourishing spiritual diet which strengthens and equips us to “be witnesses unto Christ”. This “little book” is obviously the words of Christ, and when we eat this book, His words are living in and nourishing us. This little book is Christ’s testimony in our lives that we have “eaten His flesh and we have drunk of His blood in the New Testament”. Whoever eats this book is eating Christ’ flesh and drinking Christ’s blood, and Christ says that He “will raise him up at the last day.” This is a “little book” because we are ‘little’ christs.

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

Today is that “day of judgment”. (1Pe 4:17). Let’s demonstrate this truth with scripture.

To whom is this little book addressed?

Who are those who will be raised up in the last day? We have already established in our study of the first chapter of Revelation that this little book, along with all the book of Revelation and all of scripture, is addressed only to those who can “read, hear, and keep the things written therein” and who can understand that “the time is at hand” to do so. Both Ezekiel and Christ tell us that God’s Words, including His words in this little book, are addressed only to “lost sheep of the house of Israel”.

Mat 10:5  These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into [any] city of the Samaritans enter ye not:
Mat 10:6  But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

Mat 15:24  But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

But who is Israel? Here is who the scriptures teach is an Israelite, and here is who the scriptures teach is a Jew:

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

And here are two different versions of Gal 6:15-16.

Gal 6:15  Certainly, it doesn’t matter whether a person is circumcised or not. Rather, what matters is being a new creation.
Gal 6:16  Peace and mercy will come to rest on all those who conform to this principle. They are the Israel of God. (GW)

Gal 6:15  Can’t you see the central issue in all this? It is not what you and I do– submit to circumcision, reject circumcision. It is what God is doing, and he is creating something totally new, a free life!
Gal 6:16  All who walk by this standard are the true Israel of God— his chosen people. Peace and mercy on them! (MSG)

So this little book is addressed to those to whom all scripture is addressed. It is addressed to “the Israel of God” to whom it is given to understand that God “has made of both [Israelites and Gentiles] one new man” who can eat the flesh and drink the blood of Jesus, and eat this book, and “read, hear, and keep the things written therein, [understanding that] the time is at hand” to do so.

Now let’s go back to see what else Ezekiel 3 reveals to us concerning the connection between this “little book” and the seven thunders which utter their voices at the time this book is introduced to us.

Eze 3:2  So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that roll.
Eze 3:3  And he said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then did I eat [it]; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness.
Eze 3:4  And he said unto me, Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak with my words unto them.
Eze 3:5For thou [art] not sent to a people of a strange speech and of an hard language, [but] to the house of Israel;

Mat 10:6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

Mat 10:23 But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come.

Eze 3:6  Not to many people of a strange speech and of an hard language, whose words thou canst not understand. Surely, had I sent thee to them, they would have hearkened unto thee.
Eze 3:7  But the house of Israel will not hearken unto thee; for they will not hearken unto me: for all the house of Israel [are] impudent and hardhearted.
Eze 3:8  Behold, I have made thy face strong against their faces, and thy forehead strong against their foreheads.

Here is this same message in the book of Revelation:

Rev 10:7  But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.

What is that mystery? We are not left to speculate:

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

Rev 10:8  And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and said, Go [and] take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth.
Rev 10:9  And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take [it], and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.
Rev 10:10  And I took the little book out of the angel’s hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.
Rev 10:11  And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.

Rev 16:9  And men [men who knew God, men of Israel, you and me] were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.

 This is our flesh. Were it not for God’s mercy, we would be there with the majority. Remember Job, and remember King David. We are “that man”.

Eze 3:9  As an adamant harder than flint have I made thy forehead: fear them not, neither be dismayed at their looks, though they [be] a rebellious house.
Eze 3:10  Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, all my words that I shall speak unto thee receive in thine heart, and hear with thine ears.
Eze 3:11  And go, get thee to them of the captivity, unto the children of thy people, and speak unto them, and tell them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear.
Eze 3:12  Then the spirit took me up, and I heard behind me a voice of a great rushing, [saying], Blessed [be] the glory of the LORD from his place.
Eze 3:13  [I heard] also the noise of the wings of the living creatures that touched one another, and the noise of the wheels over against them, and a noise of a great rushing.
Eze 3:14  So the spirit lifted me up, and took me away, and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; but the hand of the LORD was strong upon me.
Eze 3:15  Then I came to them of the captivity at Telabib, that dwelt by the river of Chebar, and I sat where they sat, and remained there astonished among them seven days.
Eze 3:16  And it came to pass at the end of seven days, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Eze 3:17  Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me.
Eze 3:18  When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked [man] shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.
Eze 3:19  Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.
Eze 3:20  Again, When a righteous [man] doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumblingblock before him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thine hand.
Eze 3:21  Nevertheless if thou warn the righteous [man], that the righteous sin not, and he doth not sin, he shall surely live, because he is warned; also thou hast delivered thy soul.

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

Mar 6:11  And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when ye depart thence, shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony against them. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.

Eze 3:22  And the hand of the LORD was there upon me; and he said unto me, Arise, go forth into the plain, and I will there talk with thee.
Eze 3:23  Then I arose, and went forth into the plain: and, behold, the glory of the LORD stood there, as the glory which I saw by the river of Chebar: and I fell on my face.
Eze 3:24  Then the spirit entered into me, and set me upon my feet, and spake with me, and said unto me, Go, shut thyself within thine house.
Eze 3:25  But thou, O son of man, behold, they shall put bands upon thee, and shall bind thee with them, and thou shalt not go out among them:
Eze 3:26  And I will make thy tongue cleave to the roof of thy mouth, that thou shalt be dumb, and shalt not be to them a reprover: for they [are] a rebellious house.

Here is that same message in the book of Revelation:

Rev 11:7  And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.
Rev 11:8  And their dead bodies [shall lie] in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.

And in the book of Galatians:

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.

Back to the book of Ezekiel:

Eze 3:27  But when I speak with thee, I will open thy mouth, and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; He that heareth, let him hear; and he that forbeareth, let him forbear: for they [are] a rebellious house.

“Get thee to them of the captivity” is those who are in Babylon the great. It is each of us who have crucified Christ and His elect, and who have refused their testimony. Who has been “hard hearted” but God’s very own elect?

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?

Rev 11:7  And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.

None of us accept “their testimony” when we first hear it. We are all first blind. Which is exactly what Christ taught:

Joh 9:39  And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.
Joh 9:40  And [some] of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also?
Joh 9:41  Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.

So “their faces [and] their foreheads” in Ezekiel 3 are the faces and foreheads of the symbolic two hundred million false doctrines within us, which proceed out of the smoke of the bottomless pit to “darken the sun and the air” which are within us. These words are directed to us. They are not addressed to those who cannot “read, hear, or keep the things which are written therein” and who do not even believe that “the time is at hand” to do so.

3) Why does He “set His right foot on the sea, and His left foot on the earth”?

Rev 10:2  And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and [his] left [foot] on the earth,

Both the sea and the earth are pictured as being under the feet of Christ. What is the meaning of being under His feet? The scriptures demonstrate that the concept, and the message of having anything under one’s feet, is the concept of having been given the dominion over that which is placed under the feet.

Jdg 4:10  And Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; and he went up with ten thousand men at his feet: and Deborah went up with him.

1Ki 5:3  Thou knowest how that David my father could not build an house unto the name of the LORD his God for the wars which were about him on every side, until the LORD put them under the soles of his feet.

Est 8:3  And Esther spake yet again before the king, and fell down at his feet, and besought him with tears to put away the mischief of Haman the Agagite, and his device that he had devised against the Jews.

Psa 8:4  What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?
Psa 8:5  For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.
Psa 8:6  Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all [things] under his feet:

Dan 7:19  Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth [were of] iron, and his nails [of] brass; [which] devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet;

Nah 1:3  The LORD [is] slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit [the wicked]: the LORD hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds [are] the dust of his feet.

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.

Eph 1:22  And hath put all [things] under his feet, and gave him [to be] the head over all [things] to the church,

Heb 2:8 Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing [that is] not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him.

So the meaning of the sea and the earth being under Christ’s feet is this:

Mat 28:18  And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

When we are given to understand the truth of Mat 28:18, then we will begin to know that it also applies to us.

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

Is Christ given all power in heaven and in earth? Is He given power over all the powers and principalities and false doctrine in the heavens? We are, too.

 Jer 1:10  See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.

Eph 6:12 Because our struggle is not against blood and flesh, but, against the principalities, against the authorities, against the world- holders, of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenlies.(REV)

When we see that Christ’s feet are on the sea and on the earth, then we will know that God’s sovereignty extends to everything in the sea and on the earth. When we are granted to truly believe that Christ has both the sea and the earth under His feet, then we will also realize that we really can, through Christ, “do all things”, and we too can conquer everything in both the sea and earth, because Christ’s feet are our feet, and we really are Jesus of Nazareth who is persecuted and despised of all men.

Act 22:8  And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest.

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

1Jn 4:16  And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.

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

We will pause at this point and resume our study with the question…

4) What is “the sea and the earth”?

]]> https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/rev-88-9-part-2-the-second-trumpet-a-burning-mountain-cast-into-the-sea/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rev-88-9-part-2-the-second-trumpet-a-burning-mountain-cast-into-the-sea Sat, 13 Jul 2024 17:57:52 +0000 https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/?p=30231 Audio Download

Rev 8:8-9 Part 2 – The Second Trumpet; a Burning Mountain Cast into the Sea

[Study Aired July 14, 2024]

We ended our last study with a review of the first of the two types of ‘the sea’ and the woman who sits on many waters. The first type with which we ended our last study was Babylon of whom we are told:

Jer 51:12  Set up the standard upon the walls of Babylon, make the watch strong, set up the watchmen, prepare the ambushes: for the LORD hath both devised and done that which he spake against the inhabitants of Babylon.
Jer 51:13  O thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures, thine end is come, and the measure of thy covetousness.

The second type of the woman who sits on many waters and rules the whole world is Tyre:

Eze 27:3  And say unto Tyrus, O thou that art situate at the entry of the sea, which art a merchant of the people for many isles, Thus saith the Lord GOD; O Tyrus, thou hast said, I am of perfect beauty.

These are the same two cities who are used to typify our rebellious, proud, carnal-minded old man who exalts himself above the heavens in Isaiah 14 concerning the king of Babylon and Ezekiel 28 concerning the prince of Tyre.

Tyre is the second great type of that beastly organization of men, dominated by a great harlot, which “deceives the whole world, [while] thinking they do God a service.” Where is Tyre situated?

Eze 27:3  And say unto Tyrus, O thou that art situate at the entry of the sea, which art a merchant of the people for many isles, Thus saith the Lord GOD; O Tyrus, thou hast said, I am of perfect beauty.
Eze 27:4  Thy borders are in the midst of the seas, thy builders have perfected thy beauty.
Eze 27:5  They have made all thy ship boards of fir trees of Senir: they have taken cedars from Lebanon to make masts for thee.

How does God deal with the king of Tyre?

Eze 28:18  Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.

This is the same “fire” we read of in Revelation 8:8:

Rev 8:8  And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood;

It is this very prophecy which declares the destruction of Tyre and her influence over the whole world.

In its negative application ‘fire’ refers to civil unrest and disobedience and rebellion as in this prophecy by Jotham, the only surviving son of Gideon, also called Jerubbaal:

Jdg 9:16  Now therefore, if ye have done truly and sincerely, in that ye have made Abimelech king, and if ye have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house, and have done unto him according to the deserving of his hands;
Jdg 9:17  (For my father fought for you, and adventured his life far, and delivered you out of the hand of Midian:
Jdg 9:18  And ye are risen up against my father’s house this day, and have slain his sons, threescore and ten persons, upon one stone, and have made Abimelech, the son of his maidservant, king over the men of Shechem, because he is your brother;)
Jdg 9:19  If ye then have dealt truly and sincerely with Jerubbaal and with his house this day, then rejoice ye in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you:
Jdg 9:20  But if not, let fire come out from Abimelech, and devour the men of Shechem, and the house of Millo; and let fire come out from the men of Shechem, and from the house of Millo, and devour Abimelech.
Jdg 9:21  And Jotham ran away, and fled, and went to Beer, and dwelt there, for fear of Abimelech his brother.

The Lord’s ‘fire’ in this case was every man’s hand against his brother concerning Abimelech and his followers in Shechem.

Jdg 9:22  When Abimelech had reigned three years over Israel,
Jdg 9:23  Then God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem; and the men of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech:
Jdg 9:24  That the cruelty done to the threescore and ten sons of Jerubbaal might come, and their blood be laid upon Abimelech their brother, which slew them; and upon the men of Shechem, which aided him in the killing of his brethren.
Jdg 9:25  And the men of Shechem set liers in wait for him in the top of the mountains, and they robbed all that came along that way by them: and it was told Abimelech.

We will skip ahead to the conclusion of Abimelech’s treachery:

Jdg 9:52  And Abimelech came unto the tower, and fought against it, and went hard unto the door of the tower to burn it with fire.
Jdg 9:53  And a certain woman cast a piece of a millstone upon Abimelech’s head, and all to brake his skull.
Jdg 9:54  Then he called hastily unto the young man his armourbearer, and said unto him, Draw thy sword, and slay me, that men say not of me, A woman slew him. And his young man thrust him through, and he died.
Jdg 9:55  And when the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, they departed every man unto his place.
Jdg 9:56  Thus God rendered the wickedness of Abimelech, which he did unto his father, in slaying his seventy brethren:
Jdg 9:57  And all the evil of the men of Shechem did God render upon their heads: and upon them came the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal.

All this civil unrest and destruction is called ‘fire’ in the prophecy of Jotham the son of Gideon. Both Tyre and Babylon were destroyed by this same way:

Isaiah 14 concerns the king of Babylon signifying the great harlot who rules the whole earth with her false doctrines. This is where ‘Babylon The Great’ of Revelation 17 and 18 derives the force of that prophecy:

Isa 14:5  The LORD hath broken the staff of the wicked, and the sceptre of the rulers.
Isa 14:6  He [the king of Babylon] who smote the people in wrath with a continual stroke, he that ruled the nations in anger, is persecuted, and none hindereth.

Isa 14:13  For thou [the king of Bablon] hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
Isa 14:14  I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
Isa 14:15  Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
Isa 14:16  They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;

The exact same message is conveyed to  us in the form of “the prince of Tyre” in:

Eze 28:6  Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou hast set thine heart as the heart of God;
Eze 28:7  Behold, therefore I will bring strangers upon thee, the terrible of the nations: and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of thy wisdom, and they shall defile thy brightness.
Eze 28:8  They shall bring thee down to the pit, and thou shalt die the deaths of them that are slain in the midst of the seas.

Where was Tyre located? It was situated on the same ‘sea’ that enriched Babylon. That “sea” symbolizes all mankind upon whom the lying religions of mankind prey and from whom the churches of this world become rich by means of all the “ships” of Babylon and Tyre which ply the waters of the “sea” and trade their smooth deceitful wares there in the isles of the sea.

Eze 27:8  The inhabitants of Zidon and Arvad were thy mariners: thy wise men, O Tyrus, that were in thee, were thy pilots.
Eze 27:9  The ancients of Gebal and the wise men thereof were in thee thy calkers: all the ships of the sea with their mariners were in thee to occupy thy merchandise.

It is all the lies of Babylon that keep the riches “of the people of many isles” pouring into Tyre and Babylon. Tyre was an island city at the east end of the Mediterranean Sea, and Babylon literally and historically sat astride the great Euphrates River, and it was upon those waters that the wealth of all the nations kept pouring into Babylon. The same was true of Tyre, which was an Island nation just off the coast of Palestine. The holy spirit has seen fit to reveal to us all that these waters signify “peoples and multitudes, and nations, and tongues” who have been deceived and seduced by the merchants of Babylon and Tyre and with the merchandise of those merchants which they sell to those among whom they sail their ships with all their seductive wares.

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.

That is the “sea” within each of us. It symbolizes the corruptible flesh which we all are by birth. That is the sea into which this great burning mountain is cast. None of us ever asked to be that sea or to have that burning mountain cast into our flesh to cause us so much excruciating pain. That is why we are told it was “cast into the sea.” The false doctrine of mankind’s “free will” is only one of the items of merchandise that is sold by the “mariners which are in Tyre to occupy [Hebrew: sweeten] thy merchandise.”

Eze 27:9  The ancients of Gebal and the wise men thereof were in thee thy calkers: all the ships of the sea with their mariners were in thee to occupy thy merchandise.

No one yet has ever freely chosen to “believe a lie and be damned.” Yet when God sends us His “strong delusion” we are incapable of resisting:

2Th 2:11  And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
2Th 2:12  That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

We have all lived lives of condemnation, believing all the lies of Babylon, “until the time appointed of the Father.”

Gal 4:1  Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all;
Gal 4:2  But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father.
Gal 4:3  Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world:

Our next question is:

What does “the sea became as blood” mean?

If we have seen that the ‘sea’ is our flesh and our flesh cannot please God in and of itself, and if we have already seen that the drinking of the wine is the acknowledging of our crucifying of our Lord and His sacrifice and His death for our sins, then we will easily understand that the ‘sea’ within us is the very same flesh with which we are all born and with which we all have crucified our Lord even as we proclaim that we are above doing such a thing. Yet Christ said “Divide it among yourselves… it is shed for your sins.”

Luk 22:17  And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves:
Luk 22:18  For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come.
Luk 22:19  And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake [it], and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.
Luk 22:20  Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.

We are not above doing such a thing, rather it is within our flesh to do just that. It is only as we acknowledge that we all have drunk of the wine of Christ’s blood in the New Testament that we are granted to look behind ourselves to see that it was our own “sea [which] becomes as blood.”

Understanding that it is our own ‘sea becoming as blood’ does not convert us overnight. After Peter had spent three and a half years with our Lord, after Peter had healed the sick and cast our demons, our Lord still said this to Peter in the very night of His apprehension by the Jews.

Luk 22:31  And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:
Luk 22:32  But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.
Luk 22:33  And he said unto him, Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison, and to death.

So the sea does not become blood until we are given to acknowledge that blood is the blood of our Lord that we caused to be shed by our sins. That is what “the sea became as blood” means, and until that Truth has been lived as Peter lived it, that sea is not yet become blood and we have not yet “Kept the things which are written therein” (Rev 1:3).

Our next question is:

What does “And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died,” mean?

If we are given to remember that the sea is “the waters of the great deep” before the spirit begins to move upon us, and that “great deep” is simply our flesh with all of its “giants in the land” full of cities which are occupied by giants of which we are told “kill every thing that breatheth,” then we should have no problem understanding that is not accomplished except through the process of judgment upon those “enemies in the land” which are the very same things as “creatures which are in the sea and have life.”

Deu 20:16  But of the cities of these people, which the LORD thy God doth give thee for an inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth:

Israel certainly did not do this overnight. In fact this is what we are told they did, and this is what happens within us as we “keep the things which are written therein;”

Exo 23:29  I will not drive them out from before thee in one year; lest the land become desolate, and the beast of the field multiply against thee.
Exo 23:30  By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land.

This is repeated in Deuteronomy.

Deu 7:21  Thou shalt not be affrighted at them: for the LORD thy God is among you, a mighty God and terrible.
Deu 7:22  And the LORD thy God will put out those nations before thee by little and little: thou mayest not consume them at once, lest the beasts of the field increase upon thee.
Deu 7:23  But the LORD thy God shall deliver them unto thee, and shall destroy them with a mighty destruction, until they be destroyed.
Deu 7:24  And he shall deliver their kings into thine hand, and thou shalt destroy their name from under heaven: there shall no man be able to stand before thee, until thou have destroyed them.

In the end, all sin will be destroyed, but it will not be done all at once. It will only be done but by little and little, by third and by third.

Eze 5:1  And thou, son of man, take thee a sharp knife, take thee a barber’s razor, and cause [it] to pass upon thine head and upon thy beard: then take thee balances to weigh, and divide the [hair].
Eze 5:2  Thou shalt burn with fire a third part in the midst of the city, when the days of the siege are fulfilled: and thou shalt take a third part, and smite about it with a knife: and a third part thou shalt scatter in the wind; and I will draw out a sword after them.
Eze 5:3  Thou shalt also take thereof a few in number, and bind them in thy skirts.

Eze 5:4  Then take of them again, and cast them into the midst of the fire, and burn them in the fire; for thereof shall a fire come forth into all the house of Israel.
Eze 5:5  Thus saith the Lord GOD; This is Jerusalem: I have set it in the midst of the nations and countries that are round about her.
Eze 5:6  And she hath changed my judgments into wickedness more than the nations, and my statutes more than the countries that [are] round about her: for they have refused my judgments and my statutes, they have not walked in them.
Eze 5:7  Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye multiplied more than the nations that are round about you, and have not walked in my statutes, neither have kept my judgments, neither have done according to the judgments of the nations that are round about you;
Eze 5:8  Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, am against thee, and will execute judgments in the midst of thee in the sight of the nations.
Eze 5:9  And I will do in thee that which I have not done, and whereunto I will not do any more the like, because of all thine abominations.

“Thereof shall a fire come forth into all the house of Israel” is said of those who are “few in number” and who are first “cast into the midst of the fire.” It is from verses such as this that the apostle Peter knew this:

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?
1Pe 4:18  And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?

Judgment must first begin at us. Judgment is not all at once, but it is little by little. It is by thirds because the spiritual significance of the number three throughout scripture, as these verses demonstrate is, not the number itself or the fraction itself, but it is the process of judgment that we are to keep of the things written therein:

Rev 8:8  And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood;
Rev 8:9  And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.

“The third part of the creatures that were in the sea and had life died,” is telling us that judgment is a process which must first begin at us, the house of God.

What is the spiritual significance of …

The third part of the ships were destroyed?

We have already seen that Babylon and Tyre are both situated on the sea. We have been told that “every shipmaster and all the company in ships… were made rich… by reason of her costliness.” It is obvious that her wealth depends upon her location and her proximity to and her mastery of the sea. Let’s look again at what we are told of the ships of the sea in Revelation 18. These are the same ships that we are reading about here in Revelation 8:9.

Rev 18:17  For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,
Rev 18:18  And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city!
Rev 18:19  And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.

Eze 27:8  The inhabitants of Zidon and Arvad were thy mariners: thy wise men, O Tyrus, that were in thee, were thy pilots.
Eze 27:9  The ancients of Gebal and the wise men thereof were in thee thy calkers: all the ships of the sea with their mariners were in thee to occupy thy merchandise.

The Hebrew word translated ‘occupy’ here in Eze 27:9 is ‘areb’, and it means ‘to sweeten.’ The wise men of this world’s religions “were in thee to sweeten your merchandise.”

The destruction of the third part of the ships of our sea is merely Biblical language expressing the little by little, one third by one third, process of destroying all the idols of our heart, which has begun as these symbolic seven trumpets sound as we keep the things that are written therein.

Summary

We have covered in this study the six different symbols within this second trumpet. We are reminded that these six symbols are one and all things we are to read, hear and keep within our own earth and our own heaven (Rev 1:3). They are in order:

1) A great mountain. We have seen that this “great mountain” begins to destroy the kingdom of the great image of the beast within us, which is struck on the feet of that image by a stone which is cut out of the mountain without hands and destroys the great image and replaces it and becomes a great mountain that fills the whole earth.
2) This ‘mountain’ is burning with ‘fire.’ We have seen that this mountain is burning with fire because it is in the process of destroying the mountain of the kingdom of our old man who is dying daily and being “transformed” by the devouring flame which is the mighty Word of God. We saw that as the mountain or kingdom of the image of the beast decreases, and is being burned with fire,  the mountain of God within us increases till it destroys the kingdom of the beast and becomes a mountain that fills the whole earth.
3) This ‘mountain’ burning with ‘fire’ is cast into the ‘sea.’ We saw that the sea, from Genesis to Revelation, is the symbol of our flesh, and that it is into our flesh that the word of God is cast and begins, “by little by and by little”, by “third” and by “third” to kill and destroy all that is in our sea. We saw that our sea is dominated by the two great types of Babylon and Tyre, which make merchandise of us until we come to see them for the liars and cruel, heartless harlots they are.
4) This casting of the burning mountain into our sea causes the ‘sea’ to “become as blood.” The beginning of this little by little process causes our sea to become as blood. We saw that our sea becomes blood as we become aware of our own hand in the shedding of the blood of Christ in the New Testament, and the fact that we all drink of the cup that was His blood in the New Testament. We have seen that it was shed by us and it was given for our own sins. It is not some strange blood of some strange beast, and it certainly is not the blood of fish, but it is Christ’s blood which turns our sea to blood.
5) When the ‘sea’ “becomes as blood” this causes “a third part of the creatures which were living in the sea to die.” We have seen that the creatures in our sea which must die, are the weaknesses of our flesh along with the false doctrines of Babylon which prey upon the unstable waves of our weak flesh, and the natural desire of our flesh to want to hear only smooth and comforting words. We despise the words of judgment which are these fiery words of our Lord. “By little and by little”, and one third by one third these lying creatures that are in our sea and have life begin to die.
6) Finally the third part of the ships that were in the sea were destroyed when this mountain burning with fire is cast into the sea. We saw all the verses of Ezekiel and Revelation that demonstrate that these ships symbolize those who have made merchandise of us with their smooth sounding false doctrines and their lies. This again, we have seen, is but another way of telling us that the lies we have bought into, while we were in Babylon, and all who sold us on those lies must be destroyed by little and by little, by third and by third.

In our next study, Lord willing, we will see what is the spiritual significance of the third trumpet which we are commanded to read, hear and keep within our lives.

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

Zec 14:1-8  “Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee”

[Study Aired August 31, 2023]

The “day of the LORD” is something that happens in stages, and this particular chapter of Zechariah makes that very clear. The terminology in verse one, “divided in the midst of you“, then the gathering process of the nations in the second verse, “For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle“, then the LORD going forth to “fight against those nations” is another process that takes time of verse three (Zec 14:1-3). These are stages that will unfold during the thousand-year reign of the saints and that God’s elect are experiencing themselves in this life as Christ did (Rev 20:6 another process Luk 13:32, Heb 5:8).

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.

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

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

After these first three verses, the moving of mountains is mentioned in verse four, which indicates a process of faith (Mat 17:20), followed by people reacting to the judgments of God that are in the earth in verse five as “ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains.“

Mat 17:20  And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

Finally, in verse eight, we read of the process of judgment that is being executed in the earth by the elect with these words: “living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be.“

It takes all these above mentioned processes unfolding in the life of God’s people to accomplish the day of the Lord within so that the body of Christ can execute God’s judgments without “Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.”

The day of the Lord, or the day of God’s visitation (Luk 19:44) is realized when God determines it for every man, and because the elect are judged first (1Pe 4:17) we are then commissioned to execute those judgements on all God’s creation who are being reserved for that event  (2Pe 3:7, Jud 1:6, 1Co 6:3).

2Pe 3:7  But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

Jud 1:6  And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. 

1Co 6:3  Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?

Here are the first eight verses for this study that will look at:

Zec 14:1  Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.
Zec 14:2  For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. 
Zec 14:3  Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. 
Zec 14:4  And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.
Zec 14:5  And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee. 
Zec 14:6  And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark: 
Zec 14:7  But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.
Zec 14:8  And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be.

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Zec 14:1  Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.
Zec 14:2  For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. 

Dispensationally these opening verses are talking about Jerusalem below (Isa 1:21, Rev 11:8, Psa 137:6, Jerusalem above Gal 4:26, Luk 13:32) and demonstrate the increased spiritual warfare that will be taking place in the world prior to Christ’s return (2Ti 3:13, 2Ti 3:1). Jerusalem below represents the harlot system that the beast (“all nations“) are against (Rev 17:16). The inward application of these first two verses applies to God’s people in this dispensation of grace as these words of Christ unfold within us.

Isa 1:21  How is the faithful city become an harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers.

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

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. 

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

What God will do against Jerusalem, that is likened unto a whore which connects her with Mystery Babylon and  the daughters of this harlot church (Rev 17:5),  is explained in these terms, “For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.” These are the four verses in the book of Revelation that  talk about the “whore” being revealed for who she is and how God is going to punish her in stages “and half of the city shall go forth into captivity“: (Rev 17:1, Rev 17:15-16, Rev 19:2). 

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 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 19:2  For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand [spiritual fornication within the 40,000 plus divided churches of Babylon (1Co 1:13)].

Again, this is to be understood inwardly for God’s elect today as we ‘come out of her my people’ and strive, with the faith of Christ, to be of one mind (1Pe 4:17, 2Co 6:17, Php 1:27). Outwardly, it is speaking of the time leading up to when the saints will judge the world with a rod of iron, having endured His complete judgment (Rev 15:8) until the end of our lives in order to be saved (Rev 2:27, Rev 12:5, Rev 19:15, Mat 24:13).

Php 1:27  Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; 

Rev 2:27  And he shall rule them 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 with a rod of iron: 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: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

This judgment is coming forth from the elect who are going to give her double [meaning the true witness [2] of God’s word that is going to burn as with fire (Jer 5:14, Rev 17:16)] and these verses (Rev 16:19, Rev 18:7, Rev 2:23) correlate with this verse: Zec 14:2 “For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women [the churches of Babylon] ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.”  The church of Thyatira really captures the thought that we can do many wonderful works in Babylon and still be given a spirit that despises God’s goodness which is leading us to repentance (Rom 2:4). Thyatira’s spirit will be alive and well during the thousand-year reign of the saints, all to demonstrate that we cannot come out of that Babylonian mindset unless the Lord builds that spiritual house within us with God’s spirit (Psa 127:1, Rom 8:9).

Rev 16:19   And the great city was divided into three parts [process of judgment], and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. [Zechariah’s^H2148 name means “Jah has remembered“]

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

Rev 2:18  And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass;
Rev 2:19  I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first.
Rev 2:20  Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.
Rev 2:21  And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not.
Rev 2:22  Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds.
Rev 2:23  And I will kill her children with death [her children represent false doctrines]; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.

Zec 14:3  Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. 
Zec 14:4  And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south. 

The mount of Olives is typical of mount Zion where the elect are raised after having fulfilled their symbolic three-and-a-half-year ministry of witnessing to all “peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues” where the whore sits (Rev 11:3-4). Verse three tells us the Lord will go forth and do spiritual battle “against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.” Verse four reveals who He is going to use to engage in that battle (Oba 1:21). Christ’s feet standing on the mount of Olives is telling us Christ is our head and leader in the day of this great spiritual battle against all “peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues“, first within ourselves and then against all nations throughout the symbolic period of time called the thousand-year reign (Eph 6:12, Rev 20:6). We read the expression “as when he fought in the day of battle” that refers to when we were God’s witnesses of these things battling against the powers and principalities at that time in our lives and becoming more than conquerors through Christ and His Christ (Rom 8:37-39, Rev 12:6-8).

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. 
Rev 12:7  And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
Rev 12:8  And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. 

The mount of Olives is “before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.” We have all directions being given to us for a reason [north, south, east and west], demonstrating the elect, represented by the mount of Olives, are in perfect subjection to our sovereign God as spirit beings going where we are led by God’s spirit (Rom 8:14, Joh 3:8). The elect have experienced judgment in our heavens already, likened to lightning as from the east to the west, which is how the man of perdition is destroyed within us in this age by the brightness of His coming from the east to the west (Mat 24:27, 2Th 2:8). The mount of Olives, which represents the elect, has been blessed to cleave to Christ in this life – “the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west” from the east unto the west (Psa 19:4-6), The great valley between Jerusalem below and the mount of Olives represents the great gulf there is between mankind and the body of Christ (Luk 16:26). Our mission with Christ can now be accomplished having had His life formed in us through the things we have suffered in this life (Col 1:24, 2Ti 2:12). 

Psa 19:4  Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, 
Psa 19:5  Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race. 
Psa 19:6  His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.

That mission is to be sent as Christ was sent (Joh 20:21, Joh 3:17) to fill the fleshly world, represented by the south, with His judgment which comes from the north (Isa 26:9). This dividing of the mountain (“half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south“) refers back to verse 1, “Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee” (Zec 14:1). The most mountainous power that controls flesh is the law of sin in our members (Rom 7:23, 1Jn 2:16), and the carnal law of Moses or the Gentiles, who are a law unto themselves (Heb 7:16, 1Ti 1:8-10) deludes us into thinking that we can be righteous before God by adhering to those laws in the letter or by being a law unto ourselves. It is that massive self-righteous mountain that has to be divided by Christ in every man’s life, each man in his own order (Rom 7:6, Rom 2:14, 1Co 15:23-25). It is in the day of the Lord that God puts an end to that strong delusion, and our overcoming through Christ brings forth the spiritual spoils of war in our midst – “and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.” The spoils represent the nations at this time that are being ruled over with a rod of iron [inheritance of the saints], and the spoils of war are also experienced today as we become more than conquerors through Christ, being nourished by the giants in our land Christ slays in us (Num 14:9). In time the world will not just learn righteousness but adhere to the words of Christ and continue in them after they have become tried words in the lake of fire (1Pe 1:7).

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

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:

Zec 14:5  And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee. 
Zec 14:6  And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark: 
Zec 14:7  But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.

God’s judgments in the earth will initially produce a healthy fear of God to which these verses are alluding (Rev 6:14-17). “And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal (Azal = “proximity: he has reserved” – from H680: to lay aside, reserve, withdraw, withhold” – 2Pe 3:7, Psa 37:28). When God’s elect are resurrected, there is going to be a great fear that will come over the earth (Rev 11:11, Luk 21:26). What the world is fleeing from is Christ and the elect “and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.” It is “like as ye fled from before the earthquake” to give another clue as to the condition of men’s hearts at this time when Babylon is about to fall, found in Revelation 11:13.

2Pe 3:7  But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

Psa 37:28  For the LORD loveth judgment, and forsaketh not his saints; they are preserved for ever: but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off. 

Rev 6:14  And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
Rev 6:15  And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
Rev 6:16  And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
Rev 6:17  For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

Rev 11:13  And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven [Rev 14:8].

This transition period when the world sees Christ and His bride will produce a mindset in humanity that is described in these terms by God, “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark.” God’s glory can be seen and understood with a veil over our eyes like the day Moses came down from mount Sinai (Exo 34:29-30), but not have any effect on the heart as the Israelites typified for our sakes (1Pe 1:12, 1Co 10:11). The elect have had the veil removed through Christ and saw the sun of righteousness in His full strength as resurrected saints during their reign under Christ, however the world still have a veil over their eyes (2Co 3:14). It is written this way  “and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.” It is “like as ye fled from before the earthquake” and “But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.” The “evening time” when there shall be light typifies the salvation of all mankind, when everyone will be enlightened (Eph 1:18-23) to know God and Jesus Christ in their hearts and minds (Joh 17:3).

Exo 34:30  And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him. 

Rev 11:11  And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them. 

Luk 21:26  Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.

Rev 11:13  And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.

Zec 14:8  And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be.

The living waters going out from Jerusalem are going out from the church and represent the word of God which is going to fill the world as the oceans are filled with water (Hab 2:14). These living waters of (Hab 2:14) are contrasted with the wine of the harlot churches of this world who have caused spiritual drunkenness and nakedness in the next verse of Habakkuk (Hab 2:15). 

Hab 2:14  For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.
Hab 2:15  Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness!

The former^{H6931 [former, ancient, eastern, old]} sea that needs to be washed is all the false doctrines that have been propagated throughout the history of mankind, and the hinder^{H314 [behind, following, subsequent, western, hinder; generally late or last}] sea represents the current state of all the “peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues” with their various belief systems. Those waters go forth “in summer and in winter shall it be” is speaking of the effectiveness of that preaching of the word. There will be seasons of overcoming for the world of the wood, hay and stubble that would happen in the summer^{H7019=summer, summer-fruit}, but there will also be a resistance to the word going forth that falls on unconverted hearts that are likened unto winter^{H2779=cold, winter, winterhouse, youth} mentioned in other scriptures as well. As we are blessed to know, God’s word will ultimately not return void in the great white throne judgment, the latter rain (Mat 24:20, Isa 55:11, Jas 5:7). 

Pro 20:4  The sluggard will not plow by reason of the cold^{H2779 winter}; therefore shall he beg in harvest, and have nothing.

Mat 24:20  But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:

Isa 55:11  So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

Jas 5:7  Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.

Next week, Lord willing, we will look at the last part of this chapter [Zec 14:9-21]:

Zec 14:9  And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one. 
Zec 14:10  All the land shall be turned as a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem: and it shall be lifted up, and inhabited in her place, from Benjamin’s gate unto the place of the first gate, unto the corner gate, and from the tower of Hananeel unto the king’s winepresses. 
Zec 14:11  And men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited.
Zec 14:12  And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth. 
Zec 14:13  And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.
Zec 14:14  And Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the heathen round about shall be gathered together, gold, and silver, and apparel, in great abundance. 
Zec 14:15  And so shall be the plague of the horse, of the mule, of the camel, and of the ass, and of all the beasts that shall be in these tents, as this plague. 
Zec 14:16  And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.
Zec 14:17  And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain. 
Zec 14:18  And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there shall be the plague, wherewith the LORD will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles. 
Zec 14:19  This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles. 
Zec 14:20  In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD; and the pots in the LORD’S house shall be like the bowls before the altar.
Zec 14:21  Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the LORD of hosts: and all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them, and seethe therein: and in that day there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the LORD of hosts.

Jer 52:18-34  Everything in the Lord’s Temple is Now Also in Babylon

[Study Aired November 13, 2022]

Jer 52:18  The caldrons also, and the shovels, and the snuffers, and the bowls, and the spoons, and all the vessels of brass wherewith they ministered, took they away.
Jer 52:19  And the basons, and the firepans, and the bowls, and the caldrons, and the candlesticks, and the spoons, and the cups; that which was of gold in gold, and that which was of silver in silver, took the captain of the guard away.
Jer 52:20  The two pillars, one sea, and twelve brasen bulls that were under the bases, which king Solomon had made in the house of the LORD: the brass of all these vessels was without weight.
Jer 52:21  And concerning the pillars, the height of one pillar was eighteen cubits; and a fillet of twelve cubits did compass it; and the thickness thereof was four fingers: it was hollow.
Jer 52:22  And a chapiter of brass was upon it; and the height of one chapiter was five cubits, with network and pomegranates upon the chapiters round about, all of brass. The second pillar also and the pomegranates were like unto these.
Jer 52:23  And there were ninety and six pomegranates on a side; and all the pomegranates upon the network were an hundred round about.
Jer 52:24  And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the door:
Jer 52:25  He took also out of the city an eunuch, which had the charge of the men of war; and seven men of them that were near the king’s person, which were found in the city; and the principal scribe of the host, who mustered the people of the land; and threescore men of the people of the land, that were found in the midst of the city.
Jer 52:26  So Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them, and brought them to the king of Babylon to Riblah.
Jer 52:27  And the king of Babylon smote them, and put them to death in Riblah in the land of Hamath. Thus Judah was carried away captive out of his own land.
Jer 52:28  This is the people whom Nebuchadrezzar carried away captive: in the seventh year three thousand Jews and three and twenty:
Jer 52:29  In the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar he carried away captive from Jerusalem eight hundred thirty and two persons:
Jer 52:30  In the three and twentieth year of Nebuchadrezzar Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive of the Jews seven hundred forty and five persons: all the persons were four thousand and six hundred.

These Last Four Verses Concern Jehoiachin’s Release from Prison

Jer 52:31  And it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, in the five and twentieth day of the month, that Evilmerodach king of Babylon in the first year of his reign lifted up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah, and brought him forth out of prison,
Jer 52:32  And spake kindly unto him, and set his throne above the throne of the kings that were with him in Babylon,
Jer 52:33  And changed his prison garments: and he did continually eat bread before him all the days of his life.
Jer 52:34  And for his diet, there was a continual diet given him of the king of Babylon, every day a portion until the day of his death, all the days of his life.

In our last study we closed with these verses:

Jer 52:16  But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left certain of the poor of the land for vinedressers and for husbandmen.
Jer 52:17  Also the pillars of brass that were in the house of the LORD, and the bases, and the brasen sea that was in the house of the LORD, the Chaldeans brake, and carried all the brass of them to Babylon.

Brass is the very best of the base metals. Its spiritual significance therefore is the best of our carnal flesh. Here is the study on the spiritual significance of ‘brass’, which should be translated as copper:

Metals – Copper, Part 1

It is through these two ‘pillars of brass’ that everyone entered the temple of God. The only place brass was found in the tabernacle of Moses was in the sockets which supported the five pillars at the door of the tabernacle. All the priests entered the tabernacle over these sockets of brass. These two brass pillars have the same spiritual significance which the sockets of the tabernacle carried. That spiritual significance is that “we have this treasure [Christ] in earthen vessels”, through which we enter into the Lord’s presence.

2Co 4:7  But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.

The temple of Solomon is a more mature type of the Lord’s habitation, and in the temple, we see that the pillars are but two, which signifies the witness of Christ and the witness of His Christ.

Rev 11:3  And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.
Rev 11:4  These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.

Zec 4:1  And the angel that talked with me came again, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep,
Zec 4:2  And said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof:
Zec 4:3  And two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof.
Zec 4:4  So I answered and spake to the angel that talked with me, saying, What are these, my lord?
Zec 4:5  Then the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord.
Zec 4:6  Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.

Here is the study on the spiritual significance of the number two:

Numbers – Two

The following is the description of the size and shape of those two copper pillars at the entrance of the temple of Solomon:

1Ki 7:15  For he cast two pillars of brass, of eighteen cubits high apiece: and a line of twelve cubits did compass either of them about.
1Ki 7:16  And he made two chapiters of molten brass, to set upon the tops of the pillars: the height of the one chapiter was five cubits, and the height of the other chapiter was five cubits:
1Ki 7:21  And he set up the pillars in the porch of the temple: and he set up the right pillar, and called the name thereof Jachin [H3199: ‘He will establish]: and he set up the left pillar, and called the name thereof Boaz [H1162: ‘Fleetness’].

A cubit is a foot and a half, or 45.72 centimeters. With a five cubit cap (2.286 meters) these copper pillars were 34.5 feet tall with a 18 foot circumference. That is 10.5156 meters tall with a 5.4864 meter circumference. They were not intended to be portable, yet Nebuchadnezzar had them broken up and carried to Babylon, along with all the implements with which the priests serviced the temple of the Lord. All those implements which were intended to worship the true God were now in Babylon, typical of ‘Mystery Babylon’ now being used in the service of another god.

Rev 18:1  And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.
Rev 18:2  And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.
Rev 18:3  For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.

All these physical things have spiritual counterparts which are all found in Mystery Babylon and which are all given to Babylon by the Lord’s apostate people. There is no doubt that physical Babylon had plenty of gold, silver, and precious stones before the Jerusalem campaign, but now the Old Testament type of Mystery Babylon the Great also has within it the gold, silver, and precious stones of the temple of God in Jerusalem.

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

1Co 3:12  Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;

The building materials of “gold, silver, and precious stones” signify the doctrines of Christ and His gospel, which is likened unto “a treasure hidden in a field [and] a pearl of great price” (Mat 13:44-45). Ezekiel condemns the Lord’s people for using His gold and His silver to “make to [themselves] images of men” which we are told signify “falsehoods”:

Jer 10:14  Every man is brutish in his knowledge: every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them.

Jer 51:17  Every man is brutish by his knowledge; every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them.

The ‘gold, silver, and precious stones’ of Babylon signify all the false doctrines which the Lord’s own words have been twisted into as “idols of the heart” of the ‘merchants and shipmasters of Babylon’, who signify all the great prominent ministers of the religions of this world.

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 stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I the LORD will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols;
Eze 14:5  That I may take the house of Israel in their own heart, because they are all estranged from me through their idols.
Eze 14:6  Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Repent, and turn yourselves from your idols; and turn away your faces from all your abominations.
Eze 14:7  For every one of the house of Israel, or of the stranger that sojourneth in Israel, which separateth himself from me, and setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to a prophet to enquire of him concerning me; I the LORD will answer him by myself:
Eze 14:8  And I will set my face against that man, and will make him a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from the midst of my people; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
Eze 14:9  And if the prophet be deceived when he hath spoken a thing, I the LORD have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand upon him, and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel.
Eze 14:10  And they shall bear the punishment of their iniquity: the punishment of the prophet shall be even as the punishment of him that seeketh unto him;

Rev 18:12  The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble,
Rev 18:13  And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men.

That is what happened to Jerusalem. All the implements that were used by the priests in ministering to the people before the Lord are now in Babylon and being used there.

Jer 52:18  The caldrons also, and the shovels, and the snuffers, and the bowls, and the spoons, and all the vessels of brass wherewith they ministered, took they away.
Jer 52:19  And the basons, and the firepans, and the bowls, and the caldrons, and the candlesticks, and the spoons, and the cups; that which was of gold in gold, and that which was of silver in silver, took the captain of the guard away.
Jer 52:20  The two pillars, one sea, and twelve brasen bulls that were under the bases, which king Solomon had made in the house of the LORD: the brass of all these vessels was without weight.

All these implements are now in Babylon signifying that which was already true before the Lord’s people were carried away captives into Babylon. This is what it all signifies:

Isa 3:1  For, behold, the Lord, the LORD of hosts, doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water,

The bread and the water here signify the same things which the bread and the blood signify in these words of our Lord:

Joh 6:48  I am that bread of life.
Joh 6:49  Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead.
Joh 6:50  This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die.
Joh 6:51  I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.
Joh 6:52  The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat?
Joh 6:53  Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.
Joh 6:54  Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.
Joh 6:55  For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.
Joh 6:56  He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.

Jer 52:21  And concerning the pillars, the height of one pillar was eighteen cubits; and a fillet of twelve cubits did compass it; and the thickness thereof was four fingers: it was hollow.
Jer 52:22  And a chapiter of brass was upon it; and the height of one chapiter was five cubits, with network and pomegranates upon the chapiters round about, all of brass. The second pillar also and the pomegranates were like unto these.
Jer 52:23  And there were ninety and six pomegranates on a side; and all the pomegranates upon the network were an hundred round about.

These pillars signify the great men who are the pillars of the Lord’s apostate house just as the Lord’s elect are called “pillars” in His house:

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

These pillars were designed to “go no more out”, but the apostasy of the Lord’s people caused them to be broken down and carried away to Babylon.

Jer 52:24  And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the door:
Jer 52:25  He took also out of the city an eunuch, which had the charge of the men of war; and seven men of them that were near the king’s person, which were found in the city; and the principal scribe of the host, who mustered the people of the land; and threescore men of the people of the land, that were found in the midst of the city.
Jer 52:26  So Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them, and brought them to the king of Babylon to Riblah.
Jer 52:27  And the king of Babylon smote them, and put them to death in Riblah in the land of Hamath. Thus Judah was carried away captive out of his own land.

These are the spiritual leaders of the Lord’s people spoken of by the next verses in Isaiah 3, telling us of the extent of the apostasy of the Lord’s own people. I repeat verse one to give the context of the state of all these great men of God:

Isa 3:1  For, behold, the Lord, the LORD of hosts, doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water,
Isa 3:2  The mighty man, and the man of war, the judge, and the prophet, and the prudent, and the ancient,
Isa 3:3  The captain of fifty, and the honourable man, and the counsellor, and the cunning artificer, and the eloquent orator.
Isa 3:4  And I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them.
Isa 3:5  And the people shall be oppressed, every one by another, and every one by his neighbour: the child shall behave himself proudly against the ancient, and the base against the honourable.

Isa 3:8  For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah is fallen: because their tongue and their doings are against the LORD, to provoke the eyes of his glory. [The ‘harlot’ of Isaiah 1:21 is fallen, is fallen]
Isa 3:9  The shew of their countenance doth witness against them; and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not. Woe unto their soul! for they have rewarded evil unto themselves.

Speaking to His own apostate people this is how the Lord addresses them:

Isa 1:10  Hear the word of the LORD, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah.

Sodom is also another name for the “great city” of Mystery Babylon the Great:

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

Lest anyone miss the fact that Mystery Babylon is the Lord’s own people we are told that this is “where also our Lord was crucified”.

Jer 52:28  This is the people whom Nebuchadrezzar carried away captive: in the seventh year three thousand Jews and three and twenty:
Jer 52:29  In the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar he carried away captive from Jerusalem eight hundred thirty and two persons:
Jer 52:30  In the three and twentieth year of Nebuchadrezzar Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive of the Jews seven hundred forty and five persons: all the persons were four thousand and six hundred.

This three-step process of fulfilling the prophecy of Jeremiah telling the Lord’s people that they would be carried away to Babylon signifies the process of being judged which they are now enduring.

Lest we think this has no personal application we need to remember that it is our own old man who is at this very moment enduring the judgments of God upon his own rebellious kingdom within us:

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?
1Pe 4:18  And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?
1Pe 4:19  Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.

All of these events which Judah and Jerusalem endured because of their own wickedness and backsliding happened to them and they are written to let us know that the Lord is at this very moment judging us in this present time, and He is keeping our souls in His service as a faithful Creator, and as a loving husband who simply wants us to repent of our unfaithful ways and return humbly to Him:

Jer 3:13  Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the LORD thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the LORD.
Jer 3:14  Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion:
Jer 3:15  And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.

Look at how this prophecy of Jeremiah ends. It ends with the hope of being fed with knowledge and understanding from the Lord:

Jer 52:31  And it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, in the five and twentieth day of the month, that Evilmerodach king of Babylon in the first year of his reign lifted up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah, and brought him forth out of prison,
Jer 52:32  And spake kindly unto him, and set his throne above the throne of the kings that were with him in Babylon,
Jer 52:33  And changed his prison garments: and he did continually eat bread before him all the days of his life.
Jer 52:34  And for his diet, there was a continual diet given him of the king of Babylon, every day a portion until the day of his death, all the days of his life.

Jehoiachin was the youngest of the four kings who followed King Josiah. He is the youngest king to whom Jeremiah prophesied, and he is the only king who followed Jeremiah’s words from the Lord to “go out unto the king of Babylon’s princes”, and accept the judgment which the Lord has prophesied to come upon Judah and Jerusalem:

Jer 38:17  Then said Jeremiah unto Zedekiah, Thus saith the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel; If thou wilt assuredly go forth unto the king of Babylon’s princes, then thy soul shall live, and this city shall not be burned with fire; and thou shalt live, and thine house:
Jer 38:18  But if thou wilt not go forth to the king of Babylon’s princes, then shall this city be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and thou shalt not escape out of their hand.

2Ki 24:12  And Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon, he, and his mother, and his servants, and his princes, and his officers: and the king of Babylon took him in the eighth year of his reign.

Because Jehoiachin obeyed the Lord he is now being treated as Joseph who was brought out of prison and placed over the house of Pharaoh. He is being set over the kings in Babylon just as Daniel and his fellows were placed over all the wise men in all the province of Babylon just a few years prior to Jehoiachin’s release from prison. All these men, Joseph, Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and here in the last part of the last chapter of Jeremiah, we have Jehoiachin, all who obeyed the words of the Lord in their generation are types of the Lord’s elect who are also being taken out of prison and being made kings and priests who will reign with Christ in His soon coming kingdom:

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 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 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: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.

Rev 5:8  And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.
Rev 5:9  And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;
Rev 5:10  And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

May the Lord give us all the faith to value and to choose to suffer affliction with the people of God in this present time than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season, and may the Lord grant each of us to have respect unto the recompense of the reward we are promised:

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.

Jer 51:33-48  The Sea is Come Upon Babylon

[Study Aired October 23, 2022]

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.
Jer 51:34  Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon hath devoured me, he hath crushed me, he hath made me an empty vessel, he hath swallowed me up like a dragon, he hath filled his belly with my delicates, he hath cast me out.
Jer 51:35  The violence done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon, shall the inhabitant of Zion say; and my blood upon the inhabitants of Chaldea, shall Jerusalem say.
Jer 51:36  Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will plead thy cause, and take vengeance for thee; and I will dry up her sea, and make her springs dry.
Jer 51:37  And Babylon shall become heaps, a dwellingplace for dragons, an astonishment, and an hissing, without an inhabitant.
Jer 51:38  They shall roar together like lions: they shall yell as lions’ whelps.
Jer 51:39  In their heat I will make their feasts, and I will make them drunken, that they may rejoice, and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the LORD.
Jer 51:40  I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams with he goats.
Jer 51:41  How is Sheshach taken! and how is the praise of the whole earth surprised! how is Babylon become an astonishment among the nations!
Jer 51:42  The sea is come up upon Babylon: she is covered with the multitude of the waves thereof.
Jer 51:43  Her cities are a desolation, a dry land, and a wilderness, a land wherein no man dwelleth, neither doth any son of man pass thereby.
Jer 51:44  And I will punish Bel in Babylon, and I will bring forth out of his mouth that which he hath swallowed up: and the nations shall not flow together any more unto him: yea, the wall of Babylon shall fall.
Jer 51:45  My people, go ye out of the midst of her, and deliver ye every man his soul from the fierce anger of the LORD.
Jer 51:46  And lest your heart faint, and ye fear for the rumour that shall be heard in the land; a rumour shall both come one year, and after that in another year shall come a rumour, and violence in the land, ruler against ruler.
Jer 51:47  Therefore, behold, the days come, that I will do judgment upon the graven images of Babylon: and her whole land shall be confounded, and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her.
Jer 51:48  Then the heaven and the earth, and all that is therein, shall sing for Babylon: for the spoilers shall come unto her from the north, saith the LORD.
Jer 51:49  As Babylon hath caused the slain of Israel to fall, so at Babylon shall fall the slain of all the earth.

The first verse of our study, for those who are given eyes that see and ears that hear “the things of the spirit”, demonstrates that the time of threshing and the time of harvest are both just different ways of speaking of the day of our being judged:

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.

Being in Babylon is just like being in Christ. If we are in Him, then He is also within us:

Joh 14:20  At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.

The same is true with Mystery Babylon and the adversary who is worshiped by Babylon:

Rom 6:16  Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?

Jer 51:34  Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon hath devoured me, he hath crushed me, he hath made me an empty vessel, he hath swallowed me up like a dragon, he hath filled his belly with my delicates, he hath cast me out.
Jer 51:35  The violence done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon, shall the inhabitant of Zion say; and my blood upon the inhabitants of Chaldea, shall Jerusalem say.

It is Satan himself who tells us that God has given him to be “the god of this world”:

Luk 4:5  And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
Luk 4:6  And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.

‘The sum of [the Lord’s] Word’ reveals that the power Satan has is no power of his own, and he is nothing more than ‘the Lord’s hand’:

Job 1:9  Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?
Job 1:10  Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.
Job 1:11  But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.
Job 1:12  And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.

Job 2:4  And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life.
Job 2:5  But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face.
Job 2:6  And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life.

Act 4:26  The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ.
Act 4:27  For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together,
Act 4:28  For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done.
Act 4:29  And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word,

Just because we are informed that the crucifixion of our Lord was by the “hand and… counsel” of God does not mean that this is a one-time thing where the Father stepped into the affairs of mankind and caused a major event to work according to His will. No, it was not a one-time event. These words are telling us that God works all things, after the counsel of His own will and not ours:

Satan is empowered and limited by our Lord. Satan does exactly and only what he is given to do. Therefore, even all the evil in this world is actually “the Lord ruling in the kingdoms of men” via “the god of this world… [His] hand”:

Dan 4:17  This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men.

Who are the Lord’s ‘watchers’? If we are in Christ, then we are His watchers and His watchmen:

Isa 21:6  For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Go, set a watchman, let him declare what he seeth.

Eze 3:17  Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me.

Eze 33:7  So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me.

Christ and Paul tell us to be “watchers”:

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

Act 20:28  Take heed [watch] therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.
Act 20:29  For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.
Act 20:30  Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.
Act 20:31  Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.

1Co 16:13  Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.

Whether we ‘watch and warn’ the Lord’s flock or we fail to do so and we become a “grievous wolf” it will be the Lord’s “predestinated… work”, working all things after the counsel of His own will:

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

Fortunately for us, the outcome of this battle in our heavens does not depend upon our strength or our fabled ‘free’ will because the Lord wants us all to know:

Php 2:13  For [G1063: ‘gar’, assigning a reason, because] it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

Therefore, if we will to ‘work out our own salvation with fear and trembling’ we do so only because it is the Lord working in us “both to will and to do of His good pleasure”, and we have no right to glory in our corruptible flesh.

1Co 1:26  For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:
1Co 1:27  But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
1Co 1:28  And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
1Co 1:29  That no flesh should glory in his presence.
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:
1Co 1:31  That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.

Jer 51:36  Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will plead thy cause, and take vengeance for thee; and I will dry up her sea, and make her springs dry.
Jer 51:37  And Babylon shall become heaps, a dwellingplace for dragons, an astonishment, and an hissing, without an inhabitant.
Jer 51:38  They shall roar together like lions: they shall yell as lions’ whelps.
Jer 51:39  In their heat I will make their feasts, and I will make them drunken, that they may rejoice, and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the LORD.

Mystery Babylon is the second beast of Revelation 13. The first beast comes up out of the sea, which symbolizes all of mankind:

Isa 60:5  Then thou shalt see, and flow together, and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea [mankind] shall be converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee.

Jer 51:42  The sea [the nations] is come up upon Babylon: she is covered with the multitude of the waves thereof.

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.

Mystery Babylon is signified by another beast which comes up out of the earth:

Rev 13:11  And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.

Mystery Babylon is secret Babylon because she appears as a lamb, but she speaks as a dragon. ‘The earth’ out of which she is coming is religious mankind who claim to know God but who “speak as a dragon” by spreading the lies of the great red dragon with all her false, lying doctrines.

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

Mystery Babylon is a mystery because the various religions and denominations within those religions are all confused, and they are pointing at each other and calling each other Mystery, Babylon the Great. The Lord has put it into the hearts of the “ten horns” on the beast that comes up “out of the sea” to rebel against the hegemony and the dominance of religion, and to throw off that influence and dominance. That change of heart toward this spiritual whore is expressed and signified with these words:

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 words of warning against ancient Babylon are spiritually applicable to Mystery Babylon:

Jer 51:40  I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams with he goats.
Jer 51:41  How is Sheshach taken! and how is the praise of the whole earth surprised! how is Babylon become an astonishment among the nations!
Jer 51:42  The sea is come up upon Babylon: she is covered with the multitude of the waves thereof.
Jer 51:43  Her cities are a desolation, a dry land, and a wilderness, a land wherein no man dwelleth, neither doth any son of man pass thereby.

The only other place the name ‘Sheshach’ appears is in:

Jer 25:26  And all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another, and all the kingdoms of the world, which are upon the face of the earth: and the king of Sheshach shall drink after them.
Jer 25:27  Therefore thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Drink ye, and be drunken, and spue, and fall, and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you.

This 25^th chapter of Jeremiah concerns the seven last plagues which are called ‘the wine cup of [the Lord’s] fury”:

Jer 25:15  For thus saith the LORD God of Israel unto me; Take the wine cup of this fury at my hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send thee, to drink it.
Jer 25:16  And they shall drink, and be moved, and be mad, because of the sword that I will send among them.
Jer 25:17  Then took I the cup at the LORD’S hand, and made all the nations to drink, unto whom the LORD had sent me:

“Sheshach” is obviously an epithet for Babylon. Here is what Wikipedia has to say about this name and its origins:

“From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

“Sheshach (Hebrew: ששך), whose king is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible in Jeremiah 25:26, is supposed to be equivalent to Babel (Babylon), according to a secret mode of writing practiced among the Jews of unknown antiquity, which consisted in substituting the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet for the first, the next to last one for the second, and so on. Thus the letters sh, sh, ch become b, b, l, i.e., Babel (see: Atbash cipher).^[1] This code is called the Atbash Cipher and was utilized to decrypt.

The city “Sheshach” does not appear on any map nor in any other documents, save the book of Jeremiah. The Atbash Cipher was applied and out of “Sheshach” came the word “Babel”. This is supposed to be confirmed by a reference to Jeremiah 51:41, where Sheshach and Babylon are in parallel clauses. There seems to be no reason to doubt that Babylon is here intended by this name. “ (End Quote)

Jer 51:44  And I will punish Bel in Babylon, and I will bring forth out of his mouth that which he hath swallowed up: and the nations shall not flow together any more unto him: yea, the wall of Babylon shall fall.

For Jeremiah to prophesy, “the wall of Babylon shall fall” at the time he made this prophecy would be like me prophesying that all the religions of this world will be destroyed at the appearing of the Lord. At that time, it simply did not appear possible that the wall of Babylon would ever fall. The same is true for Mystery Babylon today. It appears impossible that orthodox, historical Christianity, the largest single religion on earth, and Islam, the second largest religion on earth, Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, and any other religions of mankind, including the religion of Atheism, will all fall before the power of “the Lord and His Christ”, and yet that is exactly what the scriptures foretell:

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.

Jer 51:45  My people, go ye out of the midst of her, and deliver ye every man his soul from the fierce anger of the LORD.
Jer 51:46  And lest your heart faint, and ye fear for the rumour that shall be heard in the land; a rumour shall both come one year, and after that in another year shall come a rumour, and violence in the land, ruler against ruler.

These words repeat the admonitions of verses 6-8 earlier in this same chapter:

Jer 51:6  Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul: be not cut off in her iniquity; for this is the time of the LORD’S vengeance; he will render unto her a recompence.
Jer 51:7  Babylon hath been a golden cup in the LORD’S hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations are mad.
Jer 51:8  Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed: howl for her; take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed.

It is the inspired words of verses 6-8 and verses 45-46 which inspired the apostle John to give us the same admonition:

Rev 18:1  And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.
Rev 18:2  And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.
Rev 18:3  For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.
Rev 18:4  And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
Rev 18:5  For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.
Rev 18:6  Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double.

Jer 51:47  Therefore, behold, the days come, that I will do judgment upon the graven images of Babylon: and her whole land shall be confounded, and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her.

Verses 17-18 make it very clear that idols signify “falsehood[s]… the work of errors”:

Jer 51:17  Every man is brutish by his knowledge; every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them.
Jer 51:18  They are vanity, the work of errors: in the time of their visitation they shall perish.

All the lying false doctrines of all the religions of this world are at this very moment being exposed and rejected by the secular societies of every nation on this earth. The Lord has put it in their hearts to do His will and to turn against all the religions of mankind and to begin their destruction.

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 false doctrines of every religion on earth have “reigned over the kings of the earth” for thousands of years, but the Lord is preparing this world to forsake all its religions and to learn to live under the rod of iron which will be wielded by “the Lord and His Christ”:

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.

“The time of their visitation“ of Jeremiah 51:18 is the same as “the time of the Lord’s vengeance” in verse 6:

Jer 51:6  Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul: be not cut off in her iniquity; for this is the time of the LORD’S vengeance; he will render unto her a recompence.

Jer 51:48  Then the heaven and the earth, and all that is therein, shall sing for Babylon: for the spoilers shall come unto her from the north, saith the LORD.

This verse is telling us that the heavens and the earth and all that therein is, shall sing for the fall and the destruction of Mystery Babylon the Great.

The destruction of all the lies of the great harlot, of which I was a true believer, was the greatest ‘earthquake’ ever to take place in my life. I remember telling Sandi that I had come to realize there was no ‘stay of bread nor any stay of water’ in any doctrines of any of the churches we had ever attended.

Isa 3:1  For, behold, the Lord, the LORD of hosts, doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water,

‘The whole stay of bread and the whole stay of water’ both signify the Word of God (Joh 6:51 and Eph 5:26). What we are being told here is that not even one doctrine of Babylon, including the death and resurrection of our Lord, is untainted by the lying false doctrines of Mystery Babylon the Great. The fact is that Mystery Babylon doesn’t believe that Christ died on the cross. Their false doctrine teaches us that Christ possessed an immortal soul which could not die and instead went to heaven to be with His Father, or He went to paradise to be with the thief, or He went to preach to spirits in prison. So even the most basic doctrine of scripture which teaches that Christ died for our sins is perverted and denied by the lying error of the idols of the heart of the ministers of Babylon.

Coming to understand just how deceived I had been was both devastating, and at the same time it was exhilarating, because the casting out of all those lies was the beginning of Christ assuming His throne in my heart and mind, and it was the beginning of being given eyes that could see and ears that could hear the things of the spirit.

My experience is common to every one of you. We have all been dragged to where we are, and remaining faithful to the Word of God is a fiery experience which costs us the friendship of this entire world.

Jas 4:4  Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

It is the adulterous attitude of going along with the traditions of men to get along with men which turns us all into spiritual “adulterers and adulteresses”. Christ did not go along with the doctrines and traditions of men in His day to get along with the people of His day. He broke the sabbath, and He maintained that He was the Son of God, and for that Mystery Babylon said He must die:

Joh 5:18  Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.

What great love the Father has bestowed upon us that we also should be called “the sons of God”:

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

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

The resurrection of Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha, struck such fear in the hearts of “the great men of [Mystery] Babylon”, that they plotted to kill both Lazarus and Christ. Just imagine the fear that will strike the hearts of the men of Babylon the Great when Christ Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, and all the saints of God from the days of Christ until the day of His appearing shall rise up out of their graves and meet the Lord in the sight of the whole world!!!

Joh 12:9  Much people of the Jews therefore knew that he was there: and they came not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might see Lazarus also, whom he had raised from the dead.
Joh 12:10  But the chief priests consulted that they might put Lazarus also to death;
Joh 12:11  Because that by reason of him many of the Jews went away, and believed on Jesus.

Joh 17:18  As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.

This is the “even so” that Christ’s Father sent Him “into the world” to accomplish, and this is what Christ is now sending us to accomplish:

Joh 3:16  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Joh 3:17  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

That is why you and I have come into this world. We have been sent by God to be Saviors upon Mount Zion:

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.