Rev 11:5-6, Part 1 – The Power Of The Two Witnesses

[Study Aired Oct 20, 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.

Introduction

In our last study we learned that the two olive trees signify the same thing signified by the “four beasts”, the “four cherubims”, and the two candlesticks. They, one and all, signify Christ within His elect who are destined to be kings and priests who will rule with Him over the kingdoms of this world for a thousand years followed by the judging of all men of all time at the great white throne judgment.

If we were to take these verses at face value as the natural man does, then they would be telling us that if any man attempts to hurt God’s elect, “fire proceeds out of their mouth and devours their enemies, and must be killed in this manner”, and furthermore God’s elect also have the power to “shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy, and they have power over waters to turn them to blood and to smite the earth with all plagues as often as they will.”

The producers of the movie ‘Left Behind’ presented all of this as literal, physical events with literal fire coming out of the mouths of the two witnesses, killing those who would do them harm. It is the mantra of most seminaries that if any prophecy can be taken in a literal sense, then that is the way to take it. That is the doctrine which produced the film entitled ‘Left Behind’ in which the two witnesses literally breathed fire upon their enemies and killed them, literally!

But wait a minute. How can God’s elect do any of these things as His witnesses with the testimony of Jesus Christ, considering the very doctrines of Christ teach the very opposite of what we have just read?

Mat 5:44  But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

Remember how disgusted Christ was with James and John when they wanted to call down fire on a Samaritan village which had refused to accommodate them for one night:

Luk 9:51  And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem,
Luk 9:52  And sent messengers before his face: and they went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him.
Luk 9:53  And they did not receive him, because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem.
Luk 9:54  And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?
Luk 9:55  But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of [The spirit of the law of Moses].
Luk 9:56  For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them. And they went to another village.

Didn’t His apostles teach the very same doctrine of loving our enemies? Here is what Paul taught.

Rom 12:14  Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.

Here are John’s own words in His first epistle:

1Jn 4:20  If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?
1Jn 4:21  And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.

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.

The Truth is that no one in whom Christ has taken up His abode would ever think of “killing his enemies with [literal] fire”. Nor would he ever even think of literally “smiting his [neighbor or his enemies] with all plagues” or literally “turning his [neighbor’s] water into blood”.

It is obvious, considering the sum of God’s Word (Psa 119:160), that those who have been given eyes that see, and ears that hear the hidden wisdom of God, will understand that these two verses are not to be understood as outward literal statements. This is a book which has been signified, with signs and symbols of things which are intended to be ‘kept’, and inwardly “kept” by those who are given to “read, and to hear, and to keep the things which are written and signified in this book”:

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

Only those who are sincerely asking, “How do I personally “live by every word” (Mat 4:4), and how do I personally “keep the things written therein” (Rev 1:3)”, will have any hope of understanding how God’s two witnesses can burn up their enemies within, with the armies of the nations within, with fire from their mouths. Only the few chosen will be granted to understand how the Lord’s witnesses can “smite the sinful earth within, with all plagues, and turn the waters within, into blood, and still love their enemies and do good to those who persecute them”.

What then is the meaning of…

The symbols of these two verses?

The symbols of verse 5 are: 1) if any man will hurt them, fire proceeds out of the mouths of God’s two witnesses, and 2) and they kill those who would hurt them with the fire from their mouths.

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.

The symbols of verse six are: 3) the two witnesses have the power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy, 4) to turn waters to blood, and 5) to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will.

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.

So let’s begin by asking, What is the spiritual meaning of…

1) If any man will hurt them fire proceeds out of their mouth?

Here is the Biblical definition of what is being discussed when scripture speaks of fire in one’s mouth.

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

This is the exact same wording we find in:

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.

That is the ‘manner’ in which their enemies are “killed”. They are killed with the words of God, in the mouths of those who are faithful to those words. “In this manner…”  is not at first an outward statement for any man. Remember this admonition at the very beginning of this prophecy:

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.

True servants of the Lord are never violent nor vengeful:

2Ti 2:24  And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient,
2Ti 2:25  In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;

If we are to “keep those things which are written therein” then it is we who first “oppose ourselves”, and who place ourselves in opposition to the words of Christ. If we see ourselves only as ‘the two witnesses’ with the fire of the Lord’s words in our mouths and do not take these words as an admonition against our own self-righteous and rebellious ‘first man Adam’, then we are no better than the self-righteous Pharisees who asked Christ if He considered them to be spiritually blind:

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

The message for all of us in John 9, is that we are all born spiritually blind by default:

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

If we are granted to see ourselves first as the wood, hay, and stubble fuel for the fire of the Lord’s words, then we can confess that we really are born spiritually blind, and are by nature fuel for the fire of the Lord’s words which burn up our wood, hay, and stubble, and will kill our rebellious, self-righteous, old man, then in time through that dying process we will be born again as Christ’s fire-breathing two witnesses having “kept [all] the things written therein” (Rev 1:3).

No “servant of the Lord”, no “disciple indeed” would ever literally kill anyone with literal fire coming from their mouths. Only the most spiritually blind would fail to remember that this prophecy is a “signified” prophecy, designed to be kept a secret from the multitudes who come to Christ (Mat 13:10-15). Far from literally killing anyone, this is the doctrine of Christ and His apostles:

2Ti 2:24  And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient,
2Ti 2:25  In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;
2Ti 2:26  And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.

So when you hear a “great man of God” say “The first thing I’m going to do at the resurrection is walk up to Adam and punch him in the face”, you should be able to discern that this is not “the gentle, meek… servant of the Lord” that Paul is speaking of here. Yet that is a word for word quote from the mouth of a big name minister with a mega church in Houston, Texas, here is the United States.

“The gentle… meek servant of the Lord” remembers that it is not someone else who was first taken by the snare of the devil. “That man” (2Sa 12:1-10) was you and me. It is we who first withstand the words of Christ, then it is you and I who later, after we repent, we become those who “instruct those who oppose themselves” to the words of Christ and are taken in “the snare of the devil.” As a repentant sinner we have no interest in being anything but “gentle unto all men… that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil”.

If we allow ourselves to forget for one moment the fact that God’s kingdom comes first within and that we “live by every word” (Mat 4:4), and that we are commanded to “keep the things written” in this prophecy (Rev 1:3), then we will automatically do what the natural man always does, and think of ourselves only as the two witnesses, and we will see ourselves only as those with the fire in our mouths devouring our enemies. But the truth, which is the sum of God’s word, is that “all these things must come to pass in this generation”, and that they are “all ours”.

Psa 119:160  The sum of thy word is truth; And every one of thy righteous ordinances endureth for ever. (ASV)

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

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

Like the spiritually blind Pharisees, until we are given to see that we are all first spiritually blind, then we will remain as spiritually blind as those who want to harm the Lord’s elect. If ever we are granted to see our own culpability, only then are we granted the privilege of becoming the Lord’s elect who are being hurt by the men of this world. So it is with all the symbols of verse 6 of this 11th chapter of Revelation, and with the rest of the symbols of all scripture.

The only way to know how any of the eight different symbols of these two verses are to be understood is to remember how we are instructed to view this prophecy at the very beginning of this book. As we have so often said, the first three verses of chapter one are the key to understanding this entire prophecy. Here are those verses:

Rev 1:1  The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:
Rev 1:2  Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.
Rev 1:3  Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

If we fail to apply those verses to our understanding of the words of our study today, we will be forced to ignore and to violate the doctrine of Jesus Christ who told us to love our enemies and do good to those who persecute us.

Luk 6:27  But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you,
Luk 6:28  Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.

Seeking to harm God’s two witnesses is something we all, as natural men, do and keep within our own selves when we reject and withstand the words of God’s witnesses. We do and keep these words, by rejecting those who first bring to us this witness of God’s fiery, spiritual, purifying words.

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

1Co 15:46 Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.

So it is we who first persecute and “hurt” God’s elect, because we are all “first natural” before we, by God’s grace, become those same elect witnesses who are on the receiving end of this “hurtful… daily dying” experience which is “written therein”. This is all us because “all things, things present and things to come, are all are ours”:

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;

Those two verses of 1Co 3 never made sense to me when I believed that there was a physical “place of safety” for God’s elect where the things written in this prophecy could be avoided. Those two verses cannot make sense to anyone who believes in any form of exemption from the things which are written in this prophecy because “things present and things to come” would certainly include these “things which must shortly come to pass”, of which we were told in the first chapter of “the book of prophecy”, “All [these] things… are ours… to read, hear, and keep”.

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.

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.

None of us are born believing on Christ, so we really are “shapen in iniquity, conceived in sin” with “the wrath of God abiding on us”, as we “hurt” God’s two witnesses.

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

2) The two witnesses kill those who would hurt them with the fire from their mouths

So here we are as the first man, as the natural man. It is these words which pronounce us as dead and kill us. The apostle Paul agrees with the apostle John.

1Co 15:47  The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.
1Co 15:48  As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.
1Co 15:49  And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
1Co 15:50  Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

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

Col 3:5  Mortify [“kill”, Rev 11:5] therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:
Col 3:6  For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience:
Col 3:7  In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them.

“Afterward that which is spiritual”:

Rom 6:3  Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
Rom 6:4  Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
Rom 6:5  For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
1Co 15:31  I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.

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

Col 3:3  For ye are dead, [We have been killed by the fire in the mouths of the two witnesses] and your life is hid with Christ in God.
Col 3:4  When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.

Those verses overlap, but we are first to see ourselves as “children of wrath, even as others… having walked… as children of disobedience” before coming to be “dead and buried with Christ… killed” by the fire that proceeds out of the mouths of the two witnesses.

To those in Babylon, we are said to be “the smell of death” and not even worthy of being buried.

2Co 2:16  To the one [the many called of Babylon] we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things? [“but Christ { who} lives in me”]

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.

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

1Jn 3:15  Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.

“Three days and an half” and three and one half years or “a thousand two hundred and threescore days”, here in this same chapter, “are one” just as the cows and the corn in Pharaoh’s dream “are one”.

Rev 11:3  And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, [three and one half years] clothed in sackcloth.

Gen 41:26  The seven good kine are seven years; and the seven good ears are seven years: the dream is one.

We will pause our study at this point and continue with the significance of these two verses in our next study.

Jer 8:1-11 They… say Peace, Peace, When There is no Peace

[Study Aired May 2, 2021]

Jer 8:1  At that time, saith the LORD, they shall bring out the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones of his princes, and the bones of the priests, and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, out of their graves:
Jer 8:2  And they shall spread them before the sun, and the moon, and all the host of heaven, whom they have loved, and whom they have served, and after whom they have walked, and whom they have sought, and whom they have worshipped: they shall not be gathered, nor be buried; they shall be for dung upon the face of the earth.
Jer 8:3  And death shall be chosen rather than life by all the residue of them that remain of this evil family, which remain in all the places whither I have driven them, saith the LORD of hosts.
Jer 8:4  Moreover thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD; Shall they fall, and not arise? shall he turn away, and not return?
Jer 8:5  Why then is this people of Jerusalem slidden back by a perpetual backsliding? they hold fast deceit, they refuse to return.
Jer 8:6 I hearkened and heard, but they spake not aright: no man repented him of his wickedness, saying, What have I done? every one turned to his course, as the horse rusheth into the battle.
Jer 8:7  Yea, the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times; and the turtle and the crane and the swallow observe the time of their coming; but my people know not the judgment of the LORD.
Jer 8:8  How do ye say, We are wise, and the law of the LORD is with us? Lo, certainly in vain made he it; the pen of the scribes is in vain.
Jer 8:9  The wise men are ashamed, they are dismayed and taken: lo, they have rejected the word of the LORD; and what wisdom is in them?
Jer 8:10  Therefore will I give their wives unto others, and their fields to them that shall inherit them: for every one from the least even unto the greatest is given to covetousness, from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely.
Jer 8:11  For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.

As we learned in our last study, the Lord does nothing except He reveals His secret to His prophets:

Amo 3:6  Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it?
Amo 3:7  Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.
Amo 3:8  The lion hath roared, who will not fear? the Lord GOD hath spoken, who can but prophesy?

There is evil in the city, and the Lord has done it, and He wants us to be aware of that fact.

The first three verses of this 8^th chapter must be read in the context of the last verses of the preceding chapter if we are to understand who ‘they’ are:

Jer 7:30  For the children of Judah have done evil in my sight, saith the LORD: they have set their abominations in the house which is called by my name, to pollute it.
Jer 7:31  And they have built the high places of Tophet, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I commanded  them not, neither came it into my heart.
Jer 7:32  Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that it shall no more be called Tophet, nor the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of slaughter: for they shall bury in Tophet, till there be no place.
Jer 7:33  And the carcases of this people shall be meat for the fowls of the heaven, and for the beasts of the earth; and none shall fray them away.
Jer 7:34  Then will I cause to cease from the cities of Judah, and from the streets of Jerusalem, the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride: for the land shall be desolate.

These verses reveal that the Lord Himself is giving an occasion to send the armies of our enemies against us. Put these verses together with:

Jer 8:19  Behold the voice of the cry of the daughter of my people because of them that dwell in a far country:  Is not the LORD in Zion? is not her king in her? Why have they provoked me to anger with their graven images, and with strange vanities?

Outwardly, we are being given a history lesson of why the Lord sent the King of Babylon to destroy Jerusalem, the capital of Judah, along with all the “daughters of Jerusalem” …all the cities of Judah.

While we must learn of the outward history of the Lord’s symbolic ‘chosen’ people, if He is giving us eyes to see and ears to hear, we will be granted to apply every word of this history lesson within ourselves as the Lord’s chosen people who have been made to see ourselves as “chief of sinners” being judged in this present time via our experience of having been conquered and ransacked by the spiritual king of Babylon. This ‘king’ has ruthlessly taken our most sacred treasures and our most honored idols, symbolized by the bones of the kings of Judah and the bones of the prophets of Judah, and has simply ransacked their graves seeking only the physical wealth which we have placed in their graves. Their bones and graves are the idols of our hearts which we hold dear and to which we hold fast. Babylon has no respect or concern for us. All she wants is what we can physically give her just as ruthlessly as the physical Babylonians dug up and looted all the graves of all the kings and prophets of Judah.

Here is an excerpt from Josephus’ Antiquities of the Jews, chapter 15 paragraph 3, which gives us some insight into why the graves of kings and prophets would be looted by a conquering army:

“3. He was buried by his son Solomon, in Jerusalem, with great magnificence, and with all the other funeral pomp which kings used to be buried with; moreover, he had great and immense wealth buried with him, the vastness of which may be easily conjectured at by what I shall now say; for a thousand and three hundred years afterward Hyrcanus the high priest, when he was besieged by Antiochus, that was called the Pious, the son of Demetrius, and was desirous of giving him money to get him to raise the siege and draw off his army, and having no other method of compassing the money, opened one room of David’s sepulcher, and took out three thousand talents, and gave part of that sum to Antiochus; and by this means caused the siege to be raised, as we have informed the reader elsewhere. Nay, after him, and that many years, Herod the king opened another room, and took away a great deal of money, and yet neither of them came at the coffins of the kings themselves, for their bodies were buried under the earth so artfully, that they did not appear to even those that entered into their monuments. But so much shall suffice us to have said concerning these matters.” (End Quote)

It all happened to them, but it is written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the ages have come (1Co 10:11). It all serves to make us to see how used and abused we are while clinging fast to all the idols of our Babylonian hearts.

Throughout scripture, the Lord denounces our sins and transgressions for the destructive force they are. He also makes it very clear why we commit all those sins and transgressions:

Rom 9:13  As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.
Rom 9:14  What shall we say then? Is there  unrighteousness with God? God forbid.
Rom 9:15  For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
Rom 9:16  So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.
Rom 9:17  For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.
Rom 9:18  Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.

“[The Lord] hath shut their eyes, that they cannot see; and He has hardened their hearts, that they cannot understand.”

Isa 44:18  They have not known nor understood: for he [the Lord] hath shut their eyes, that they cannot see; and their hearts, that they cannot understand.

Then the Lord’s prophets are given the thankless task of telling His blinded and deaf people of His words of judgment which they cannot see or hear.

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:

“Smooth things” equate to “deceits”. If we come to the Lord’s word with an idol of our heart and the stubborn self-righteousness of our own iniquity in our already made-up mind, then we will not even want to hear “right things”. The only thing we will settle for is lies which make life easier for us in this world. Today’s study tells us what some of those “deceits” are that make it easier for us to fit into this world system:

Jer 8:1  At that time, saith the LORD, they shall bring out the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones of his princes, and the bones of the priests, and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, out of their graves:
Jer 8:2  And they shall spread them before the sun, and the moon, and all the host of heaven, whom they have loved, and whom they have served, and after whom they have walked, and whom they have sought, and whom they have worshipped: they shall not be gathered, nor be buried; they shall be for dung upon the face of the earth.
Jer 8:3  And death shall be chosen rather than life by all the residue of them that remain of this evil family, which remain in all the places whither I have driven them, saith the LORD of hosts.

‘Spreading the bones of the priests and the prophets and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem before the sun and the moon and all the host of heaven, whom we have loved’ is the same as knowing Christ in the flesh, and celebrating Christ in the flesh, while we are commanded that we are not to know Him any longer “after the flesh”.  We are told that we are still in bondage if we continue to celebrate ‘days, months, times, and years’. It is the celebration of Christ in the flesh and the deification of saints, which is an abomination to the Lord, as Christ made so clear:

Mat 23:29  Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous,
Mat 23:30  And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.
Mat 23:31  Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets.
Mat 23:32  Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.

Our false doctrines and idols of our hearts – doctrines like free will, salvation by works, and eternal torment in literal flames of literal fire – are ruthless Babylonian conquerors who have no compassion or concern for our mental or spiritual wellbeing. We cannot choose to do good, and it torments us while we believe that our sins are of our own free will.

Indeed, we all ‘fill up the measure of our fathers’, and it is precious few who are granted to repent of doing so in this present time.

Jer 8:4  Moreover thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD; Shall they fall, and not arise? shall he turn away, and not return?
Jer 8:5  Why then is this people of Jerusalem slidden back by a perpetual backsliding? they hold fast deceit, they refuse to return.

Why do we as individuals ‘perpetually backslide and hold fast’ to things we know will produce our own destruction? Why do we continue in sins and transgressions we know are robbing us of our own birthright and harming those who are dearest to us? Why would anyone act so irrationally? There is just one reason in the final analysis:

Gen 45:8  So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.

Pro 16:4  The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.

Isa 44:18  They have not known nor understood: for he hath shut their eyes, that they cannot see; and their hearts, that they cannot understand.

Isa 45:6  That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else.
Isa 45:7  I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace,  and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.

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

The Lord really did call ancient Israel to be His own special people:

Deu 7:6  For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God:  the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.

This is what we are told of that calling:

Deu 7:9  Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;
Deu 7:10  And repayeth them that hate him to their face, to destroy them: he will not be slack to him that hateth him, he will repay him to his face.
Deu 7:11  Thou shalt therefore keep the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments, which I command thee this day, to do them.
Deu 7:12  Wherefore it shall come to pass, if ye hearken to these judgments, and keep, and do them, that the LORD thy God shall keep unto thee the covenant and the mercy which he sware unto thy fathers:

“If ye hearken to these judgments, and keep, and do them… the LORD thy God shall keep unto thee the covenant… Them that love Him… keep His commandments” (Deu 7:9, 12). These words of God here in the Old Testament are the foundation for the same words in the New Testament:

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.
1Jn 5:4  For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.

There it is in no uncertain terms. The covenant of God with those who are truly His special people is conditional upon them being obedient to His commandments.

This is “the covenant” which the Lord is keeping. It is essential that we notice that this covenant says… “IF ye hearken to these judgments, and keep, and do them, that the LORD thy God shall keep unto thee the covenant …”

Therefore, when we read in the New Testament…

Rom 11:29  For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.

…We must understand that ‘the gifts and calling of God are without repentance’ is not saying ‘without conditions’. All the promises of God are conditional upon obedience to His commandments. Therefore, they are conditional upon “good works”. However, nowhere in scripture – not one time in all the Bible – are we ever told that our obedience and our good works or our salvation depends upon us as the corruptible, the earthy creatures we are made to be. Rather, this is what we are told, and this is what the scriptures proclaim from Genesis to Revelation:

Isa 54:17  No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.

Jer 23:6  In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.

Jer 33:16  In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely: and this is the name wherewith she shall be called, The LORD our righteousness.

Jer 51:10  The LORD hath brought forth our righteousness: come, and let us declare in Zion the work of the LORD our God.

2Pe 1:1  Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ:

It is based upon all those verses and many others that Paul could confidently tell us:

Eph 2:4  But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
Eph 2:5  Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved; )
Eph 2:6  And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
Eph 2:7  That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
Eph 2:8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph 2:9  Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Eph 2:10  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

“By grace ye are saved… by grace through faith”. Grace saves us through faith, and neither are ”of [our]selves” The word grace means:

G5485
χάρις
charis
khar’-ece

From G5463; graciousness (as gratifying), of manner or act (abstract or concrete; literal, figurative or spiritual; especially the divine influence upon the heart, and its reflection in the life; including gratitude): – acceptable, benefit, favour, gift, grace (-ious), joy liberality, pleasure, thank (-s, -worthy).

Grace simply indicates the Lord’s favor upon our life. We were just informed:

Eph 2:8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

Therefore, when the Lord favors us, we are shown His undeserved and certainly unearned ‘grace’, and what exactly does God’s saving grace do for us? This verse is hidden from the eyes and ears of all of us while we are in Babylon with its false doctrines of ‘free will’. This is not what grace is, this is what the Lord’s ‘saving grace’ does within our lives:

Tit 2:11  For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
Tit 2:12  Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

What does God’s grace do in our lives? It teaches us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present age. The word translated as ‘world’ is the Greek word aion, and it means ‘an age’. What is so very revealing in verse 12 is the fact that the word translated as ‘teaching’ is:

G3811
παιδεύω
paideuō
pahee-dyoo’-o

From G3816; to train up a child, that is, educate, or (by implication) discipline (by punishment): – chasten (-ise), instruct, learn, teach.

This Greek word means ‘to chastise’. It is the exact same word we find in this verse of scripture, which gives this Greek word a much more accurate translation:

Heb 12:6  For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth [G3811: paideuo], and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

‘Grace through faith is not of ourselves. It is the gift of God.’ We have and are nothing of ourselves. Not even sinners:

Pro 16:4  The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.

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

“We are His workmanship… saved by grace through faith and that not of ourselves”. Being called and chosen in “this present time” (if we are given by our Lord to “endure to the end”), we are blessed above all men of all time, and yet this, by the Lord’s design and decree, is what we all at first do in spite of being given such a special calling:

Jer 8:6  I hearkened and heard, but they spake not aright: no man repented him of his wickedness, saying, What have I done? every one turned to his course, as the horse rusheth into the battle.
Jer 8:7  Yea, the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times; and the turtle and the crane and the swallow observe the time of their coming; but my people know not the judgment of the LORD.
Jer 8:8  How do ye say, We are wise, and the law of the LORD is with us? Lo, certainly in vain made he it; the pen of the scribes is in vain.
Jer 8:9  The wise men are ashamed, they are dismayed and taken: lo, they have rejected the word of the LORD; and what wisdom is in them?

The point being made here is that we all begin with losing our first love, suffering that woman Jezebel to teach us, and allowing Nicolaitans to be our overlords. Satan’s throne is in our very midst, along with those who say they are Jews but are the synagogue of Satan. Those who hold the doctrine of Balaam are among us, and we have a name that we live, when in reality we are spiritually dead. We think that we are rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing when the Truth is that at this stage in our ‘humbling experience of evil’ (Ecc 1:13), we are actually spiritually wretched, miserable, poor and naked (Rev 2 and 3). At this juncture in our experience of evil, we are so spiritually dead that we think this verse of scripture is referring to physical wealth:

Eph 3:16  That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;
Eph 3:17  That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
Eph 3:18  May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;
Eph 3:19  And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.
Eph 3:20  Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,

Those who see all the words I have emboldened as dollar signs, and are looking to be “the world’s first… Christian… trillionaire” are the poster boys of these verses of scripture:

Rev 3:1  And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art [spiritually] dead.

Rev 3:17  Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
Rev 3:18  I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.

“Gold tried in the fire” is true wealth. Everything else is worthless by comparison, and that ‘gold’ is the chastening grace of God.

If we are granted to hear what the spirit says to the churches, we will be given to “look behind us and see that the Lord has been judging us in “this present time” (Rom 8:18), and only then will we be brought to our wits’ end and be accepting of our judgment:

Jer 8:10  Therefore will I give their wives unto others, and their fields to them that shall inherit them: for every one from the least even unto the greatest is given to covetousness, from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely.

Our ‘wives’ are our harlot churches, and on a wider scale, ‘wives’ are the world’s religions which at this very moment are being devoured and burned with fire by the secular humanists to whom the Lord for a season is giving the power to do just that:

Rev 17:16  And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.
Rev 17:17  For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.
Rev 17:18  And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.

While this is taking place, this is the fruit of the false prophets who speak not right things but speak only deceits:

Jer 8:11  For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.

Isaiah spoke of those who deny that ‘grace chastens us’, and that we ‘reap what we sow’ (Gal 6:7) or that ‘every man will be judged according to His own works’ (Rev 20:14) with these words:

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:

It is true that James tells us that ‘mercy rejoices against judgment’ (Jas 2:13), but that verse in no way whatsoever contradicts:

Gal 6:7  Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

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.

We must disabuse ourselves of the lie of the adversary, and the smooth things which he teaches, telling us that God’s mercy nullifies and cancels out His justice and His judgment. ‘Be not deceived; God is not mocked, whatsoever we sow we will also reap.’

This is what we are told of “Jerusalem” as a type of God’s elect:

Isa 40:2  Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the LORD’S hand double for all her sins.

It is the Lord’s elect who are the first to “read… hear… and keep the sayings” of the book of Revelation:

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.

This is one of those sayings which concerns Babylon within each of us:

Rev 18:6  Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double.
Rev 18:7  How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.

The book of Revelation is simply reiterating the Lord’s words in Isaiah 40:2. We all reap double what we have sown, and enduring that judgment is the Lord’s mercy which delivers us from an unmerciful death.

Psa 103:12  As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.

Isa 43:25  I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.

Jer 31:34  And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.

2Co 5:19  To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

Heb 10:16  This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;
Heb 10:17  And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.

The book of Micah accords with the rest of the Lord’s fiery words:

Mic 7:19  He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.

How can the Lord say He will blot out our transgressions, forgive our iniquities, and forget our sins, and with the same voice declare that we will reap what we sow? How can the Lord tell us that mercy rejoices against judgment, that as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our sins from us; that He will not impute our trespasses to us; that He will cast our sins into the sea, and with the same breath tell us that we will receive double from His hand for our sins and be judged according to our works? How are those two apparently opposing promises made possible?

The answer is that the judgments and the repentance, which is the fruit of judgment, must precede all the positive blessings and promises of mercy and forgiveness. There is not one word in any of the verses I have quoted concerning the Lord’s boundless, ever-enduring mercy and forgiveness which denies or contradicts any of the verses which speak of the justice and judgments pronounced upon the kingdom of our old man. Receiving double for our sins and being judged according to our works precedes but does not contradict any of the Lord’s many blessings of forgiveness and mercy.

Our own wickedness and sins will correct us in this present time if we are the Lord’s elect.

Jer 2:19  Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove 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.

The prodigal son was not without judgment and justice. He was so extremely miserable in his judgment that he was forced to humble himself and ask his father to take him on as a mere “hired servant”.

Luk 15:19  And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.

Physical ‘Jerusalem’ symbolizes the religions of this world, and she is “in bondage with [all] her children”:

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

This is what the Lord has to say to historical Christianity and to all the religions of this world:

Jer 5:1  Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if ye can find a man, if there be any that executeth judgment, that seeketh the truth; and I will pardon it.

‘Executing judgment and seeking Truth’ is the exact opposite of:

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:

Later in this prophecy Jeremiah reveals how the Lord, without contradiction, pours out upon us both His judgments and His boundless mercies:

Jer 30:10  Therefore fear thou not, O my servant Jacob, saith the LORD; neither be dismayed, O Israel: for, lo, I will save thee from afar, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and shall be in rest, and be quiet, and none shall make him afraid.
Jer 30:11  For I am with thee, saith the LORD, to save thee: though I make a full end of all nations whither I have scattered thee, yet will I not make a full end of thee: but I will correct thee in measure, and will not leave thee altogether unpunished.
Jer 30:12  For thus saith the LORD, Thy bruise is incurable,  and thy wound is grievous.
Jer 30:13  There is none to plead thy cause, that thou mayest be bound up: thou hast no healing medicines.
Jer 30:14  All thy lovers have forgotten thee; they seek thee not; for I have wounded thee with the wound of an enemy, with the chastisement of a cruel one, for the multitude of thine iniquity; because thy sins were increased.
Jer 30:15  Why criest thou for thine affliction? thy sorrow is incurable for the multitude of thine iniquity: because thy sins were increased, I have done these things unto thee.
Jer 30:16  Therefore all they that devour thee shall be devoured; and all thine adversaries, every one of them, shall go into captivity; and they that spoil thee shall be a spoil, and all that prey upon thee will I give for a prey.
Jer 30:17  For I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the LORD; because they called thee an Outcast, saying, This is Zion, whom no man seeketh after.
Jer 30:18  Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will bring again the captivity of Jacob’s tents, and have mercy on his dwellingplaces; and the city shall be builded upon her own heap, and the palace shall remain after the manner thereof.
Jer 30:19  And out of them shall proceed thanksgiving and the voice of them that make merry: and I will multiply them, and they shall not be few; I will also glorify them, and they shall not be small.

It is when we refuse to acknowledge our own iniquities and transgressions, and when we refuse to acknowledge that the scriptures teach that judgment must precede blessings… It is when we teach that we can be blessed of the Lord while we deny His fiery judgment that we are guilty of the last verse of our study today:

Jer 8:11  For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.

That is our study for today. I pray you were edified by the Word.

Here are our verses for our next study:

Jer 8:12  Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore shall they fall among them that fall: in the time of their visitation they shall be cast down, saith the LORD.
Jer 8:13  I will surely consume them, saith the LORD: there shall be no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig tree, and the leaf shall fade; and the things that I have given them shall pass away from them.
Jer 8:14  Why do we sit still? assemble yourselves, and let us enter into the defenced cities, and let us be silent there: for the LORD our God hath put us to silence, and given us water of gall to drink, because we have sinned against the LORD.
Jer 8:15  We looked for peace, but no good came; and for a time of health, and behold trouble!
Jer 8:16  The snorting of his horses was heard from Dan: the whole land trembled at the sound of the neighing of his strong ones; for they are come, and have devoured the land, and all that is in it; the city, and those that dwell therein.
Jer 8:17  For, behold, I will send serpents, cockatrices, among you, which will not be charmed, and they shall bite you, saith the LORD.
Jer 8:18  When I would comfort myself against sorrow, my heart is faint in me.
Jer 8:19  Behold the voice of the cry of the daughter of my people because of them that dwell in a far country: Is not the LORD in Zion? is not her king in her? Why have they provoked me to anger with their graven images, and with strange vanities?
Jer 8:20  The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.
Jer 8:21  For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt; I am black; astonishment hath taken hold on me.
Jer 8:22  Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?

Hi Mike,

I have a question?  Reading “The tempting of mankind” I found this sentence: The dust spoken of in Genesis is “the spirit that dwelleth in us which lusteth to envy” (Jas 4:5).

Can you please tell me where you found this translation, because when I read KJV or the Dutch most used translations, it is translated as the Holy Spirit, and not, like you suggest a wicked spirit. When I read the Scripture in verse 4, I also would think that the spirit which dwells in us when we are carnal is not God’s holy spirit.

Looking forward to your reaction.

R____

Hi R____,

Thanks for your question. You ask which translation I am using when I quote Jas 4:5. I use the King James unless I note otherwise. Here is that verse in the King James:

Jas 4:5  Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?

Now notice the preceding verses:

Jas 4:1  From whence [ come] wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?
Jas 4:2  Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.
Jas 4:3  Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
Jas 4:4  Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

Verse one tells us that there are “Lusts that war in your members,” which agrees with Paul’s statement that “sin dwells in our members.”

Rom 7:15  For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.
Rom 7:17  Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:18  For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
Rom 7:19  For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
Rom 7:20  Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.

There it is. God made man flesh and blood out of the dust of the ground with sin dwelling in that flesh. “The spirit that is in us lusts to envy” Jas 4:5. God created man as ‘serpent food’. We are all the seed of the serpent before we are the seed of the woman. Look at what Christ said “to those Jews which believed on Him.”

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

There is a world of difference between being a believer in Christ and being a “disciple indeed.”  Just look at what Christ has to say to these same “Jews which believed on Him.”

Joh 8:37  I know that ye are Abraham’s seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you.
Joh 8:38  I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father.
Joh 8:39  They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham.
Joh 8:40  But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham.
Joh 8:41  Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, [ even] God.
Joh 8:42  Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.
Joh 8:43  Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word.
Joh 8:44  Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

“Why do you not understand my speech? even because you cannot hear my word. You are of your father the devil.” That is what Paul told the Corinthian converts to Christianity:

1Co 1:1  Paul, called [ to be] an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes [ our] brother,
1Co 1:2  Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:

These new converts believed on Christ, just like the Jews of Joh 8 did. But just like those Jews, they could not receive Christ’s words and were “Yet carnal babes in Christ.”

1Co 3:1  And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.
1Co 3:2  I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.
1Co 3:3  For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?
1Co 3:4  For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?

“The spirit that is in us lusts to envy” as babes in Christ. That is our carnal nature. That is the spirit we all are given “by nature.”

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

“You walked according to the … spirit that now works in the children of disobedience… we all were by nature children of wrath even as others.”
“The spirit that now works in the children of disobedience” is “the spirit that lust to envy” in Jas 4:5. “We all… were children of disobedience… of our father the devil…”
Again, here is Jas 4:5

Jas 4:5  Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?

“The scripture James refers to is:

Gen 6:5  And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

That is how God had made man. That is what a marred vessel does:

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

Eve was taken out of Adam. It was her “marred in the hand of the Potter… out of the ground… naked… vessel of clay” composition, which caused Eve to lust after the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil before she ever touched the tree.

Gen 3:6  And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

Eve had within her the lust of the flesh, lusting after food she was told not to eat. She had within her the lust of the eyes, because she saw “that it was pleasant to the eyes,” and she had within her “the pride of life,” because she perceived the tree of the knowledge of good and evil as “a tree to be desired to make one wise.” All of this is what John calls “all that is in the world.”

1Jn 2:16  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

When John says “is not of the Father” he certainly is not contradicting himself when he says:

Joh 1:3  All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

What John is doing is contrasting “the spirit in man which lusts to envy” with the spirit of Christ. Mankind is created with “the spirit in man” which gives him life. It is not a spirit which has been purged of all the wood, hay and stubble that is in man. It is rather “the spirit of  the children of disobedience” of which spirit “we all” are at first as, ” by nature the children of disobedience… and children of wrath even as others” (Eph 2:2-3).

I hope that helps you to see that “the spirit that dwells in us,” in Jas 4:5 is speaking of “the spirit that lusts to envy,” which is what Paul is speaking of when he says “we all… by nature… are children of disobedience… and are by nature children of wrath, even as others.”
Your brother in Christ,
Mike

Joh 3:13 And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.

Listen to your preacher friend and you will remain confused. Listen to Christ and ignore the falsehoods of orthodoxy, the ‘Great Harlot,’ of Rev 17and 18, and God’s Word will never contradict itself as you friend seems to believe.

Christ says “No man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven…” Peter says not even David is in heaven. Paul tells us that if there is no resurrection then the dead in Christ are perished. Your preacher friend and all orthodox Christian ministers say just the opposite. We must all decide who we will believe. It is not the few who are deceived. “Many shall come in my name… and shall deceive many.” Yet the greatest single religion in the world, the orthodox Christian church tells us this is no talking about them. Who, pray tell, do they think the “Many coming in My name,” is talking about? Are we to believe that this statementof our Lord is a reference to the Muslim or Buddhist religions? You decide that one for yourself.

Now as for the “spirits in prison,” your preacher asks about, these were the spirits of the people of Noah’s time. That is why we are told that this took place “in the days of Noah while the ark was preparing.” With not one scripture to validate his claim he boldly proclaims to you:

Well, look here! Jesus is preaching to those who died during the flood. Talk about your dead congregations!

Does this man think that it was by some other spirit that Christ preached through Noah for one hundred and twenty years? The people of Noah’s day were captives and prisoners to sin just as much as were the people of Christ’s day.

Luk 4:18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,

This preacher, and all orthodox Christian preachers, deny that Christ died for us. This man is telling you that Christ was never dead. He is telling you that in reality no one has ever died for our sins. Christ, of all people never died at all. The claim, with no scripture at all behind it is that he was in hell preaching to fallen angels and at the same time He was in paradise with the thief on the cross. These people must think that Paul was just confused when he made that statement about the dead in Christ being perished if there is no resurrection.

1Co 15:16 For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised:

1Co 15:17 And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.

1Co 15:18 Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.

Paul saw the Truth about the need for a resurrection. “If Christ be not risen… then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.”