2Ki 25:1-12  “But the captain of the guard left of the poor of the land to be vinedressers and husbandmen”

[Study Aired May 18, 2023]

2Ki 25:1  And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he, and all his host, against Jerusalem, and pitched against it; and they built forts against it round about. 
2Ki 25:2  And the city was besieged unto the eleventh year of king Zedekiah. 
2Ki 25:3  And on the ninth day of the fourth month the famine prevailed in the city, and there was no bread for the people of the land. 
2Ki 25:4  And the city was broken up, and all the men of war fled by night by the way of the gate between two walls, which is by the king’s garden: (now the Chaldees were against the city round about:) and the king went the way toward the plain.
2Ki 25:5  And the army of the Chaldees pursued after the king, and overtook him in the plains of Jericho: and all his army were scattered from him. 
2Ki 25:6  So they took the king, and brought him up to the king of Babylon to Riblah; and they gave judgment upon him. 
2Ki 25:7  And they slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him with fetters of brass, and carried him to Babylon.
2Ki 25:8  And in the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month, which is the nineteenth year of king Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, came Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, unto Jerusalem:
2Ki 25:9  And he burnt the house of the LORD, and the king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem, and every great man’s house burnt he with fire.
2Ki 25:10  And all the army of the Chaldees, that were with the captain of the guard, brake down the walls of Jerusalem round about. 
2Ki 25:11  Now the rest of the people that were left in the city, and the fugitives that fell away to the king of Babylon, with the remnant of the multitude, did Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carry away. 
2Ki 25:12  But the captain of the guard left of the poor of the land to be vinedressers and husbandmen.

Zedekiah represents the man of perdition within us who must be destroyed by the brightness of Christ’s coming (2Th 2:8). He also represents the kingdoms of this world which will become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ who first have those kingdoms within us judged and ruled over by Christ (Rev 11:15).

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:

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.

Zedekiah’s rebellion against the king 0f Babylon (2Ki 24:20) was the catalyst God used to bring Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, up against Jerusalem. Burning every man’s house with fire (“the king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem, and every great man’s house burnt he with fire“) is a foreshadow of how every man’s work will be tested with fire (“If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.“) in the second resurrection (2Ki 25:9, 1Co 3:15), and it is also true that if we don’t suffer loss, it will be because God had determined from the foundation of the world (Eph 1:4) that we would be those who would abide and endure until the end through Christ, who gives us the power to endure in the day of adversity so that we can attain to that blessed and holy first resurrection (1Co 3:14, Pro 24:10, Rom 8:18).

1Co 3:14  If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward (Rev 20:6). 
1Co 3:15  If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

Pro 24:10  If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small. 
Pro 24:11  If thou forbear to deliver them that are drawn unto death, and those that are ready to be slain; 

God’s elect, who are the weak of the world (1Co 1:26) and the poor in spirit of the world (Mat 5:3), are typified in this section of Kings as those who were shown mercy during this severe attack from the King of Babylon (Rom 11:11-12), via the captain of the guard whose name was “Nebuzaradan” whose name means “Nebo has given seed.” We’re told, “But the captain of the guard left of the poor of the land to be vinedressers and husbandmen,” Those vinedressers and husbandman [the elect of God, the remnant that are left] understand today that God has made a way to take all this death and destruction about which we are reading and turn it into something glorious, seeing all humanity will be redeemed in time (2Sa 14:14, 1Co 15:22). The seed Nebuzaradan gives is the death of the old man that must go into captivity and in time be shown that God has made a way to redeem all of the fallen. So God’s elect are not only the vinedressers and husbandman but also those “fugitives that fell away to the king of Babylon, with the remnant of the multitude” in their appointed time (Eph 2:2) and were carried away into captivity in Babylon themselves. If God is working with us in this age, then we will be preserved by way of His judgments that will free us from Babylonian captivity in time to become skilled “vinedressers and husbandman“,  words that represent the body of Christ who are one with Christ, the true vine, and God the Father who is likened unto a husbandman (2Sa 14:14, Joh 14:20, Joh 15:1-2, Joh 17:3).

2Sa 14:14  For we must needs die, and are as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; neither doth God respect any person: yet doth he devise means [Gal 3:16, Joh 12:24-25 by the one seed of Christ], that his banished be not expelled from him [the rest of the world that remains in captivity until now without Christ’s spirit within (Rom 8:9, 2Co 3:17)]. 

Gal 3:16  Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.

Joh 12:24  Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
Joh 12:25  He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. [Rom 9:13 ,  Mal 1:2-3]

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

Joh 15:1  I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. [“vinedressers and husbandmen” (Joh 17:3)]
Joh 15:2  Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. [Act 14:22]

Our flesh does not want to acknowledge the truth that we need to be tried and tested in order to bring forth fruit in this life and go unto perfection on the third day, “and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit” (Luk 13:32), and yet these scriptures (1Co 3:11-14, 1Co 3:15) reveal that “Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.” There are only two sorts of works being discussed in this verse – those who are not given to endure the fire and those who are (Joh 15:2).

In this particular study we will see a witness of how there are two groups that need to be judged, each man in his own order, and how God’s blessed remnant who are judged in this life (1Pe 4:17) are typified by those on whom God showed mercy as His workmanship who are “the poor of the land to be vinedressers and husbandmen” (Rom 11:31-32). In order to become those vinedressers and husbandmen, we must receive the counsel of God and understand who we ought to always fear, becoming like a teachable child (Rev 3:18, Luk 12:5, Rom 13:4, Mat 18:3).

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.

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

In order to overcome, it must be granted us to hear the voice of the true Shepherd (Rev 3:19-21) and as a result be able to hear the voice of the true Shepherd in the body of Christ, being persuaded of our leaders whom God has ordained for our good (Heb 13:17, 2Co 1:24, 1Jn 1:3-4).

Rev 3:19  As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: [Heb 12:6] be zealous therefore, and repent.
Rev 3:20  Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
Rev 3:21  To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, [how Christ overcame (1Jn 4:17, Heb 5:8)] and am set down with my Father in his throne.
Rev 3:22  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

Heb 13:17  Obey^G3982 them that have the rule over you^G2233[^G71“to lead“], and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.

2Co 1:24  Not for that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy: for by faith ye stand.

1Jn 1:3  That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ [Joh 17:3, Eph 5:30].
1Jn 1:4  And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.

Mar 14:42  Rise up, let us go^G71; lo, he that betrayeth me is at hand [Rom 8:14-15, Psa 23:3-4].

Rom 8:14  For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. 
Rom 8:15  For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. 

Psa 23:3  He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Psa 23:4  Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

2Ki 25:1  And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he, and all his host, against Jerusalem, and pitched against it; and they built forts against it round about. 
2Ki 25:2  And the city was besieged unto the eleventh year of king Zedekiah. 
2Ki 25:3  And on the ninth day of the fourth month the famine prevailed in the city, and there was no bread for the people of the land.

It is in the “ninth year of his reign” that Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon with all his host, came up against Jerusalem. This event signifies the judgment that comes upon the world within us that God accomplishes via the king of Babylon, who typifies Satan who is God’s sword (Psa 17:13). The city being besieged “unto the eleventh year of king Zedekiah” reminds us that in order to come to that point where our foundation is upon the rock, Jesus Christ [12], we must transition through judgment from eleven [“The Ruin and Disintegration of the Perfection of the Flesh”] to twelve, the number of foundations. The eleventh year of Zedekiah’s rule coinciding with Nebuchadnezzar’s ninth year of reign signifies judgment that is against all flesh; flesh that is witnessed against by the numbers associated with the time this happened “in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month.” The city is besieged on the eleventh year and then in the “ninth day of the fourth month” the famine prevails as a type of Babylon that comes to see there is no stay of bread or water [the whole or “the fourth month“] in her (Isa 3:1). That famine is what brings us to our wits’ end so we ‘come out of her my people’ if God is working with us to that end (Luk 15:17, Joh 6:44). 

Luk 15:17  And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!

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

All of Nebuchadnezzar’s host pitched against Jerusalem and built forts against it round about, representing how our own iniquities will chasten us (Isa 59:2) and how we will be bound by our own sin which will be judged (Joh 8:36). The famine of the word prevailing in our lives is typified by there being “no bread for the people of the land” and is a form of judgment that brings us to our wits’ end as we are brought to see our wretched condition and need for spiritual nourishment, the word of God that is the true bread from heaven which quickens us (Luk 15:17-19, Joh 6:63).

Isa 59:2  But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear. 

Joh 8:36  If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

Luk 15:17  And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!
Luk 15:18  I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee,
Luk 15:19  And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.

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.

2Ki 25:4  And the city was broken up, and all the men of war fled by night by the way of the gate between two walls, which is by the king’s garden: (now the Chaldees were against the city round about:) and the king went the way toward the plain.
2Ki 25:5  And the army of the Chaldees pursued after the king, and overtook him in the plains of Jericho: and all his army were scattered from him. 
2Ki 25:6  So they took the king, and brought him up to the king of Babylon to Riblah; and they gave judgment upon him.

The city being “broken up” is symbolic of our coming into judgment as those things that need to be torn down in our lives start to unfold (Heb 12:27-29, Joh 2:19). 

Heb 12:27  And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. 
Heb 12:28  Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:
Heb 12:29  For our God is a consuming fire. 

Joh 2:19  Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.

Adam and Eve were in the true King’s garden (Rev 2:7) when they were found guilty and driven out of Eden. When Zedekiah was driven out of Jerusalem he also left a place that symbolized where salvation could be found, Jerusalem (Jerusalem above – Gal 4:26). Adam and Eve were driven out into the wilderness, and Zedekiah fled into the plain that symbolizes the wilderness of his day where he would be pursued by “the army of the Chaldees” who would overtake him in “the plains of Jericho“^H3405. Jericho means “its moon” and represents Babylon where we initially think we have found the Sun of righteousness (Mal 4:2, Mat 21:44) when in fact we are still dealing with the lesser light of Babylon that is only a shadow of the truth, like the brightness of the moon is only a reflection of the source of light which is coming from the sun (1Co 15:41). If we are being judged in this life, we are called out of Babylon, but of course we must first go into it as Zedekiah was about to experience encountering Nebuchadnezzar in Riblah, “to the king of Babylon to Riblah^H7247; and they gave judgment upon him.” It is in Riblah that our old man is judged so severely in a place that means “fertility”, telling us that this judgment will in time bring forth the righteousness that comes when God’s judgments are in the earth (Isa 26:9).

H7247riblâh BDB Definition:
Riblah = “fertility”
1) a place on the eastern boundary of Israel
2) a town in the land of Hamath on the great road between Babylon and Palestine
Part of Speech: noun proper locative
A Related Word by BDB/Strong’s Number: from an unused root meaning to be fruitful

1Co 15:41  There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory.

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

2Ki 25:7  And they slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him with fetters of brass, and carried him to Babylon.

Having your sons slain before your eyes is symbolic of having false doctrines destroyed before you in this instance, as our children represent the spiritual fruit of our life whether good or bad (Mat 13:38). Zedekiah is us, and he is being severely tried in the fire to see his physical children killed before him, and then have his own eyes put out. Having his eyes put out is again an extremely painful and debilitating event. However, it also represents our need to no longer see through our carnal eyes, which can only happen when we are judged and then acknowledge our blindness (Joh 9:41). We all must go into Babylon to come out of her, and when we go into Babylon we are bound to the law which is symbolized by “fetters of brass.” We are just as bound to that altar at first as we will be, Lord willing, to the altar that represents the cross of Christ (Psa 118:27, Heb 13:10).

Mat 13:38  The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;

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.

Psa 118:27  God is the LORD, which hath shewed us light: bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar. 

Heb 13:10  We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle.

2Ki 25:8  And in the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month, which is the nineteenth year of king Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, came Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, unto Jerusalem: 
2Ki 25:9  And he burnt the house of the LORD, and the king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem, and every great man’s house burnt he with fire. 
2Ki 25:10  And all the army of the Chaldees, that were with the captain of the guard, brake down the walls of Jerusalem round about.

These verses (2Ki 25:8-10) of scripture talk about the thoroughness of God’s judgment upon all flesh, as well as the order in which that judgment unfolds (1Co 3:13-15). 

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

It is the subject of grace through faith we are talking about, so it is “in the fifth month” and it is on the “nineteenth year of king Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon” that “Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, [came] unto Jerusalem.” The day of the Lord is expressed with the number one, and the nine represents judgment in regard to Nebuchadnezzar’s “nineteenth” year of reign. Then we learn of Nebuzaradan who is king Nebuchadnezzar’s servant or captain of the guard fulfilling the king’s purpose, which is a shadow of how God, represented by Nebuchadnezzar in this instance, commands Satan (Job 2:5-6, Eph 5:30) who is typified by Nebuzaradan to do his bidding of burning “the house of the LORD, and the king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem, and every great man’s house burnt he with fire” which reminds us of this verse that we previously looked at (1Co 3:15).

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.

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

When God sends His messenger to accomplish something to His glory, it is done according to the counsel of His own will (Eph 1:11). He has entire armies He can use (Mat 26:53) to set out to accomplish that purpose of humbling a nation, reminding us how the Lord can humble us for our good. “And all the army of the Chaldees, that were with the captain of the guard, brake down the walls of Jerusalem round about.“

Mat 26:53  Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?

2Ki 25:11  Now the rest of the people that were left in the city, and the fugitives that fell away to the king of Babylon, with the remnant of the multitude, did Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carry away. 
2Ki 25:12  But the captain of the guard left of the poor of the land to be vinedressers and husbandmen.

These last two verses we’ll look at demonstrate for us the way God has ordained judgment as He separates “the fugitives that fell away to the king of Babylon, with the remnant of the multitude, did Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carry away” from “the poor of the land to be vinedressers and husbandmen” who were left of “the captain of the guard” as a type of the elect.

This seemingly innocuous verse has a very important message for God’s elect that shows us events connected to our judgment in the Lord that brings us to be in a position of being “vinedressers and husbandmen“, which is being done in our lives so that the rest who are taken away into captivity, “the fugitives that fell away to the king of Babylon, with the remnant of the multitude, did Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carry away“, can one day be shown the mercy God has shown to us so that all will be saved (Rom 11:22-33). 

Rom 11:20  Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear: 
Rom 11:21  For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee. 
Rom 11:22  Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.
Rom 11:23  And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be graffed in: for God is able to graff them in again.
Rom 11:24  For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert graffed contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be graffed into their own olive tree?
Rom 11:25  For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.
Rom 11:26  And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
Rom 11:27  For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.
Rom 11:28  As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers’ sakes.
Rom 11:29  For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.
Rom 11:30  For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:
Rom 11:31  Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.
Rom 11:32  For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.
Rom 11:33  O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!

God’s elect are represented by both these groups, the “vinedressers and husbandmen” and “the remnant of the multitude,” as we must go into captivity. “Now the rest of the people that were left in the city, and the fugitives that fell away to the king of Babylon, with the remnant of the multitude, did Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carry away“, and by God’s gift of grace through faith (Eph 2:8) we come out of that captivity to become the “vinedressers and husbandmen” God has called us to be. God’s judgments are unsearchable and his ways are past finding out, and yet God’s elect who endure to the end will be blessed to have the purified mind of Christ that will be able to come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau (Oba 1:21, 1Co 6:3).

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

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

[Posted March 19, 2020]

​H​i Mike, ​

I try not to ask you questions very often, so ​I​’ll make it brief:

​W​here in the bible does it say that ungodly men/devils/​S​atan come out of the lake of fire? ​W​hat about the son of perdition?

​T​hanks, Mike.

S____

Hi S​____​,

Thank you for your question. The answer is alluded to very clearly in these verses:

Eph 1:17  That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:
Eph 1:18  The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
Eph 1:19  And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,
Eph 1:20  Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,
Eph 1:21  Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:
Eph 1:22  And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,
Eph 1:23  Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.

The end of the Lord’s plan is for the Father to be “all in all” over “all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come​:”

The word translated as ‘world’ is G165, ‘aion‘, and it means ‘age’… “not only in this age, but in the age to come.”

“All principality… [and] every name that is named” included “the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience” (Eph 2:2), and lest we miss that point,​ it is repeated in:

Col 1:16  For by him [Christ] 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;
Col 1:20  And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.

Satan is “the prince of the power of the air” and “the god of this world”, this age.

2Co 4:4  In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

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: 

As such Satan, too, and his entire kingdom are included in “all things… whether they be in earth or in heaven” which are being reconciled to Christ and His Father.

The son of perdition is in every person. The new man is born through him.

2Th 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
2Th 2:4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

We are the temple in which the man of sin sits (vs 4 above).

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

Hope this answers your questions.

YbiC,
Mike

Hello Mike,

There is a widespread “gospel” of the “last” prophecy in the Bible being fulfilled by the support of Donald Trump to make Jerusalem the capital of Israel. This could lead to the Israelites building up the last temple where the son of perdition will sit and claim all honour. Can this be true with the Bible? Does the spiritual meaning hold here or a physical manifestation is yet to fulfilled?

Thanks for your time.

Yours,

​K____​

Hi K​____,

The physical fulfil​l​ment of any prophesy is nowhere near as important as is the spiritual fulfillment which has been being fulfilled in the lives of every man since the days when Christ literally walking on this earth.

We are His temple, if indeed He lives within us, and a physical temple is not even needed for all the prophesies concerning the man of sin, the son of perdition who sits in the Lord’s temple claiming to be God, to be fulfilled.

Many generations have come and gone without a physical temple or a physical man of sin setting himself u​p​ as God. Yet these words were true in every generation, and they are still true today, simply because Christ’s Words will never pass away.

Mat 24:32 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:
Mat 24:33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
Mat 24:34 Verily I say unto you, This generation [reading these words, vs 15] 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.

The earthen vessels we call our bodies are the only temple needed for these prophecies to come to pass in every generation reading these words:

1Co 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
1Co 3:17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.
1Co 3:18 Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise.

2Th 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
2Th 2:4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God [“which temple ye are” – (1Co 3:16-17)], shewing himself that he is God.

Our Lord’s words never pass away, and they were being fulfilled in “the temple of God” in Paul’s day. That is why one of the “all these things” to which Christ was referring had already been mentioned just before He told us, “This generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled” was:

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)

I hope this has answered your question, and that you are not waiting for a physical temple to be built in the physical city of Jerusalem, or looking outwardly for some man in the middle east to claim to be God. The physical state of Israel, and the teaching that we must see a physical temple before the prophecies of Matthew 24 can be fulfilled, is but a decoy to keep this world in “strong delusion” and to keep the masses from recognizing that “the [Biblical] man of sin” is sitting smugly on the throne of God in the temple of God and is demanding our worship by simply pleasing ourselves and this world rather than pleasing Christ. “The man of sin” that you and I need to deal with is that man we see in the mirror every morning.

Your brother in Christ, Mike

The Prophecy of Isaiah - Part 6 Discussion

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Prophecy of Isaiah, Part 6 - Isaiah 1:15-20

If Ye Refuse And Rebel, Ye Shall Be Devoured With The Sword: For The Mouth of The LORD Hath Spoken It

Isa 1:15 And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood.
Isa 1:16 Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil;
Isa 1:17 Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.
Isa 1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
Isa 1:19 If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:
Isa 1:20 But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

Before we left on our 'Grace and Peace' tour, we had started this series of studies in the book of Isaiah. In our last study we discussed verse 10-14 of Isaiah one.

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.
Isa 1:11 To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the LORD: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats.
Isa 1:12 When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts?
Isa 1:13 Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting.
Isa 1:14 Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them.

In that study we were reminded that Babylon the great, with all of her holidays and "appointed feasts", is "that great city wherein our Lord was crucified", and we came to understand that physical Jerusalem typifies that spirit which "spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt". It is the same as the symbol of the great harlot of Revelation chapters 17 and 18. But Jerusalem symbolizes Babylon, and the book of Revelation does not say 'Jerusalem, wherein our Lord was crucified', rather it reads "That great city... where also our Lord was crucified".

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.

If we did not understand the principle of "line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little" (Isa 28:10), we would never be able to discern that "the great city... where also our Lord was crucified" is the same as "that great city... Babylon" in these verses:

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.

But we do understand the principle of "line upon line, and precept upon precept, here a little and there a little", and we are given to know that this harlot is also symbolized by Jerusalem, typifying God's own called out people, because of this verse right here in Isaiah one:

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

But how does Jerusalem being called a harlot, tell us that she is the harlot of Revelation 17? Again, our answer is "line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little", and we see another verse which tells us who this Babylon is. It was in the last study we did in this book of Isaiah:

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.

The holy spirit, by the pen of Isaiah, equates backslid Jerusalem with Sodom, and the apostle John was well acquainted with this verse, which we have already mentioned:

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.

What this tells us is that all who claim to be serving God while disobeying His commandments are "Sodom and Egypt", and it is in that sense that...:

Luk 13:33 Nevertheless I must walk to day, and to morrow, and the day following: for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem ["Sodom... Egypt... Babylon", all who claim to serve God while at the same time rebelling against His commandments].

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

...Which blatant disobedience provokes our Creator to tell us this very sad truth:

Isa 1:15 And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood.

How many of us have begged God for mercy, just to wake up in another day of knowing that because of our unrelenting rebellion, our prayers are falling on the deaf ears of our own Creator who "will not hear"? These words are true both inwardly and individually, and they are also true outwardly and Adamically to all men. These words are true both inwardly and dispensationally. God is not mocked of His children without severe physical and spiritual consequences:

Pro 23:13 Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die.
Pro 23:14 Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell.

Christ was sent by His Father to save this world (Joh 3:17). In that capacity Christ is called both "the mighty God, the everlasting (Hebrew: olawm) Father" and "the almighty" just as Joseph was 'almighty... over all Egypt... except in the throne':

Gen 41:40 Thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than thou.

Isa 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

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 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.

Christ comes and judges all of us, and His judgment is the just judgment of "the Almighty". It is accomplished inwardly first within His firstfruits, then through those very firstfruits, His judgment of the kingdoms of this world will be accomplished outwardly and dispensationally.

I tell the story with which some of you will identify. When my family was much younger, we were traveling somewhere when our older sons got into an argument in the back seat and were raising their voices to the point that Sandi and I could not hear each other. I told the boys to be quiet, and their pride and animosity toward each other was more than their fear of their father. So when they ignored me, I told them that if they kept disobeying that I would be forced to stop the car and spank both of them. They knew from past experience their father was a man of his word, but pride and animosity were just more than they were capable, at that age, of overcoming, so it was just a few more minutes before I was forced to stop the car and proceed to demonstrate that I was a father of my word. Nothing is more important in dealing with children than consistency and being a parent of your word. At that point both boys started protesting: "Please Daddy, we'll be quiet. Please, Daddy, please don't spank us". But it was too late. I had given my word, and I had to do what I had said I would do. Jesus Christ is our Father, and He too, is not going to fail to keep His words simply because we finally come to see what our disobedience has produced and we do not want to face the judgment which alone will teach us obedience and righteousness:

Isa 1:15 And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood.

Jeremiah tells us the same judgment comes upon all men:

Jer 4:24 I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly.
Jer 4:25 I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled.
Jer 4:26 I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the LORD, and by his fierce anger.
Jer 4:27 For thus hath the LORD said, The whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full end.
Jer 4:28 For this shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above be black: because I have spoken it, I have purposed it, and will not repent, neither will I turn back from it.
Jer 4:29 The whole city shall flee for the noise of the horsemen and bowmen; they shall go into thickets, and climb up upon the rocks: every city shall be forsaken, and not a man dwell therein.
Jer 4:30 And when thou art spoiled, what wilt thou do? Though thou clothest thyself with crimson, though thou deckest thee with ornaments of gold, though thou rentest thy face with painting, in vain shalt thou make thyself fair; thy lovers will despise thee, they will seek thy life.

All who have been crushed to powder under the "fierce anger... of the Lord", have lived out this prophecy enduring the judgment of God in this age, and this is what that fierce anger of God produces:

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

Before the end of this age though, there will be an outward application to the Lord's judgments which will not be an inward application, and will only affect the remaining masses in an outward way, and we are witnessing the beginnings of sorrows outwardly. So far this month alone there have been ten mass shootings here is the U.S. alone, the latest being Thursday evening in Dallas with 5 policemen being killed and 7 other officers being wounded. There was the bombing of the Ataturk airport in Istanbul, Turkey killing 36 and the suicide bomber in Baghdad, Iraq with over 300 being killed. This is all just a few weeks after the mass murder of 50 people in Orlando, Florida, on June 12th. These are not normal times, and the worst by far is just around the corner involving much more than scattered mass shootings of four or more people. This world is on the brink of a financial calamity, while at the same time we are confronting Russia in the Ukraine and in the Baltics and China in the South China Sea. An outward judgment is already under way for the kingdoms of this world.

As with any decent "Father", Christ first gives us, His own children, His 'house rules' because, like every wise parent He knows we are immature, self-centered, "marred" humans (Jer 18:4) who will just naturally be disobedient to His commandments.

So He tells us:

Isa 1:16 Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil;
Isa 1:17 Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.

But telling the first man 'Adam' to clean up his act is the same as me telling my immature children to obey my house rules or face the consequences. At times they simply cannot swallow their pride and repent, and so they must be judged and punished for their rebellious, carnal ways. It is all part of God's plan of salvation through which all men must live:

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

The reason we are told "make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil..." is because, we are all spiritual Gentiles before we become spiritual Jews, and Christ calls all spiritual Gentiles 'dogs':

Mar 7:26 The woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by nation; and she besought him that he would cast forth the devil out of her daughter.
Mar 7:27 But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it unto the dogs.

It has recently been pointed out to us all that dogs love to wallow in the most disgusting smelly things they can find. Dogs will wallow in the feces of other animals and enjoy every moment of doing so. The thing they love most to wallow in, and the one thing that is a greater stench than almost anything else, is a decayed and rotting carcass. Rotting flesh just smells so much better to a dog than being "washed and made clean" (Isa 1:16). The fact is that when a dog, a Gentile who is cut off from God, is given a good bath, the first thing he will do is go and wallow in the dirt, the grass, or preferably a dying rotting carcass to get the smell of 'clean' off himself.

'Make you clean' is defined here as "put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow." That is what smells good to God. The last thing a dog cares about is how he smells to his master. He just naturally thinks that things that stink the most are the things that smell the best, and the Lord Himself made dogs in that way so we, as spiritual Gentiles, can see ourselves as we are "before [His] eyes".

What, then, must be done?

Isa 1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

Reading the King James Version it sounds as if all we have to do is to have a little confab with God and everything will just work out, and we will be cleansed of our sins simply because we were willing to "reason together" with the Lord. But notice what we discover when we look at the Hebrew for the words, "Come now, and let us reason together":

Isa 1:18 Come^H1980 now^H4994, and let us reason together^H3198, saith^H559 the LORD^H3068: though^H518 your sins^H2399 be^H1961 as scarlet^H8144, they shall be as white^H3835 as snow^H7950; though^H518 they be red^H119 like crimson^H8438, they shall be^H1961 as wool^H6785.

The Hebrew word translated 'now' is:
H4994
נָא
nâ'
naw

A primitive particle of incitement and entreaty, which may usually be rendered I pray, now or then; added mostly to verbs (in the imperative or future), or to interjections, occasionally to an adverb or conjugation: - I beseech (pray) thee (you), go to, now, oh.

Here is where this word appears in the Old Testament and the various ways it is translated in the King James Version:
H4994
נא
nâ'
Total KJV Occurrences: 400
pray, 196
Gen_12:13, Gen_13:8-9 (2), Gen_18:2-4 (3), Gen_19:2, Gen_19:7-8 (2), Gen_24:2, Gen_24:12, Gen_24:14, Gen_24:17, Gen_24:23, Gen_24:43, Gen_24:45, Gen_25:30, Gen_27:3, Gen_27:19, Gen_27:21, Gen_30:14, Gen_30:27, Gen_32:11, Gen_32:29, Gen_33:10-11 (2), Gen_33:14, Gen_34:8, Gen_37:6, Gen_37:14, Gen_38:16 (2), Gen_38:25, Gen_40:8, Gen_40:14, Gen_44:18, Gen_44:33, Gen_47:4 (2), Gen_47:29 (2), Gen_48:9, Gen_50:4-5 (2), Gen_50:17, Exo_4:13, Exo_4:18, Exo_5:3, Exo_10:17, Exo_32:32, Exo_33:13, Exo_34:9, Num_10:31, Num_11:15, Num_16:8, Num_16:26, Num_20:17, Num_22:6, Num_22:16-17 (2), Num_22:19, Num_23:13, Num_23:27, Deu_3:25, Jos_2:12, Jos_7:19, Jdg_1:24, Jdg_4:19, Jdg_6:18, Jdg_6:39, Jdg_8:5, Jdg_9:2, Jdg_9:38, Jdg_10:15, Jdg_11:17, Jdg_11:19, Jdg_13:4, Jdg_13:15, Jdg_15:2, Jdg_16:6, Jdg_16:10, Jdg_16:28 (2), Jdg_19:5-6 (2), Jdg_19:8-9 (2), Jdg_19:11, Jdg_19:23, Rth_2:7, 1Sa_2:36, 1Sa_9:17-18 (2), 1Sa_10:15, 1Sa_14:29, 1Sa_15:25, 1Sa_15:30, 1Sa_16:22, 1Sa_19:2, 1Sa_20:29 (2), 1Sa_22:3, 1Sa_23:22, 1Sa_25:8, 1Sa_25:24-25 (2), 1Sa_25:28, 1Sa_26:8, 1Sa_26:11, 1Sa_26:19, 1Sa_28:8, 1Sa_28:22, 1Sa_30:7, 2Sa_1:4, 2Sa_1:9, 2Sa_13:5-6 (2), 2Sa_13:13, 2Sa_13:26, 2Sa_14:2, 2Sa_14:11-12 (2), 2Sa_14:18, 2Sa_15:7, 2Sa_15:31, 2Sa_16:9, 2Sa_18:22, 2Sa_19:37, 2Sa_24:16-17 (2), 1Ki_1:12, 1Ki_2:17, 1Ki_8:26, 1Ki_14:2, 1Ki_17:10-11 (2), 1Ki_17:21, 1Ki_19:20, 1Ki_20:7, 1Ki_20:31-32 (2), 1Ki_20:35, 1Ki_20:37, 1Ki_22:5, 1Ki_22:13, 2Ki_1:13, 2Ki_2:2, 2Ki_2:4, 2Ki_2:6, 2Ki_2:9, 2Ki_2:16, 2Ki_2:19, 2Ki_4:10, 2Ki_4:22, 2Ki_4:26, 2Ki_5:7, 2Ki_5:15, 2Ki_5:17, 2Ki_5:22, 2Ki_6:2-3 (2), 2Ki_6:17-18 (2), 2Ki_7:13, 2Ki_8:4, 2Ki_18:23, 2Ki_18:26, 1Ch_21:17, 2Ch_18:4, 2Ch_18:12, Neh_1:11, Neh_5:10-11 (2), Job_4:7, Job_6:29, Job_8:8, Job_22:22, Job_32:21, Job_33:1, Psa_119:76, Isa_5:3, Isa_29:11-12 (2), Isa_36:8, Isa_36:11, Jer_21:2, Jer_32:8, Jer_37:20 (2), Lam_1:18, Eze_33:30, Jon_1:8, Mic_3:1, Mic_3:9, Hag_2:15, Mal_1:9
now, 170
Gen_12:11, Gen_15:5, Gen_18:2-3 (2), Gen_18:21, Gen_18:27, Gen_18:31, Gen_19:2, Gen_19:8, Gen_19:19-20 (2), Gen_22:2, Gen_24:42, Gen_26:28, Gen_27:2, Gen_27:26, Gen_31:12, Gen_33:10, Gen_33:15, Gen_37:32, Gen_47:29, Gen_50:4, Gen_50:17 (2), Exo_3:3, Exo_4:6, Exo_10:11, Exo_11:2, Exo_33:13, Exo_34:9, Num_12:6, Num_12:13, Num_20:10, Deu_4:32, Jos_7:19, Jos_22:26, Jdg_6:17, Jdg_6:39, Jdg_12:6, Jdg_13:3, Jdg_14:12, Jdg_19:9, Jdg_19:24, Rth_2:2, 1Sa_9:3, 1Sa_9:6, 1Sa_14:17, 1Sa_17:15-17 (4), 1Sa_20:36, 1Sa_22:7, 1Sa_22:12, 1Sa_27:5, 2Sa_2:14, 2Sa_7:2, 2Sa_13:7, 2Sa_13:17, 2Sa_13:24-25 (2), 2Sa_13:28, 2Sa_14:2, 2Sa_14:15, 2Sa_14:17-18 (2), 2Sa_14:21, 2Sa_17:1, 2Sa_17:5, 2Sa_18:19, 2Sa_24:2, 2Sa_24:14, 1Ki_13:6, 1Ki_18:43, 1Ki_20:31, 1Ki_22:13, 2Ki_2:16, 2Ki_4:9, 2Ki_4:13, 2Ki_5:8, 2Ki_5:15, 2Ki_6:1, 2Ki_9:12 (2), 2Ki_9:34, 2Ki_18:19, 2Ki_20:3, 1Ch_21:13, 1Ch_22:5, 1Ch_29:20, Ezr_10:14, Neh_1:6, Job_1:11 (2), Job_2:5, Job_5:1, Job_12:7, Job_13:6, Job_13:18, Job_17:3, Job_17:10, Job_22:21, Job_38:2-3 (2), Job_40:7, Job_40:10, Job_40:15-16 (2), Psa_50:22, Psa_115:2, Psa_116:14, Psa_116:18, Psa_118:2-4 (3), Psa_118:25 (2), Psa_122:8, Son_3:1-2 (4), Son_7:8, Isa_1:18, Isa_5:1, Isa_7:3, Isa_7:13, Isa_19:12, Isa_36:4, Isa_38:3, Isa_47:12-13 (2), Isa_51:21, Jer_4:31, Jer_5:1, Jer_5:21, Jer_5:24, Jer_7:12-13 (2), Jer_14:10, Jer_17:15, Jer_18:11, Jer_18:13, Jer_25:5, Jer_27:18, Jer_28:7, Jer_28:15, Jer_30:6, Jer_36:15 (2), Jer_36:17, Jer_37:3, Jer_38:12, Jer_38:25, Jer_45:3, Eze_8:5, Eze_8:8, Eze_17:12, Eze_18:25, Mic_6:1, Mic_6:5, Hag_2:2, Hag_2:11, Hag_2:15, Hag_2:18, Zec_1:4, Zec_3:8, Zec_5:5, Mal_1:8, Mal_3:10
beseech, 26
Exo_33:18 (2), Num_12:11, Num_12:13, Num_14:17, Num_14:19, 1Sa_23:11, 2Sa_13:24, 2Sa_24:10, 2Ki_19:19, 1Ch_21:8, 2Ch_6:40, Job_10:8-9 (2), Job_42:4, Psa_80:14, Psa_119:108, Isa_64:9, Jer_38:4, Jer_38:20, Jer_42:2, Dan_1:12, Dan_9:16, Amo_7:2, Amo_7:5, Jon_4:3
oh, 6
Gen_18:30, Gen_18:32, Gen_19:18, Gen_19:20, Psa_7:9, Jer_44:4
go, 2
Jdg_7:3, Jer_18:11

I will give just two examples of how this word is translated in the King James Version:

Gen 47:29 And the time drew nigh that Israel must die: and he called his son Joseph, and said unto him, If now^H4994 I have found grace in thy sight, put, I pray thee^H4994, thy hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me; bury me not, I pray thee^H4994, in Egypt:

Gen 50:17 So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now^H4994, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil: and now, we pray thee^H4994, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him.

It is clear that the word 'now' can most often be translated as 'pray' or 'beseech' without changing the message or the thought.

So this verse so far would better be translated as "Come I pray thee..."

But now let's examine why we have "and let us reason together", five English words, to translate the one Hebrew word:
H3198
יָכַח
yâkach
yaw-kakh'

A primitive root; to be right (that is, correct); reciprocally to argue; causatively to decide, justify or convict: - appoint, argue, chasten, convince, correct (-ion), daysman, dispute, judge, maintain, plead, reason (together), rebuke, reprove (-r), surely, in any wise.

Here are the entries in the Old Testament for this Hebrew word 'yakach':
H3198
יכח
yâkach
Total KJV Occurrences: 58
reprove, 16
2Ki_19:4, Job_6:25-26 (2), Job_13:10, Job_22:4, Psa_50:8, Psa_50:21, Psa_141:5, Pro_9:8, Pro_19:25, Pro_30:6, Isa_37:3-4 (3), Jer_2:19, Hos_4:4
rebuke, 8
Lev_19:17, 1Ch_12:17, Psa_38:1 (2), Pro_9:8, Pro_24:25, Isa_2:4, Mic_4:3
reproved, 4
Gen_20:16, Gen_21:25, 1Ch_16:21, Psa_105:14
plead, 3
Job_16:21, Job_19:5, Mic_6:2
reason, 3
Job_15:2-3 (3), Isa_1:18
rebuketh, 3
Pro_9:7, Pro_28:23, Amo_5:10
reproveth, 3
Job_40:2, Pro_15:12, Isa_29:21
appointed, 2
Gen_24:14, Gen_24:44
correcteth, 2
Job_5:17, Pro_3:12
reprover, 2
Pro_25:12 (2), Eze_3:26
arguing, 1
Job_6:25
chasten, 1
2Sa_7:14
chastened, 1
Job_33:19
convinced, 1
Job_32:12
correct, 1
Psa_94:10
correction, 1
Hab_1:12
daysman, 1
Job_9:33
dispute, 1
Job_23:7
judge, 1
Gen_31:37
maintain, 1
Job_13:15
rebuked, 1
Gen_31:42
wise, 1
Lev_19:17

Here are a few of verses which demonstrate how the holy spirit uses this Hebrew word 'yakach':

Gen 31:42 Except the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely thou hadst sent me away now empty. God hath seen mine affliction and the labour of my hands, and rebuked [Hebrew: yakach] thee yesternight.

Job 5:17 Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth [yakach]: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty:

Jer 2:19 Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove [Hebrew: yakach] thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord GOD of hosts.

So what the holy spirit is actually saying in Isaiah 1:18 is:

Isa 1:18 Come [I pray thee], and [receive rebuke, reproof and correction], saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. ["see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord GOD of hosts (Jer 2:19)].

"It is an evil thing and bitter" to disobey and ignore our Creator's commandment to love our enemies, and instead encourage suicide bombers to kill our enemies. It is an evil thing and bitter to claim Christ as a prophet begotten of a virgin but deny His resurrection from the dead and that He is the Son of God. It is an evil thing and bitter to slander the apostles of our Lord, especially the apostle Paul, and still claim to believe in the Christ who called Paul into His service. But if we think that the evil of others justifies the homosexual and LBGT agenda, pornography and the murder of millions of our own children in the name of freedom of choice, we are already being brought to "see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, and that [His] fear is not in [us], saith the Lord GOD of hosts." Just as the kingdom of God within us is being judged so too will the kingdoms of this world be judged, and that judgment is already in progress.

The words have gone out of the mouth of our Creator, and they will not be repented of:

Isa 1:19 If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:
Isa 1:20 But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

We have all "refused and rebelled", and we have all been "devoured by the sword" of God's Word.

Eph 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

But this, too, also has and outward, dispensational fulfillment, and we are already hearing of wars and rumors of wars on an end-time scale, and yet we are very clearly warned:

Mat 24:1 And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple.
Mat 24:2 And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.
Mat 24:3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?
Mat 24:4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
Mat 24:5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
Mat 24:6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
Mat 24:7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
Mat 24:8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.

Our inward 'temple', where our old man sat as God, is "destroyed with the brightness of His coming.

2Th 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
2Th 2:4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
2Th 2:5 Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
2Th 2:6 And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.
2Th 2:7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.
2Th 2:8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

But before the thousand years can commence, there must be an outward and dispensational application to the destruction of "the throne of the beast" and the installation of God's elect over the kingdoms of this world (Rev 2:26-27, and Rev 11:15).

Rev 16:10 And the fifth agent poured out his bowl upon the throne of the beast, and its kingdom became darkened, and they gnawed their tongues from the anguish.
Rev 16:11 And they blasphemed the God of heaven from their pains and from their sores. And they did not repent of their works. (ACV)

We all first experience these words inwardly as Christ's firstfruit harvest. But there is a cataclysmic outward fulfillment of these words for the nations of this world. We will have brought in over 1,000,000 Islamic immigrants to this country by the time of our next election. That one million, along with the millions already here, are feverishly preparing for the jihad they want to bring to this nation. Those are just a part of the polarized people who hate the corruption and murders and injustices that are extant in our nation, and which are also in all the nations of the world. God has a controversy with all the nations of this world, and He is even now in the process of judging them all:

Jer 25:31 A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth; for the LORD hath a controversy with the nations, he will plead with all flesh; he will give them that are wicked to the sword, saith the LORD.

"All these are the beginning of sorrows" in Mat 24:8 is not a contradiction of "See that you be not troubled" in verse 6. You and I, if we are God's elect, will "lift up our heads [and] rejoice" because we know:

Luk 21:28 And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.

Mat 24:44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
Mat 24:45 Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?
Mat 24:46 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.

If we are sharing the "meat" of Christ's body with His household, then we will be prepared for whatever happens, whenever it happens. That 'meat' is His body, which 'body' we are:

Mat 26:26 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.

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

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.

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

Video Links

Job 27:11-23 This Is The Portion of A Wicked Man With God

Job 27:11 I will teach you by the hand of God: that which is with the Almighty will I not conceal.
Job 27:12 Behold, all ye yourselves have seen it; why then are ye thus altogether vain?
Job 27:13 This is the portion of a wicked man with God, and the heritage of oppressors, which they shall receive of the Almighty.
Job 27:14 If his children be multiplied, it is for the sword: and his offspring shall not be satisfied with bread.
Job 27:15 Those that remain of him shall be buried in death: and his widows shall not weep.
Job 27:16 Though he heap up silver as the dust, and prepare raiment as the clay;
Job 27:17 He may prepare it, but the just shall put it on, and the innocent shall divide the silver.
Job 27:18 He buildeth his house as a moth, and as a booth that the keeper maketh.
Job 27:19 The rich man shall lie down, but he shall not be gathered: he openeth his eyes, and he is not.
Job 27:20 Terrors take hold on him as waters, a tempest stealeth him away in the night.
Job 27:21 The east wind carrieth him away, and he departeth: and as a storm hurleth him out of his place.
Job 27:22 For God shall cast upon him, and not spare: he would fain flee out of his hand.
Job 27:23 Men shall clap their hands at him, and shall hiss him out of his place.

Introduction

If we have learned anything in these studies in this book of Job, it should be that you and I are all first “a wicked man with God” before our old man, as Job was, is judged by our Creator, “and that man of sin, the son of perdition” is destroyed within each of us by the brightness of the Lord’s coming to become a “new man” within us.

2Th 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day [“the day of Christ”, verse 2] shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
2Th 2:4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
2Th 2:5 Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
2Th 2:6 And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.
2Th 2:7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.
2Th 2:8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

Our battle is not where Job or you or I at first think it is. We are not struggling against flesh and blood. Rather, we are struggling against powers and principalities within the heavens of our own hearts and minds. Our ‘heavens’ are the spiritual realm within us which causes us to make all the physical decisions we make.

What Job will show us of ourselves today is that it is by God’s design that we are all at first completely unaware of what the scriptures call “a deadly wound” [which is] dealt to the beast within us and is then miraculously “healed”. According to the scriptures, all men receive this “deadly wound” at their own appointed time, and at our own appointed time we are all healed of that deadly wound. Yet the scriptures reveal that we are totally unaware of what has taken place.

Here is part of what Job, the type of us, cannot yet see. This takes place within us all, even though when it first occurs we do not have a clue it is taking place. We see this only as we “look behind [us]” to see the revelation of the voice of the true shepherd who reveals all of this to us (Rev 1:10-13).

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.
Rev 13:3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.
Rev 13:4 And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?
Rev 13:5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.
Rev 13:6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.
Rev 13:7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.
Rev 13:8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
Rev 13:9 If any man have an ear, let him hear.
Rev 13:10 He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.

This beast does not see himself as a beast coming up out of the sea. This beast sees himself as Job sees himself and as Christ’s carnal apostles saw themselves and as you and I see ourselves while we think we are serving God. In reality we are reproving, contending with and condemning God. Job has made it clear that he doesn’t consider Himself to be a wild beast. Job typifies us all as the self-righteous Pharisee we all first are before we become the repentant publican. Job typifies who we are as Christ’s carnal disciples tell Him that He need not die to overcome His enemies. Here is this beast empowered by the dragon:

Mat 16:21 From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.
Mat 16:22 Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.
Mat 16:23 But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.
Mat 16:24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
Mat 16:25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.

Calling Job and Christ’s carnal apostles wild beasts may seem as uncalled for as Christ calling Peter ‘Satan’. “Sure Peter was wrong, but he meant good. Doesn’t that count for something?” The answer is, “No, meaning good counts for nothing with God.” It is nothing less than a tool of the Devil Himself, and Christ discerns that spirit immediately. That is who we all are while we are in Babylon. We are at that time “of our father the devil” just as “those Jews which believed on [Christ, even as they wanted to] kill [Him]”.

Joh 8:31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
Joh 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
Joh 8:33 They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?
Joh 8:34 Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.
Joh 8:35 And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever.
Joh 8:36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.
Joh 8:37 I know that ye are Abraham’s seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you.
Joh 8:38 I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father.

Joh 8:42 Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.
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.

We do not think of ourselves as being the seed of the serpent or blasphemers of God, even as we condemn our own Maker. All that dwell upon the earth worship this inward beast, and living out this whole event is “the patience and faith of the saints”. Those who deny that seeing themselves as this beast is an essential part of “the patience and faith of the saints” do not know what is needed to develop that patience or that faith, and yet we all still, as Job did, “contend with… reprove [ and] condemn” our own Creator.

Christ’s own apostles are a perfect example of the total blindness to this part of the “one event” which is common to all men. The experience of the apostles is as much a type of us as is Job. Like Job, the apostles had served God for years. They all thought that surely, after being in Christ’s company for 3 1/2 years, they were now converted and were ready to die with Christ. Here is what they all said:

Mar 14:27 And Jesus saith unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered.
Mar 14:28 But after that I am risen, I will go before you into Galilee.
Mar 14:29 But Peter said unto him, Although all shall be offended, yet will not I.
Mar 14:30 And Jesus saith unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this day, even in this night, before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice.
Mar 14:31 But he spake the more vehemently, If I should die with thee, I will not deny thee in any wise. Likewise also said they all.

Peter and “they all” are types of us. Peter actually thought, as we all do, that there had to be a way to just skip over the seven last plagues of the seventh trumpet and still get into the temple of God. We may wish we could read these words and somehow choose to never deny our Lord, but that is not what is written in God’s book for any man. As hard as it is to believe or understand, this is the Truth:

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.

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.

That one event is this Truth:

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.

So the details are different in every life and in every generation, but the “one event” is the same. It is the same judgment and the same destruction of our old man. It is the same “day of the Lord”, the same seven seals, seven trumpets and seven vials which make up “the patience of the saints and the faith of Jesus” (Rev 13:10 and 14:12). We cannot leave out or skip over the seven seals, because the seventh seal is the seven trumpets, and the seals and the trumpets are both “the things which are written therein, which we are told we must “read… hear… and keep”.

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 [must be “kept” vs 3]; 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.
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.

“Which God gave to Him…” We cannot deny this whole book “proceeds out of the mouth of God”. If we confess that we are to “keep the things… written” in the seven seals, but we contend that we can skip over or somehow avoid ‘keeping’ the seven trumpets, then we are not “reading… hearing… or keeping the things which are written therein” at all. There is no way we can say that the seven trumpets are things we must keep, but the seven vials of God’s wrath have no personal application. If we do, we are forgetting that the seventh trumpet is the seven vials. So every seal, trumpet or vial is a vital and essential part of “every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God… [and an essential part of] the patience of the saints… and the faith of Jesus”. They are all three essential parts of “every word” which describes the destruction of our corruptible old man, whose destruction within us is required of every man who would enter into the temple of God.

Rev 13:8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him [the beast within us all], whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
Rev 13:9 If any man have an ear, let him hear.
Rev 13:10 He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.

Rev 14:9 And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man [Rev 13:8] worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,
Rev 14:10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:
Rev 14:11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.
Rev 14:12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.

Rev 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.

These words are all “written therein”. This is all essential to the “one event” which is the judgment and destruction of the beast, the first “old man”, which is common to all men. Living these words is an essential part of “the patience and the faith of the saints” of verse 10.

Rev 13:10 He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.

Job is just like Peter. He thinks that he knows better than Christ, who is and who is not Satan’s seed and what must happen to “the wicked man”, who is anyone other than himself.

So here we are as self-righteous Job, and as self-righteous Peter, who just naturally considers himself to be much better informed than Christ. This is us, and these are the words “out of our own mouth [which will] judge [us]”:

Job 27:11 I will teach you by the hand of God: that which is with the Almighty will I not conceal.
Job 27:12 Behold, all ye yourselves have seen it; why then are ye thus altogether vain?
Job 27:13 This is the portion of a wicked man with God, and the heritage of oppressors, which they [we, our own “old man”] shall receive of the Almighty.

“I will teach you by the hand of God”. That was what Peter thought he was doing when he declared to Christ that He would never be delivered up to be crucified. Like Peter, Job has no idea that he is describing the fate of his own old man, Adam. Job thinks these words apply to anyone but himself. In the same way, when Christ told Peter that he and all of His disciples would deny Him before that night was over, Peter and “they all… [vehemently]” denied they would ever do such a cowardly thing.

Mar 14:30 And Jesus saith unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this day, even in this night, before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice.
Mar 14:31 But he spake the more vehemently, If I should die with thee, I will not deny thee in any wise. Likewise also said they all.

When we deny that we are that weak, and when we deny that we are that beast who has blasphemed God, we are contending with our Lord, who just happens to know that we can of our selves “do nothing”.

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

Our Lord knows we are all beasts who must come to see ourselves as such. “Without me you can do nothing” is not speaking just about obeying our Lord. It is also speaking of being that beast that comes up out of the sea and blasphemes our God and endures all those things which we are told are the essential ingredients for developing “the patience of the saints and the faith of Jesus”. Our contending otherwise with our Lord, telling Him that none of that is necessary, is the voice of a beast whose deadly wound is healed. Peter and Job are us as we reprove, contend with and condemn our own Savior. We say we love and obey Christ, but when push comes to shove, we pull out our sword and disobey our Lord.

What characterizes us at this point is that we, like Job, do not even see or know that there is such a thing as a ‘carnal Christian’ or a beast who has received a deadly wound which is healed. We do not know that we are blasphemers by nature. We are blaspheming our Lord by virtue of the fact that we reprove Him and contend with our own Creator. While doing so, as Job demonstrates, we actually think we are speaking Christ’s words of Truth for Him.

Job has accused God of taking away his judgment and complains because God actually blesses those He has sent to try and prove Job while vexing Job.

Job 27:2 As God liveth, who hath taken away my judgment; and the Almighty, who hath vexed my soul;

Speaking in God’s stead, Elihu tells Job:

Job 33:8 Surely thou hast spoken in mine hearing, and I have heard the voice of thy words, saying,
Job 33:9 I am clean without transgression, I am innocent; neither is there iniquity in me.
Job 33:10 Behold, he findeth occasions against me, he counteth me for his enemy,
Job 33:11 He putteth my feet in the stocks, he marketh all my paths.
Job 33:12 Behold, in this thou art not just: I will answer thee, that God is greater than man.
Job 33:13 Why dost thou strive against him? for he giveth not account of any of his matters.

We will all say these things against God, but like Job, when we are shown that we “are not just” in doing so, it is time to put our hand to our mouth, confess that we are vile and say no more:

Job 40:3 Then Job answered the LORD, and said,
Job 40:4 Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee? I will lay mine hand upon my mouth.
Job 40:5 Once have I spoken; but I will not answer: yea, twice; but I will proceed no further.

Is Job innocent? Is he “clean without transgression”? Do any of us have any righteousness of ourselves? Absolutely not!

Is God seeking occasion against our old man? Yes, He is. Does God count our old man as His enemy? Is the carnal mind enmity against God? The answer in every case is yes, God is seeking an occasion against our flesh? Yes, He does count our old corruptible man to be His enemy, and yes, the carnal mind is enmity against God because it “cannot hear His Words”.

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

Job did not choose with his fabled free will to be ignorant of what God is doing in his life. At this time, as the type of us, he is simply “keeping the things which are written therein”, and it has nothing to do with Job, as the type of us, just freely choosing to reprove, contend with and condemn His Creator. Job “cannot hear [God’s] Words”. When God is seeking an occasion against our flesh, He uses Job’s false accusers to harden him in his self-righteousness. He uses Philistine women to seduce Samson, and is justified in doing so as He will with all His creatures to demonstrate the unworthiness of all flesh and His own sovereignty over all things, because in the end He will judge and make right all things.

Psa 51:4 Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.

Paul applies this truth to us:

Rom 3:4 God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.

Later in this same book, Paul demonstrates that God does not answer to us for any of His works:

Rom 9:11 (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;)
Rom 9:12 It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.
Rom 9:13 As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.
Rom 9:14 What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid.
Rom 9:15 For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
Rom 9:16 So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.
Rom 9:17 For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.
Rom 9:18 Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.

Here again is the New Testament account of the story of Job. As Job and as Pharaoh, we were “for this same purpose… raised… up, that [God] might shew [His] power in [our old man…] that [God’s] name might be declared throughout all the earth”. Here is how God has “caused us to err”. This is what “is not of him that wills but of God that shews mercy” means.

Rev 13:11 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.
Rev 13:12 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.

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

So yes, the scriptures do not blame any of us for what we do (Rom 7:17-23). It is all a work of God (Eph 1:11). Nevertheless, here is a New Testament example of us as Job, the Old Testament type of the beast within us, whose deadly wound was healed. We quote scripture to Christ. We throw His own words in His face, but like Job, we don’t have even an inkling of the spiritual understanding of a word we are saying. These words are coming from the very people who had just witnessed the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000:

Joh 6:14 Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did [feeding the 5,000], said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world.

Joh 6:30 They said therefore unto him, What sign shewest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? what [physical work] dost thou work?
Joh 6:31 Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.
Joh 6:32 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.
Joh 6:33 For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.
Joh 6:34 Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread.
Joh 6:35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.
Joh 6:36 But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not.

This story demonstrates the fact that physical miracles do not necessarily change the hearts of men. Who among us has not “seen Christ” and yet have not believed Him? Our thoughts and our actions demonstrate that we are trying to slay our own Lord within our own lives.

Joh 6:64 But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him.
Joh 6:65 And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.
Joh 6:66 From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.

“No man can come to me, except it were given Him of My Father” dethrones the beast within. That statement denies the false doctrine of choosing Christ through our ‘free will’, and being that inconsequential to our own fate is not to be tolerated by a beast whose deadly wound is healed. It is much easier to tell ourselves we are God’s mouthpiece even as we deny these His words. So we speak of “the portion of the wicked” fully convinced that the “wicked man” is anyone but ourselves.

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

This verse is the answer to Job’s earlier question asking why God blesses the wicked while vexing the righteous:

Job 21:7 Wherefore [Why] do the wicked live, become old, yea, are mighty in power?
Job 21:8 Their seed is established in their sight with them, and their offspring before their eyes.

Job, the type of our self-righteous old man, is aware that there will be a day of judgment in which the wicked will be judged. He simply cannot understand why He is being vexed considering how righteous he considers himself to be.

Job 27:15 Those that remain of him shall be buried in death: and his widows shall not weep.
Job 27:16 Though he heap up silver as the dust, and prepare raiment as the clay;
Job 27:17 He may prepare it, but the just shall put it on, and the innocent shall divide the silver.

These are our own words out of our own mouths. These words are from our hearts, and they are the very reason why “the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God”, of which (house of God) within us Job is the type and shadow.

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

We first apply these words primarily to anyone who thinks that we are anything less than innocent and righteous, and who denies that we are the captain of our own fate. They are spoken of anyone but our own self-righteous self. We do not want to hear that we are any less righteous than we see ourselves. We have done many wonderful works in Christ’s name, and no one will take that away from us. We have heaped up silver as the dust, so God has to forgive us because of all of our good works. We see those very works as our own raiment, which we have also prepared as abundantly as clay. Of course our silver and our clothes will be given to the new man who knows that his wealth is in Christ and his raiment is His works in their lives, and they of themselves bring nothing to God’s table. But these words come from our own mouths, and it will be our own words which will judge us:

Luk 19:22 And he saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow:

If we understood and believed this, we would put our hand to our mouth, but at this time we just cannot see that, and we certainly do not think anyone can find any real fault with us. So we continue to describe the fate of our own self-righteous “old man”.

Job 27:18 He buildeth his house as a moth, and as a booth that the keeper maketh.
Job 27:19 The rich man shall lie down, but he shall not be gathered: he openeth his eyes, and he is not.

Job here is agreeing with what his accusers have been saying about the portion of the wicked. Bildad has said the same thing using a spider’s web to make this same point. That point is that the wicked will not endure, and are destined to be destroyed. Based on the truth of Christ’s revelation that we are all judged out of our own mouth, it is these very words which ‘must begin at our own house’ if indeed we are the “predestinated… house of God”. Bildah had used the example of a spider’s web to make this same point.

Job 8:14 Whose hope shall be cut off, and whose trust shall be a spider’s web.
Job 8:15 He shall lean upon his house, but it shall not stand: he shall hold it fast, but it shall not endure.

Isaiah uses the same symbol of the moth to make the same point Job and Bildad have made. That point is that the judgment of our corruptible “first man Adam” has been predetermined:

Isa 51:7 Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law; fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings.
Isa 51:8 For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool: but my righteousness shall be for ever, and my salvation from generation to generation.

As Job demonstrates, we are all guilty of reproaching our own God. We ourselves are “the reproach of men” first. That is why Job is the first in type to “lose his life for Christ’s sake”, and he is the first, in type to ‘find his life’ and be in the position to pray for God to accept his friends.

Job 42:7 And it was so, that after the LORD had spoken these words unto Job, the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends: for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job hath.
Job 42:8 Therefore take unto you now seven bullocks and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and my servant Job shall pray for you: for him will I accept: lest I deal with you after your folly, in that ye have not spoken of me the thing which is right, like my servant Job.
Job 42:9 So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went, and did according as the LORD commanded them: the LORD also accepted Job.
Job 42:10 And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before.

But these are the words which we pronounce upon our own old man:

Job 27:20 Terrors take hold on him as waters, a tempest stealeth him away in the night.
Job 27:21 The east wind carrieth him away, and he departeth: and as a storm hurleth him out of his place.

Job and Bildad agree on the fate of the wicked, though as the type of our blinded self-righteous selves, we have no idea we are ‘judging ourselves out of our own mouths’.

Job 18:11 Terrors shall make him afraid on every side, and shall drive him to his feet.
Job 18:12 His strength shall be hungerbitten, and destruction shall be ready at his side.
Job 18:13 It shall devour the strength of his skin: even the firstborn of death [our old man, judged out of his own mouth] shall devour his strength.
Job 18:14 His confidence shall be rooted out of his tabernacle, and it shall bring him to the king of terrors.

2Co 5:11 Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences.

There are many scriptures which we want to believe are promising us that our old first man Adam can avoid being destroyed, but what they are all really promising us is that we will be ‘dealt with after our folly’, and we will reap what we sow, and through that destruction of our old man our new man will be brought forth as a glorious “new man”.

Mat 10:39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

Nowhere does God ever promise to preserve our old first man Adam. Everywhere He is very straightforward in telling us that He is intent on making our old man His mark to destroy Him and through that destruction bring forth the heavenly new man. Here it is coming out of our own mouth:

Job 27:22 For God shall cast upon him, and not spare: he would fain flee out of his hand.
Job 27:23 Men shall clap their hands at him, and shall hiss him out of his place.

Such is the portion of our wicked old man, who is God’s rejected ‘seed of Abraham’ who are “Jerusalem which now is and is in bondage with her children” within us.

Lam 2:15 All that pass by clap their hands at thee; they hiss and wag their head at the daughter of Jerusalem, saying, Is this the city that men call The perfection of beauty, The joy of the whole earth?

Rom 9:6 Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel:
Rom 9:7 Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called.
Rom 9:8 That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.

Rev 18:20 Rejoice over her [“Babylon the great”, the rejected “seed of Abraham”], thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her.

We are predestined to wear this “body of death” before we will be granted to wear the new spiritual ‘heavenly… body’. But there is not, nor ever has been, a righteous “first man Adam”. Our Savior never sinned, but by His own mouth even His flesh and blood could not be perfected, and even His flesh and blood, which came “of a woman” (Gal 4:4), was unfit to inherit the kingdom of God:

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

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

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

Gal 4:4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,

Christ’s flesh would have rotted into the ground like all before Him, had He not been raised from the dead and “perfected [on] the third day”.

Act 2:27 Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.

Or as it is rendered in the CEV:

Act 2:27 The Lord won’t leave me in the grave. I am his holy one, and he won’t let my body decay. (CEV)

Paul tells us what a body of flesh is.

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.

1Co 15:45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
1Co 15:46 Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.
1Co 15:47 The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.
1Co 15:48 As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.
1Co 15:49 And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
1Co 15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

Christ is not ashamed of His achievement. He knew when He created “the first man Adam” exactly what Adam and his seed would do. So He is not ashamed to be connected to the work He is doing. So much so that He makes this statement:

Heb 2:11 For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren,

He even makes this amazing statement:

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

…and Paul informs us of this incredible Truth:

Rom 11:36 For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.

Next week we will learn more of the fate of the carnal old man we all first must be, as Job continues declaring God’s sovereignty. He declares God’s sovereignty, and in the same breath, he complains of what that sovereign God is doing in Job’s life.

Job 28:1 Surely there is a vein for the silver, and a place for gold where they fine it.
Job 28:2 Iron is taken out of the earth, and brass is molten out of the stone.
Job 28:3 He setteth an end to darkness, and searcheth out all perfection: the stones of darkness, and the shadow of death.
Job 28:4 The flood breaketh out from the inhabitant; even the waters forgotten of the foot: they are dried up, they are gone away from men.
Job 28:5 As for the earth, out of it cometh bread: and under it is turned up as it were fire.
Job 28:6 The stones of it are the place of sapphires: and it hath dust of gold.
Job 28:7 There is a path which no fowl knoweth, and which the vulture’s eye hath not seen:
Job 28:8 The lion’s whelps have not trodden it, nor the fierce lion passed by it.
Job 28:9 He putteth forth his hand upon the rock; he overturneth the mountains by the roots.
Job 28:10 He cutteth out rivers among the rocks; and his eye seeth every precious thing.
Job 28:11 He bindeth the floods from overflowing; and the thing that is hid bringeth he forth to light.

Video Links

Job 27:1-10 Till I Die I Will Not Remove Mine Integrity From Me

Job 27:1  Moreover Job continued his parable, and said,

Job 27:2  As God liveth, who hath taken away my judgment; and the Almighty, who hath vexed my soul;

Job 27:3  All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils;

Job 27:4  My lips shall not speak wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit.

Job 27:5  God forbid that I should justify you: till I die I will not remove mine integrity from me.

Job 27:6  My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go: my heart shall not reproach me so long as I live.

Job 27:7  Let mine enemy be as the wicked, and he that riseth up against me as the unrighteous.

Job 27:8  For what is the hope of the hypocrite, though he hath gained, when God taketh away his soul?

Job 27:9  Will God hear his cry when trouble cometh upon him?

Job 27:10  Will he delight himself in the Almighty? will he always call upon God?

Introduction

Job’s “miserable comforters” are now finished answering him, and Job now has the floor. It has been through the energy of his own self- righteousness and his sincere belief that his accusers are no more righteous than he, that has sustained his unflinching refusal to so much as consider that he might have any character flaws. Job, being a type of us, is focused on comparing himself with others who he considers to be less righteous than himself. After all they are accusing him of sins he knows fully well he has never committed. Eliphaz, the, the eldest, in his third and final attack upon Job, was the cruelest of Job’s accusers. He accused Job of specific sins which Job simply could never, in good conscience, admit, and Job simply could not fathom why God had not poured out His wrath on such a false accuser as Eliphaz instead of such a righteous man as he sees himself as being. Here is what Eliphaz had completely fabricated against the man he had supposedly come to comfort:

Job 22:1  Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said,

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

Job 22:6  For thou hast taken a pledge from thy brother for nought, and stripped the naked of their clothing.

Job 22:7  Thou hast not given water to the weary to drink, and thou hast withholden bread from the hungry.

Job 22:8  But as for the mighty man, he had the earth; and the honourable man dwelt in it.

Job 22:9  Thou hast sent widows away empty, and the arms of the fatherless have been broken.

Job 22:10  Therefore snares are round about thee, and sudden fear troubleth thee;

Job 22:11  Or darkness, that thou canst not see; and abundance of waters cover thee.

The last two verses of what Eliphaz says here are true and Job as admitted they are true.

Job 6:4  For the arrows of the Almighty are within me, the poison whereof drinketh up my spirit: the terrors of God do set themselves in array against me.

Job 7:13  When I say, My bed shall comfort me, my couch shall ease my complaint;

Job 7:14  Then thou scarest me with dreams, and terrifiest me through visions:

This places Job in the position of being condemned out of his own mouth yet knowing that these three men are telling blatant lies about him and ruining his reputation, completely ignoring his righteousness and even denying that he has any integrity. Of course, as this book of Job is teaching us, the lesson we must all learn is that the more righteous we think ourselves to be, the greater is   the stench which such “filthy rags” have within the “nostrils… of God”.

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

God will not give His glory to another. He would be a liar to do so:

Isa 42:8  I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.

God would be lying if He told us that we are righteous in and of ourselves. Here is the truth of that matter as it concerns all men of all time:

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

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

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

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

Rom 8:7  Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

Rom 8:8  So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

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

Neither Job nor his accusers, both the types of us, are at first aware of the Truth revealed within these verses.

It is Christ’s “parable of the tares of the field” (Mat 13:24-30), and His reference to the men who Herod had murdered and those on whom the tower of Siloam fell (Luk 13:1-5), which reveal to us that we are one and all, by our very nature, the first man Adam upon whom all the curses in scripture are pronounced. Christ knew He would drag all men to Himself, but He also knew that it would be through that fiery dragging process that every man would “suffer loss”, the loss of that filthy first man, Adam, and yet every man would “be saved, so as by fire”.

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

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

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

“,,, He himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire”. That is the “one event” referred to in Ecc9:2:

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.

There are those who contend that the only thing referred to by the phrase “one event to the righteous, and to the wicked”, is the fact that all must “once die” (Heb 9:27). If indeed that analysis of Ecc 9:2 were true, then these verses of God’s Word would have no application to “the righteous and the wicked”:

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.

Do not these words proceed out of the mouth of God?

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.

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.

Are not these words I am about to quote part of this “revelation of Jesus Christ”? Are these words not part of “those things which are written therein” which those who are “blessed [ will] read… hear… and keep”?:

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.

Of course they are, and you and I must “keep” those words also. You and I must, in our own way and in our own time, keep the book of Revelation and the book of Job. They are the record of the death of our old man, and they are both the “gospel [ good news] of the kingdom of God” being established in us, as our “old man… dies daily”. Here are both Christ and Paul making that very point:

Joh 12:24  Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.

Joh 12:25  He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.

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

But as Job we see none of this at first. We all first ask the same questions Job asked. We simply do not understand how God can be sovereign over even the darkness and the evil of this world or how He could possibly cause evil to prosper.

Habakkuk asked the same question Job asked:

Hab 1:13  Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he?

Job asked:

Job 21:7  Wherefore do the wicked live, become old, yea, are mighty in power?

With his limited knowledge of who God is and what God does, Job continues to assault and condemn his own Maker and his Maker’s ways:

Job 27:1  Moreover Job continued his parable, and said,

Job 27:2  As God liveth, who hath taken away my judgment; and the Almighty, who hath vexed my soul;

Job 27:3  All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils;

Job 27:4  My lips shall not speak wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit.

“My lips shall not speak wickedness…” Obviously Job, the type of you and me, is so totally unaware of his own insidious self- righteousness that he doesn’t even realize that his lips have just done that very thing. By accusing God of ‘taking away his judgment’, even as he is in the midst of his being judged, Job is speaking wickedness, uttering deceit, and he is vile and totally unaware of just how vile is his sin of self- righteousness.

Job 40:4  Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee? I will lay mine hand upon my mouth.

So what is this thing we call ‘judgment’ which is even now said to be “upon the house of God?

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

In the churches of Babylon we are often taught that ‘judgment’ is simply the act of standing before Christ and His Father and being accepted into heaven or else, far more likely, being condemned to eternal hell fire. But what do the scriptures really teach us is the purpose of judgment and for being judged? What are we told judgment accomplishes? Here is the truth about how we are judged and what it accomplishes.

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

That is what judgment accomplishes. But by what method and by what means? Here is our answer:

1Co 11:28  But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.

1Co 11:29  For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation [ G2917 – krima, judgment, condemnation, This is what “begins at the house of God” in 1Pe 4:17] to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.

1Co 11:30  For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.

1Co 11:31  For if we would judge [ G1252 – diakrino] ourselves [ as carnal babes in Christ], we should not [ at this time] be judged [ G2919 – krino, ‘judged’ which cannot be avoided by any man – Heb 9:27].

1Co 11:32  But when we are judged [ G2919 – krino], we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned [ katakrino, sentenced to the lake of fire] with the world.

We need to know that this word ‘judged’, G2919 krino, is often translated as ‘damned’ or ‘damnation’, as above in 1Co 11:29, and as in this verse:

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 [ G2919 – krino] who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

So what is this cup from which Christ and His disciples drank, which if we drink it unworthily, we “drink damnation [ judgment] to [ our] selves? We are all familiar with the cup mentioned at the ‘Lord’s supper’, but we seldom connect that cup with the cup about which Christ asked James and John:

Mar 10:35  And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, come unto him, saying, Master, we would that thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall desire.

Mar 10:36  And he said unto them, What would ye that I should do for you?

Mar 10:37  They said unto him, Grant unto us that we may sit, one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left hand, in thy glory.

Mar 10:38  But Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what ye ask: can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?

Mar 10:39  And they said unto him, We can. And Jesus said unto them, Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of; and with the baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized:

Mar 10:40  But to sit on my right hand and on my left hand is not mine to give; but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared.

James and John, as carnal disciples (1Co 3:1-4), had judged [ diakrino] themselves “before the time”. They thought they had already judged themselves and were capable of drinking of Christ’s cup. But when they had an opportunity to truly be judged and to die with Christ, they fled for their lives instead. Later on, when “the Lord came” on the day of Pentecost and took up His residence within them, then Christ in them was given to judge the old man within and crucify him, by standing faithful and dying daily with Christ. John was no longer judging himself before the time. Christ had come and Christ was now living in and judging John and Peter, and in that judgment Christ was daily destroying the old John and the old Peter, and Christ in the new John and the new Peter was growing within each man daily.

Notice the difference between this event and the events on the night when all the apostles fled for their lives, leaving Christ to be crucified on the cross.

Act 4:6  And Annas the high priest, and Caiaphas, and John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the kindred of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem.

Act 4:7  And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, By what power, or by what name, have ye done this?

Act 4:8  Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel,

Act 4:9  If we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by what means he is made whole;

Act 4:10  Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole.

Act 4:11  This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner.

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

Act 4:13  Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.

Act 4:18  And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus.

Act 4:19  But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge [ G2919 – krino] ye.

Act 4:20  For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.

So then is it possible to read about the mistakes of Israel and decide not to make those mistakes? The answer is, No, it is not of ourselves possible. “If we would judge ourselves we would not be judged”. Avoiding judgment is not possible or desirable. That is what Job has not yet learned. Can you and I read about Job’s blindness to his own self- righteousness and decide of ourselves that we will never be self- righteous? Absolutely not! If indeed we are given to see the lessons of Job or of Israel, it will be only by first being judged and chastened and scourged of God and broken and crushed to powder by the realization that we bring nothing to God’s table. If we could judge ourselves and avoid being judged, then this verse is untrue:

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 [ Greek – krima, G2917] 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?

Can we ‘krima’ ourselves? Can we chasten and scourge ourselves? Are we capable of pouring out the seven last plagues upon ourselves?

Can you and I destroy our own possessions and our own children and smite ourselves with boils and send ourselves miserable comforters to intensify our torment and judge the giant of self- righteousness within ourselves? Are you and I capable of destroying the man of sin within us? The answer in every case is absolutely not! When we think otherwise we are ‘eating of that bread, and drink[ ing] of that cup… unworthily… and eating and drinking damnation [ Greek – krima, judgment, condemnation] to ourselves’ just as Job did. Job confessed to having sinned, but he still could not see the need for being judged and enduring the krima of the seven last plagues of God’s wrath being poured out on the insidious self- righteousness inherent in the flesh of every man and woman who has ever drawn breath.

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

When we think we can just observe the mistakes of others and tell ourselves that we can avoid the fiery sword that guards the way of the tree of life and refuse to “drink of the [ same] cup” and be baptized with the same baptism which our Lord drank and was baptized with, we deceive ourselves. “If we would judge ourselves, we will not be judged, [ simply because] when we are judged we are chastened of the Lord, [ and] the Lord chastens and scourges every son He receives.

1Co 11:32  But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.

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

So we cannot ‘through judge’diakrino ourselves, because we must be judged by the Lord, or we will be condemned [ Greek – katakrino – judged against] with the world. When the Lord comes to us, He does judge [ krino] us.

Why can we not judge, ‘through judge’, diakrino ourselves? Here is why that is:

1Co 2:14  But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned [ G350 – anakrino, intensely judged].

1Co 2:15  But he that is spiritual judgeth [ G350 – anakrino] all things, yet he himself is judged [ G350 – anakrino] of no man.

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

It is not possible for us to krino or anakrino ourselves, because “the natural man receives not the things of the spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually [ anakrino] discerned”.  The explanation of why we cannot, as our old, natural man, judge ourselves is that this word translated as ‘discerned’, is also the Greek word ‘anakrino’, G350, translated as ‘judged’ twice in the very next verse.

In other words, Job, the type of our old man, is so carnal that he cannot discern “the things of the spirit” which is exactly what this subject of judgment is. Being judged is definitely a “thing of the spirit” which the whole world wants to avoid and from which all men just naturally want be ‘raptured away’. Job is being judged, but he is totally unaware that he even needs to be judged.

His whole being is focused on comparing his self- righteousness with the self- righteousness of his accusers:

Job 27:5  God forbid that I should justify you: till I die I will not remove mine integrity from me.

Job 27:6  My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go: my heart shall not reproach me so long as I live.

“My heart shall not reproach me so long as I live”. That is the point Paul is making when he informs us that ‘If we judge ourselves we will miss being judged by Christ. He has already told us “I judge not myself”:

1Co 4:3  But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged [ G350 – anakrino] of you, or of man’s judgment [ G2250, hemera, day]: yea, I judge [ G350 – anakrino] not mine own self.

When we attempt to judge [ anakrino] ourselves, we do so in “man’s day”, not “man’s judgment”. Job is judging and condemning His own Maker in “man’s day… before the time, when the Lord comes” and destroys the “man of sin with the brightness of his coming”.

2Th 2:3  Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

2Th 2:4  Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

2Th 2:5  Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?

2Th 2:6  And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.

2Th 2:7  For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.

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

So these words out of Job’s mouth will judge the self- righteous man within him, because neither Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar nor God are Job’s worst enemies. Just as with us all, our worst enemy is the “old… first man Adam” within us all. It is because we ‘hold fast our own righteousness as long as this man of sin is still alive’ within us that we, as Job, will be judged “out of our own mouth” :

Job 27:7  Let mine enemy be as the wicked, and he that riseth up against me as the unrighteous.

Job 27:8  For what is the hope of the hypocrite, though he hath gained, when God taketh away his soul?

Job 27:9  Will God hear his cry when trouble cometh upon him?

Job 27:10  Will he delight himself in the Almighty? will he always call upon God?

Being God’s elect is a work of God. No human is capable of contributing anything to his own salvation at any time. When God brings us to cry out to Him, then, and not until that time, will the Lord “hear His cry” and deliver him out of his distresses. Only then, at God’s own appointed time, will each and every man ‘delight himself in the Almighty and call upon him’. King David informs us of this method which God uses in His work with mankind:

Psa 107:25  For he [ God] 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!

Here is how Peter expresses this same method:

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 [ our] ungodly men [ within all who are self- righteous Job].

As Job we still see none of this, and next week we will see more clearly our own old man in Job:

Job 27:11  I will teach you by the hand of God: that which is with the Almighty will I not conceal.

Job 27:12  Behold, all ye yourselves have seen it; why then are ye thus altogether vain?

Job 27:13  This is the portion of a wicked man with God, and the heritage of oppressors, which they shall receive of the Almighty.

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

Job 27:15  Those that remain of him shall be buried in death: and his widows shall not weep.

Job 27:16  Though he heap up silver as the dust, and prepare raiment as the clay;

Job 27:17  He may prepare it, but the just shall put it on, and the innocent shall divide the silver.

Job 27:18  He buildeth his house as a moth, and as a booth that the keeper maketh.

Job 27:19  The rich man shall lie down, but he shall not be gathered: he openeth his eyes, and he is not.

Job 27:20 Terrors take hold on him as waters, a tempest stealeth him away in the night.

Job 27:21 The east wind carrieth him away, and he departeth: and as a storm hurleth him out of his place.

Job 27:22 For God shall cast upon him, and not spare: he would fain flee out of his hand.

Job 27:23  Men shall clap their hands at him, and shall hiss him out of his place.

Thanks again for your answers. If possible do you have a whole study on 2 Thess. I’ve been on it over and over for 5/7 years, I had a feeling the man of sin was me. Is the son of perdition something to do with Judas? Please help.
 
In Christ,
S____

Hi S____,
Thank you for your questions.
No, I do not have a study on the complete book of 2 Thessalonians, but I can assure you that, as I pointed out in our previous exchange, the outward application of any verse of God’s Word is the application used by those who will be in the lake of fire. Even the fire of the lake of fire is applied inwardly by all who “know God and Jesus Christ whom He has sent.”

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

Those who are given eyes to see and ears to hear, know that “every word of God” is for the inward man. It is not for someone else. We should all say “it is all for me. I am both the man of sin, and I am the son of perdition, and I am chief of sinners.” All of that is within each of us if God is giving us the eyes and ears to see and hear the Truth of His Word.

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

I have every confidence that God will give you the ability to see and hear the depth of the Truth of these, His Words, as did the apostle Paul:

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.
Luk 4:4  And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.

Your brother in Christ,
Mike

Hello Mike,
I just wanted to write and say thank you for the truths you are putting out, I have been blessed!  Anyway, just a few things; First, I was curious about the second death as it pertains to living EVERY word of God.  How do we answer detractors if we say that we live every word of God EXCEPT the second death?  Would you say it is just a timing thing, i. e. that we get it now and those who are in the second death get it later?  I would appreciate your thoughts.  Also, I am just amazed at how God brings us out of Babylon, little by little, line upon line, and you can look back and see that he was working the whole time.  To demonstrate this I want to share with you a prophetic (I Cor. 14:3, ‘devotional’) writing that I did way back when I was in the heart of Babylon.  It is entitled, “A thousand Villains.”

O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me?  – Rom. 7:24
It seems in our Christian pilgrimage that we will more quickly experience the depth of our own wickedness within our hearts than the light of the glory of God.  For after we are cleansed from our sin and the HOLY Spirit moves into our temple (Jn. 2:21), and we go from Ichabod (meaning, the glory has departed) to Shekinah (meaning, to dwell), it is easy to feel the depth of our humanity and sinfulness.
This scenario was similarly seen in the building of the tabernacle when the Ark of the Covenant was overlaid with Gold.  The Ark, which was to be a resting place for the glory of God (the Shekinah), at his center was shittim wood. And what a stark contrast was made when the gold was lain over its surface.  I am sure that lackluster wood wished that it could be quickly covered by the brilliant gold so as not to discover its wretchedness.
Even so we, after we have been birthed by the Divine Spirit have not changed much, though we have been overlain with gold we are still corruptible wood at heart.  I find that all introspection, or looking deep within who we are, leads only to despair.  Yes, we see ourselves as a thousand villains all at one time and it seems, we shall never escape the villainy of our sin nature.
We see ourselves as Adam who committed high treason against his Maker.  At times our actions betray us and we condemn ourselves to be Balaam, who being a prophet of God, died an heretic.  We fear that we are King Saul, rejected, reprobate, and abandoned by God.  We be the unnamed prophet who fell by the lion because of his disobedience to God and obedience to his belly.  In terror we feel that we are Jonah, fleeing from the presence of God.  We fear that we have committed the unpardonable sin and will be lost for eternity.  We must beware though that this state of heart doesn’t scare us altogether from the Holy Scriptures.
It is strange to us because in times past the Word has been our joy, but now has become our terror (Jer. 17:17).  When we read that old Salvation scripture, Joh 3:16, we can barely hear, “for God so loved the World,” all we hear is that foreboding word, perish.  Even the most loving scriptures become our enemies.  Somehow we manage to glean anger from everything we read.  We no longer behold in the book of Isaiah the prophetical utterances of a soon coming redeemer, but the judgment and wrath poured out against all ungodliness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness (Rom. 1:18).
These things surely bring despair and great horror (Gen. 15:12), but how little do we realize this is but a blessed gift from our Lord delivered to us on the pinions (wings) of His Holy Spirit.  How healthy it is to realize our guilt, shame, and wickedness, for it must be so to be removed.  Ah!  We get to see sin for what sin really is, the zenith of all that is evil and against God.  It was only after the holy prophet Isaiah cried, “I am undone,” because of the glory that excelleth, that a blazing coal was placed to his lips for cleansing.  One man of God said this in witness to this truth; “Holy fear prepares the soul for holy joy; the spirit of bondage makes way for the spirit of adoption. God wounds first, and then heals; humbles first, and they lifts up, Isa 6:5,6.”
There are those who never acknowledge their need for God or never have been made so aware.  So rejoice you wilderness wanderer.  Even though there is gross darkness brooding over your soul, God has spoken, “let there be light!”  Once there is light there can be the creation of that which has never existed.  Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God. (Is. 50:10)  O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted (Is. 54:11), behold God’s Word unto you; Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee (Is. 26:3).  Don’t imagine that you shall forever be in this state, but know that it is a necessary state for all those who would see Christ Jesus.  Hallelujah!

God bless you Mike!
In Christ crucified with you,
N____

Good morning N____,
You may have been “in the heart of Babylon” when you wrote this piece, but that seventh head of the beast was to last but a short space, because the new man who is still within a body of  shittim wood “will continue but a short space.”

Rev 17:8  The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.
Rev 17:9  And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.
Rev 17:10  And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, [ and] the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.
Rev 17:11  And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.

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

Look at those verses. “The beast… seven heads… fallen kings… and going into perdition.” It all sounds so very dire, and for corruptible flesh it is dire. But as you put it:
“These things surely bring despair and great horror (Gen. 15:12), but how little do we realize this is but a blessed gift from our Lord delivered to us on the pinions (wings) of His Holy Spirit.  How healthy it is to realize our guilt, shame, and wickedness, for it must be so to be removed. Ah!  We get to see sin for what sin really is, the zenith of all that is evil and against God.  It was only after the holy prophet Isaiah cried, “I am undone,” because of the glory that excelleth, that a blazing coal was placed to his lips for cleansing.  One man of God said this in witness to this truth; “Holy fear prepares the soul for holy joy; the spirit of bondage makes way for the spirit of adoption. God wounds first, and then heals; humbles first, and they lifts up, Isa 6:5,6.”
“There are those who never acknowledge their need for God or never have been made so aware.   So rejoice you wilderness wanderer.  Even though there is gross darkness brooding over your soul, God has spoken, “let there be light!” Once there is light there can be the creation of that which has never existed.  Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God. (Is. 50:10)  O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted (Is. 54:11), behold God’s Word unto you; Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee (Is. 26:3).  Don’t imagine that you shall forever be in this state, but know that it is a necessary state for all those who would see Christ Jesus.  Hallelujah!”
We are told, and I believe, that “God is love.” Even His wrath is poured out in love. “Going into perdition” is the best thing that ever happens to the beast within us. But that beast cannot begin to truly die until He comes to be the eighth, the new man, still wood, still in a vessel of clay, but covered with the gold of God’s Word.

Rev 17:7  And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.
Rev 17:8  The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.
Rev 17:9  And here [ is] the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.
Rev 17:10  And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, [ and] the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.
Rev 17:11  And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.

All of this is understood by “comparing spiritual with spiritual, dying daily, going into perdition.” The new man sees every word of judgment and destruction as extremely positive statements. Dying brings life, blindness brings sight, perdition brings salvation.
The new man comes to God in thanksgiving for the wonderful works God is doing with the children of men.”

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!

When we come to God thanking Him for His chastening and scourging, then, and only then, have we come to understand the message of the book of Job. Only then can we see  that the suffering of this present time is not worthy to be compared to the glory that will be revealed in us. God truly is working all things after the counsel of His own will.

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.

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:

Your brother in Christ,
Mike