Isa 49:18-26 Kings Shall bow Down to Thee with Their Face Toward the Earth - Discussion

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Isa 49:18-26 Kings Shall Bow Down to Thee with Their Face Toward the Earth

Isa 49:18  Lift up thine eyes round about, and behold: all these gather themselves together, and come to thee. As I live, saith the LORD, thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all, as with an ornament, and bind them on thee, as a bride doeth.
Isa 49:19  For thy waste and thy desolate places, and the land of thy destruction, shall even now be too narrow by reason of the inhabitants, and they that swallowed thee up shall be far away.
Isa 49:20  The children which thou shalt have, after thou hast lost the other, shall say again in thine ears, The place is too strait for me: give place to me that I may dwell.
Isa 49:21  Then shalt thou say in thine heart, Who hath begotten me these, seeing I have lost my children, and am desolate, a captive, and removing to and fro? and who hath brought up these? Behold, I was left alone; these, where had they been?
Isa 49:22  Thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people: and they shall bring thy sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders.
Isa 49:23  And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers: they shall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD: for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me.
Isa 49:24  Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered?
Isa 49:25  But thus saith the LORD, Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered: for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children.
Isa 49:26  And I will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh; and they shall be drunken with their own blood, as with sweet wine: and all flesh shall know that I the LORD am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob.

This prophecy is the word of the Lord to each of us as His elect. Its primary application is within us. It is the new man and his knowledge of Christ and his Father who is taken captive by our “mighty… old man”. Our new man is “the prey and lawful captive” of our carnal-minded “old man” and his “father the devil” (Joh 8:44). Throughout this prophecy of Isaiah, the Lord is telling us as His elect that in spite of our weak, earthly composition and our sinful and rebellious nature, and the fact that we have turned our backs on Him, He will not do the same to those whom He has placed in spiritual “mount Sion” and whom He has chosen to be His “firstfruits unto God and the Lamb”:

Rev 14:1  And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads.

Rev 14:4  These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.

As always, we need to be reminded that these words are, at this time, only for those who are given eyes that see and ears that hear the things of the spirit:

1Co 2:12  Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. 
1Co 2:13  Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 
1Co 2:14  But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

Isaiah foretold this spiritual condition, which Christ tells us is the same spirit which to this very day afflicts the multitudes who come to Him:

Isa 6:10  Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed. 

Mat 13:10  And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto [the multitudes] in parables?
Mat 13:11  He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to [the multitudes] it is not given.
Mat 13:12  For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
Mat 13:13  Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
Mat 13:14  And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:
Mat 13:15  For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.

Being blind and deaf is our natural, dark, lost condition to which the Lord has first appointed us all, as we were told in the last five verses of our previous study:

Isa 49:13  Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains: for the LORD hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted. 
Isa 49:14  But Zion said, The LORD hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me.
Isa 49:15  Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. 
Isa 49:16  Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.
Isa 49:17  Thy children shall make haste; thy destroyers and they that made thee waste shall go forth of thee.

The Lord has given us “exceeding great and precious promises” to such an extent that Paul declares:

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.

Peter says this of what we have been given already:

2Pe 1:3  According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: 
2Pe 1:4  Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

There are many such “great and precious promises” to which Peter refers. Here is but one example:

Isa 43:4  Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable, and I have loved thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life. 
Isa 43:5  Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west;
Isa 43:6  I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth;
Isa 43:7  Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.
Isa 43:8  Bring forth the blind people that have eyes, and the deaf that have ears. [Mat 13:10-15]

In Matthew 13 Christ had just told the multitudes who had come to Him a parable, which is known as ‘the parable of the sower’. Here is that parable:

Mat 13:1  The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side.
Mat 13:2  And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.
Mat 13:3  And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow; 
Mat 13:4  And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:
Mat 13:5  Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:
Mat 13:6  And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.
Mat 13:7  And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: 
Mat 13:8  But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.
Mat 13:9  Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

The disciples then ask Christ why He is teaching in parables the multitudes who come to Him, and He gives them an amazing answer:

Mat 13:10  And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them [the multitude of verse 2] in parables?
Mat 13:11  He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. 
Mat 13:12  For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
Mat 13:13  Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. 
Mat 13:14  And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:
Mat 13:15  For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
Mat 13:16  But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. 

[Isa 43:8  Bring forth the blind people that have eyes, and the deaf that have ears.]

Mat 13:17  For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.

The parables are given, “Lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.” Christ Himself is telling us He speaks to the multitudes who come to Him in parables so they will “Not understand… and [will] not perceive”.

The parables are serving their purpose until this very day, because any Sunday school teacher will tell you, “Christ spoke in parables to make His meaning clear to the agrarian people to whom He spoke.”

This is the exact opposite of the reason Christ gives us for why He spoke to the multitudes in parables. However, He did explain their meaning to His elect disciples:

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

We are indeed blessed to see and hear things which the “many prophets and righteous men… desired to see… and to hear… and have not heard them”:

Mat 13:17  For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.

In his first epistle, Peter also agrees with Paul that all these blessings come to us only through “much tribulation” and through “fiery trials”:

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

Our last study ended with the Lord causing us to feel rejected by the Lord just before He blesses us beyond our wildest dreams. It is a picture of the beginning of the death of our fleshly, earthly old man, followed by being resurrected into a new life as a new man with new promises and new blessings. Our study today continues with those “great and precious promises” of which we are now, in Christ and in earnest, the recipients.

Isa 49:18  Lift up thine eyes round about, and behold: all these gather themselves together, and come to thee. As I live, saith the LORD, thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all, as with an ornament, and bind them on thee, as a bride doeth.
Isa 49:19  For thy waste and thy desolate places, and the land of thy destruction, shall even now be too narrow by reason of the inhabitants, and they that swallowed thee up shall be far away.
Isa 49:20  The children which thou shalt have, after thou hast lost the other, shall say again in thine ears, The place is too strait for me: give place to me that I may dwell.

‘After you have lost the other' refers to the death and destruction of the children of our old man, “the kingdom of this world”, which is destroyed within us at “the brightness of His coming”. That blessed event is also called “war in [our] heavens” as the scriptures reveal:

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 [G2722, Greek: katecho, ‘restrains’] that he might be revealed in his time.
2Th 2:7  For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth [G2722, Greek: katecho, ‘restrains’] 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:

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

The next chapter of the revelation of Jesus Christ sets the stage for the day when “the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our Lord and His Christ:

Rev 12:7  And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
Rev 12:8  And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
Rev 12:9  And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. 
Rev 12:10  And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.
Rev 12:11  And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

Every heresy which attempts to infect the body of Christ provokes this spiritual warfare within His body, and we, as “soldiers” of Christ, must engage in that inward war within the heavens of our hearts and minds. Having come out of Babylon we are said to have “lost” all the doctrines of the kingdom of Babylon. Those false doctrines are the tares sown in our heavens by what Christ called “an enemy”:

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

This is speaking of “the kingdom of heaven”. It is Christ and His Christ who have “sown good seed in His field”. This parable is not about the kingdom of Babylon. The kingdom of Babylon is a field of nothing but tares. The whole stay of bread and the whole stay of water has been taken away from that harlot system:

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

Just as ‘Adam’ is both an evil “old man… the first man Adam”, before he begins to be destroyed by the brightness of the coming of Christ’ (2Th 2:8) and “made again another vessel” (Jer 18:4), so it is with ‘Jerusalem which now is and is in bondage with her children’ and ‘Jerusalem above which is the mother of us all’:

Gal 4:21  Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law?
Gal 4:22  For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. 
Gal 4:23  But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise.
Gal 4:24  Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar.
Gal 4:25  For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children.
Gal 4:26  But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.

“Jerusalem which is above… which is the Mother of us all” is “all [who are] in Christ” and does not yet include “Jerusalem which now is and is in bondage with her children”, and those whose judgment is in “the lake of fire/second death” (Rev 20:14-15).

Yet the Lord Himself has ordained that “there must be heresies among [us]”:

1Co 11:19  For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.

These “heresies among [us]” are the children and doctrines of the enemy who comes at the appointed time “while men slept”. They come with the spirit of “Jerusalem which now is and is in bondage with her children” to sow those tares in and among the good seed and among the truths of the kingdom of God within us, as the second parable of a sower in Matthew 13 demonstrates:

Mat 13:24  Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:
Mat 13:25  But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.

The presence of these ‘tares’ among us are not at first apparent to any of us. Indeed, it is not until “the time of the harvest” that it becomes obvious to all who have eyes that see and ears that hear that there is no spiritual fruit at all upon these tares:

Mat 13:26  But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.

While we all just naturally want to root out and pull up the tares immediately, that is not the mind of our Lord, and so we must live by His words and acknowledge that He has decreed “there must be heresies among [us] that they which are approved may be made manifest among [us]” as we have already noted:

1Co 11:19  For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.

Christ’s explanation of the parable of the tares ties that parable into our study today here in Isaiah 49 which refers to the ‘children’ we are given after we lose all the ‘children’ we had while we were in the Babylonian harlot system. Notice closely how Christ explains this second parable of the ‘sower’ and the meaning He gives us of the good seed sown by Christ and His Christ, as contrasted with the seed sown in the Lord’s field by an enemy.

Here us that second parable of a sower in its entirety:

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

This is what Christ is telling us is the meaning of 'children' in this second parable of the sower:

Mat 13:36  Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field. 
Mat 13:37  He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; 

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

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;
Mat 13:39  The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world [Greek G165: aion, eon, age]; and the reapers are the angels.
Mat 13:40  As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world [Greek G165: aion, eon, age]. 
Mat 13:41  The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; 
Mat 13:42  And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
Mat 13:43  Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Who are these “men [who] slept” and gave the enemy the opportunity to sow the tares among the good seed the Lord had sown in His field? The Lord Himself tells us who they are:

Mat 25:1  Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.
Mat 25:2  And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.
Mat 25:3  They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:
Mat 25:4  But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
Mat 25:5  While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.

I am chief of sinners, and I have been caught napping every time we have discovered heresies among us. We “all slumber and sleep”, but those who have “oil in their vessels” are those of us who know the voice of the True Shepherd even in the middle of the night, meaning in the middle of the false doctrines and lies
which ‘midnight’ and ‘lamps without oil’ symbolize.:

Mat 25:6  And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.
Mat 25:7  Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.
Mat 25:8  And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.
Mat 25:9  But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.
Mat 25:10  And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. 
Mat 25:11  Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.
Mat 25:12  But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. 
Mat 25:13  Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.

Is it not “foolish” to fall asleep when we are expecting the bridegroom at any moment? Of course, it is! It is especially humiliating when we do so twice:

Mar 14:32  And they came to a place which was named Gethsemane: and he saith to his disciples, Sit ye here, while I shall pray.
Mar 14:33  And he taketh with him Peter and James and John, and began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy;
Mar 14:34  And saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death: tarry ye here, and watch.
Mar 14:35  And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him.
Mar 14:36  And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt.
Mar 14:37  And he cometh, and findeth them sleeping, and saith unto Peter, Simon, sleepest thou? couldest not thou watch one hour? 
Mar 14:38  Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak. 
Mar 14:39  And again he went away, and prayed, and spake the same words.
Mar 14:40  And when he returned, he found them asleep again, (for their eyes were heavy,) neither wist they what to answer him.
Mar 14:41  And he cometh the third time, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: it is enough, the hour is come; behold, the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.
Mar 14:42  Rise up, let us go; lo, he that betrayeth me is at hand.

That is the same message of the parable of the ten virgins. We all let our Lord down by giving in to the need of our flesh to seek rest from our trials. The five wise virgins are ‘five’ because we are all “saved by grace through faith”, just as the five foolish virgins will also be saved. Both groups are what they are by the Lord’s sovereign decree and not because of anything they of themselves have done. Nevertheless, the five wise virgins are given to attend the marriage while the five foolish ones are told “I know you not”.

If we are not given to know the True Shepherd’s voice, it is because we have no oil in our lamps, because “the dream is one”, and the oil and the Shepherd’s voice are both the Word of God, His doctrines.

As we have demonstrated, His doctrines are His children and the doctrines of the enemy are the enemy’s children whom we have all been at our appointed time:

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

If and when we are given to come out of Babylon, we lose the doctrines and the children of Babylon. As that begins taking place within us, we are given far more understanding of the true mind of Christ and His doctrines as we lose the doctrines of the enemy:

Isa 49:21  Then shalt thou say in thine heart, Who hath begotten me these, seeing I have lost my children, and am desolate, a captive, and removing to and fro? and who hath brought up these? Behold, I was left alone; these, where had they been?

As we saw in the two parables of the two sowers, in the first parable the seed being sown by the sower is explained by none other than Christ Himself as “the Word”:

Mat 13:22  He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.
Mat 13:23  But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

Does anyone question that the sower in both parables is “the Son of man”?

Mat 13:37  He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; 

But Christ Himself tells us:

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

God Himself has ordained that His elect speak for Him, and for the sake of any doubters about that point, it is again none less than the Lord who makes that point perfectly clear:

Joh 17:20  Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;
Joh 17:21  That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
Joh 17:22  And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:

The fact there are 40,000 different, conflicting Christian denominations does not change the fact that those who know the voice of the True Shepherd are all of one mind and one judgment:

1Co 1:10  Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

Losing all those 40,000 children is the very point of this part of our study today. While the ‘seed’ sown by “the Son of Man” is explained as symbolizing “the Word” in the first parable of the sower in Matthew 13, that very same seed is explained as representing “the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children  of the wicked one; [and] the enemy that sowed them is the devil…”

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;
Mat 13:39  The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world [Greek G165: aion, eon, age]; and the reapers are the angels.

As Joseph told the Pharaoh, “the dream is one” and “the children of the kingdom [and] the children of the wicked one” are both the doctrines of their respective ‘fathers’, “the Son of Man” being the Father of the children of the kingdom, and “the devil” being the father of “the children of the wicked one”.

This gives us the knowledge we need to understand the last few verses of this 49th chapter of Isaiah:

Isa 49:22  Thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people: and they shall bring thy sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders.
Isa 49:23  And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers: they shall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD: for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me.

The “two hundred thousand, thousand” lies and false doctrines will be destroyed, and all those who subscribed to those false lying doctrines will bow down before the feet of those who know the Lord and His Christ:

Rev 3:9  Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee. 
Rev 3:10  Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.

These words accord with the two parables of the sower which demonstrate that “the children of the kingdom” are those who “keep the word of [Christ’s] patience”. While all the “children of the wicked one” were his “prey” now being taken from “the wicked one”, who is “the devil”, and are now through the agency of “the Lord’s Christ”, His “firstfruits… very elect”, being given to “the children of the kingdom who will also become the agency of their deliverance, just as they have been the agency of all “who have believed on [Christ] through their words” until this very day (Joh 17:20):

Isa 49:24  Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered?
Isa 49:25  But thus saith the LORD, Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered: for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children.
Isa 49:26  And I will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh; and they shall be drunken with their own blood, as with sweet wine: and all flesh shall know that I the LORD am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob.

Inwardly these words must be fulfilled within the lives of each of God’s elect in “this present time”. Dispensationally, these words will be fulfilled in “all flesh… [in the great white throne judgment/lake of fire/second death] and all flesh shall know that… the Lord is [our] Saviour and [our] redeemer the mighty One of Jacob”.

We are “the prey… and lawful captives of the mighty… wicked one… the devil” who are being “delivered… in this present time” to show to others the mercy we have been shown in “this present time”:

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.

While we wait upon the Lord to be used in that way, we are the Lord’s special “jewels”, and we are under His protection as “the apple of His eye”.

Psa 17:8 Keep me as the apple of the eye; Hide me under the shadow of thy wings,
Psa 17:9 From the wicked that oppress me, My deadly enemies, that compass me about.

Zec 2:8 For thus saith Jehovah of hosts: After glory hath he sent me unto the nations which plundered you; for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye.

At the appointed time everyone will know who loved and obeyed the Lord and who actually spat upon Him and His commandments:

Mal 3:16  Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name. 
Mal 3:17  And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him. 
Mal 3:18  Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.

That is the message the Lord is giving us in this 49th chapter of Isaiah.

Here now are the verses for our next study which will be in Isaiah 50:

Isa 50:1  Thus saith the LORD, Where is the bill of your mother's divorcement, whom I have put away? or which of my creditors is it to whom I have sold you? Behold, for your iniquities have ye sold yourselves, and for your transgressions is your mother put away.
Isa 50:2  Wherefore, when I came, was there no man? when I called, was there none to answer? Is my hand shortened at all, that it cannot redeem? or have I no power to deliver? behold, at my rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers a wilderness: their fish stinketh, because there is no water, and dieth for thirst.
Isa 50:3  I clothe the heavens with blackness, and I make sackcloth their covering.
Isa 50:4  The Lord GOD hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned.
Isa 50:5  The Lord GOD hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back.

Show us Plainly the Father

Study Aired April 13, 2008

Hello Mike,

When I was listening to your conferences about the purpose of the eons, I heard you talk about the millennium and what it will be like. I was wondering if you could elaborate. I am assuming that this is after the first Resurrection. Is it before or after the lake of fire.

Also, during the same talk, when asking “does everyone know where heaven is”, you were talking about the beast and the wound and all that stuff, but had to cut it short because of time constraints. I was wondering if you could talk a little about what you were saying with respect to the beast and what it meant. Sometimes when I look at these things it’s very hard to understand the spiritual implications of it. I don’t know the scriptures well enough yet. Any elaboration would be appreciated.

Thank you very much for your time, Mike,

Your brother in Christ,
B____

Hi B____,

You ask me what life will be like during the millennium. Your assumption that the millennium is after the first resurrection and before the lake of fire is right on target. What is so little understood about the millennium is that it is not even intended to be a time of bringing mankind to conversion. The fact that the world is being ruled with a “rod of iron” tells those with ‘ears to hear’ that this is not a time which is intended to produce “overcomers.” Overcomers “overcome the wicked one… at the time of harvest.”

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;

The fact that “the good seed are the children of the kingdom” does not change the fact that “if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy.”

Rom 11:16 For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches.

In other words, we are all part of “the lump” before we are part of “the firstfruit.”

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

“In time past you [and I] have walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience. … We ALL had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.”

“The children of wrath” are the children of “their father the Devil” who want to kill Christ, and this is what we all are to begin with. We are all “of our father the Devil” starting out.

Joh 8:30 As he spake these words, many believed on him.
Joh 8:31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye mydisciples 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.

That is why we all look exactly like the Devil to begin with:

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.

Who else looks exactly like this beast within each of us?

Rev 12:3 And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.

Where is heaven? Read the paper What and Where Is Heaven? Christ said He was “with you always.” He also said He was “in His Father.” He went on to explain that He and His Father are in us:

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

“That day” is today for all who have been given eyes to see and ears to hear. These are not just ‘Will Be’ words. These are the words of our Lord, so they are primarily ‘Is’ words. “I am in My Father.” Then they are secondarily ‘Was’ words and last of all they are ‘Will Be’ words for all who cannot now receive these words.

Now look very closely at these next verses of scripture. Here is the key to understanding Christ’s parables and thereby understanding all parables:

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

Never forget the foundational purpose and function of parables:

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

Why parables? “To them [the multitudes who come to Christ] it is not given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven.” What is this parable, which if we know we will know all parables; what does this and all parables concern? Here is the answer. Here is what will give you the ability to understand the meaning of “all parables.”

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

All parables are concerned with “the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven… which it is not given for the multitudes to know.”
In order for any of us to understand “the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven”, it is essential that we know where this kingdom of God is. When we come to see where the kingdom of God is, we will then understand that both the tares and the good seed are within that kingdom of God, growing together within that kingdom of God, also called the kingdom of heaven, “until the harvest.” Only at the harvest will the “tares be gathered together first to be bound into bundles and cast into the fire.”

Mat 13:25 But while men slept [And we have all “slept”], his enemy came and sowed tares [false doctrines] among the wheat, and went his way.
Mat 13:26 But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.
Mat 13:27 So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?
Mat 13:28 He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?
Mat 13:29 But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. [It takes time for any of us to sort out what is false in Babylon]
Mat 13:30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest [1Pe 4:12-17 “Now is … fiery … judgment upon the house of God”] I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.

When is that separating of the tares from the good seed? When is this time of fiery trial in the kingdom of heaven/ God? When are “all parables” being understood?

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

So the parables are for the purpose of keeping the ‘many called but not chosen’ from seeing the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. The tares are part of that parable of the sower which is about the mysteries of the kingdom of God. The tares are to be burned before the good seed are gathered into God’s ‘barn.’ This all has to do with the mysteries of the kingdom of God. Where is this “kingdom of God?” Let’s allow Christ Himself to answer that question:

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

Knowing this Truth makes it crystal clear why Christ tells us “I come quickly” and we must all “keep the sayings of the prophecy of this book for the time is at hand.”

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

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

The book of Revelation begins and ends with the same words: “keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand… [and] behold I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.”

Did you notice where that great red Dragon was?

Rev 12:3 And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.

That is right, Satan is in our ‘heavens’ which are within us. Knowing this should make this scripture make much more sense:

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

God’s elect are referred to in scripture as His witnesses:

Luk 24:48 And ye are witnesses of these things.
Luk 24:49 And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.

God’s witnesses must all “tarry in Jerusalem until [they] are endued with power from on high.” At that point God’s witnesses “come out of Babylon… that great city wherein our Lord was crucified” and at that point in their lives, they begin their ministry of witnessing against Babylon:

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

What else are God’s witnesses called? What was Christ “received into” when He was taken up into heaven?

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

Act 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
Act 1:9 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.

The ‘cloud’ Christ was received into was a type of those who “shall be witnesses unto me.” As Christ’s witnesses, we are called in Hebrews 12:1 “a cloud of witnesses”, and He has promised that He would never leave us:

Mat 28:20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world . Amen.

“The end of the world” is the end of our age. The “end of the age” is the end of our time in these vessels of clay. Christ has promised to be with us without fail “to the end of this age,” or as long as we live in this dying flesh. Christ is in heaven and as such He is within His “great cloud of witnesses.” He is within His saints. “The kingdom of God is within you.”

With that understanding, you should now be able to read all of the parables of Christ and begin to understand the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven which the multitudes who hate the doctrine of Christ, and therefore hate Christ, cannot understand.

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

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

You said:

Also, during the same talk, when asking does everyone know where heaven is, you were talking about the beast and the wound… I was wondering if you could talk a little about what you were saying with respect to the beast and what it meant.

The beast, like ‘heaven’ and the ‘bottomless pit’ [read What and Where is the Bottomless Pit on the iswasandwillbe.com web site] is within each of us. Being a beast is the marred, ruined natural condition into which we are born:

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.

We are beasts by nature…:

Ecc 3:18 I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts.

… and that is why we are told:

Rev 13:18 Here is wisdom. Let him who has a mind calculate the number of the wild beast, for it is the number of mankind , and its number is six hundred sixty- six. (CLV)

So the ‘beast’ is “the first Adam” within us all. At the time of our calling this beast receives a “deadly wound” to one of his heads. This wound is accomplished by our first coming to Christ to hear His parables.

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.

What was it that dealt the beast this deadly wound? It was the sword of God’s Word:

Rev 13:13 And he [the second ‘beast within’- the beast which comes up in us, not out of our ‘sea’, but out of our ‘earth’- our religious beast who has “two horns like a lamb but speaks like a dragon”] doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, [preaches great fiery sermons and is given the power to perform miracles before men]
Rev 13:14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.

It is healed when we “lose our first love” and allow “that woman Jezebel” into our hearts, along with the Nicolaitans. While we think that we are rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing,” the Truth is that we are poor and wretched and miserable and naked and blind:

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

What makes these scriptures so sure of their fulfillment is the fact that the multitudes of “historical orthodox Christianity” will never discover the beast or the man of sin or the bottomless pit or heaven or the fire which burns up the tares. They will never see any of these things simply because…”

Joh 8:37 … because my word hath no place in you.

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

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.

“Why do ye not understand my speech?” The reason we do not understand Christ’s speech is because he speaks in parables. The reason we cannot see plainly the Father is because we do not understand Christ’s parables. Parables are not parables when they are understood:

Joh 16:25 These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs: but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall shew you plainly of the Father.

So, to “no more speak to us in proverbs but show us plainly the Father” Christ goes on to give us a plain “revelation of Jesus Christ,” who we all know is the “express image of the Father.”

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

Heb 1:3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;

There is not a chance of any of the ministers of Babylon ever seeing or knowing that the beast, who they have been saying for decades is ‘out there’ in the world somewhere, is actually sitting smugly on the throne of Christ within each man who does not know that 666 is the number of mankind, and that we are all born with that number stamped in our foreheads and in our right hands. It is only those who “get the victory” over the beast and his number and his name, who will ever in this life know that the beast and the man of sin sits on Christ’s throne in the hearts and minds of each and every one of us.

Rev 15:2 And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.

I hope I have answered your questions. I have written much more about life during the millennium and what is the purpose for the millennium and what is God’s reason for releasing Satan when the thousand years are finished. If you want to read more about this, then go to iswasandwillbe.com. Go to the ‘search this site’ box in the upper right corner. Type in the word ‘millennium’. There are many responses that come up when you type in the word ‘millennium’. You can see a whole lot more of what is revealed in God’s Word about this subject.

Mike