Rev 11:5-6 Part 3 The Power Of The Two Witnesses

[Study Aired Oct 27, 2024]

Rev 11:5  And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.
Rev 11:6  These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will.

Christ tells us that we are all born spiritually dead and in need of a Savior.

Mat 8:22  But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead.

Luk 9:60  Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.

After we have acknowledged our spiritually dead condition as the first Adam, of the earth, earthy and corruptible, then we can say with the apostle Paul:

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

Eph 2:1  And you [hath he quickened], who were dead in trespasses and sins;

Col 3:3  For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.

Continuing with the signs of Christ’s coming and the smiting of the earth with all plagues:

Mat 24:5  For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

The “many who are deceived” are the same as the “many who were made sinners”. It is all inclusive, and common to all men.

Rom 5:19  For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.

You will hear of wars and rumors of wars… nation will rise against nation, but this is not yet the end of the age, it is instead, just “the beginning of sorrows”. If we believe that all of this is for those sinners out there who are left behind while we are spared these sorrows, and plagues, then God has simply blinded our eyes to the words “ye” and “you” throughout this prophecy, which is given in answer to His disciple’s question, “What will be the sign of your coming and the end of the age?”

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.

How often will God’s elect “smite the earth with all plagues”? Like Christ, His elect seek only the will of His Father. Here is a list of those ‘plagues’ and those sorrows with which “they smite the earth as oft as they will”, and which we should expect, since they are the sorrows which Christ tells His disciples to look for as the sign of His coming and the end of this age:

Mat 24:9  Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.
Mat 24:10  And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
Mat 24:11  And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
Mat 24:12  And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
Mat 24:13  But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
Mat 24:14  And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations [by the two witnesses]; and then shall the end come.

So the end of this age does not come till after we have been delivered up, afflicted and killed. This ‘death’ is the same as the death of God’s two witnesses. So the end does not come until we have been deceived by many false prophets, we have been overwhelmed by iniquity, and have “left our first love” (Rev 2:4). The end does not come until after we are “hated of all nations for Christ’s name sake”. The profound truth of what we have just read is that the end does not come until we have “endured to the end.”

What else happens before the end of the age comes?

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

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

So “the abomination of desolation” for those who “read and understand”, occurs before the end comes, as does also the “great tribulation”.

Mat 24:21  For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.

Rev 16:18  And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.

Mat 24:22  And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.
Mat 24:23  Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.
Mat 24:24  For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
Mat 24:25  Behold, I have told you before.
Mat 24:26  Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.
Mat 24:27  For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
Mat 24:28 For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.

Christ’s coming is “as the lightning that comes out of the east and shines even to the west”, “for” or ‘because’ the eagles gather only at the carcase, the dead bodies, which have died to this world, “before the end comes”. For all those who “read and understand”, these are the same “dead bodies” as the dead bodies of the two witnesses of this 11th chapter of Revelation.

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.

Continuing with His answer to the question, ‘What will be the sign of your coming and the end of this age’, Christ tells us:

Mat 24:29  Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:

Joe 2:31  The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.
Joe 2:32  And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.

It is both that period “before… and immediately after the tribulation of those days” that the Sun in our heavens is darkened by the smoke that arises out of our bottomless pit, and the great earthquake such as never was, nor ever will be, comes as the sign of the Son of Man in the heaven which appears to us and shakes us out of our sleep of spiritual death. That is what is required to bring every son to God.

Mat 24:30  And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
Mat 24:31  And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

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

When do all of these things take place? When is the sign of Christ’s coming and of the end of this age? When are those who hurt God’s two witnesses killed by the fire from their mouths? Here is Christ’s own answer to this question.

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

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.

“This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled” tells us that “the sign of the Son of Man in heaven” comes and causes all the tribes of the earth to mourn before “this generation passes, and all these things are fulfilled”. That is the doctrine of Jesus Christ, here in Mat 24, in 2Th 2:6-12, in Heb 12:6-7 and here in Revelation six.

Rev 6:12  And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;
Rev 6:13  And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.
Rev 6:14  And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
Rev 6:15  And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
Rev 6:16  And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
Rev 6:17  For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

Summary

We have seen that the spiritual significance of:

1) fire proceeding out of the mouths of God’s two witnesses is the word of God in their mouths, and

2) that is the fire that kills their enemies, and we have demonstrated that none of this is literal, and that therefore Christ’s two witnesses do not violate His doctrines by killing those who would hurt them with the fire from their mouths. The fact is, that we have seen that it is we who are first killed by that fire.

We also saw that:

3) the power given to the two witnesses to shut heaven that it rain not in the days of their prophecy, is again, nothing more or less than understanding the nourishing words of Christ as the rain which they are, and as they relate to our own experience of first denying Him and His doctrines, during the days of the prophecy of the two witnesses in our own lives. We saw that we, just like Christ’s apostles, we all think we understand His words during the time of His testimony, but in reality the heavens are shut, and we “understand not”. Just like Christ’s apostles, we all first deny and reject Him as our Savior.

Mat 13:49  So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just,
Mat 13:50  And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
Mat 13:51  Jesus saith unto them, Have ye understood all these things? They say unto him, Yea, Lord.

The Truth, of course is that “they understood not” till their conversion after Christ’s resurrection, and after their own spiritual ‘resurrection’.

Mar 9:31  For he taught his disciples, and said unto them, The Son of man is delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill him; and after that he is killed, he shall rise the third day.
Mar 9:32  But they understood not that saying, and were afraid to ask him.

Luk 9:43  And they were all amazed at the mighty power of God. But while they wondered every one at all things which Jesus did, he said unto his disciples,
Luk 9:44  Let these sayings sink down into your ears: for the Son of man shall be delivered into the hands of men.
Luk 9:45  But they understood not this saying, and it was hid from them, that they perceived it not: and they feared to ask him of that saying.

We saw that:

4) to turn waters to blood is the spiritual way of telling us that God’s Words, which are the nourishing waters of life, will destroy us when we are denying that they speak of us, and that they will continue to work against us till we acknowledge that it is we who must live by every word. God’s Words are “turned to blood”, and condemn us of the blood of Christ, till we acknowledge that we are that man who denied our Lord while cursing and swearing that we “know Him not”. Just like Joseph’s brothers, we are condemned until we acknowledge that it was we who nailed our Lord to the cross.

We know that we are first ‘the earth’ which is smitten with all these plagues:

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

Rev 11:6  These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will.

Finally we have seen that:

5) to “smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will” is “the word of the Lord” which is but a continuation of that same work of destroying our old man and any sense of self righteousness that may remain in our ‘earth’. We have seen that we are the earth, and that until we “hear the word of the Lord” concerning our own culpability in every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God, and our guilt in shedding the blood of Christ, the work of “smiting the earth with all plagues”, will continue in light of this Truth:

Joh 3:36  He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

Since we are to “see all of these things”, and we are to know that “it is near, even at the doors”, and “this generation will not pass till all these things be fulfilled”, it becomes obvious that it really is God’s firstfruits who first experience the “one event that is common to all men”, and who must be those who first “live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God, and keep the things written therein, because all things are ours”.

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

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

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

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

There is but “one event” and there is but one fiery Word of God. However there are two very different resurrections and “the first resurrection… of life” at the Lord’s appearing at the beginning of the thousand year reign, is far superior to the second “resurrection of judgment” over 1,000 years later at the great white throne judgment/ lake of fire/ second death (Rev 20:7-15).

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

Rev 20:7  And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
Rev 20:8  And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
Rev 20:9  And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
Rev 20:10  And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
Rev 20:11  And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
Rev 20:12  And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
Rev 20:13  And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
Rev 20:14  And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
Rev 20:15  And whosoever was not found written in the book of life [1,000 years earlier] was cast into the lake of fire.

Next week, Lord willing we will continue our study here in Rev 11. As is always the case, to see these words as words which are compatible with the third verse of chapter one is foolishness to the natural man, but we will see next week that these “things written therein” were as applicable in John’s day as they are today and will be tomorrow. Here are our next verses:

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.
Rev 11:9  And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves.
Rev 11:10  And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.

Acts 14:1-28  We Must Through Much Tribulation Enter into the Kingdom of God

[Study Aired May 7, 2023]

Act 14:1  And it came to pass in Iconium, that they went both together into the synagogue of the Jews, and so spake, that a great multitude both of the Jews and also of the Greeks believed.
Act 14:2  But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles, and made their minds evil affected against the brethren.
Act 14:3  Long time therefore abode they speaking boldly in the Lord, which gave testimony unto the word of his grace, and granted signs and wonders to be done by their hands.
Act 14:4  But the multitude of the city was divided: and part held with the Jews, and part with the apostles.
Act 14:5  And when there was an assault made both of the Gentiles, and also of the Jews with their rulers, to use them despitefully, and to stone them,
Act 14:6  They were ware of it, and fled unto Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and unto the region that lieth round about:
Act 14:7  And there they preached the gospel.
Act 14:8  And there sat a certain man at Lystra, impotent in his feet, being a cripple from his mother’s womb, who never had walked:
Act 14:9  The same heard Paul speak: who stedfastly beholding him, and perceiving that he had faith to be healed,
Act 14:10  Said with a loud voice, Stand upright on thy feet. And he leaped and walked.
Act 14:11  And when the people saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in the speech of Lycaonia, The gods are come down to us in the likeness of men.
Act 14:12  And they called Barnabas, Jupiter; and Paul, Mercurius, because he was the chief speaker.
Act 14:13  Then the priest of Jupiter, which was before their city, brought oxen and garlands unto the gates, and would have done sacrifice with the people.
Act 14:14  Which when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of, they rent their clothes, and ran in among the people, crying out,
Act 14:15  And saying, Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein:
Act 14:16  Who in times past suffered all nations to walk in their own ways.
Act 14:17  Nevertheless he left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.
Act 14:18  And with these sayings scarce restrained they the people, that they had not done sacrifice unto them.
Act 14:19  And there came thither certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium, who persuaded the people, and, having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing he had been dead.
Act 14:20  Howbeit, as the disciples stood round about him, he rose up, and came into the city: and the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe.
Act 14:21  And when they had preached the gospel to that city, and had taught many, they returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioch,
Act 14:22  Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.
Act 14:23  And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed.
Act 14:24  And after they had passed throughout Pisidia, they came to Pamphylia.
Act 14:25  And when they had preached the word in Perga, they went down into Attalia:
Act 14:26  And thence sailed to Antioch, from whence they had been recommended to the grace of God for the work which they fulfilled.
Act 14:27  And when they were come, and had gathered the church together, they rehearsed all that God had done with them, and how he had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles.
Act 14:28  And there they abode long time with the disciples.

I have a map I want to share with everyone to give us all a perspective of where Paul and Barnabas traveled on their first missionary journey:

https://www.conformingtojesus.com/images/webpages/pauls_journeys_map1.jpg

Here is a cut and paste from Biblestudy.org which gives us some perspective of the miles these two men walked:

biblestudy.org › home › maps › n.t. churches › derbe

The Via Sebaste ran through Pisidian Antioch to Iconium, a distance of about 93 miles (150 kilometers). It then ran from Iconium to Lystra, a distance of 18.5 miles (30 kilometers). From Lystra he traveled on an unpaved track of the road about 62 miles (100 kilometers) to Derbe (Book of Acts in Its Graeco-Roman Setting, Volume 2, by Gill and Gempf, Chapter 10).

We are reviewing the first missionary journey the Lord gave to Paul and Barnabas.

In our last study they had just been thrown out of the city of Pisidian Antioch because the Jews had “stirred up the devout and honorable women and chief men of the city… and cast them out of their coasts.”

Act 13:44  And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God.
Act 13:45  But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming.
Act 13:46  Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.
Act 13:47  For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth.
Act 13:48  And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.
Act 13:49  And the word of the Lord was published throughout all the region.
Act 13:50  But the Jews stirred up the devout and honourable women, and the chief men of the city, and raised persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them out of their coasts.
Act 13:51  But they shook off the dust of their feet against them, and came unto Iconium.
Act 13:52  And the disciples were filled with joy, and with the Holy Ghost.

“The “devout and honorable women” signify the church. The “chief men of the city” signify church leaders. It was the church of Paul’s day, the synagogues and the leaders of the synagogues, who most resisted the truth of the gospel and who were the chief persecutors of the Lord’s messengers. These events here in Pisidian Antioch are nothing more than a repetition of what Saul of Tarsus, now Paul the apostle, experienced right after his conversion at Damascus and then later at Jerusalem. It will be the same in every city Paul will preach in the rest of his life. The ‘great harlot’ does not appreciate being shown her own infidelity, and she passionately hates those who do so.

When Paul and Barnabas were “expelled out of [the] coasts of… Antioch”, they “were filled with joy” that they were “counted worthy to suffer with the Lord”, and they “shook off the dust of their feet against them [of Antioch], and came unto Iconium.”

Act 5:41  And they [the apostles] departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.

Act 14:1  And it came to pass in Iconium, that they went both together into the synagogue of the Jews, and so spake, that a great multitude both of the Jews and also of the Greeks believed.
Act 14:2  But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles, and made their minds evil affected against the brethren.

Notice just how fickle our minds are. “A great multitude both of Jews and also of the Greeks believed,” and yet “the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and made their minds [the minds of the great multitude of believers] evil affected against the apostles:

Act 14:3  Long time therefore abode they speaking boldly in the Lord, which gave testimony unto the word of his grace, and granted signs and wonders to be done by their hands.
Act 14:4  But the multitude of the city was divided: and part held with the Jews, and part with the apostles.
Act 14:5  And when there was an assault made both of the Gentiles, and also of the Jews with their rulers, to use them despitefully, and to stone them,

When the Lord reveals to His followers that His word is being rejected, they never, ever resort to physical violence to silence their opposition, but that is exactly what will always take place when the lies of Babylon are revealed to this world in this present time. Those ministers who advocate violence are not “the voice of The Shepherd”, and we must “flee from them.”

Joh 10:27  My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:

Here is what Christ and His Christ always do when they are rejected:

Act 14:6  They were ware of it, and fled unto Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and unto the region that lieth round about:
Act 14:7  And there they preached the gospel.

Once again, “the Jews with their rulers [plot] to stone [the apostles], and they once again patiently obey the Lord’s admonition to us all:

Mat 10:22  And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.
Mat 10:23  But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come.
Mat 10:24  The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord.

“The cities of Israel” signify the Lord’s elect, and the statement, “Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come” means that our Lord has an “Israel of God” in every generation right up until the time of His appearing. There will also always be, in every generation, “those who say they are [spiritual] Jews [the Israel of God] but are not.” These will always be there to resist the Words of our Lord and His Christ:

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

Rev 2:9  I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.

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.

Those who are “of the synagogue of Satan… say they are [spiritual] Jews”, and they truly believe that the Lord loves them and their doctrines. Those who know the voice of the True Shepherd, also know the false doctrines of strangers, and will flee from those false prophets and their false doctrines:

Joh 10:1  Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.
Joh 10:2  But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep [Christ and His Christ].
Joh 10:3  To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.
Joh 10:4  And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.
Joh 10:5  And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.

“Know not the voice of strangers” means that they know that the voice they are hearing is not the voice of their True Shepherd, and they “will flee from [the false ministers of Satan].”

The day is coming when the whole world will know for certain who is and who is not loved of the Lord:

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 [AKA ‘the book of life’].
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.

Mat 7:21  Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Mat 7:22  Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
Mat 7:23  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Christ healed two men who could not walk – the man who was lowered to Him through the roof and the man at the pool of Bethesda. Peter at the gate that is called Beautiful healed a man who was born lame and was forty years old. These men signify our old man who cannot walk with Christ. Here at Lystra Paul is given to heal another man who was born lame and had never walked:

Act 14:8  And there sat a certain man at Lystra, impotent in his feet, being a cripple from his mother’s womb, who never had walked:
Act 14:9  The same heard Paul speak: who stedfastly beholding him, and perceiving that he had faith to be healed,
Act 14:10  Said with a loud voice, Stand upright on thy feet. And he leaped and walked.

The holy spirit revealed to Paul that this man “had faith to be healed” and inspired Paul “with a loud voice [to say] stand upright on your feet”, and when the man was healed, he “leaped and walked”.

Now notice the difference between how the heathen react to a miraculous healing versus how those react who are “the synagogue of Satan… those who say they are Jews but are not, but do lie”:

Let’s notice the reaction of the synagogue of Satan first:

Joh 5:6  When Jesus saw [the lame man] lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole?
Joh 5:7  The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me.
Joh 5:8  Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.
Joh 5:9  And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath.
Joh 5:10  The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the sabbath day: it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed.

Joh 5:16  And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the sabbath day.

Now let’s see how the Gentiles react to such a miraculous healing:

Act 14:11  And when the people saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in the speech of Lycaonia, The gods are come down to us in the likeness of men.
Act 14:12  And they called Barnabas, Jupiter; and Paul, Mercurius, because he was the chief speaker.
Act 14:13  Then the priest of Jupiter, which was before their city, brought oxen and garlands unto the gates, and would have done sacrifice with the people.
Act 14:14  Which when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of, they rent their clothes, and ran in among the people, crying out,
Act 14:15  And saying, Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein:
Act 14:16  Who in times past suffered all nations to walk in their own ways.
Act 14:17  Nevertheless he left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.
Act 14:18  And with these sayings scarce restrained they the people, that they had not done sacrifice unto them.

Nevertheless, the heathen are just as unstable and just as fickle as the Lord’s own apostate church:

Act 14:19  And there came thither certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium, who persuaded the people, and, having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing he had been dead.
Act 14:20  Howbeit, as the disciples stood round about him, he rose up, and came into the city: and the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe.

The way this is written could lead one to believe that it was the day after proclaiming Paul and Barnabas to be gods that the Jews from Antioch and Iconium persuaded the very same people to stone Paul and leave him for dead. It was no doubt more than a single day, but it certainly did not take a long time to persuade the very people who thought Paul and Barnabas were gods to stone Paul, but the Lord raised him up, and he returned to the city of Lystra before ‘fleeing [“the next day”] to another city” (Mat 10:23), the city of Derbe.

It was a miraculous healing that gave Paul the strength to recover from a stoning which left him for dead, He was raised up that same day as the disciples stood about his body which was left for dead praying for him. He returned to Lystra and then began the 62 mile (100 kilometers) walk to Derbe the very next day.

It is here at Lystra, on his next missionary journey which began very soon after the conference in Jerusalem, that Paul and Silas will meet a disciple named Timothy, who will join them on their travels and will become as a son to Paul:

Act 16:1  Then came he to Derbe and Lystra: and, behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timotheus, the son of a certain woman, which was a Jewess, and believed; but his father was a Greek:
Act 16:2  Which was well reported of by the brethren that were at Lystra and Iconium.
Act 16:3  Him would Paul have to go forth with him; and took and circumcised him because of the Jews which were in those quarters: for they knew all that his father was a Greek.
Act 16:4  And as they went through the cities, they delivered them the decrees for to keep, that were ordained of the apostles and elders which were at Jerusalem. [The letter to the Gentiles which resulted form the Jerusalem conference of chapter 15]
Act 16:5  And so were the churches established in the faith, and increased in number daily.

1Ti 1:2  Unto Timothy, my own son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.

2Ti 1:2  To Timothy, my dearly beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

The fact that Paul saw fit to circumcise Timothy soon after the Jerusalem conference is one of many things Paul did which demonstrates that Paul agreed that he, being a Jew, must keep the law of Moses at that time, even as he was telling the Gentiles at Rome and at Corinth and in Galatia that they were spiritual Jews who must not keep the law of Moses:

Rom 2:28  For he [Roman Gentile Christians (Rom 1:13)] is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:
Rom 2:29  But he is a [spiritual] Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

Rom 1:13  Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purposed to come unto you, (but was let hitherto,) that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among other Gentiles.

Gal 1:6  I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:
Gal 1:7  Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.

Gal 3:1  O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth [of the letter from the apostles at Jerusalem conference], before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?
Gal 3:2  This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? [The apostles had sent a letter to the Gentiles telling them they need not keep the law of Moses].
Gal 3:3  Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh? [the law of Moses]
Gal 3:4  Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain.
Gal 3:5  He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?

This is the first journey of Paul and Barnabas, and they did not meet Timothy or his mother on this trip.

Act 14:21  And when they had preached the gospel to that city [Derbe], and had taught many, they returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioch,
Act 14:22  Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.
Act 14:23  And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed.

Paul and Barnabas are now on their way back to Syrian Antioch to rehearse all the Lord had done through them. As they return through the cities they had evangelized, they “confirm the souls of the disciples, and exhort them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.”

It would be so much easier and so much more enjoyable to preach a gospel that said, “Jesus smiled” instead of “Jesus wept.” It would be much more acceptable to teach that Christ was a very popular man whose life was full of fun instead of having to teach that He was a man of sorrows who was acquainted with grief.

Isa 53:3  He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Joh 11:35  Jesus wept.

I am not saying that Jesus never smiled. I am sure He did. What I am saying is that the scriptures just simply do not once tell us that while He was here in a body of flesh that ‘Jesus smiled’ or was popular with the church of His day or that He had a lot of fun in this life. That simply is not the tone of the scriptures.

Life would be so much easier if we could prophesy only smooth things and preach the deceits of the ‘prosperity gospel’ and the gospel of a life of ‘coffee and doughnuts’ as opposed to having to teach the truth of the gospel, which is that “we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.”

Isa 30:8  Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever:
Isa 30:9  That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the LORD:
Isa 30:10  Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits:

“The time of reformation” of the law of Moses was under way, and the new church was growing exponentially here right after its birth. The powers that be, the rulers of the churches, the rulers of the synagogues, expelled the apostles, from every city they came to. Nevertheless, there were very many who believed the gospel. There were so many that Paul and Barnabas “ordained them elders in every church.”

Derbe is the last city in which Paul and Barnabas preached on this first journey before returning through all the cities they had evangelized; Lystra, Iconium, Antioch and Perga in Pamphylia. As they pass back through Perga we are told “they preached the word in Perga”, which we are not told they did when they first passed through that city. From Perga they travel to another seacoast city called Attalia, and from that city they sail back to Syrian Antioch, the city from which the Lord had first sent them out into His field, and into His vineyard.

Act 14:24  And after they had passed throughout Pisidia, [meaning Derbe, Lystra, Iconium, and Pisidian Antioch] they came [back] to Pamphylia.

They are traveling back through Pisidia, back through all the cities they had evangelized, including Antioch, and from there they will return to Pamphylia, where Perga is located.

Act 14:25  And when they had preached the word in Perga, they went down into Attalia:
Act 14:26  And thence sailed to Antioch, from whence they had been recommended to the grace of God for the work which they fulfilled.
Act 14:27  And when they were come, and had gathered the church together, they rehearsed all that God had done with them, and how he had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles.
Act 14:28  And there they abode long time with the disciples.

It is while Paul and Barnabas are back in Antioch, “[w]here they abode long time with the disciples” that certain men come down to Antioch from Jerusalem telling the Gentiles they must be physically circumcised before they can be saved. It is at this point, soon after the first missionary journey, that Peter and Barnabas both temporarily and hypocritically side with these false prophets “from Judea”. Paul rebukes them both before all. Peter and Barnabas are forced to face their own hypocrisy because they both had been eating with the Gentiles before those men came down from Judea pointing out that Moses said one must be circumcised:

Gen 17:10  This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised.

Gen 17:12  And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed.
Gen 17:13  He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.
Gen 17:14  And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant.

They no doubt felt that they had the Bible on their side, but both Peter and Barnabas knew the miraculous way the holy spirit had made it very clear that a reformation of the law was under way in and through Christ.

Heb 9:10  Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation.

Heb 7:11  If therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, (for under it the people received the law,) what further need was there that another priest should rise after the order of Melchisedec, and not be called after the order of Aaron?
Heb 7:12  For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law.

That is what we will be dealing with in next week’s study in chapter 15, Lord willing.

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.

Audio Links

Whosoever Is Fearful And Afraid, Let Him Return And Depart Early…

Introduction

Two months ago I mentioned that I was feeling a bit overwhelmed with the volume of e-mails concerning the heresies we were dealing with at that time. Steve Crook made the offer to give me a break as he had a subject God had laid on his heart to present. The series served to confirm the Word of God to us all, and show us what God is doing with His body in the world, while showing us that prayer is a way of life which will keep us in the Word of God, and keep us caring for each other.

So what was meant to be a break for Sandi and me, instead, by God’s sovereign design, turned out to be a time for me to simply get caught up on my e-mails, and then to suffer with my precious wife while Steve was giving his studies. We thought the first incident was just a severe upset stomach. It went away, and we went back to our normal way of life. The next week it was even worse, and the next week was even worse. The last episode was while we were visiting Wendy, and we finally realized that this was far more serious than just an upset stomach. We went to the doctor, and the doctor took blood samples, which when analyzed by the experts revealed Sandi had a severe liver dysfunction. The doctor told Sandi that the numbers were what was seen in “end stage liver cancer”. He sent her to a hepatologist, a gastrointestinal doctor who specializes in the treatment of the liver. The hepatologist sent her for a CT scan of her liver. The scan revealed Sandi has gallstones, and both the specialist and the doctor insisted that if Sandi did not have her gall bladder removed she could die. Sandi and I had already made several changes in our life style. We had begun walking about a mile every morning, we cut back on the amount we were eating, and we stopped eating anything after 6 P.M. so we insisted that another blood test for the liver be taken, and if things did not improve at least a little, then we would consider having her gallbladder removed. The doctor told us that taking another blood test would not change anything, but he agreed to re-test to pacify us.

We asked all of you to pray for a miracle for us so Sandi would not have to undergo surgery to have her gall bladder removed. You prayed with us, and the Lord, according to the doctor, performed “a medical miracle”. The doctor said he had never seen anything like what that new report showed. Sandi sent you those miraculous numbers. I remember one went from over six hundred down to 70, and the others were just as much a miracle. So we have been given mercy by our Lord, and we want to do what we must to stay healthy servants of our Lord and able to be of service to His body.

Again, I want to thank both Steve for feeding you all while Sandi and I were being chastened of the Lord to repent of our unhealthy ways and to become far more serious about our own physical health, and be a better example for all of you. Keep us in your prayers as we continue to do what we know we must to avoid the Lord’s chastening grace upon our unhealthy eating habits and our lack of exercise. Christ said “if you continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed.”

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;

Getting off to a good start is not good enough to be a “disciple indeed”. We must abide in our Lord’s word faithful to the end, and Sandi and I must be faithful in our new lifestyle if we are to overcome this affliction, and not bring upon ourselves something even worse.

Joh 5:14 Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.

We are confirmed in our Lord’s love because of His chastening grace which He has abundantly supplied upon us, and I see this entire trial which Sandi and I have just endured, and from which we have been miraculously delivered, as a physical type of the spiritual battle which we have just endured and in which we live every day within the body of Christ.

So our study today is dealing with the lessons we have learned from the struggle we have endured to overcome our own afflictions and how we must stay vigilant after being granted such great mercy to be miraculously delivered from a life-threatening disease within the body of Christ. I cannot express to you the gratitude and the joy that came over me when I heard Sandi repeat that doctor’s words “This is a medical miracle”. That is the very same gratitude and joy I am also feeling as I am witnessing the spiritual healing and restoring to health that has taken place within this body of believers who come through this purging process, and the removing of the unhealthy and diseased branches on the vine that is our Lord Himself.

Joh 15:1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
Joh 15:2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
Joh 15:3 Now ye are clean through [all] the word which I have spoken unto you.
Joh 15:4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

Whosoever Is Fearful and Afraid, Let Him Return and Depart Early…

I have recently been told, “We must be doing something wrong because so many people are leaving the fellowship.” Another person asked me, “Will there ever be a time when the trials are not so constant and continuous?”

We need to ask ourselves, “Is there any Biblical basis to think that because we have lost several people from our fellowship that we must be doing something wrong?” What do the scriptures reveal about whether we should expect to be losing brothers and sisters from the body of Christ?

The scriptures actually reveal that anyone who is squeamish about losing members of his own family, physical and spiritual, is simply not being equipped by God to be a faithful servant of Jesus Christ. Christ doesn’t hold back when He tells His disciples what they should expect if they really want to follow in His footsteps. This is what He tells us, right up front:

Mat 10:21 And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death.
Mat 10:22 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.

If we take these words in their literal sense only, then we are missing their primary spiritual meaning, which is the death that is believing in another Jesus with another doctrine than “the doctrine of Christ”.

2Jn 1:7 For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.
2Jn 1:8 Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward.
2Jn 1:9 Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.
2Jn 1:10 If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed:
2Jn 1:11 For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.

The words “endureth to the end” in Matthew 10:22 give us our answer to that second question, “Will there ever be a time when the trials are not so constant and continuous?” The words “the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death” tell us, in effect, that if we never lose any family members, then we must be doing something wrong.

Back in the Old Testament, God’s instruction to physical Israel, the nation that typified “the Israel of God”, demonstrates for us what we should be expecting if we want to follow in His steps. Here is what the Word of God tells us is how we are to deal with both of these concerns.

Matthew 10:21-22 informs us that if we follow Christ, then we live in a constant state of spiritual warfare, and this is what we are told to do under those conditions:

Deu 20:2 And it shall be, when ye are come nigh unto the battle, that the priest shall approach and speak unto the people,
Deu 20:3 And shall say unto them, Hear, O Israel, ye approach this day unto battle against your enemies: let not your hearts faint, fear not, and do not tremble, neither be ye terrified because of them;
Deu 20:4 For the LORD your God is he that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.
Deu 20:5 And the officers shall speak unto the people, saying, What man is there that hath built a new house, and hath not dedicated it? let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man dedicate it.
Deu 20:6 And what man is he that hath planted a vineyard, and hath not yet eaten of it? let him also go and return unto his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man eat of it.
Deu 20:7 And what man is there that hath betrothed a wife, and hath not taken her? let him go and return unto his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man take her.
Deu 20:8 And the officers shall speak further unto the people, and they shall say, What man is there that is fearful and fainthearted? let him go and return unto his house, lest his brethren’s heart faint as well as his heart.

Does it not matter if another takes your house after you have dedicated it? Does it not matter that another takes and eats of your vineyard if you ate of it first? Does it not matter if a married man dies in battle? Of course, it matters in every case. Are not all of these examples of those who do not have their heart in the battle, and whose halfheartedness will infect the rest of the soldiers of God’s Israel?

A modern English way of saying what God is telling us is, “If you cannot stand the heat, then just stay out of the kitchen”.

Notice how this parallels these words of Christ:

Luk 14:16 Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many:
Luk 14:17 And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready.
Luk 14:18 And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused.
Luk 14:19 And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused.
Luk 14:20 And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.

There is always a ‘good’ reason to avoid the constant vigilance of a very hard fought battle. Now what are we to do when someone doesn’t want to face the daily rigors or being a soldier in what the scriptures call “the armies of heaven”?

Here is the story of Gideon, from which I have taken the title of our study today, “Whosoever is fearful and afraid, let him return and depart early…” :

Jdg 7:1 Then Jerubbaal, who is Gideon, and all the people that were with him, rose up early, and pitched beside the well of Harod: so that the host of the Midianites were on the north side of them, by the hill of Moreh, in the valley.
Jdg 7:2 And the LORD said unto Gideon, The people that are with thee are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me.
Jdg 7:3 Now therefore go to, proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, Whosoever is fearful and afraid, let him return and depart early from mount Gilead. And there returned of the people twenty and two thousand; and there remained ten thousand.
Jdg 7:4 And the LORD said unto Gideon, The people are yet too many; bring them down unto the water, and I will try them for thee there: and it shall be, that of whom I say unto thee, This shall go with thee, the same shall go with thee; and of whomsoever I say unto thee, This shall not go with thee, the same shall not go.
Jdg 7:5 So he brought down the people unto the water: and the LORD said unto Gideon, Every one that lappeth of the water with his tongue, as a dog lappeth, him shalt thou set by himself; likewise every one that boweth down upon his knees to drink.
Jdg 7:6 And the number of them that lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, were three hundred men: but all the rest of the people bowed down upon their knees to drink water.
Jdg 7:7 And the LORD said unto Gideon, By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into thine hand: and let all the other people go every man unto his place.

“By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you”. That is just how much God values the virtue of constant vigilance within those He will use as “saviors on Mount Zion” (0ba 1:21).

This is what God did in ancient Israel, and this is what He is doing now in the process of producing faithful over-comers who fear Him and tremble at His Words more than they fear what families and friends and the world think of them. This is what the story of Gideon is saying:

Eze 20:37 And I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant:
Eze 20:38 And I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that transgress against me: I will bring them forth out of the country where they sojourn, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.

The twenty-two thousand feared the battle and the losses that are part of all battles. These are those who fear men more than they fear God, and if allowed to remain, their fear of what men think would infect the rest of the armies of heaven:

Deu 20:8 And the officers shall speak further unto the people, and they shall say, What man is there that is fearful and fainthearted? let him go and return unto his house, lest his brethren’s heart faint as well as his heart.

It is so appealing to the flesh to say smooth things like, ‘There is nothing wrong with blending in with the traditions of society.’ It is so appealing to our flesh to answer those who ask, ‘Will the trials ever stop?’ with a lie like: ‘God does not want us to do anything that would cause us to lose those who have been part of our fellowship.’ But that would be “speaking smooth things”, and it would be a bald-faced lie against everything the scriptures actually teach concerning what we should all expect in this age. Christ specifically tells us, up front, that we be “hated of all men”, and that only “he that endureth to the end shall be saved”.

Conversely, we are also told this about those who claim to be His people, but who don’t even see the need to be obedient to any commandments of God which require us to deliver anyone in our fellowship over to Satan, and to “have no company with him”

Isa 30:9 That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the LORD:
Isa 30:10 Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits:
Isa 30:11 Get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us.

1Co 5:5 To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

2Th 3:14 And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed.

1Co 5:5 and 2Th 3:14 are “the law of the Lord” which “lying children… will not hear”. They will not hear those “law[s] of the Lord” simply because they fear men more than they fear God, and if we tolerate their heretical ways, we become “partakers of their sins”, and “his brethren’s heart faint as well as his heart”. Before we know it we are all more afraid of offending men more than we fear to disobey these “laws of the Lord”. Disobeying these commandments of God, “deliver such an one unto Satan… have no company with him”, that disobedience is twisted into ‘standing in the gap before the Lord and in Israel’s defense’.

Eze 22:30 And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.

It might seem that this just cannot happen to someone we have come to know and love and who we thought loved God and feared God, nevertheless we have just witnessed how the Lord can cause “the light that is in [us] to be darkness”, and we have seen “how great is that darkness”.

Mat 6:23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!

What is Christ’s doctrine concerning whether His disciples indeed should expect to lose family members and friends? Here are His Words on that particular issue:

Mat 10:16 Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.
Mat 10:17 But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues;
Mat 10:18 And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles.
Mat 10:19 But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak.
Mat 10:20 For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.
Mat 10:21 And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death.
Mat 10:22 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.

Christ goes on to teach us that His 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 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 “all these things… My words” in this 24th chapter of Matthew begin with these words:

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? [Greek – aion, age]
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.

The apostle Paul fills in a little more of the picture with these words:

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

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

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

The Words of Christ which must be fulfilled in “this generation” are all His Words, not just the words of Matthew 24. They include the entire revelation of Jesus Christ, and that revelation begins at Gen 1:1, and it ends at Rev 22:21.

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 1:3 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

Gal 5:17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

This is what is called “war in heaven” between the flesh and the spirit:

Rev 12:7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,

Less than one third remained to, in type, “fight the good fight of faith”. Out of thirty-two thousand who responded to the call to battle, “twenty and two thousand… departed early” from the battle to deliver Israel. Of the remaining ten thousand only 300 were diligent and vigilant enough to be chosen as saviors of Israel.

This is the Truth which this story foreshadows:

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

Only 300 men were chosen to depend on God to fight for them and to go into battle knowing that God was their salvation even though they were vigilant to hold on to their weapons while they were drinking water. By this “remnant of Israel” God has determined to deliver Israel, and He will “let all the other people go every man unto his place”.

These 300 men out of a total of 32 thousand, symbolize those who know that they must “work out [their] own salvation even as they acknowledge that “it is God that works in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure”.

Php 2:12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
Php 2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

When we read “It is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure” we know that God is telling us that He is working in us both to “lose [our] first love” before we come to truly be “crucified with Christ”. Then we also know that it is God who works in us to “die daily ” with Him as we “fight the good fight of faith… daily”. These three hundred are willing to die for Israel’s defense, but the 31,700 who did not endure to the end, were in effect, sacrificed for those three hundred who were chosen to stand up and fight against those who would destroy God’s Israel. Our “old man” is sacrificed for the sake of our “new man”.

So if you are shaken by the loss of the majority of those who say they love God and their brothers even as they openly tell you that it is the commandments of God which are causing the gap before the Lord, then you are following the wrong Jesus. The true Jesus of Nazareth, as we have seen, tells us that we should expect to lose family and friends if we want to follow in His footsteps.

But it is all for a very worthy cause, and the rewards of being faithful to Christ through the loss of friends and family are more than any natural man can appreciate.

This is what we are told:

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.

We tend to apply these words to Babylon, and indeed they do apply to Babylon. What we forget is that Babylon is God’s own rejected anointed, just as King Saul was God’s rejected anointed. It was God who had Samuel to anoint King Saul:

1Sa 10:1 Then Samuel took a vial of oil, and poured it upon his [Saul’s] head, and kissed him, and said, Is it not because the LORD hath anointed thee to be captain over his inheritance?

Our adversaries are just as anointed of God to be our adversaries, and our “old man” is just as anointed of God to be our ‘old man’, as our new man is anointed of God to be faithful to the Lord’s commandments. Obedience is the litmus test by which we know who are and who are not the children of God:

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

1Jn 5:2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.
1Jn 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.

It is the “old man” in all of us who rebels and will not keep His commandments. This again is what God is now doing, and this is what He will be doing tomorrow:

Eze 20:37 And I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant:
Eze 20:38 And I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that transgress against me: I will bring them forth out of the country where they sojourn, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.

God is purging the rebels that transgress against Him who disregard and disparage His commandments. When “the rebels” have been purged from among us, then we will know the Lord, as He knows us. The ‘purging of rebels’ is part of any war, and we are certainly engaged in a great spiritual warfare.

It should be of great comfort to us all to know that our Lord is a warrior, and that the war in which we in Him are involved has already been won, and Christ and His Christ are already declared the victors:

Rev 19:11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.
Rev 19:12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.
Rev 19:13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
Rev 19:14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
Rev 19:15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
Rev 19:16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
Rev 19:17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;
Rev 19:18 That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.
Rev 19:19 And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.
Rev 19:20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
Rev 19:21 And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.

The next chapter of the Revelation of Jesus Christ ushers in the millennial reign of Christ and His Christ. Christ has given us the kingdom His Father gave to Him, and the thousand year reign of the Christ and His Christ will be used of God to set the stage for the beginning of the process of destroying “the last enemy… which… is… death”.

The next couple of weeks we will be taking an overview of the entire plan of God and our calling and our function within that glorious plan for the salvation of all in Adam. Our function is clearly stated in both the Old and New Testaments, and still the truth of our part in the atonement for the sins of mankind is denied and is called blasphemous, but the honor we have been granted does not depend upon the doctrines of men. They rely only upon “that which is written” (1Co 4:6).